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Sep 27, 2026
[Volume 1 Issue 1.3] BEN JAMES: His First 30 Days as Crispin's New CCO (part 3)
[Volume 1 Issue 1.3] BEN JAMES: His First 30 Days as Crispin's New CCO (part 3)
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Transcript
0:00
We can be done if you want. I, I don't know if you meant to, but this was, uh, that was such a perfect cap to the arc of this whole, like the, the things that you've been talking about, and the come by and see.
0:11
Like that was-- I mean, it la- it's gonna land. Like s- I think it's gonna land great. I mean, dude- That's-- I mean, how much is that...
0:18
I mean, 'cause that's also, that's bananas that that's actually how this is working out, and you're thinking about a very singular moment of you announcing your role.
0:26
I mean, not, I know that's not the whole thing, but I totally hear you on like that's the thing that happens when certain people change jobs, and you're gonna like, you have your arms around it, you're gonna funnel that [chuckles] into something useful for the role and the, and the job.
0:37
That's crazy.
0:37
[upbeat music] When we, when we talk, it's like 4:00 there.
0:59
What's the... Like when do things wrap up there usually? Is everybody-- Are you the only one there? Like, uh, is people still working? Well, summer Fridays it's quiet, you know. Yeah. Um,
1:11
you know, the last couple times there's been one or two people here. Today there's nobody. Uh, there- Yeah... our chief of staff was here for a while. Hmm. Um, but at the moment, um, it's me.
1:24
Uh, Monday through Thursday, there's a full buzz going on, and, um- Okay... as we do newsroom social projects, like this'll pick up and- Hmm... possibly even change a little bit in terms of like how that works. Um,
1:41
it's funny, like Crispin today has an office in New York, an office in Houston, and an office in LA. Oh.
1:51
And there are people in Colorado, there are people in North Carolina, there are people in, uh, Seattle, in a, in a whole bunch of other places. Cincinnati. Hmm. Um, lots of different places.
2:04
Um, so we've been saying, you know, today Crispin's in a few offices, but mostly we're in aisle nine. Like we're- [chuckles] Yeah...
2:14
you know, we're, we're out in the world really experiencing things and like, you know, we have people dispatched into,
2:24
you know, inside organizing and finding in places where the products and things are lived and experienced and bought. Yeah. Um, the other day,
2:37
uh, Maggie Malik was here, and Charles here works on New Balance, so Maggie, Charles, and I went New Balance shopping. You know, to see- Really?... you know, what's, what's buying New Balance like right now.
2:54
Down- And that's what it is? Like you need that day like, day-to-day pulse of the brand. Is that what that is? Like going into the, the store? It certainly helps. And it, you know, um,
3:05
I think when you work on anything, you should be a naturally curious person- Yeah... in this industry. Um, we immerse ourselves in what we do. I mean, I, I'll...
3:22
W- Right now we're getting ready for a meeting with DSW and, uh- Hmm... I took my family shopping at DSW, and I took like 200 photos, you know? Like- Yeah...
3:36
you know, some of these are the, are the photos and like, you know, we're thinking a lot about that and like what is that experience like, you know? Yeah.
3:46
What, uh, I've really the, the techs have been fun, too, like actually getting the day-to-day of what y'all are... How, how, how many people are there? Like how big is the office? Like how many people are actually there?
3:56
Um- Ballpark-ish... there's like 35 in New York- Okay... that come in. Um- Nice... you know, on a regular day there's, you know, 25 to 30 people in here. Hmm.
4:08
'Cause you may have some people traveling on a shoot or some people, you know, on PTO or- Yeah... somebody's dog has a root canal or, you know, something like that, you know? But like, um- Yeah...
4:21
it's set up really to be an, a, a social newsroom. Like Crispin's ha- been having some good momentum, so we've been moved into a new space that is fully able to realize kind of all of Newsroom Social.
4:37
That's, yeah, and that, and that's, I mean, that's where you're at right now, right? Like that's the new space that you're talking about? Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Yeah, I, I mean, I'm, I'm looking at it right now.
