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How the Best Get to the Top
Insights into the Top Design Studios Success
16,000U.S. Census
“About half of all new establishments survive
five years”
The Small Business Administration
“Only a 1/3 will survive to 10 years”
The Small Business Administration
@
Get Out Before It’s Too Late
and other cautionary tales
Not just survivors but leaders
Digital Design Leaders
16,000
U.S. Census
16,000
U.S. Census
Vision Skills
Culture
Values
Talent
LeadershipMoney
Balance
Planning
75 interviews 45+ hrs video
225,000+ words 60+ surveys
1 long bus trip in a skirt
Qualitative & Quantitative
and we’re only half way there.
So why bother?
For one, it pays more…
and you’ll be happier…
…but only if you’re an above-average entrepreneur.
123
It only makes sense if you’re one of the best.
Do designers make good business leaders?
Nah!11%
5%
37%
47%
Possibly
Very likely
Definitely
But it doesn’t really matter what your job
description says.
DD
“Just because you’re a Dive Master, doesn’t mean you have mastered the diving business.”
- Guy Fotherby
“Just because you’re a master designer doesn’t mean you have mastered the design business.”
- Some Other Guy
Professional Business Managers
The Best Are:
"Until I was able to speak the CPA’s language, we were just
another cog in the wheel.”
- Carl White, Think Brownstone
“We hired a team of financial experts that helped us
understand how our enterprise clients do business”
- Aaron Quinn, eHouse Studio
A deep interest in the craft of running
a business.
Always improving on their skills
The Best Are:
How would you describe your
leadership skills?
Still got lots to learn 47%
16%
37% Pretty decent
This is where I shine!
“I usually like to warn people; I’m a really, really bad manager. But I’m a particularly good leader.”
- Matt Bertulli, Demac Media
Knowing what you’re good at and what needs attention
The Best Are:
Guiding their teams with vision and values
We are the very best!
“It starts with having values that are very specific, and then you
create a culture that values that.”
- Jon Lax, Teehan + Lax
“My leadership skill is visionary consensus. I provide a vision and I try to build consensus
around that vision”
- Karim Marucchi, Crowd Favorite
“Actions reveal the path. I’m here because I work fucking
hard and I can communicate.”
- Nancy Lyons, Clockwork
You inspire me to be a better person
Set a clear vision & values, then show
the way
The Best Are:
Actively involved in sales and marketing
Do you take an active role in sales?
No
5%
32%
16%
47% Yes, that’s the principles job!
Yes, but only because no one else wants to
Sometimes
“Saying you’re not in sales is an aspirational statement that has
nothing to do with reality.”
- Jennifer Dary, Plucky
Prioritize sales in good times and bad
The Best Are:
Focused but flexible
How would you describe your
leadership style?
Flexible on some things and immovable on others
Super adaptable. Call me a chameleon.
26%
74%
“I’m part of it, I get involved, to get my hands dirty, to assess things. But at the same time, I’m not a
micro-manager.”
- Neil McPhedran, Gray
Be clear and focused but be ready to adapt
The Best Are:
Evolving their Roles
“While I don’t get to write as much code as I used to, I’m becoming
increasingly comfortable and proficient in my revised role.”
- Bryan Mahoney, Dynamo
“I didn’t need to change my personality, I needed to
change my perspective on what my role was.”
- Dominic Bortolussi, The Working Group
The Best Are:
Embrace Tough Choices (but rely on advisors)
How do you make tough decisions?
Weight options then make the decision on my own
79%
21%
Discuss with advisors before moving forward
“I fully understand that I don’t have all the answers, nor will I
ever, nor do I want to.”
- Ethan Smith-Gillespie, The Program
“I’ve never really thought about myself in terms of leadership
but because I tell the truth there’s leadership in that.”
- Nancy Lyons, Clockwork
Rely on advisors and mentors to provide
perspective
The Best Are:
Curating Culture
How important is culture to your success?
Culture matters, I just don’t know how much.
79%
21%
Very important. Culture is everything.
“Putting a Foosball table in a room doesn’t create culture.
Culture is created by the people in the room at that time.”
- Warren Wilansky, Plank
“I realized the culture of the team wasn’t what I thought it should be and I realized that maybe that was because I wasn’t doing anything to shepherd it in
the direction I wanted it to go.”
- Alex King, Crowd Favorite
Gently guiding the culture without smothering it
The Best Are:
Finding balance and reducing stress
How do you find balance in your life?
What stress? I live for this
More work
Hit the bar
Exercise
Vacations
Scream and shout
Play with my kids
Other0 15 30 45 60
“As more of an introverted person I thrive on down time. So I’ll ensure that I will always have a certain
amount of time during a day or on a weekend that I can recharge myself.”
- Warren Wilansky, Plank
Building support and resources through
exercise, family and friends
The Best Are:
Building a Talent Pipeline
What is your approach to hiring new design talent?
Other
Hire young and train them
11%11%
21%37%
21%Job boards
No strategy for hiring :(
Our own network
“Hire people, not skills.”
- David Cancel, Driftt
“The core team actually seeks out other people that they want to work with and invite them in
to work on a project.”
- Carl Smith, nGen Works
Talent is like sales; you never stop working on
the pipeline
The Best Are:
Creating safe spaces for work and discussion
“There’s something lost in today’s electronic communication and that’s
the human aspect of just trying to make sure that we understand each
other; what’s important to each other.”
- Karim Marucchi, Crowd Favorite
How important is physical space to team success?
28%
72%
Somewhat Important
Very Important!
“We needed to take management into our own hands and become
proactive. Especially in communicating with the team.”
- Peter Kang, Barrell.
Safe, productive spaces to be creative
and supportive
British Cycling2010
123
David Brailsford
DD D
DD DD
DD
1%
Adapted from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
Aggregation of Marginal Gains
Adapted from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
Aggregation of Marginal Pains
British Cycling2012/13
123
Bradley Wiggins:
2012 Tour de France winner
British Olympic Team:
win 70% of cycling medals
Chris Froome:
2013 Tour de France winner
“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day;
while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.”
— Jim Rohn
My grandmother, she had that business for like 40 years. She just
still just shrugs it off. She’s like, “You’re never gonna know what
the hell you’re doing.”
— Matt Bertulli, Demac Media
