You Can't Lose!

How to run an agency? Richard has notes. Colocation over distributed. 12 year strategies. Apprenticeships. No bonuses, no profit share, no exits. Suburban campuses over city offices. This episode packs a lot of heat. We're kicking off a miniseries within the podcast this week. Over the next few weeks Richard will share his playbook for the ideal agency, and how teams can make incremental progress towards his optimal state. This week we're starting with the optimal, no-constraints, 10/10 agency playbook to have an idea our conversations are aimed at. Over the next few weeks we'll explore ways to map towards this optimal agency, but it starts here with Team, Business Models, and Incentives.

Richard meets his new best friend Jay Fanelli in this episode of You Can't Lose! Jay is an agency owner, e-commerce company owner, and enterprise design leader with a unique perspective on how teams and businesses grow and evolve. A self described "vibes" over "numbers" manager, the vibes are strong in this episode with Jay this week. What was it like living through 2021's most successful IPO to date? What did Jay learn along the way? Design leadership with a splash of F1 talk? Let's go!

This week Richard and Joe focus on the conscious and unconscious decisions that shape work culture. Why does your team use Slack? Why not Discord? Whatever happened to Campfire? How about Figma, and Notion, and Basecamp, and Google docs, and where was that question someone asked you? Was it in Slack Thread? Good lord then it might be lost to antiquity for all time. Intentionality is one of the central themes of the podcast and today we go deep into the choices we make, and don't make, and how they define the shape and texture of things. Like Richard's upper lip.

This podcast episode features Jon Lax discussing his experience at Facebook, the inner workings of Meta spatial computing team, Teehan+Lax acquisition, value-based pricing, the unexpected success of iOS sticker sheet, career transitions in design studios, and embracing uncertainty in seeking inspiration for new ventures.

Dan Ostrower from 3rd Horizon discusses the value of insider/outsider perspectives in client services. Topics include sales leadership, innovation levels, and designing 3 party agreements. The podcast explores team chemistry, client relationships, and balancing personal values in professional services.

Artist Tracey Halvorsen shares insights on how relationships influence client engagements. They play a guessing game on client budgets. The conversation delves into the dynamics of client services and the importance of nurturing relationships in business. Richard drops a 'fack'. It's a mix of laughter, tears, and deep life discussions.

Richard and Joe discuss meaningful connections, reject the idea of scaling, and advocate for intentional solutions. They navigate in-person events post-COVID and highlight the efficiency of email communication. The podcast explores guest dynamics, dark patterns on LinkedIn, and the transition to in-person events. Additionally, it delves into balancing work and personal care, EOS in business operations, and embracing simplicity and core principles.

In a very special Valentine's Day episode join Joe and Richard for a deep dive into the complexities of male friendships, personal growth, and the evolving landscape of professional relationships. They explore the significance of nurturing genuine connections outside of work and the impactful role of friendships in personal and professional development. Listen as two friends talk about friendship and about being friends. Also! Plans are hatched to organize an event of some kind...

It's Story Time again on the pod! Richard has a sordid story about browser tabs, and then Joe has a story about a client video conference pitch fumble. From there we unpack pitching. It's so weird! Why is this the way? Richard has notes.

Jon Lax of Teehan + Lax and Meta fame is our first brave Story Time contributor. Thank you Jon! Jon is the best and his story weaves a client pitch nightmare that will sound familiar to many, and haunt your dreams. We screw up all of the value Jon brings by talking about the Vision Pro release, the nightmare of Vision Pro personas, whether or not we are merely meat spaceships piloting the alien flora in our guts around, and much more. We do get back on point and talk again about the value of ensuring you're solving the right problems. If you focus on solving the right problems, and find alternative solutions for clients for all the other problems, you'll provide the best value you can, the way only you can.