4:44
It's, it's like very much newsroom vibes. Some of the images I've sent you, newsroom vibes. There's one in particular that, you know, when you look at that image,
4:55
you can see out into the world that we're looking at out our windows, and you can- Yeah... see the gathering around the insights. Um- Yeah... I don't think a lot of organizations are taking
5:11
the same value in the pause as what we're going for here, which is to stop, think about what are the messages that are coming through with us,
5:22
sit down and really talk about that, and that's what Chop Up The Algorithm is about. And we've, we've found in, you know, about four weeks of doing it, that it has stopping power in and of itself.
5:35
We've had people visit and go, "What is this? I'd like to- Hmm... be part of this." We have people hand raising and saying, "I wanna see it." And we're spending, right now, 30 minutes a week really looking at it.
5:46
But, um, it's through that practice we're able to formalize that and even commercialize it and like make it very specific as trend spotting insights, available information that clients need. Yeah.
6:02
Okay, so I mean, we can get into it then. So this is the first one. So I think this is... I think to me, this is definitely the most recognizable thread.
6:08
I'm curious to start there since this is, just to frame it, it's- August 28th. Honestly, it's the end of the month.
6:14
You've had, like, the full month now, kinda the last full week of the month in roll, and this is definitely the biggest puzzle piece that it seems like is the most consistent and the one that you're focused on as a priority.
6:25
Are there, like, now that you've done several of these and you've talked about kinda what you're hoping to get out of it, what are you getting out of it so far?
6:32
Like, what are you seeing so far after a handful of these and kinda the backside? Is it, is it start-- Are the insights already kind of flowing into your work?
6:38
Is it still kinda gathering and seeing how the process works? Like, where is it right now a month in? Yeah, the insights are flowing into work. Um, we're pausing and we're looking at what people are seeing. Um,
6:51
we're finding that when we put five people into a space with each other and they've each printed something that inspires them or maybe some dominant theme in what they're seeing in their feeds,
7:04
everybody's experiencing something different. Yeah. And so we're all learning new things about culture and the world together.
7:13
Um, we're seeing the way that messages are actually constructed and felt in, you know, social and mobile spaces. So, you know, we've been creating, like,
7:26
really blueprints of, like, you know, exactly the way that those things are constructed. Yeah. And so we can really confidently see the beginning, middle, end of the kinda stuff that we need to make.
7:39
We have built all the specs for how that works, and so it's enabled us to move very quickly. Um, Chop Up The Algorithm is helping us get to know each other.
7:51
Um, you know, I'm in a new role with this and bringing a lot to the story of having experienced, you know, some of the things that made it the Crispin philosophy that clients want. Yeah. And so
8:06
have seen very quickly in 30-minute sessions, you know, one a week, um, the interests and dreams and passions and ideas of these people that we employ to go and work on, you know, businesses. Um,
8:25
it's, it leads us to discussions about, uh, photographers and artists that we're inspired by. It leads us to discussions about creators that we're inspired by. It's giving us a very expansive edition- Yeah...
8:40
or a, a very expansive idea of what, uh, creators are. Like,
8:47
what's surprised me is people are bringing in things from Substack or blogs or other parts of the internet that aren't necessarily considered the core, you know, five or six social platforms, but are starting to be more, "Hey, this is where the message is, and then this is where things are going on."
9:06
So that practice has led to even a more expansive approach to the kinds of places that we can activate in and do very inventive things in, but also it's created an openness to
9:24
get the data and insights of, like, where are people interested in receiving and taking these messages. And so, um- Yeah... it's served a lot of purposes. Um, you know, I think that, um, the world
9:41
in the pandemic, I think became this necessary sort of workflow pass one thing to the next. Even very agile places may have become- Hmm... baton passed about things. Mm-hmm.
9:57
And some of that was done in the name of efficiency, and if you could look at the data, where does one organization drift or another can be based on if you let the data lead exclusively, you know, you can end up
10:14
in a place that you didn't really intend to go. Yeah. You know? And, um, Chop Up The Algorithm is a way to get people to pause and talk. You know- Yeah...
10:26
there's a side benefit to it that's really kinda interesting is, um, the other thing we've noticed is that, like,
10:35
when we're not having to send each other links of the things that each of us are interested in, it doesn't then affect the content that we're seeing, so we're all continuing to have- Oh, interesting. Yeah...
10:46
other experiences. Like, we're not opening things up. It's not understanding that we're even connecting these things. Yeah. That maybe they haven't figured out that, you know,
10:57
we're just screen grabbing this stuff and sending it to a printer. They haven't let the algorithm hunt that far for us, you know? Like- Yeah. That is- So it's pretty cool, you know? Yeah.
