johncjay:

“Free Yourself”

One of the most inspired and challenging messages I have ever received.

It came directly to me from Dan Wieden, our visionary leader and co-founder of Wieden + Kennedy during a conversation on  how I could best impact the continued evolution of this already very innovative agency.

We as creative people often use our soap box to challenge our clients to be more brave, to embrace risk…yet often, the painful truth is that creative people, my beloved peers, are often the least willing to take those risks personally. I too fear the status-quo… but it is my own status-quo that concerns me the most, those walls of resistance or fear that keep me from daring to do what I know is best or right. The truth is usually provocative.

Our most important  responsibility is to ourselves…to  be the best we can possibly be. No one else can fulfill that destiny for us. It is our job 1. Only then can we protect and help others.

So imagine an entire company built on that premise, an ethos built not on selfishness but on sacrifice, a highly successful business that protects the humanity and individuality of its people. A place where creativity is a religion and ambition is anchored by integrity.

So Dan’s message to me was to be the creative person that made me happiest and that power will benefit the agency. These are remarkable times for Wieden + Kennedy.

 I should know because I just traded a corner office for a “garage”.

 Free yourself.

 John C Jay 

Creativity:

http://creativity-online.com/news/john-jay-launches-wk-garage/239083

Oregon Live:

http://www.oregonlive.com/playbooks-profits/index.ssf/2013/01/wiedenkennedy_veteran_john_jay.html

(Editor’s note: Was able to meet John in New York through Imprint Culture Lab…still a personal hero of mine and the reason I got into advertising in the first place. So humble for a guy who’s achieved so much. Excited to see where this concept takes him.)