Jason Anello on Being a More Confident Creative Leader

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "What Role Does Confidence Play in What You Do?" Anello takes heart in author Malcolm Gladwell's message that confidence is leadership. When running his company and when presenting to clients, Anello understands there is a time and place to be assertive and project confidence to communicate a point.

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas.  A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series.  He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

3 Ways to Handle Pressure and Excel in a Creative Director Job

In Chapter 9 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" Working in advertising creating experiential marketing events, Anello details the three areas where he needs to handle the pressure.  The first is in pitch meetings. He learns to understand he will never be in control and learns to let go. The second is in coming up with ideas. Here, he learns to set expectations that the ideation process is anything but consistent. The third is executing a marketing event and blending your plans with a need to adapt on the go.

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas.  A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series.  He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

Pitch Advice on How to Better Present Your Creative Capabilities

In Chapter 11 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "How Have Your Client Experiences Evolved the Way You Present Your Capabilities When Pitching New Business?" Working in experiential marketing that combines physical and digital environments, Anello learns through experience to focus less on the creative flair of past projects and more on the core problems his team has solved for clients and the ROI and results the work has generated.

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas. A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series. He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

Jason Anello on How to Work With Different Personality Types

In Chapter 17 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?"  Working in advertising, Anello learns to be observant and adaptable when meeting different types of people in and out of work. He finds ways to get along with others, including client relationships where there is tension and a need to be accepting of views that he may not share.

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas. A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series.  He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

Jason Anello on Motivating the Many Moving Parts of a Team

In Chapter 19 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage and Motivate Teams?" Anello uses his enthusiasm and passion to motivate a team as best he can, understanding that he also needs to break down the team into pieces and focus on each of the different personalities that contribute to the whole. 

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas.  A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series.  He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

Mike Germano on Motivating by Reflecting on Company Milestones

In Chapter 4 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, Carrot Creative social media agency CEO Mike Germano answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?" Germano does not use reflection to think on bad decisions. Instead, he reflects to think about where he has been and the story that has developed since.  He uses an example of how he can relate the story of his company to where he was and who he was with when celebrating success.

Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO Brooklyn-based social media agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut. He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

Phil McKenzie on Rebranding a Small Business

In Chapter 12 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Steps Have You Taken to Build Your Company Brand?"  After three years building his business, McKenzie realizes aesthetic steps were needed - changing the logo, updating branding topography, and redesigning the website.  These updates play into a business model evolution that includes monthly event series, greater two-way communication on the website, and free downloadable knowledge. 

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder and Global Curator of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss the current and future state of influencer culture. Prior to that, he was Managing Partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC and an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co.  He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Manager Job Skills That Become Increasingly Important

In Chapter 17 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Skills Are Becoming More Important to You as Your Career Advances?"  McKenzie finds communication skills are becoming more important.  The better he can distill complex ideas into simple, actionable messages, the better he can lead a globally distributed virtual team. 

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder and Global Curator of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss the current and future state of influencer culture. Prior to that, he was Managing Partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC and an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co.  He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Cathy Erway on How to Communicate More Effectively Online

In Chapter 7 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, writer and healthy food advocate Cathy Erway answers "How Are You Learning to Communicate More Effectively?"  Erway finds it comes down to the quality of your communication and making sure that your message is the best it can be.  She finds setting personal standards an important way to evaluate what you have said and how well you said it.  She finds she is hard on herself when evaluating how she communicates and also finds it helpful to do more with less when sharing or writing. 

Cathy Erway is a Brooklyn-based author, part-time cook, freelance writer, radio host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Elementary School Influences on Career Choices

In Chapter 4 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Childhood Experiences Have Been Most Fundamental in Shaping Who You Are Today?"  Yoon recounts learning memorization skills as a 6th grade elementary school student.  Learning to memorize and recite poetry gives Yoon an appreciation for memorization and practice she uses later in her career as a journalist and public speaker. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Improving Job Skills to Be a Better Non-Profit Leader

In Chapter 14 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?"  First, Yoon makes it a point to learn how to be a better community funder and how to better invest the funds she raises in the community.  Second, she continues to look at ways to raise funds beyond special events.  Third, as she works with Korean immigrants regularly, Yoon also focuses on improving her reading and writing to better connect with the Korean speaking immigrants she serves. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Art Director Lulu Chen on Learning to Work in Retail E-Commerce

In Chapter 8 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "What Does It Mean to Be an Art Director Working in Retail E-Commerce?"  In her online retail projects, Chen works to keep the photography simple yet useful to share the look, feel an shape of the clothes virtually with the consumer.  She shares examples how the lighting, photography and presentation can change based on the mood or presentation goals. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What does it mean to be an art director working in retail e-commerce?