11:07
I was curious, and, and this might be in the same vein as that, but I, I was curious 'cause it sounds like there's a lot of success, and like you've already pointed to, it's like there's a lot of culture here, there's a lot of team building, but you're also giving-- you're getting, like, business insights and you're implementing.
11:19
Um, were there any, like-- Were there things that you just weren't expecting at all coming out of this?
11:22
'Cause I know this isn't the first time you've done this type of thing with teams, but is there something in this past month with, with Chop Up The Algorithm- Well-... specifically that you weren't expecting?
11:31
This is the first time that I've ever done it in this way. It's been invented anew for these people. Um- Okay. Yep. It was as a primary objective to get to know the people as a new CCO. Yeah.
11:49
Um, I stepped back and I said, "You know, I could do 30 one-on-one sessions that are 30 minutes at a time and say that I've learned something and that's it," and we did that.
12:04
But at the same time could say, "I'm gonna do sessions with groups where we learn together and how do we actually have a team dynamic?" And that's been very good. I think it's available
12:20
In a, in an actual model for clients to see, we are inviting clients- Yeah... who do it with us now. Like, there's been, um,
12:31
you know, business leaders and growth leaders inside of the organization that are noticing and are saying, "We're gonna make these sessions- Huh... available to clients. We're gonna be doing that." Um,
12:44
one thing that surprised me is the way we did it is we, we didn't put it in a typical meeting space. We put it right in the middle of the agency where there's really- Hmm...
12:56
a lot of traffic going from one place to the next, you know? And that was purposeful? Yes. Yeah. Um, and it was purposeful based on the, you know, the space that we have available to us.
13:09
And we did the same thing in the Houston space. Okay. Um, a high traffic area where people are crossing, and it's more community oriented, and it's not really declared the space to have a conference or meeting.
13:26
It's not declared- Yeah... the space to sit down at a computer terminal and have, you know, one experience. It's really in the middle cross-section of the agency. Yeah.
13:38
One thing that surprised me is we've had visitors come by, and they saw it, and they said, "Can we come back to do this?" [chuckles] "Can we be part of this?" And it was like,
13:51
yeah, and it was simply just explaining what it is. We-- They were going, "What, what's going on here?"
13:56
And we said, "Oh, well, we're taking screen grabs of what inspires us, and we're printing it out, and we're talking about it.
14:04
And in particular, we're taking pictures of what inspires us from our algorithms or from just experiences in the world."
14:14
So we've started bringing in pictures from the retail space, pictures from out of home, pictures from amusement park rides, um- Yeah... you know, pictures from signs that we see in the world, but then stories.
14:31
And then we sit down, and we have storytelling. Um, there's one other really cool benefit that it's added. It is intended. It's intentional. I was surprised at how quickly it was taken up. Um- Huh...
14:45
certainly- Like atten- you mean, like, attendance or... No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I, uh, I was surprised how quickly-- Like, for me, strategically,
14:54
I wanted it to be something where people could raise their hands and be part of something- Hmm... and be able to come over and engage maybe with someone they haven't met with before.
15:07
That happens in any large group of people. And I was surprised to see that immediately that that happened. Um- Hmm... and it happened mu- It, it was intended, but it happened much faster than I expected.
15:21
Do you think the biggest value so far, just, like, literally as of today, kind of, you know, f- four weeks in now, is the biggest value from this, all considered, the, like, team building cultural people side so far?
15:33
I know you're getting insights already, but how would you kinda weigh 'em at the moment? I think it is because, um, the Crispin philosophy works best when it's people coming together to problem solve. I mean- Hmm...
15:48
we are pretty good at building planes while we, while we fly them around here, you know what I mean? Yeah. And we're not, we're not complaining about that, you know?
15:56
And, um, that's the job to be done, and I think that that's the inventiveness behind this that's always actually powered it. And so, um,
16:06
yeah, I think in any environment where you have people, you know, on lots of different, you know, sorts of terminals in different places, maybe they get used to just passing each other messages through, you know, you know, Teams channels and stuff like that.
