Why I Do What I Do

One could argue that of the many reasons to work in a specific job, passion is by far the most useful. Passion allows us to care. It drives us on to push towards the improbable. It refuses to let us be satisfied. Deep I know, but true.

At some point, I think we all have to question why we do what we do.  As a person, I am annoyingly introspective and yet in all of my self induced doubt and fear I sometimes forget that work is not separate from life but simply part of it.  I cannot separate myself into work me and home me, even though I try.  I am at my best as a person, and by extension a professional, when I am passionate about the thing that I’m doing, and this passion can’t be left at the office door.

It’s easy to be passionate when everything aligns perfectly.  Perfect client, perfect budget, perfect project.  But, seriously, when how often does this happen. Something else must drive us to get up in the morning besides circumstance.

I sometimes think about what drives me on. Why do I put up with the stress, long hours, ungrateful clients and disappointments that come with managing a creative agency? Is it the money? The quick answer there is no (believe me). The long answer is more complex.

Does it Matter?

I’m driven by a desire to be relevant. In a world that is filled a lack of authenticity, I burn with a desire to be genuine. The business world can be as disingenuous as a fairy tale sometimes, and it’s painful to see. But in all of the posturing and manipulation that occurs in the world of Marketing and Advertising, it’s seldom that we can have an actual impact. End the end, companies are too afraid of standing out to actually stand out. The problem with this thinking is that the company in question is most likely ACTUALLY DIFFERENT, yet too afraid to say so. This fear leads to failed marketing, and a distrust of the very consumer that they need to reach.

But people are desperate for the real thing. They want to care. I want to care. The greatest advertising is that which speaks to people on a personal level. It’s a marketing piece that drips of passion. The authentic can’t be faked, but the fake also can’t be made authentic. Having been inundated with marketing messages our entire lives, we can sniff out a phony from distance.

This desire for authenticity helps explain society’s love of sports. In it’s simplest form, sports can’t be faked. The process of achieving collegiate or professional success requires a rare dedication, and people are able to connect with athletes in a unique way. They buy their endorsed products, they chant their name, they tune in on the television when they play; all in the name of passion.

People are desperate to find help navigating the blitzkrieg of marketing messages they receive every day. An estimated 10,000 messages daily find people (ZAG, 2007), and the human brain is working overtime to filter for relevance. But if we can only help people find a reason to care, then we’ve achieved something.

Yep, it Matters

At FORGE, I dream of working with clients that will allow us to care about what they do. Our 2010 FORGE Your Dot Org (FYDO) winner is a great example of passion. The Other Place has a mission to end homelessness in Dayton, OH, and we are working with them to help clarify and enhance their branding and marketing message. As we work to serve the Dayton community, our FYDO program allows us to give our services away to one non-profit per year, but my hope is that we are given a chance to share this vision with our paying clients as well.

As I do my part to make FORGE vibrant company, I hope we have a chance to engage in projects with a strong cultural relevance. People are desperate to find products and services that connect with them on a higher level than just a commodity, and consumers (myself included) are just waiting for companies that we can care about.

This truth lies at the heart of branding, and it’s why I do what I do.

This entry was posted on March 08th, 2010 and is filed under personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.