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Win without Pitching

I happened upon Swiss-Miss‘s site, which occurs regularly when I’m seeking inspiration of biding a 5-minute break between projects or calls, and fell upon/inlove with “The Win Without Pitching Manifesto“. Here’s a sampling, but you’ll need to read the full twelve proclamations to truly appreciate it:

The forces of the creative industry are aligned against the artist. These forces pressure him to give his work away for free as a means of proving his worthiness of the assignment. Clients demand it. Industry associations deride it but offer alternatives that are just as costly and commoditizing. Agencies resign themselves to it. Search consultants, business development consultants and out-sourced business development services firms all earn their living by perpetuating it. And business development conferences put the worst offenders from all sides on stage and have them preach about how to get better at it.

It is a mistake to look to the industry to deal with this issue. Speculative creative – free pitching – will only be beaten one agency at a time, with little help and much loud opposition from the creative industry itself. This battle is but a collection of individual struggles, the single artist or creative services firm against the many allied forces of the status quo.

But while collectively the battle may seem lost, some individual firms are fighting and winning. What follows are twelve proclamations of a Win Without Pitching agency – a manifesto for firms that have made the difficult business decisions and transformed themselves and the way they go about getting new business. These firms have resisted the industry-wide pressure to tow the free-pitching line; they have gone from order-takers to expert advisors and then forged a more satisfying and lucrative way of getting and doing business.

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Twitter on Paper

The latest exercise in pointlessness (his hashtag, not mine) by Sam Potts of Sam Potts Inc. (my print doppleganger — the guy that designed the book covers for the guy whose site I designed). Twitter on Paper (or TOP) is the latest in anachronistic ephemera. New becomes old becomes new again. Passé becomes retro kitsch. And tweets become 4×6 mailed postcards (mine has yet to arrive). Take a look when you get a chance.

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The 404 Goat is on the Rampage

screenshot021This is, for some reason, the funniest thing I’ve seen online in a long, long time. The 404 page for The North Face‘s web site is this fullscreen image of a bucking goat with an inset about how the goat has eaten the page that you’re attempting to visit. No, despite my company name, I do not spend my off-hours researching funny 404 pages (not anymore, anyway). I came across this by doing a hashtag search for 404.

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BigDog

screenshot02Meet Boston Dynamics’ new robotic packmule, BigDog. This four-legged walker, funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)—yes, the folks that invented the interweb—walks up/down hills, in snow, over cinderblocks and reacts to being kicked. For some reason, I feel bad for it when it’s struggling to stay up on ice. In any sense, it’s a lot more nimble than Floyd*. Read more

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Career Tips from The Creative Group

The following five (5) tips, I found in the monthly GDUSA Newsletter and thought they might be beneficial to [d]online readers in our current economic climate:

With Mother’s Day just past, you may want to thank mom for passing along nuggets of wisdom that help on the job hunt. Following are five ideas you may have heard from her that can help you land a new role in a challenging economy:

1. “Mind Your Manners.”
This is especially important when checking in with a company’s receptionist prior to an interview: Six out of 10 hiring managers surveyed by our firm said they value their assistant’s opinion when making hiring decisions. So, go out of your way to be nice to everyone, from the executive assistant to the parking attendant, when you’re meeting with a potential employer.

2. “If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say… ”
There are few bigger turn-offs for hiring managers than listening to a potential employee vent about his or her former company, coworkers or boss. While you want to give authentic responses to interview questions, focus on what you bring to the table, not slights from your past.

3. “Do Your Homework.”
Researching the prospective employer is the most important step prior to applying for any job. Tailor your resume, cover letter and portfolio to the opportunity, making note of how your skills can contribute to the company’s immediate needs. In the interview, use what you learn about a firm to ask intelligent questions that demonstrate your understanding of the business.

4. “Don’t Sell Yourself Short.”
Your resume shouldn’t be a laundry list of former job duties. Instead, highlight your achievements, quantifying your contributions wherever possible. But be selective in the successes you highlight. Ultimately you want to emphasize those that are most relevant. Winning a student design competition, if you graduated a decade ago, isn’t the crowning achievement it once was.

5. “Always Send A Thank You Note.”
Yes, mom was right. Employers do pay attention. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 executives polled said sending a thank-you note can boost a person’s chances of landing a job.