With just one week with to go, I am working through final touches on a few presentations, getting all the details together for a special edition of “Talk Story with Jeni”, putting the household in order including all the preparations for my daughter’s high school graduation and, of course, today will be spent shopping for that next pair of kick-ass shoes!

Here’s what’s happening as my preparations escalate. I’ll be doing my ever-popular chargeback workshop as a conference kick-off. This is not to be missed if you work in-house and are looking for the key (yes, the key) to proving your value to your organization. Titled “ Making Money Count and Value Real”, the workshop will be 3-hours long and walk attendees through the entire process of establishing a chargeback system that requires no executive approval and no exchange of monies. I call it a pseudo-chargeback system as it utilizes all the concepts of proper accounting practices but doesn’t require a departmental or corporate overhaul.

Additionally, I’ll be conducting a session titled “Becoming Priceless to Your Company” where we will build a toolkit of ideas and action plans attendees can take back to the office making themselves (and the team), PRICELESS to the organization.

And for the most exciting addition to the HOW Conference line-up… drum roll, please… a very Special Edition of my hit blog-radio show, “Talk Story with Jeni”. Years ago, my two dear friends and I were riding up the escalator of the conference in Boston. From behind we heard a voice yell out, “Hey, it’s speakers gone wild”. Steve, Jeff and I looked at each other, started laughing hysterically and at that moment decided that name would stick! After years of pitching the idea of the three of us conducting an open forum session for attendees to join in and discuss what’s really at the core of a designer’s soul, we did it! A week from Tuesday, Steve, Jeff and HOW magazine’s editor, Bryn will join me over the airwaves and discuss life, leisure and, of course, the industry of design. Don’t miss this event!

For more information on the HOW Conference, June 6-9, visit http://howconference.com

- Jeni Herberger, Creative and Corporate Visionary

Are you a Corporate Creative? “Whether they’re copywriters, marketers, product designers, R&D engineers or even forward thinking managers and, dare I say, enlightened HR staff—if they are individuals who are empathetic, entrepreneurial, intuitive and non-linear thinkers with a healthy rebellious bent, then, I’d say, they are a corporate creative,” says Epstein.

Surviving and more importantly succeeding in a corporate world requires you to be a project manager as well as a designer as well as a creative. This book provides key strategies and tactics to help you establish yourself and your team as powerful players in your company. Experienced in-house designer Andy Epstein shows you how to:

• Communicate clearly and effectively
• Hire and train a winning team
• Work with other departments in the company
• Maximize efficiency within your group
• Make client management easy
• Cut through the read tape to create great design

Click here to purchase this book!

Both Jeni and Andy will be speaking at this year’s In-HOWse Conference in Denver from June 6-8. Please visit www.inhowseconference.com for more information!

You can’t win because you don’t have control. It’s a loosing battle trying to break through corporate bureaucracy and will do nothing but increase frustration and decrease the likelihood of establishing yourself as the brand expert. Instead look to change the things you do have control of… essentially, YOU!

Start with your attitude. No really! Look in the mirror and ask yourself – do I look like someone who commands respect, like a design expert, like a business partner or do I look like a victim, like someone who doesn’t care and doesn’t have the confidence to stretch the boundaries. If you (or in this case your department) feel you are not seen as you wish to be seen then I must ask you, “Have YOU looked at you?”

Let’s move on assuming you are the perfect picture of confidence and expertise. Do you promote yourself AND your department that way? I’m sad to say I’ve yet to walk into a design department to help them ‘do business better’ and see a department that overtly promotes themselves as the brand experts and as top-level designers. Put yourself in the shoes of your corporate client and imagine what they are experiencing and the assumptions they are formulating as they walk into your design department. Do they see evidence of your design expertise? Do they see an environment that reflects your abilities to create outstanding business solutions? Do they see a process that commands respect? I’m not talking about life-size Storm Trooper cutouts or Picasso artwork hanging from the walls. These are for your designers to express their inner creativity (or nerdiness). I’m talking about degrees and certificates, displays of work both for the company and outside the company. Is there a reception area where the client immediately gets the sense that you know what you are talking about? Is there a conference room where the client can sit, meet with your team and know instantly that you’re the man (or woman) for the job? How about a brainstorming area where your team can come alive and collaborate?

