How I work, 1 of 3: Building for AI

First, recognize expertise.

Curiosity about voice-driven interfaces drew me from AWS to Alexa in late 2022. I joined at the advent of a new product, Alexa Themes, that aligned to my background as a high-volume studio builder. I inherited a team that was in crisis, overloaded and under-appreciated, so I made a plan: gather insights via 1:1 interviews, then redefine roles and the model via team meetings. A few people left, and the few who stayed bought into the new model as co-owners. We delivered proof of concept to SVP leadership, then 4 Themes in 60 days—meeting the goal while raising standards and morale.

Then, reinforce roles.

A sudden management change in early 2023 added to my scope: 9 new contributors and their projects, plus relationship management across three groups of engineering, science, and product leads. My plan to increase Themes efficiency accelerated. I re-defined the agency role in consultation with my team, interviewed existing and new agencies, and then chose a new vendor that empowered my team while transforming time and cost metrics. With the Themes standard properly set at over-delivery, I dove into roles, standards, and career support for the new team members.

Value process and outcomes.

Alexa’s transformation to generative AI overlapped existing 2023-24 goals. When an executive mandate reduced my team but not my scope, I reset roles with each of my three remaining heroes. Through borrowed designers, cross-team alliances, and my own contributions, I met iterative goals while protecting Alexa Themes as the standard for customer delight. While a late hiring round made Alexa+ timelines possible, Alexa Themes remained the example of clear goals and process as essential ingredients for creative exploration and innovation.

How I work, 2 of 3: Building a brand

Analyze what exists.

A reported 46 million members, but no visual design or strategy leader. No brand framework, just stock photography (example above) that was irrelevant to global customers. When I joined Prime, there was little brand structure beyond a VP who served as the sounding board for what was Prime and what was not. There was also a membership that could put most anything you could want on your doorstep in two days, and an enthusiastic organization behind it. To start, I had one art director, one program manager, and a lot of enthusiasm about the future of the business.

Ask, listen, build, test.

I developed Prime as a challenger brand. Customer needs and insights would stand alongside business technology and goals as key ingredients. As a 3-person team, we interviewed marketers and customers worldwide to catalog the needs. I hired more people, co-designed a globally flexible photo system with the art director, wrote brand messaging for VP approval, and helped new hires build out the design system. As a team, we developed mechanisms that kept global collaborators and stakeholders engaged, cultivating pride in the contributing teams and the brand.

Keep listening and leading.

From 2015-19 my scope increased from visual design and content to UX and research. My vision to build the business also increased to include the first brand toolkit on the global portal, a global rebrand to integrate regions and sub-brands, and a global Prime Day campaign to complement and amplify the new brand. Prime grew into a leading Amazon brand via 5+ country launches, Prime Air, Whole Foods, and more. We supported all of it and sold most of it to VPs, the S-team, and the CEO. As reported membership reached 150 million, our system kept inspiring new customers.

How I work, 3 of 3: Building a studio

Say yes to the cold call.

I was a senior writer and producer in a local agency when a global agency called from out of the blue: join us, be a creative director, and co-found a studio. What else could I do? Within a month I was meeting my co-founders and building Wunderman Impact. Excellent leadership from our manager led us to a business plan complete with an initial rate card for services, list of roles to be hired, set of prospective clients, and preliminary goals. With my partner founders I built pitch decks, client service materials, and studio documentation including briefs and change trackers. Our first client: Microsoft.

Commit to work worth doing.

One of our Impact beliefs was that good creative work contains a little bit of love. So, we built love into the studio, and the agency. While exceeding revenue goals for 6 of 8 years (including the 2008 financial crisis) our team of 30-plus became a go-to resource for agency collateral, new business pitches, and morale events. Our annual Pi Day baking contest raised four figures for charity. We expanded from production to concept creation to print, and added clients from Xbox to T-Mobile, Group Health to Expedia. We pitched to CMOs and CEOs. We promoted people to agency management, won awards, and sent team members to Cannes.

Build up your people.

Every shop I build is “impacted” by my experience, and my drive to learn more. Since Impact I’ve built agency teams for Microsoft and T-Mobile, and in-house teams for Amazon Prime, AWS, and Alexa. Each of those teams exceeded its goals and expanded its ownership. With each opportunity, I’m focused on good work that is also good business: the right people, the right model, and assignments people can love. Whether it’s illustrated team bios (see my AWS team above) or initiatives to recognize partners (ask me about these), my goal is a team that feels recognized, supported, and celebrated.