Archive for January 30, 2012

| January 30, 2012
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‘Stay patient, stay humble.’ – D.J. Allen

My first official graphic request for the purposes of marketing came from D.J. Allen 13 years ago when he worked as marketing director for HBC Publications. I’d worked for them as a freelance editorial cartoonist, so they gave me a shot at doing a graphic depicting a man leaping over a huge pile of pennies to reach a dollar bill. It was a telling graphic now that I look back on it.

D.J. left that position to start this experiment he called Imagine Marketing. I was lucky enough to be the first person he asked to join him on this journey. In those early years, Imagine Marketing made its name by being a quality-conscious boutique marketing firm that understood the value of hard work and humility. We focused on those pennies, maximized them and always gave our best. We were committed to doing things a bit differently because we wanted to build something we could be proud of. Our strategy was based on long-term thinking instead of short-term gain. D.J. set the standards early on; those standards guided this company and, along with the commitment of a loyal and talented team, we’ve been able to grow into the respected firm we are today.

My professional relationship and personal friendship with D.J. are both very important to me. His belief in me showed me that you can’t just tell people you trust them and believe in their talent. You also need to prove it to them. This requires more courage and commitment than you might think. But the proof is in the results. Time and time again, we have found that if you identify talent and create an environment that respects them and trusts them, it will yield results.

D.J. taught me to always remember to trust the capability of good people. Identify their talents and strengths – especially those that are not teachable – and strive to fill in the rest with strong work ethic and impeccable credibility. This philosophy has built the amazing team of people that inhabit our offices today.

Now that Imagine Communications has officially purchased D.J.’s shares in the firm and our professional association has come to a close, our company will always endeavor to stay focused on the foundation he put into place. D.J.’s drive and passion is mirrored in every person employed by Imagine. And we will to continue those standards as we go forward, grow and IMAGINE the possibilities.

Alex Raffi is the senior partner and creative director at Imagine Communications.

Contact Alex at araffi@weareimagine.com.

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| January 20, 2012
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Four Simple Rules

I’m not a big fan of motivational posters. For one thing, they are rarely motivating. For another, the messages tend to be dumb. I’m reminded of one I saw years ago depicting eagles soaring high over a mountaintop. The caption read, “They can because they think they can.”

That’s not technically true. They can because they’re birds. I knew a guy in college who thought he could. (I believe some type of hallucinogen was involved.) He came very close to proving my point.

The reason I mention this is because I finally saw a poster that makes sense. It was hand-lettered and hung crookedly in a client’s break room. What it lacked in artistic flair, it made up for in sheer brilliance. Here’s what it said:

  • Commit
  • Focus
  • Work Hard
  • Bounce Back

If there was ever a formula for success in business (and in life), this is it. Six words that, might possibly, hold the key to everything. Let’s take a look at each.

Commit – I know plenty of folks who flit from project to project, idea to idea. It’s tempting because the next thing on the horizon is always more enticing than the one you’re currently working on. It’s a trap, of course. Once you decide on a course of action, you’ve got to throw yourself into it 100 percent. (Not 110 percent. I’m no math whiz, but I don’t think that’s even possible.) As Goethe may or may not have said, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. … Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Focus – There’s a great line in the recent “Karate Kid” remake, in which the Jackie Chan character tells his young charge, “Your focus needs more focus.” That could be true of all of us. I’ve noticed that when I focus on one thing at a time, I accomplish all kinds of cool stuff.  Multi-tasking may be my natural inclination but focus is where the real work gets done.

Work Hard – Like Columbus searching for the New World, I’ve spent my whole life seeking a shortcut for hard work. Sadly, I’ve come up empty. Malcolm Gladwell is right; it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours to achieve proficiency at anything. And that’s just the beginning. On the other hand, it’s nice to know that increasing the amount of effort is something completely under our control. Like a basketball player in a shooting slump, we can still dive for every ball. And, over time, we’ll come up with our share.

Bounce Back – Here’s one you rarely hear about. But I believe it’s the most important of all. I happen to come from a very resilient family. As Chris Berman says on Sports Center, “You can’t stop them; you can only hope to contain them.” Through some combination of nature and nurture, I’m like that punching bag clown that keeps coming back for more (although not necessarily sporting that dopey grin). The main lesson here is to expect setbacks. Nobody skates through life unscathed. The math is basic; you just have to get up one more time than you get knocked down.

That’s it. Great lessons learned from a home-made sign. On the other wall, the client had posted another that said, “Be nice or leave.”

Maybe I’ll write about that next time.

Brian Rouff serves as managing partner for Imagine Communications. Contact Brian at brouff@weareimagine.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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