Do you understand that if your client does not perceive you as the experts you are BEFORE they begin a project with you, you will be fighting an uphill battle? Do you understand that if your team does not feel a sense of pride for how they present themselves that all is lost? Call it a ‘corporate makeover’. Come on, we’ve all seen the extreme makeovers on TV. You take a homely person, give them the tools to FEEL more beautiful and they instantly act more beautiful. That confidence comes across and works with the external elements that create an attractive individual. Do this with your department. Here’s just a few real world suggestion to get you and your group on a path towards greater respect within and outside:

• Visit a few of your favorite design firms – what do you EXPERIENCE when you walk in?
• Set up a brainstorming meeting with your team – how can your group emulate those experiences in your existing environment? Know your resource limitations the BE CREATIVE!
• Display the work your team has created OUTSIDE of the company whenever possible.
• Display with prominence work done for the organization, preferably in a story format that leads the client through your strategy and thus illustrating your expertise.
• Create a conference room that makes your client feel at ease and confident will your abilities.
• Hire entry/low-level designers to work on recurring projects such as imprints and forms. This will allow you to continue to offer this service but separate the initiation and communication of low-level work.
• Offer SUPERIOR customer service and follow-up with the client to determine the level of success in a given project.

Remember this when working towards greater respect within your department: you will be treated as you are perceived. How you are perceived is a direct reflection on your attitude and your ability to promote yourself.

I speak to inhouse groups often about functioning like a design firm. Don’t misunderstand this idea, its very simple. Inhouse groups need to align their departments to be the agency of choice for their organizations. Obviously companies have options for who they use to further their vision and business goals. The first question to ask, is why are they not choosing the inhouse group? I think the answer is simple but the reality is harsh. The answer is that the company believes they can get better service, a better outcome and more value outside of the existing department. This is the misconception that must change. And it won’t change by complaining or by being complacent.

Think about it. This is a problem every business must overcome; how will I get my customer to notice me, choose me, use me and come back for more? Inhouse departments should function no differently. This can be one of the most exciting initiatives for corporate creative teams. It starts with asking who is my client, what do they want and do I have the capabilities to give them what they need? These questions must be investigated and answered truthfully. This is the very foundation on which everything else must build.

Beyond the foundation or core business offering, inhouse teams need to market to their clients. Inhouse groups assume because if they work for the organization they will automatically get the business. That’s just an entitled attitude. You have to ask for the business, show you can produce the best possible product before they even walk in the door and, ultimately, earn their trust and loyality.

Another interesting observation within corporate creative teams is that of continued education, or the lack thereof. Having worked with 100s of inhouse departments, I’m always shocked by the low percentage of designers that pursue opportunities to expand their capabilities. The competition within an agency as well as the vast diversity of projects requires that designers stay current and always look for ways to improve their skills and inspire their creativity. Inhouse designers need to stay competitive for the good of their own careers as well as the good of their client’s business.

Keep in mind that every client whether internal or external is looking to further their brand recognition and see a return on their investment from marketing campaigns, visual communications and product design. Design is about solving problems, big or small. Providing a client with successful solutions is the core of what makes a good designer and a good design team.

Please add comments below with your thoughts and experiences. Design is a collaborative process, so let’s collaborate!

Most designers know that creating a design brief and using it as a roadmap is critical to the success of a project or campaign. Asking the right questions such as, what is your business about and how does your product differ from you competitors, is a great start but what a design team does with those answers, in my humble opinion, is the difference between a strategist and a artist.

Responding to a design request without taking a hard fast look at the validity of the answers is a flat-out mistake. Don’t get me wrong, many a designer will gather the obligatory information from a client and turn out a gorgeous communication piece. But so often the client needs “a big fat reality check”, so says my friend, Matt ‘Pash’ Pashkow in our “Talk Story” yesterday. Pash recommended a brilliant step in approaching a project which I think is critically important to providing a longterm solution for a client. He says we must gather information, real information that digs deeper than the surface of what the client is telling you. Guiding them through a process of looking in the mirror and pushing through the “bullshit” and moving to a place where every stakeholder agrees on who and what they are. Pash says, “this requires a design team to fire up the jet, fly up to 30,000 feet and take a look from up there.”

Allowing the design process to begin at 30,000 feet is an awesome way of looking at any design project, big or small. I’ve heard it called ‘the big picture’ but all that does is make a problem look bigger than it is. But check this out; observing from 30,000 feet allows you to remain focused on your target and affords you the freedom to search the surrounding areas and see how they will affect the target and how it is the target will affect the surrounding area.

I love this idea! It takes design to a strategic level that gives designers, whether working on inhouse design teams or agency teams, a critical seat at the table. To make this happen, it requires you to have a desire for a strong connection. You have to know what your talking about, you have to have flown high above as to provide a broad and well thought out perspective of the course the project should take. Lastly, you have to be willing to listen, comment and lead your clients through the process, not just paint them a pretty picture.

Click here for a full hour of “Talk Story with Jeni” and Pash at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jeniherberger or directly from my site at http://jeniherberger.com

While at ASFA, I had my first experience with Photoshop, gained a foundation of the arts and learned the importance of a strong work ethic that would totally prepare me for my years in college. At first, I wanted to attend a prominent design college outside of the state, but realized it would be too expensive. I attended a nearby liberal arts school, the University of Montevallo. In retrospect this was a great decision. I gained all of the needed resources to grow my skills and land my first internship that would later turn into a full time position. Plus, my student loans are not too “ridoncoulous.”