16:23
Yeah. And that has a purpose, and that's good, but, like, just a little bit of pause in the week to spend time with each other and intentionally focus on
16:34
spaces that inspire us, that are the exact context that we are asked to deliver on so very much- Hmm... means that we're figuring out a lot about how we work together. Yeah.
16:47
That's, that's really cool that you're already seeing that pay off. And you, and you've mentioned this, I mean, every time we've talked so far along this, this kinda check-in.
16:53
You've mentioned the thought or the strategy, the idea that you're thinking or that you're talking about right now as far as, like, bringing clients into, literally into the office more.
17:02
Like, you've talked about it several times now. And I'm curious because you also just talked about them now seeing these sessions and wanting to be part of it. Was that, was that just,
17:11
was that just good luck that that's how that happened?
17:13
Or was it part, it was like, are you meaning to kinda bring them in and put them around these kind of, of, like, processes and culture building things just so that they can start understanding the culture?
17:22
Like, is that how you're thinking through it, or was that just kinda good luck at the moment? It was intentional, but I'd say that it's more strategic with, like, an agnostic approach. So- [chuckles]...
17:35
you know, strategically, I just pay attention a lot to the way that we use space. You know? Um, we invest in these spaces. We invest in the time that we spend in these spaces, and there are places where
17:54
you can use it to your advantage. And some things that are questions, you know, can be easily answered with spatial design.
18:04
So, uh, the example really here is what I did learn even from the growth people and from other people who work here,
18:12
today when you say a Cr- you know, "I work at Crispin," or, "That's where I'm from," it's, it's pretty common to get a question back of, "What's going on over there?" And so our answer is, "Come by and see us." Right.
18:26
And we've done come by and see us a couple times now. And so I have channels prepped that's collaborators come by and see us.
18:34
I have channels prepped that are clients come by and see us, and we've now designed those to go- How do we make sure someone gets through security? [chuckles] Like- Yeah... where do we hang their coat?
18:46
Like, where are we gonna put their jacket? What do we want them to see about our story coming in? What do they, what do we want them to feel about the capability, newsroom social, package design, creative media?
18:59
And come into a space that they can be inspired. And so, um, we've had collaborators say, "So what's going on at Crispin?" And then I've said, "Well, come by and see us," and they've done it.
19:12
And they come in, and we sit, and we spend an hour and say, "Well, it's 30 minutes about you, 30 minutes about us," and we just have a conversation. And we're accomplishing a lot in those- Hmm... conversations. Like,
19:26
just, just like letting it, letting, letting the room breathe a little bit. You know what I mean? It's like, um... And so when people ask, "What's going on at Crispin?" We're saying, "Come by and see us."
19:37
And, um, we're, we're, we're very excited to invite people into, into the way that we're seeing the world. Yeah, I mean, this is, this is so cool 'cause it's...
19:46
I mean, again, the purpose of this and us talking like this o- over the weeks, I've-- I remember you talking about this as a thought, like, a few weeks ago, and, like, your first kinda, like, things that you were working on.
19:58
I mean, it was already in process, but I remember you talking about, like, as you were starting to kinda get into the work of this. And now a few weeks ahead, you've had people come through that system.
20:05
I mean, that, that's experience design, right, too?
20:07
That's not-- I mean, you're, like, you're trying to end to end really kinda design how you want them to, well, experience your brand and the people and the, the space, like you said.
20:15
Crispin taught me so much of how I learned the craft of marketing, and so much of it is contextually based for Crispin. So much of it is audience first for Crispin. Um- Hmm...
20:31
because a, a really good example is I learned the craft on out of home a, a lot, and a lot of that is about, okay, well, where is that message? Where are people gonna be receiving it? Where are they coming from?
20:47
Where are they going to? How many of them are there? Where it... You know. Yeah. What are they feeling in that moment? So
20:54
the message that you put on the highway leading to the US Open feels different in that traffic jam than it does if you put the same message on the highway going up I-35, you know, in the middle of the country. You know?
21:11
Yeah. And so, um, this is a creative media arts laboratory. Hmm. Like, that is what it is and has been since the beginning, and
21:24
I think when clients come looking for the Crispin thing, and I, I knew this from having left Crispin long ago and having so many different agencies and clients be very, very curious about, like, how did that work?