Lulu Chen: So, for the projects that I’ve worked on, we try and keep things simple so that it’s easy to view and we really try and do the clothes justice. You know, we try and present the shape, the silhouette. We try and show the texture, you know, we try and show the style, but—you know, there’s a lot of things that we’re trying to get across. But, really, it’s a selling shot. So we’re trying to show how many buttons it might have, you know, if it’s a boxier fit or a slim fit, or, you know, where it would—you know, the proportions of certain things, pockets—I mean all these details, really, it’s trying to get all of that across, so that it’s a fair representation for the consumer, because you’re not there, you’re not able to tangibly touch things, but, you know, so we try and show them.

So brand to brand, it’s different. And also there are some more editorial elements to certain retail e-commerce sites. Some have simpler backgrounds and they’re against gray or white. And it really just—the focus is on the clothing or the accessories. But sometimes, you know, with the more editorialized shots, it’s really about the mood.

Lulu Chen on How Online Retail and Editorial Fashion Jobs Compare

In Chapter 9 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "How Does Working in Retail E-Commerce Compare and Contrast With the Work That You Have Done in Editorial?"  Chen notes how the teams - photographers, models, stylists, etc. can be the same as can the process.  However, the goals can be very different, as editorial goals can trend more toward aspirational brand communication whereas online retail or retail e-commerce is more functional, rooted in selling clothes that fit. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How does working in retail e-commerce compare and contrast with the work that you’ve done in editorial?

Lulu Chen: Well, the teams are the same—can be actually almost the same, you know, the talents, people do both, you know, your photographer, your hair and makeup, your models, and everybody who’s freelance. Actually, you know, even some contributors of magazines, they do both, so the process is similar in a way, depending on what you’re working on. But the actual—the goal might vary. So in editorial work, you’re more focused on this narrative and this aspirational kind of fantasy and this mood and this lifestyle you might be selling or, you know, trying to achieve.

Whereas I think in retail and in commerce, it has to be more brand specific or, you know, it has to be more pointed, you know, it’s—you’re selling. You’re selling a specific thing. You’re selling either a brand or an item or items, and specifically for me, I work on apparel, so the clothes have to look good, you know. I mean in editorial, we can move around or lay someone down, and sometimes it’s a hot mess, you know, and it doesn’t matter that things are flying around and, you know, but I think that in commerce, it has to be a little bit more functional, you know?

I think you can have fun in both editorial and in retail. 

I think it’s starting to be bridged too, you know, it’s like that whole art and commerce, and I think a lot of retail brands are doing a really good job, they’re still trying to make—they’re trying actually to be aspirational and trying to get their customer to push the boundaries or, you know, to kind of imagine this lifestyle—you know, wearing their clothes or their items or their accessories, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s still—it still has to be more functioning.

How Art Director Lulu Chen Helps Brands Tell a Story to Customers

In Chapter 10 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "As an Art Director, How Do You Help Brands Tell Their Story?"  Chen notes how brands are in effect personalities and working on brands comes down to understanding the customer, the customer lifestyle, and putting a consistent, on-brand message in place to connect with them. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: As an art director, how do you help brands tell their story?

Lulu Chen: Well, it’s really important to stay consistent, and on brand. Which basically means that you’re always answering that same question, like, “Who is the customer?” “How does this fit into the customer’s life? Her needs, her—his needs, you know, their lifestyle, their budget, even, you know. And all of the things that the target audience represents.
Once you understand the brand, and once you understand what the goals are, I don’t think it’s hard to stay on brand. It’s like understanding a personality. 

Erik Michielsen: And that’s just something that you try to figure out through conversations as a team?

Lulu Chen: So much of it is something that you grew up with. You know, there are so many brands that you already know without thinking about it, or without having to break down what that brand is, you already know it, right? I mean, think about it, you know. I think it was in an interview and they said, “Do you know this brand?” And I said, “Yes, of course, I grew up with it.” You know, we used to go to the mall and we used to shop there. Yes, you know? Yeah, so even if you don’t think about it, you know, I think you’ve been exposed to brand identities your whole life. 

Lulu Chen on How to Work With Someone Who May Feel Misunderstood

In Chapter 15 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?'  Chen loves the entertainment and fun that come with working with different personality types.  She finds being understanding and patient with people that may act differently than she does opens the doors to positive working experiences.  She finds it important to give people a chance and get to know them. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to work more effectively with different personality types?

Lulu Chen: I love working with different personality types, because it can be quite entertaining. It’s more fun, you know, you never have a boring day. I don’t know—you just go with it. I think I have a very high tolerance and I also think that a lot of times, a lot of people are misunderstood, and they might come across a certain way but, you know, you just have to give them a little bit of time and try and be understanding. I have a good friend who’s very talented and, you know, people just say, “Oh, he’s crazy,” you know. But he’s not really crazy, he just care so much and he’s so passionate so that sometimes, you know, his mood and his approach to things might come across misunderstood but he really is coming from a good place, and has the best heart.