During my senior year at Montevallo, my graphic design professor told me about an internship at EBSCO Industries, Inc. I had heard good things about the company and later learned that they had many divisions ranging from hunting gear to information services. I ended up getting the internship and worked hard to become a candidate for a full time designer position.

Here I am; a young designer part of a corporate communications team. We have a new high-energy general manager who has already made significant changes for the better, an awesome rock star creative director (literally, he is the former lead singer for a rock band!), fantastic writers, skilled researchers, great account managers and finally a collective of kick-tail designers and programmers. It almost seems as if a natural progression to this point but as I look back it took a great deal of refining to be asset to a super ‘cool-snapalicious-purely-clowning’ in-house team!

There are many things that I’ve learned along the way, but four areas have been essential to my growth:

1. Having a faith that produces confidence
2. Maintaining a good work ethic
3. Practicing patience
4. Building strong relationships

The ultimate foundation to my life transcends even my desires to be a designer. Having faith that God will provide opportunities for me to use my gifts to His glory, keeps me grounded and allows me to step back to look at the bigger picture of any situation. It also gives me a great deal of confidence to see that my Creator has always come through for me at crucial times in my life.

Having a good work ethic is key when it comes to working for a corporate entity that has a core value of being profitable and measures our success accordingly. There are so many talented designers that are looking for work right now, and I know for a fact that I will become dispensable if I start to slack. I work each day with the same heart I did when I wanted a full-time position at EBSCO as an intern in 2006. When I was interning at EBSCO, my group had a great deal of patience with me. They always made me feel comfortable asking questions and helped me whenever I needed. I always make an effort to display this same patience to others.

Finally, I cannot stress how important it is to build strong relationships with others. I work for a global company with a big-picture vision, but the relationship with my immediate team shapes the scope of how I operate with in it. Our group cultivates an atmosphere that promotes inspiration, creativity, and great work. In turn, I am inspired to be a better designer, co-worker and friend to my team members.”

Will Nash officially entered the design profession in 2006. Watch out world, here he comes!

When asked ‘how did you get to this place?’, my friend Michael Lejeune responded with, ‘I just kept making left turns’. The more time I spent thinking about this as we talked story last week, the more I loved all the implications hidden within those words. Undeniably, we westerners live in a world of ‘right’. The hands of the clock circle to the right, we read from the left to the right, we drive on the right side of the road, even refer to our biggest advocate as our  ‘right-hand man’. Studies show 70%-95% of the human population (regardless of race or culture) is right-handed. So what did Michael mean by making left turns?

As a proud and often misunderstood member of the small percentage of our population that is left-handed, I see turning left as natural. I remember be considered slow in school because I wanted to turn left. Whether it was with scissors or dance moves or swinging a baseball bat, it always took me longer and seldom was there anyone to teach me. In order to fit in I had to convert a left turn to a right turn then back to left again. When you are 7 years old, this takes a few seconds to do. As I grew older, it came faster and faster to a point when it was all but seamless. I graduated in the top 1% of my class, earned a college degree in 3 ½ years, and built a multi-million dollar company in 12 years with seed money equaling $4000. I’m not slow, I just like to take left turns.

Going against the grain (or making left turns) for the attention of your peers or superiors will quickly earn you the title of ‘poser’. Some of us are right-handed and it is how we function best. Following the flow and doing it better and more authentically than your counterparts will get you far in this world. Being someone who moves differently has its set of challenges and risks. But if you feel compelled to move in a direction different from most AND can overcome the fear of doing so, truly great things can happen.

Most all of the amazing folks I talk to such as LA Metro’s Michael Lejeune have succeeded in their careers by following their heart and their gut overcoming any fear of failure. If you are looking for change or growth in your career, organization, even your personal life, you might what to try a new route. Try turning left the next time you come to a fork in the road.

Click here the full hour of “Talk Story with Jeni’ and Michael at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jeniherberger or directly from my site at http://jeniherberger.com

• Design departments don’t function like their counterparts in outside firms (organizationally or procedurally).
• Internal design teams and outside agencies often don’t work as partners towards the greater good.
• Team members can act like victims, not experts in their field.
• Design departments ask for permission rather than proving their worth.
• Clients of in-house groups are not courted and coaxed (hell, much of the time they aren’t treated like or expected to act like clients).
• Design departments usually do the work for free, not instituting chargeback systems.