21:42
Like, what, what was that, you know? Hmm. It, it's all about context, curiosity, ambition, inventiveness, and doing
21:55
the most creative thing possible where the most business growth is possible. Yep. And that's why we have media and creative together. That is why we're good at newsroom social.
22:12
That is why we're good at packaging and labeling and things like that, because we think of the way it's gonna look on the shelf and the way that it's gonna feel in that context, physical or digital.
22:24
We think of the way that the message is gonna be received whenever it's felt in social. We think of the way that it's gonna be felt in these other places. So when I thought about this job, I thought very much about
22:40
knowing people are curious what's going on with Crispin, and I figured that if we made it a place that we could bring people into the insights and into the experience just very simply and casually,
22:56
we could have a, uh, a discussion that's really about their business and, like- Hmm... you know, like, what can we do with that? And, and separated from industry noise about all of the things that is industry noise.
23:10
Like there's- Yeah... there's-- We have an abundance of industry noise that, you know, is, is available on LinkedIn. You know what I mean? It's like- Yeah...
23:20
again, clients that really want creative problem-solving, want inventive approaches, want innovation to be the answer in the way that we come up with things, and that can be inventive in the way that we create a production or inventive in the way that we- Hmm...
23:37
go to market. Um, we have that built into our bones and, and, um- Hmm... this is a way of, of just having people experience that. It's very simple. It's, it's commercial artistry.
23:55
It's let's put it on a wall and walk around in it together, and it's a collaborative process. It's, you know, um... I've heard in five client meetings this week with us, they're going, "You're an extension of our team."
24:08
Yeah. And, and that's the point. Is-- I mean, how-- Where is-- These client relationships, I would imagine, especially with kinda the cutting edge and, like, pushing the boundaries in the work that you're trying to do,
24:20
I would imagine the relationships and the trust are-- those are everything, right? And this is part of that approach to build that and continue that and keep that. Yeah. I mean, um,
24:30
there is a, a, an amazing group of clients that are part of the Crispin ex- experience right now. Uh,
24:38
DSW, Samsung, Ken's, which- Makes Sticky Fingers Smokehouse, you know, barbecue sauce and, um, Kogi hot sauce. A whole bunch of great clients. And New Balance, American Eagle.
24:55
What this kind of method really takes off is we are an extension of the team, and what that requires is that you understand their business and you continually show up with ideas that are trying to push them forward.
25:10
We have one client, um, who said to-- We were just in a, you know, there were two of us and one of them this week, and they were saying, "You are an extension of our team.
25:23
Never get discouraged about us saying no to something, because every time you bring something progressive, it pushes us to think about how could we make these kinds of things possible."
25:38
And they're like- And this, this was them saying this to you in the room? Like, this was the feedback that they were giving? Yeah. Literally said that.
25:43
They were like, "If we say no to something, we're not saying no to the experience. We're, we're saying, 'Oh, hey, can you shape it this way, that?'" And they were saying, "Every time
25:55
you have an experience with us where something isn't happening, you learn more about us and we learn more about you, and we can make these things happen." Like, that's how trust- Yeah... really gets built. And so
26:12
I think that that
26:14
can be discouraging if you approach everything as just the media problem, because, you know, the media practice is different in that, like, our performance media team is doing a whole lot of different creative expressions and a lot of iterations on that very, very quickly.
26:29
Mm. And that's extremely successful. Like, it's working very well, but it's like the studio process actually takes form in the way that we distribute and express the message as it goes along. And so
26:43
in the, that process for us, we learn from it quickly, and we adapt to what's needed next. Yeah.
26:51
But in things where, you know, we're being asked for innovation, package design, you know, newsroom, social things, they find that, you know, we solve problems, you know.
27:02
And then they y- they're like, "Hey, well, if you tweak this or move that way, you solve a problem for us getting it through." And- Mm... that comes with the relationship, you know? And so
27:13
we don't get discouraged by that stuff. It, you know, it's, it's, uh, it's an important part of the process to learn from each other. And in some of the things where
27:26
sometimes we think we're-- It's like, man, are we, are we getting anything done? That's-- Actually, clients are having discussions with us that they're going, "Oh, no. We, we, we appreciate this-" Huh "...
27:39
so very much when you show up with these thoughts because you understand our business and you're pushing us to do things that we want to do," you know? And so, um- Yeah...
