I shouldn’t be surprised that a product/service I’m brand loyal to is born and maintained out of a company culture that runs counter to typical corporate structure, but I am. It’s fascinating any time I see stuff like this articulated so well:

Instead of adding rules as we grow, our solution is to increase talent density faster than we increase business complexity. Great people make great judgment calls and few errors, despite ambiguity…We have found that by avoiding rules we can better attract the creative mavericks that drive innovation…We are mitigating the big risk technology companies face (obsolescence), by taking on small risks (running without rules).
— Netflix, excerpted from 7 Great Reasons to Work at Netflix (emphasis mine)

The whole thing reads like a manifesto for Doing Amazing Things, but the specific ability for a company to grow in size and complexity without an avalanche of bureaucratic muck is rare.

If you, as a leader, create and nurture a culture where employees must continually fall on their swords to prove their loyalty to the mission, the cause, the vision, the organization, your leadership, etc., eventually you won’t have anyone left. Your people will either burnout or simply leave. And when they fail or exit, the delusional self-fulfilling prophet in you will quietly say, “See, I told you they weren’t loyal.”

And maybe they weren’t. Or maybe all employees are not longterm relationship material. Or maybe your mission and direction sucks and they got tired of it. Or maybe they were so bloodied from all the sword hugging that they didn’t have anything left to give.

Don’t let a misplaced need for leadership affirmation confuse the loyal people with the folks just passing through. In the trenches, we all want to know our people have our back. But if the way we expect them to prove their loyalty kills them in the process, don’t blame the dead. You’re the one calling the shots.

1. The aforementioned 30th birthday
2. The Spooners move to The SC
3. My nephew Bear turns 5
4. The Armstrong Family Circus stops by our casa for a few days
5. Anywhere from 0—5 site designs I’ve been working on for clients go live

In less than a month, I turn 30.

Western culture loves assigning weighted meaning to a good round number, a gravitas beyond the simple recorded passing of time. And however right or wrong or in-between that is, I feel the weight of soon-to-be 30.

There are a lot of things I’ve said I wanted to accomplish before that birthday. Some of them have happened, some of them haven’t, a lot of them I’ve probably forgotten. But the impending milestone has me thinking about dreams, ideas, execution, legacy and body of work. And wishing I’d done more. And wanting to do more.

So I have 30 days until I’m 30 years old. And I want to do something.

Happy anniversary, my love! (Worthy of exclamation.)

It’s been an amazing two years. The best two years of my life thus far. You are the best woman/wife/friend/artist/person I know. Please never stop being so dang awesome.

Humbled and happy,
Joshua

P.S. We met on the internet. Isn’t that crazy?

1. This one
2. Or this one
3. This one, too
4. And this one
5. Also, this one

To say that this take on Sherlock Holmes looks enjoyable is to undersell it.

I know, I know. You’re probably thinking we already covered this, you weirdo. But no, again I go with the job titles thing. Call it a pet project; I thirst for complete knowledge of the topic. It is my white whale, and I am its Ahab.

Let me throw a situation out at you. A few years ago I was in one type of work environment, mainly agency-type places with a very set structure and clear hierarchy. Everyone knew the top, the bottom, and all the clearly labeled rungs in between. Then I transitioned into a different work environment, one more wide than tall, more collaborative than creatively authoritative. There aren’t many rungs, and a proclivity for climbing isn’t part of the DNA (or mine for that matter).

On paper, I’m the Creative Director at NewSpring Church. But here’s the rub: NewSpring doesn’t really have a Creative Director. And the more I think about it, I don’t think we ever have, despite the fact that I’ve held that title for half of our existence. Let me explain…

In agency world, a Creative Director usually has a design or writing background and interacts with the client to create ideas, approaches and treatments that are typically implemented by designers and copywriters on their team. They’re the filter, and often the initiator of the idea. It’s fairly clear, and intensely hierarchical. But at NewSpring, no one person does that. Or to put it better, a lot of people do that. There’s tension. There are often (much to my dismay) minor lacks of cohesion. But ultimately we share the process and burden of creative direction across a lot of roles on our team. Which is cool, especially considering we’re the “client,” too.

That brings me squarely back to the job title thing (“from hell’s heart I stab at thee!”) and my situation. At NewSpring I handle overall design, branding, some copywriting, and web design/strategy. But I’m admitting the traditional Creative Director role doesn’t exist in our environment, so what* am I?

*I have an idea of what I am, but I want to hear your feedback.