A Collection of Thoughts — somewhere yes

Mostly about branding, design and creativity

Lionel Messi is a forward. On paper, he's one of 11 spots on a roster that lines up on Spanish soccer pitches every week. And then some more for the Champions League, filling stadiums across Europe.

Obviously, Messi isn't just ANY forward. He's one of the most talented and skillful to ever float across the sacred sod the world over. Weather or not he is on the pitch greatly influences HOW the game is played and WHO emerges victoriously. Yet, despite his brilliance, Lionel Messi still needs a team around him to succeed.

We rarely fill stadiums. But some of our work appears on just as many screens across the globe as the Argentine's mesmerizing footwork. In order for that to happen, we need to build smart, creative and complimentary teams who support each other, willing to do whatever it takes to make the best possible creative work.

No two designers are equal. One might be able to turn style frames into works of art, yet struggles with story. One might be a great thinker, yet lacks the intricate knowledge of photorealistic lighting. A creative director who writes might eliminate the need for a strategist.

More often than not, our game is a weak-link one. It is a complex sculpture of thinking and making; and the weakest link leads to over-compensation, extra support and financial consequences. And can make the whole thing crashing down.

When putting together teams, Org Charts can be a useful tool. For those craving structure and authority, it lays out everything neatly: the chain of command and the command with chains. But followed blindly and literally, said Org Chart can be surprisingly useless or, worse, lead you down wickedly wrong paths.

At the end of the day, all it tells you is that you need to field 11 players. And you don't need to be Messi to figure out that those are just the rules of the game. Not the art of it.

The text goes here. Blah, Blah. Blah.

A couple of hours before I was slated to speak at Motion in Santa Fe last month, my son fell on the playground. Not far. But HARD. Ambulance, ER, dentist visit, Cornell checkup. And countless encouragement about how scars are COOL. Not just cool, but some are sexy as hell!

The same goes for work scars. Well, maybe not the sexy part. And maybe they aren't always cool. But they sure as hell make you stronger! And figure out who you are. Yes, they are still painful at first, but with time and enough encouragement, they tend to turn into the thick skin you’ve always wanted!

Sometimes, you listen to the wrong people. Sometimes, you hire the wrong people. Sometimes, you turn wishful thinking into assumptions – and those can sometimes turn into the reality in your head. And when that construct crumbles, it can be very painful. And take a while to recover from.

But when the wounds start healing and the skin starts growing back nice and thick it gets you closer to who you are and, more importantly, who you are not!

Nobody has YOUR scars. OWN them.

I bike to work across the Brooklyn Bridge every day, weather permitting. I love it, oblivious pedestrians swording selfie-sticks and all. It reminds me, despite daily doubts and desperations, that I have made it from a small Swiss village to the grandest city on earth.

That wasn't what was on my mind, however, when my face was smashed against the wooden boards after I got side-swiped by another biker this week. When I saw the guy pick up his bike in an attempt to stage a quick getaway, I asked him, maybe not as kindly as I could have, but my body still in pain and shock, whether he was just going to leave. At which point, the guy started screaming at me in all shapes and forms. I was taken aback by the anger of someone who had just committed a pretty grave mistake that had gotten another human seriously hurt.

This on the heels of yet another week that has left innocent people dead at the hands of those who are meant to protect us. And they, in turn, suffering meaningless losses by angry civilians.

What is it that that has made our world so unkind? What is it also, that allows the potential leader of the free world to spew hate and vile across the campaign trail and be celebrated for it? That, more than any actual policy is what scares me most about a Trump presidency (sure, The Wall is scary, but c'mon, that can't actually happen, can it??); the permission to create a violent and unkind dialogue and mental environment for the rest of us.

I don't have answers. Nor will I be allowed to cast my vote against that kind of discourse. But, as is often the case when we feel helpless, we can start with our own actions. Which in this case means trying to infuse more kindness and love in our daily interactions with people. And I will make every effort to do so more consciously.

As you build something successful, something beautiful or something magical, you will encounter people who want to share in that dream. Which is great. That's part of why you're doing it.

But as you consider who to share it with, make sure your partners understand what makes you tick, why your dream is your dream and why it looks the way it does. Because if they don't get the purpose at the heart of everything you do, there's a good chance your vision won't get the nourishment it needs. And be left to starve. In the cold. And the rain.

And that's no good. For either of you.

I like data as much as the next guy. Even though numbers aren't my thing. Neither are spreadsheets and lists. But it's nice to be able to have a way to justify your opinions and intuitions.

But data isn't everything; raw, naked information needs to be put through the filter of CONTEXT and COMMON SENSE in order to acquire real, human meaning. Otherwise, it's just dada.

I love the overlooked, the in-between, the seemingly mundane. That's where I tend to find magic. In an alley between two magnificent new buildings. Behind the famous sculpture. On the subway to a meeting. For me, that’s where unexpected connections surface and random thoughts find their place.

I guess that's a good thing to like, because branding often happens between two events, at halftime or peeking out from behind someone important. To pay attention to those little spaces and cracks is what we do for a living. And a big part of our job is unearthing new gaps in the space-brand continuum.

Because every once in a while, that gap opens up, expands and gives us the opportunity for something grander than we ever thought possible. And to love the gaps means to live for those occasions. And all the other ones in between.

Too often, brands try to make up for an inferior product with good branding. "Hey, over here!" - "What?" - "Don't worry about the smoke!" - "What mirror?" - "Nah, that's the real thing!"

While good for us, that approach doesn't usually work for very long. If the product sucks, it'll drag down the brand. Bad for the brand. Bad for us.