27:50
I think one thing that's exciting about joining is that the Crispin story is so strong, it comes with so many examples. It's, you know... It's like, is there anybody that was there when this or that happened?
28:04
And there's so much of it of like, some of those things I was, you know? And, and- Yeah... um, can see, you know, the way that we, the way that we did it, you know. And now we're building it for,
28:19
you know, today's media environment, today's talent market, today's clients' expectations. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. I j- I just have one more thing, and I'm d- We can
28:29
wherever you wanna go, but I have o- I just wanted for one thing. So month in, right? We talked about when we first started talking, like, kinda what are, what's your focus in the next few weeks?
28:37
Like, what are your priorities in this first month or whatever? Your first month is done now, and you have, you know, now your, your 60-day mark and your 90-day mark.
28:44
Kinda looking further down the road now, now that you've been in the seat for a month, what are some, what are some kinda top of minds, things on your radar, priorities moving forward?
28:54
Yeah, I mean, the, you know, the steps, get to know the people, get to know the clients, affect the work. Um- Yeah... you know, not come in with all the answers when so much is going well. Um- Mm...
29:08
but come in with the ability through listening sessions to really listen to, hey, where, where are things going on where in the system itself we could make, you know, adjustments?
29:22
Um, where within the system itself can we make optimizations or changes? Yeah. So, um, implementing some of those. We also did an interesting thing with this, which was, you know, um,
29:36
I come from within the Stagwell world, and I knew a lot about it going in. And so, um, we've given ourselves our own pause to be able to actually design for the story that we wanna tell. So when we do
29:51
reveal to some that I'm here in old friends, dormant network, client friends, collaborators, I know that when they reach out and say, "Well, what's going on at Crispin?" I'll be able to go, "Come by and see us."
30:07
So the thing has been designed so that when people are like, "Hey, man, I'm in town." Yeah. Like, "What are you up to? Can we go to coffee or breakfast?" I'm gonna go, "Well, I'm at Crispin now. Come by and see us."
30:23
And so what we'll focus on is bringing clients, collaborators, and each other into the space to spend the time to dream. Like, when I got into this very space, you know,
30:40
about 30 days ago, everyone here was entering it for the first time too. Yeah. You know, there had been other groups and things that were a part of it, but we just walked around and we were like, "Yeah, this is gonna be
30:55
a little home for us," you know? And, and so how are we gonna do this? So we've made it possible that when people ask that, it'll happen.
31:02
I've taken new leadership positions at different places over time, or we've announced those things, and, um, what does happen is that you get notes- Yeah...
31:14
from clients, network friends, old colleagues, people you haven't talked to in a while, and they're, they're curious. And
31:23
sometimes they're looking for new partners, sometimes they're nookie- looking for new employment, um, sometimes they're looking for new collaborations.
31:32
And so I, I don't think we always prepare for that as thoughtfully as we should. This has been prepared for.
31:42
The question we know is people are curious about Crispin, and if you're truly interested, you know, and we should be talking, we're gonna make it possible for you to come in and just
31:57
sit with us and let's talk or meet with us and let's talk. Like we're gonna-- we need to make space to let that happen because, um, we expect the results to be inventive and remarkable. Yeah. I don't know,
32:12
uh, we can be done if you want.
32:14
I, I don't know if you meant to, but this was, uh, that was such a perfect cap to the arc of this whole, like the, the things that you've been talking about and the come by and see, like that was-- I mean, it la- it's gonna land.
32:25
Like s- I think it's gonna land great. I mean, dude- That's, I mean, how much is that...
32:30
I mean, 'cause that's also, that's bananas that that's actually how this is working out, and you're thinking about a very singular moment of you announcing your role.
32:38
I mean, not, I know that's not the whole thing, but I totally hear you on like, that's the thing that happens when certain people change jobs, and you're gonna like, you have your arms around it, you're gonna funnel that [chuckles] into something useful for the role and the, and the job.
32:49
That's crazy. Definitely keep it rolling if you'd like, 'cause we can keep talking about this. Like- Oh, yeah... um, it is intentional. It's for, for me, it is my creative practice. Hmm.
