<![CDATA[Creative Ops Compass]]>Creative Ops Compass explores the operational challenges that cost in-house creative teams time, money, and strategic influence. Each episode digs into a specific problem, from stakeholder misalignment to capacity planning to proving ROI, and delivers practical solutions drawn from real teams at large organizations. Hosted by Jesse Krinsky, founder of In Focus Consulting and a creative operations consultant with 20 years of experience leading and advising creative teams at companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, The Economist, Samsung, and Johnson & Johnson.

]]>https://www.creativeopscompass.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:57:17 GMTWed, 30 Jul 2025 16:23:43 GMT60In Focus Consulting<p>Creative Ops Compass explores the operational challenges that cost in-house creative teams time, money, and strategic influence. Each episode digs into a specific problem, from stakeholder misalignment to capacity planning to proving ROI, and delivers practical solutions drawn from real teams at large organizations. Hosted by Jesse Krinsky, founder of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">In Focus Consulting</a> and a creative operations consultant with 20 years of experience leading and advising creative teams at companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, The Economist, Samsung, and Johnson &amp; Johnson.</p>episodicIn Focus Consultingjesse@infocusconsulting.netno<![CDATA[Why AI Makes the Approval Process More Important Than Ever, with Meredith Bailey]]>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at www.infocusconsulting.net/assessment

Show Notes

AI keeps getting better at producing creative content, faster and at higher volume than ever before. For some leaders, that raises a difficult question: what does a creative team actually contribute beyond execution? Meredith Bailey, Founder and CEO of StreamWork, has a front-row seat to this shift. She works with in-house creative and marketing teams every day, and her answer to that question is clear: the human judgment that determines what should ship and what shouldn’t can’t be replicated by AI. As volume goes up, that judgment matters even more.

About the Guest

Meredith Bailey is the Founder and CEO of StreamWork, a proofing and approval platform built for in-house creative and marketing teams. Before founding StreamWork, she spent over a decade in marketing at Apple, Google, and YouTube. Across every role, she kept running into the same problem: the review and approval process was broken, and it was consuming time that should have gone to the actual creative work. She built StreamWork to fix it.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why the final stakeholder sign-off is uniquely human, and why that becomes more true as AI-generated volume increases
  • Why being one of the first industries disrupted by AI has given proactive creative teams a head start most other functions don't have
  • The value difference between creatives who execute the brief and those who push back on it
  • How to make a legitimate business case for adopting AI tools, before your organization spends money on the wrong thing

Connect with Jesse

]]>c302cb33-3931-4eb6-a8fd-f54585c13622Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:00:00 GMT<p>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/assessment</a></p><p></p><p><b>Show Notes</b></p><p>AI keeps getting better at producing creative content, faster and at higher volume than ever before. For some leaders, that raises a difficult question: what does a creative team actually contribute beyond execution? Meredith Bailey, Founder and CEO of StreamWork, has a front-row seat to this shift. She works with in-house creative and marketing teams every day, and her answer to that question is clear: the human judgment that determines what should ship and what shouldn’t can’t be replicated by AI. As volume goes up, that judgment matters even more.</p><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Meredith Bailey is the Founder and CEO of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.streamwork.com/" target="_blank">StreamWork</a>, a proofing and approval platform built for in-house creative and marketing teams. Before founding StreamWork, she spent over a decade in marketing at Apple, Google, and YouTube. Across every role, she kept running into the same problem: the review and approval process was broken, and it was consuming time that should have gone to the actual creative work. She built StreamWork to fix it.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></p><ul><li>Why the final stakeholder sign-off is uniquely human, and why that becomes more true as AI-generated volume increases</li><li>Why being one of the first industries disrupted by AI has given proactive creative teams a head start most other functions don't have</li><li>The value difference between creatives who execute the brief and those who push back on it</li><li>How to make a legitimate business case for adopting AI tools, before your organization spends money on the wrong thing</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse</b></p><ul><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a> or <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul>no00:22:42116Why AI Makes the Approval Process More Important Than Ever, with Meredith Baileyfull<![CDATA[Why Creatives Are Their Own Worst Enemies - with Jess Abdulnour]]>In-house creative teams often have no idea how their work is performing. No data, feedback loop or connection between the assets they're producing and the business outcomes those assets are supposed to drive. Jess Abdulnour kept running into this problem, and eventually built a system to fix it.

In this episode, Jess shares the Creative ID system she developed to connect creative output to performance data without custom software or expensive integrations. But the deeper problem goes beyond data access: it's about how creatives see themselves and their role in the business, and why getting them to claim ownership of performance is harder than solving any technical problem.

