I ran across an interesting discussion on the Fishbowl app this week prompted by the above question. The answer? Maybe it is. Maybe it’s changed. Maybe it’s just sleeping. Hmmm?

This podcast is a cleverly packaged ad for a SAND studio consultative service: The SAND Studio Workshops. I promise I will only do these kinds of podcasts once every 90 episodes. Here’s the rundown of the workshops I offer. I’ve done a few of these and the reviews are glowing. Let’s talk about your needs… Continue reading 90. The SAND Studio Workshops

It is not lost on creative people that sometimes a brilliant idea dies after we present it to you, dear client, and then you turn around and present it to your boss. Not pointing fingers, mind you. But the idea was doing fine until you took it to your management team and then, well, um,… Continue reading 89. Presenting creative work

How do you know you’re in a relationship with a creative service form that might be having problems? These red flags are a good sign. It’s not fatal, but it is worth keeping an eye on.

There are plenty of reasons to think AI is cool. There are plenty of reasons to think AI is a powerful weapon against everything we hold dear. Let’s chat about that, okay? (Even though I promised myself I’d never go there.)

I recently gobbled up a book by Rick Rubin, the storied record producer and record label founder. The title, The Creative Act: A Way of Being. And this episode is a kind of book report — or at least the first part of one. I’ve pulled ten quotes from the book that have some bearing… Continue reading 86. On The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.

[Originally aired Feb 15, 2023] There was a time when you could expect to see a lot of great ads during the annual airing of the Superbowl. Now, not so much. This year’s ads were uniformly bad, or at least well-made but fatally flawed in some way. (I’m looking at you, Jesus) with a few… Continue reading 85. Repeat: Super Bowl ads post-mortem.

Can someone who’s not particularly creative learn to become creative? Yes. It’s possible. Maybe not overnight. And maybe not in crazy-dramatic ways. However, I believe that creativity is something that anyone can build if they have the right attitude and the right approach. This podcast contains 11 things you can do — 11 tasks for… Continue reading 84. How to be a more creative client.

The year is young. Ripe with possibilities. The slate is clean. Pick your well-worn metaphor. Last month, I leaned on a friend to supply some predictions about the year to come. His name is Jeff Mard. Here’s his LinkedIn bio. He is a fractional Chief Growth Officer who has worked on both the agency and… Continue reading 83. The 2024 Outlook

Trust points are perhaps the greatest currency a client-creative relationship can have. And it goes both ways. Clients need to build trust points with creative service folks so they can make special requests and get work done quickly. And creative folks need to build trust points to get better work and referrals. This episode talks… Continue reading 82. Building Trust Points