Leo Burnett "When to take my name off the door"

Design Discussions general design discussion
1

This is good.


[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/29723817[/vimeo]

R

2

Everyone I know at LB (3 people) hates it there.

Be curious to hear what the membership here who’s employed there thinks. I know we have at least one employee there in our midst.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. The Video is cool :slight_smile:

3

Video is very cool. I would feel the same way, I hope.

Advertising is a cruel heartless business though.

4

Something I saw today via BikeSnobNYC (and taken mostly out of context here, but still somewhat tongue in cheek appropriate)

Also, here’s the funny thing about jobs: you’re not supposed to like them. That’s why they call it “work” and not “masturbating.” If you don’t like your job, the last thing you should do is quit. Look for a better one in your spare time? Sure. Work to improve the one you have? Absolutely. Start a company like the Volagi guys and get sued by your former employer? Why not? But quit your job with no prospects just because you don’t “like” it? That’s the “If it rains take the bus” of career advice. If you don’t like your job you’re much better off doing it anyway until you become really awesome at it. Granted, this is old-fashioned thinking since we’ve mostly outsourced the concept of “paying your dues,” but at least you wind up with some options that don’t involve going back to school for that fourth MFA.

5

I totally disagree with this (realize it’s not you who said it). What % of your life do you spend working? Probably more than anything else aside from sleeping. Why would you want to do something you not only don’t like, but don’t LOVE? If you don’t like what you do, chances are you aren’t doing a very good job of it either.

It’s totally in your power to find something that you love, and make a life/work out of it. You should be working to live, not living to work, but it makes a huge difference if you really love what you do.

I’m not saying you should quit your first job out of school or not take any unless it’s your dream job. It takes time to find what you are good at, what you love, and get yourself in a position to get that dream job. But if you aren’t even trying, why bother?

Nobody gets into design as just “something to do”.You must/should love it, or I wouldn’t even bother - find something you do love, as chances are you can’t compete with those who do.

R

6

My take from the Bike Snob quote is don’t give up just because it’s hard or you don’t like it- there is a nobility to doing difficult things and performing tasks you don’t like or don’t want to do- it pushes you.
There is a threshold though, to how much shite you can push uphill before it gets to you.

I’ve had the “what are you working for?” conversation with a very successful friend of mine who hates what he does, but knows it provides him with a certain lifestyle - I think this can be a trap though.

I work while studying to be a designer. My wife and I are very nervous about the looming future when I get that first ID job and my pay goes down to graduate level, but hopefully it wont be a chore like my current job can be. I know it’s not going to be all harps and angels, but it will be what I want to do.

7

This is when speaking french has benefits. Work in french is travail:

[quote]
tra·vail [truh-veyl, trav-eyl] Show IPA
noun

  1. Painfully difficult or burdensome work; toil.

  2. pain, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship.

  3. the pain of childbirth.

verb (used without object)

  1. to suffer the pangs of childbirth; be in labor.

  2. to toil or exert oneself.
    [\quote]

Any wonder they are always striking?

8

I agree with Richard here… life is too short NOT to be doing something you love and have pride in. I thank my lucky stars everyday that I don’t dread coming to work in the morning. I used to, but I figured out the problem and made a plan to not have to deal with that… unhappiness is what pushes people forward and it irritates me no end when people bitch and complain about their jobs and never do a damn thing to sort out the issues.

For the record, my wife was at Leo Burnett for a couple of years and loved it.

9

The lonely man sounds like someone who isn’t being paid for his time or the insane hours he is expected to work…

10

I can definitely identify with the lonely man. Last night when I was hitting hour 12 of my work day and everyone else in the office had left the concept of the lonely man was inspirational. This morning the idea feels a little more dreary to me considering the financial compensation does not exactly match the work input, in my opinion.

I do like the spin Burnett puts on it though – the traits of the lonely tirelessly attempting to create the best possible seem to be something to which an ambitious person could aspire. Considering that he was trying to motivate people with his speech, perhaps I just fell victim to his to ad-man tricks . . .

11

bepid: Check out the introvert/extrovert thread in off topic.

I interpret the lonely man as the guy who wants to do a great job but isn’t the front man. LB is going to go into the meeting and present the new idea, but it’s the people that worked for weeks beforehand who really made it.