About the Guest

Jess Abdulnour is the founder of The BrandNuè Agency and has spent 15 years working in brand strategy and creative operations for companies in regulated industries including finance, mortgage, healthcare, and legal. She has held senior brand and creative ops roles at companies including New American Funding and Camino Financial. Her work focuses on helping regulated businesses build brands that drive growth when paid acquisition channels plateau.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The Creative ID system: how a simple field added across existing tools connected creative output to performance data
  • What changed for the creative team once they could see results: from subjective approval to data-backed decision-making
  • Why the mindset problem is harder to solve than the technical one, and what it takes to get creatives to see performance as their responsibility

Download the Creative ID Guide

Connect with Jesse

]]>ad567419-45a6-4077-bfbd-e3bee1c7cc04Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT<p>In-house creative teams often have no idea how their work is performing. No data, feedback loop or connection between the assets they're producing and the business outcomes those assets are supposed to drive. Jess Abdulnour kept running into this problem, and eventually built a system to fix it.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Jess shares the Creative ID system she developed to connect creative output to performance data without custom software or expensive integrations. But the deeper problem goes beyond data access: it's about how creatives see themselves and their role in the business, and why getting them to claim ownership of performance is harder than solving any technical problem.</p><h2>About the Guest</h2><p>Jess Abdulnour is the founder of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://brandnue.agency/" target="_blank">The BrandNuè Agency</a> and has spent 15 years working in brand strategy and creative operations for companies in regulated industries including finance, mortgage, healthcare, and legal. She has held senior brand and creative ops roles at companies including New American Funding and Camino Financial. Her work focuses on helping regulated businesses build brands that drive growth when paid acquisition channels plateau.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>The Creative ID system: how a simple field added across existing tools connected creative output to performance data</li><li>What changed for the creative team once they could see results: from subjective approval to data-backed decision-making</li><li>Why the mindset problem is harder to solve than the technical one, and what it takes to get creatives to see performance as their responsibility</li></ul><h2>Download the Creative ID Guide</h2><ul><li>Download the free Creative ID Guide here: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-id" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-id</a></li></ul><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul>no00:22:57115Why Creatives Are Their Own Worst Enemies - with Jess Abdulnourfull<![CDATA[The Identity Shift Every Creative Leader Has to Make - with Tyler Mitchell]]>When your output is no longer the work: that's the shift that defines creative leadership. But most creatives who move into leadership roles struggle to make it. They still measure their value by what they produce, not what they enable others to produce, and that quietly undermines their teams, their influence, and their own satisfaction.

In this episode, Tyler Mitchell shares what that transition actually looked like from the inside: the late-night doubt, the identity crisis, and the moment he realized that the distance between leader and doer isn't a failure of connection, but a necessary condition for good leadership. We also discuss the leaders who got it wrong, what he took from those experiences, and what he's doing differently right now to develop the next generation of creative leaders on his own team.

About the Guest

Tyler Mitchell is the Director of Video Strategy at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., one of the largest insurance brokerage and risk management firms in the world. He has spent his entire career in-house, moving from product photography and print layout to video production to leading a globally distributed video team. As a creative leader, Tyler has developed a people-first philosophy rooted in empathy, intentional development, and the discipline of staying connected to the creative without being involved in every step of the work.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The identity shift that catches most new creative leaders off-guard: moving from measuring your value by what you produce to what you enable
  • Why seeing the person behind the work, not just the output, is both the right thing to do for them and for the business
  • The functional lead track that Tyler created to develop future leaders without loading them down with administrative overhead

Connect with Jesse

]]>29211c67-7d99-41d5-affe-6ec6f779dee5Mon, 18 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT<p>When your output is no longer the work: that's the shift that defines creative leadership. But most creatives who move into leadership roles struggle to make it. They still measure their value by what they produce, not what they enable others to produce, and that quietly undermines their teams, their influence, and their own satisfaction.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Tyler Mitchell shares what that transition actually looked like from the inside: the late-night doubt, the identity crisis, and the moment he realized that the distance between leader and doer isn't a failure of connection, but a necessary condition for good leadership. We also discuss the leaders who got it wrong, what he took from those experiences, and what he's doing differently right now to develop the next generation of creative leaders on his own team.</p><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Tyler Mitchell is the Director of Video Strategy at Arthur J. Gallagher &amp; Co., one of the largest insurance brokerage and risk management firms in the world. He has spent his entire career in-house, moving from product photography and print layout to video production to leading a globally distributed video team. As a creative leader, Tyler has developed a people-first philosophy rooted in empathy, intentional development, and the discipline of staying connected to the creative without being involved in every step of the work.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></p><ul><li>The identity shift that catches most new creative leaders off-guard: moving from measuring your value by what you produce to what you enable</li><li>Why seeing the person behind the work, not just the output, is both the right thing to do for them and for the business</li><li>The functional lead track that Tyler created to develop future leaders without loading them down with administrative overhead</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse</b></p><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul>no00:20:42114The Identity Shift Every Creative Leader Has to Make - with Tyler Mitchellfull<![CDATA[Creative Hiring Requires Creative Recruiters - with Steve Potestio]]>Most companies' hiring systems weren't designed for creative work. Internal recruiters don't usually have the creative industry expertise to evaluate tone, craft, or cultural fit. And creative directors end up stuck in approval processes that take weeks when they need someone tomorrow.