So I think sometimes, you know, that doesn’t always come out the first time you meet somebody or work with somebody. You have to really give people a chance I think. 

Manager Advice on Creating Teachable Moments to Train Your Team

In Chapter 6 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Ken Rona answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?"  Rona talks about how he is learning to better communicate wisdom in more memorable ways.  For Rona, this means looking for teachable moments to use vivid stories, feedback, and timing to teach his young managers core job skills. 

Ken Rona is a Vice President at Turner Broadcasting, where he leads teams across advertising, sales, big data software development and business strategy.  Rona earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How are you becoming a better teacher?

Ken Rona: The part of it is you’ve got to think about how you communicate the wisdom that you have in a way that is easily remembered. And to tell stories, right? So what I wanna do is tell stories around why I’m doing something or what I was thinking about. What I’m trying to do is shift a little bit to say, here’s the punchy phrase that summarizes what I’m trying to teach you here. And also the things that I’m giving people feedback on, tends to be much more managerial. So the other day something happened where somebody said something in a meeting that probably, like one-on-one would’ve been perfectly appropriate, and instead, he said it in a large meeting and it wasn’t appropriate to do it in front of a more junior staff. And as he was saying it, the first thing as—I mean I knew where he was going, he said kind of what he meant in the first sentence and I said hold it, let’s talk about this afterwards. After the meeting, I asked him to come in to my office and I said, look, as someone at your level you can’t make those comments in front of junior staff. Like you have a responsibility now—Like, have you read the Steve Jobs book?

Erik Michielsen: Some of it.

Ken Rona: So there’s this part where he talks about the difference between responsibility between a janitor and a vice president. And the difference is that that janitor, if he can’t get in your office because he doesn’t have the key to dump your garbage, that’s reasonable. Not reasonable for a vice president to say that. Vice president’s got it. So I kind of gave him a very short version of that story I just said, look, you know, there’s—there comes times in your career where there’s a difference between responsibility and the things you can say, and it’s not gradual. It’s actually a step change. You get promoted to X, you’re in a role, your role is different, and there are totally different expectations. Now, one would like to think like it is a step change, you’re walking up the steps, so you need to kind of go through those steps in your career, and what I was saying to him was, look, you’re—you’ve just taken the next step, the stuff you said at the previous point, you can’t say that anymore. You got—your communication is different. 

So there’s kind of another piece around the teaching where I tried to make it very vivid for him. To say like I mean I told the story about the steps and—So another thing you can do even though as I say I like to tell stories, really what I’m trying to do I guess is make these teachable moments very vivid for them so they remember it. And I think, you know, for that particular incident, stopping him in the middle of the meeting, bringing him in to my office, telling him the Steve Jobs story, and then saying you know, this applies to you. I’m 100% sure he got the message. So I guess some of that is I guess another important part of the teaching is the reinforcement, with that particular case, I reinforced 4 times in like, you know, 15 minutes. But I think that’s how you create teachable moments.

Mark Graham on Finding Meaningful Work in Digital Media

In Chapter 8 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Mark Graham answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  Graham notes he works in entertainment and how his goal is to make things fun for his audience.  The challenge is to help his team filter through a crowded pop culture landscape to deliver relevant, enjoyable information they cannot find elsewhere. 

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at VH1, an MTV Networks company. Previously Graham worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media.  He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English.  

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What makes your work meaningful?

Mark Graham: Great question. I take a lot of pride in the work that I do, in the work that my team puts out, you know, I’m covering light and fluffy topics, you know, I’m not a journalist who’s traveling to Afghanistan and doing hard journalism. We’re doing things that are fun and that are diversions to people during their workday who maybe are a little bit bored and need something fun to sort of give them a little jolt of energy at the job, so in terms of meaningfulness, what I look to do with the content that I create personally and that our team produces, is to make sure things are really fun for people. 

I like it when we create pieces of content that my friends talk about, that, you know, strangers on the internet comment on, that people you don’t know share and discover and pass on to new people, that’s always been a real thrill and sort of the reason why I’m in the area that I’m in right now. That’s always been a passion of mine, you know, helping people sort of filter through a really crowded pop culture landscape, and sort of help people who have limited time, sort of figure out where they should spend their time or not spend their time. Those are the things that—They’re light and fluffy—I don’t know if I would attach a word like meaningful to it, I’m just more in a place where I like things to be fun and it’s okay to be a little bit frivolous, but also delivering information that people want and that people can’t get in other places. 

Conrad Doucette: The Best Part About Being a Professional Musician

In Chapter 3 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, musician Conrad Doucette answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?"  As a professional musician, Doucette compares playing music to getting a natural high or "runner's high."  Playing music forces Doucette to face his own self, to engage his mind, and to receive the physical adrenaline, all of which electrify and inspire him and his work. 

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for Takka Takka, which released its 3rd studio album, AM Landscapes, in late 2012.  He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts.  When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks.  Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan.