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Category Archives: Layoffs

The Manifesto I Wish I’d Written

At more than 3M views, it’s likely you’ve seen this already. If you haven’t — and even if you have — take 15 minutes to watch it now. Or a few less minutes to read the transcript.
And be careful to avoid “yeah, but he’s Steve Jobs so reinventing is easier” thinking. I would argue it’s [...]

The More You Decorate, The More There Is To Pack

Every place I’ve ever worked had at least one person who refused to decorate. Walking into their space was like entering a sensory deprivation office, with nothing but white walls, a computer and a pen.
I didn’t understand these people. I was someone who needed to feel comfortable at work.  Pictures of my kids (never knew [...]

Up In The Air & Lemonade

A couple months before Up In The Air was released, someone who knows someone at Paramount told me about its similarities to Lemonade.
Well, I was finally able to see UITA last night. Other than mentioning that I enjoyed it very much and think you would, too, I’m not going to give it a review here [...]

The 2 AM Wake Up Call

My last full time job was located in a mall. You literally had to walk through a food court and past a couple of shoe stores to get to the elevator.
After a while, you forgot the absurdity of this fact. You’d walk by the cell phone accessories kiosk like it was a vendor on 34th [...]

Wealth? Nah, Just Sanity.

We don’t have expensive taste. Other than perhaps another bathroom (four people sharing a single bath doesn’t do much for one’s sense of privacy), we’ve got everything we need.
We don’t want millions. We want the absence of worry. Money-wise, it would just be really nice if every first of the month wasn’t a fingers-crossed-athon.
So two [...]

Joy To The World. Now Get The Hell Out. -By Brad Mislow

Before the Great Recession, the Holidays (oh, whom am I kidding) Christmas in advertising was a blast. Holiday-themed swag from vendors and clients literally littered the office. Festive tins of chocolates and tri-flavored popcorn (sticky caramel, powdery cheese and oily butter) were to be found everywhere. Holiday parties were creatively disguised as end-of-year meetings (for [...]

ROGER … and Tom and David and Jeanne and Bob and Michelle and Mark and Hank and Kurtis and Kevin and Jonathan and Lisa and Ronan and Todd and Steve and Lawson … & ME

(An open letter to Michael Moore)
Dear Mr. Moore:
Hard to believe it’s been 20 years since you shined a spotlight on the canyon between Roger Smith and the people of Flint.
What’s even more surprising is that it’s gotten worse since then.

While 30,000 workers in Detroit (80,000 to date according to Wikipedia) fell to the hands of [...]

Ready For Reinvention?

This Saturday in San Francisco, I’ll be part of a “panel of career professionals who will provide practical tips, advice, tools and some useful forecasts for navigating the new creative marketplace.”
And if I can get Lemonade done before then, I’ll even be screening it for the attendees.
So if you’re in the Bay Area this weekend, [...]

The Job I Wanted In Six Months – By Justin Bajan

When You Lose Your Job, Persistence Can Land You An Even Better One

One Year Ago Today

Today marks the 1st anniversary of the day I got laid off from Arnold Worldwide. I contemplated an epic post about all that’s happened in such a short time. This blog, filming a movie, freelancing. It’s been nothing if not a wild ride. But rather than reminisce, it seemed more appropriate (not to mention less [...]