Have I got you fired up yet? Good. It’s time to change the course of things for in-house design departments. Many of us in the industry feel we are on the forefront of an evolution in the structure and function of the agency model. With the expanded role of visual communications in reaching a greater demographic of consumers, agencies are struggling to be everything to everyone; brand creator, web architect, advertising guru, product design promoter, etc. Seemingly, this makes the role of the internal design team intrinsic to the success of its organization. Its time for in-house teams to take the bull by the horns and make words like ‘respect’ and ‘value’ the norm not the exception.

There is no doubt in-house departments should consist of high-level designers, producers and directors that are promoted as experts on the brand. Now more than ever in-house designers have an amazing opportunity to be partners in establishing and implementing an organization’s vision and brand.

Let’s keep this conversation going. Keep your eyes open for upcoming articles on creating ‘world-class’ in-house departments.

On my newly created series, ‘Talk Story with Jeni’, I had the opportunity to share with my listeners the story and thoughts of this rare and talented individual. There is, of course, the fact sheet. For the past 9 years, riCardo has been the Executive Group Creative Director for Mattel Inc overseeing brands such as Hot Wheels and effectively earning the creative team at Mattel a place at the table amongst the decision makers. More interesting is the backstory of how riCardo got to the place he is and what those experiences have done to shape how he takes on the world.

What truly impresses me most about people like riCardo is the manner in which they question the protocol around them and then find whys to make things work. This is particularly important in the field of design whether graphic, interior, industrial or product. Designers don’t learn to be creative. As creatures of God, every one of us is creative. Artists express that creativity in forms that touch the senses; sight, smell, hearing, tasting, and touching. Designers use these creative expressions to add form and function to the world around us. The difference between an artist and a designer is obvious. The difference between a designer and a design thinker is subtle but HUGE!

Design thinkers take the elements of creative expression and use them to solve problems, entice growth and ignite change. Thinkers don’t design for the sake of art but use art for the sake of design. Design is purposeful with a starting point and an ending point. Those who can think this way, looking beyond the limits of the tools within their reach, are those who literally have the power to change the world.

I asked riCardo offline to tell me where he saw design going in the future and how it was that he thought we as an industry could prepare for it. He told me, ‘We, as designers, will continue to be a huge factor in how brand becomes a choice in people’s lives. With this being the case, design will continue to prove its merits as a valued business component towards delivering against a brand’s promise.’ riCardo also believes, as do I, that we will see more and more collaboration between the experts in the fields of deign, utilizing specialty disciplines and minimizing the ‘jack of all trades’ methodology we have seen over the past decade.

Long and short of it, great design thinkers like riCardo crespo bring a philosophy to design, work and life that we can all learn from. The idea that there is always something out there to invent, to strive for; and greatness comes through pursuit and perseverance. One is simply useless without the other.

Here the full hour of “Talk Story with Jeni’ and riCardo at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jeniherberger or directly from my site at http://jeniherberger.com

First of all, what a great conference focusing in on a very specific group of people. This group of in-house designers can be seen as a subset of the bigger group of creative professionals providing visual communications to businesses and consumers. I see designers as those people that interpret our world and simultaneously shape our perceptions. That’s a lot of power! What is it Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker? “With great power comes great responsibility” – well, that’s another blog all together.

Ever seen a movie clip where everything around a focal character slows down so not a single detail is missed? That’s how I function when I’m put in a position, whether self-imposed or hired to do so, to take-in information about my surroundings and things that are being said. I slow it all down noticing things most would skip over then form them into complete and simply stated observations and action items.

So, here is something I noticed at the conference that stood out to me like a giant ahh-ha! The in-house world seems to have several superstar creative directors that everyone admires and companies drop big bucks to hire. We had such awesomeness at the conference with Michael Lejuene (LA Metro), Andy Epstein (Designer Greeting), Stanley Hainsworth (Tether, formerly at Starbucks), and riCardo crespo (Mattel). As I attended each of their sessions and listened to what they said about their journeys within the corporate labyrinth, I was struck by the looks of admiration, the nodding of heads, and the audible affirmation. I looked up at the speakers on the stage, all of whom are friends of mine and thought, I really like these guys but they’re not creative gods, so what makes them different? Are they more talented, luckier, and pushier? Then I began to contrive an undeniable formula for success:

• They never apologized
• They never acted the victim
• They always over delivered
• They always took chances

Seriously, how perfectly simple is that! I can’t begin to tell you how often I hear things like, “I’ve tried that already, it didn’t work” (defeatist); “I’m not respected” (poor pitiful); “I couldn’t possibly get permission to do that” (pessimistic); and “That’s not my job” (idiotic).

It’s time too stop idolizing the successes of others and take note as to what it is they are doing that we admire. George Bernard Shaw said it best, “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

The end result for these creative superstars? They created opportunities for their department and themselves to showcase their talent and their capabilities. No apologies, no excuses, no laziness, and no fear!