33:06
It has intent to it. It doesn't necessarily mean I can tell you exactly
33:16
what the color of the couch cushions is gonna be, you know, unless I have a good reason that the couch cushion is gonna be the most important part of it. Yeah. But if I set sights on
33:29
the most important part of things is getting to know people, the most important part is them getting to know us, a component of that is getting to know me, a component of that is getting to know our clients. Like,
33:43
then I start to look for available materials, available curiosities, available ambition. And so- Hmm... I absolutely said this is about curiosity and ambition.
33:58
This is about being different, distinctive, inventive, and breakthrough. Started to notice really keying in on the inventive part. Still had to go through the process of a discovery of listening to everyone. Spent,
34:12
you know, 30 one-on-ones with time with people. Yep. One thing I did there that I had never really considered before, um, is I was like, "Okay, I'm joining as a new leader,
34:28
and it will be helpful if those people are able to use a recap as a way for them to be heard, and I'll also be transparent- Hmm... with them of, 'Hey, I'll s- I'll share these recaps with other executive leaders.'" So
34:46
when I met with people in one-on-ones, what I did not expect is I didn't exactly know, okay, I'll ask them to do recaps, but I started doing it straight away somehow, like naturally. Hmm.
35:01
I did ask for it formally in the very first email. Like, "Hey, when we talk, we'll do that." I was surprised at the, at the, uh, at the percentage of compliance. Sure. Yeah. Like, like
35:14
people did it in a really transparent and open-minded way, and they covered all kinds of topics. And we've been able to take those details and build it as a discovery and a definition of what do we do. And
35:31
it was like, okay, yes, we're gonna double down on this is a platform for inventiveness, 'cause these people are up for this.
35:38
[chuckles] We're gonna continue to say that curiosity and ambition are welcome, and we're gonna continue to make it possible for great things to happen when people express curiosity and ambition. Hmm.
35:51
In the discussion that we were having, we talked a lot about lots of different chapters that have happened in the past, and we said--
36:04
We came out of the process and we said, "If an experience for us in the past is gonna be good for us in the market today, we're gonna use that experience in the market." Hmm.
36:18
"But if an experience for us in the past is holding us back because we're just talking about some way that things used to be, we need to let it go and we need to move on." And people have embraced that. So- Yes...
36:33
I wrote this thing where I just said, um, "Relentless reinvention is a feature, not a bug." And people went, "Yeah." Maggie Malek went, "Yeah." Because that is what the industry is doing, you know? Yeah.
36:46
And, and so it's like, look, you have the skills that you have that you bring to what you're doing. So for me, it's always been- Discovery, definition,
37:00
design a solution, try it, learn from it, optimize. Yeah. It, it's a, it's a, you know, it's a 5D design thinking kind of a process. And so- Yeah... it is though.
37:12
It's kinda cool the way that it's, it's pretty cool the way it's worked. It's-- And, and you went through- I think it's fantastic... it happening. Yeah. Yeah.
37:19
And I think what-- the craziest thing to me now that we're n- I mean, this has been the best part, the, the past eight minutes of what you've been saying.
37:25
I think it's fascinating that the way that you've been talking about it this past, like, handful of conversations,
37:32
up until just now when it kinda, when you, I don't know, packaged it the way that you did it, I didn't even realize that it was as-- I didn't realize that this whole thing is part of how you approach the work and your process personally.
37:44
Yeah. Because like-- Yeah. But-- And I think it's f- I don't know, I think it's interesting because I-- that wasn't even-- [chuckles] The way that you talk about these things in the day-to-day sometimes, it's, uh,
37:58
you're just-- it f- it feels like you're so, like, in the moment of the work.
38:01
It's not-- Like, you've never really kinda talked about the broader umbrella that you're kinda putting all these things within, which is what it seems like there is for you. But it just seemed like your day-to-day
38:11
kinda flow of the work more than, like, strategy, which is, uh... And I don't know if it's been-- [sighs]
38:18
I don't-- It's just an interesting thing to not hear somebody kinda talk about it in the context of, like, "This is what I'm trying to do."
38:24
But instead, you've just been kinda talking about literally the components of it and the pieces of it, but you've been operating in this, like, process, like you said.
38:30
W- What, what I'm trying to do is have Crispin be its best. Crispin influenced me in such a way that I could practice it in so many different places, and so- Huh...
38:42
being able to bring back those experiences and then having had those experiences in other places is a value that helps the clients here, the people here, the work here. And
38:53
so I think that, that, that, that combination of things is unique. And for at least some period of time, that's gonna be a unique selling point- Hmm... so with the way that we go about it. But
39:06
it is very clear to us, you know? Um, it's, it's clear that this is a platform for invention. I've always had-- If you're curious and, and you're ambitious, I've got a lot of time for that.
39:21
There was, there was one one-on-one that I had, uh, with Bea Lalonde, who is our, um, VP of Data and Technology. She's in Houston. Hmm. And
39:36
in our first discussion, we talked a lot about the way we spend time, and it was fascinating. Like, she is a creative partner already. It's, it's incredible. Huh. Um, love talking with her. And then
39:54
this and other people, I sent it to them, a picture of it, and, you know, we're gonna put a flower in this water bottle, thus making it a vase.
40:08
We are-- We have now invented it into being a vase rather than a water bottle. Yeah.
40:13
And through that story, I was talking to her about how this object is a story, and then everything that we've chosen and curated for this space has a story behind it. And she said-- It was really a beautiful thing.
40:25
She, she said, um, "Can I approach you with an observation- [chuckles] Mm-hmm... and make room for that?" And I was like, "Yes. Good, good or bad, go for it." And she goes, "You see stories in everything." She goes, "You
40:44
see things in what's happening in the world. You see stories in everything." And I said, "This is a place where I learn that," you know? And, and, um,
40:54
I'm the son of an architect, and, and then my mom was in office management. My stepmom was in, um, you know, counseling. Hmm. Um- Hmm... and so I, from a young age, I learned about,
41:09
uh, designing space so that communities could take part in it. I learned about what are the challenges when people come to a space together. How do they talk to building operations about that kind of stuff?
41:22
And then what is the human condition? And so I've told- Hmm... these stories my whole life. And so, you know, she said, "Well, you know, you're turning this water bottle into a vase and telling the story of truth."
41:34
I said, "Yeah. Well, truth was something invented at Crispin, which was built on showing that sometimes marketing is used to lie." [chuckles] And it's a thing that exists in the world that
41:49
I visited the Truth Initiative headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2023 to work on how to put them in gaming platforms. Hmm.
41:58
And that exists today, a building full of people working on making sure that we, you know-- It says, uh, "Inspiring lives free from smoking, vaping, and nicotine."
42:10
Like, that exists today out of an invention that happened at Crispin. And, you know, the-- I find the idea of that to be very inspiring. And, um, so she said, "You see everything as a story."
42:24
And she said, "But in a way that I've never encountered anyone."
42:29
And, and she put it so clearly and, and I've had a lot of people tell me, they're like, "You're like a, you're like a category of one type of mind about this stuff." And I'm like, "Yeah. I, I think from the way I grew up
42:44
personally and the way that I grew up professionally, I, I was influenced on, on, on exactly that." Yeah. Do you feel that-- Do you think that about yourself? Do you feel that? Does that resonate?
42:54
Like, is that how you f- think about yourself? Yes. I- I've built my life around storytelling
43:07
in the professional sense, built it around storytelling through many, many, many kinds of methods- Mm-hmm... uh, in order to help advise, guide, build programs for brands so that we could, you know, help them gain
43:24
commercially or help them- Yeah... move people in a new direction or new way.
43:31
So professionally was there, and then yes, certainly, um, my life is filled with really good stories today, and then stories that I learned from, you know, that are like things that
43:48
I wanna always try to do better, you know? Um- [chuckles] I, I try to pass on those experiences to people when they're interested in, in knowing about it because
44:03
it's just, you know, being able to hand it on to somebody. But I guess also when I think about it in the Crispin context, um,
44:12
there were 25 creatives that wrapped their arms around me in a few ways back then that, um, helped me see things, and we did it, we did it through the work, and, um, we made some special things. And
44:28
that's kind of what we are today, you know? So- That's so rad. Yeah. It's- That's so cool... dude, I mean, like, look, and thank you for doing this and being so interested and going so thoroughly into it.
44:42
Everything becomes this, you know, like you are looking for like the raw sort of like actual thing, and like we'll figure out all the pieces, yada, yada. But like- Yeah... um, nobody really does that.
44:55
Everything has to be like manicured down to like the corporate sentence and stuff. And it's like- Yeah... I learn by articulation, so the process of doing this with you has been very special.
45:07
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