Steve Potestio has spent 20 years in creative staffing. He's watched companies build systems that make it harder to hire the right creative talent. In this episode, we break down why creative staffing breaks down, what gets lost in translation, and what creative leaders can actually do to get the flexibility they need.

About the Guest

Steve Potestio is the Managing Director of Harvester Talent, a creative staffing firm focused on direct-to-client relationships and deep creative industry expertise. Over 20 years in the industry, he's built and scaled multiple staffing companies and watched the staffing landscape evolve from direct hiring manager access to complex vendor management systems. He's seen firsthand how procurement-driven processes strip away the subjective evaluation that creative hiring requires, and he built Harvester Talent specifically to solve that problem by working directly with hiring managers who understand what creative talent actually needs.

Key Topics Discussed

  • How to make the business case for staffing flexibility
  • Why the best recruiters push back on job descriptions instead of just executing them
  • Understanding potential over immediate fit: evaluating the gray area beyond resumes and job descriptions
  • How to build relationships for future roles, not just immediate openings

Connect with Jesse

]]>99d5c0a1-64bc-491b-a9a8-c5cf2a47d497Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:00:00 GMT<p>Most companies' hiring systems weren't designed for creative work. Internal recruiters don't usually have the creative industry expertise to evaluate tone, craft, or cultural fit. And creative directors end up stuck in approval processes that take weeks when they need someone tomorrow.</p><p></p><p>Steve Potestio has spent 20 years in creative staffing. He's watched companies build systems that make it harder to hire the right creative talent. In this episode, we break down why creative staffing breaks down, what gets lost in translation, and what creative leaders can actually do to get the flexibility they need.</p><h3>About the Guest</h3><p>Steve Potestio is the Managing Director of Harvester Talent, a creative staffing firm focused on direct-to-client relationships and deep creative industry expertise. Over 20 years in the industry, he's built and scaled multiple staffing companies and watched the staffing landscape evolve from direct hiring manager access to complex vendor management systems. He's seen firsthand how procurement-driven processes strip away the subjective evaluation that creative hiring requires, and he built Harvester Talent specifically to solve that problem by working directly with hiring managers who understand what creative talent actually needs.</p><h3>Key Topics Discussed</h3><ul><li>How to make the business case for staffing flexibility</li><li>Why the best recruiters push back on job descriptions instead of just executing them</li><li>Understanding potential over immediate fit: evaluating the gray area beyond resumes and job descriptions</li><li>How to build relationships for future roles, not just immediate openings</li></ul><h3>Connect with Jesse</h3><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul>no00:22:03113Creative Hiring Requires Creative Recruiters - with Steve Potestiofull<![CDATA[Making RACIs Actually Work - with Elissa Strell]]>RACIs are one of the most fundamental frameworks in creative operations, but most teams struggle to make them work. In this episode, creative ops leader Elissa Strell breaks down why RACIs fail and exactly how to implement them successfully.

Key Topics

  • Why the definitions of Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed matter more than you might think
  • Why creating a RACI in a vacuum guarantees failure
  • What to do when your RACI loses traction
  • Where to start if you're implementing your first RACI (hint: don't pick your biggest campaign)
  • Why iteration matters more than getting it perfect the first time

About the Guest

Elissa Strell is a creative and marketing operations leader with extensive experience spanning both agency and in-house environments. She specializes in building the systems and structures that bring clarity to how creative work gets done, from defining roles and responsibilities to helping teams align on ownership, streamline decision-making, and operate more efficiently and strategically within the business.

Connect with Jesse:

]]>e051ede2-33fc-42c4-85ad-06985194cc44Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:30:00 GMT<p>RACIs are one of the most fundamental frameworks in creative operations, but most teams struggle to make them work. In this episode, creative ops leader Elissa Strell breaks down why RACIs fail and exactly how to implement them successfully.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics</b></p><ul><li>Why the definitions of Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed matter more than you might think</li><li>Why creating a RACI in a vacuum guarantees failure</li><li>What to do when your RACI loses traction</li><li>Where to start if you're implementing your first RACI (hint: don't pick your biggest campaign)</li><li>Why iteration matters more than getting it perfect the first time</li></ul><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Elissa Strell is a creative and marketing operations leader with extensive experience spanning both agency and in-house environments. She specializes in building the systems and structures that bring clarity to how creative work gets done, from defining roles and responsibilities to helping teams align on ownership, streamline decision-making, and operate more efficiently and strategically within the business.</p><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse:</b></p><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank"><b>www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</b></a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky**" target="_blank"><b>https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</b></a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank"><b>jesse@infocusconsulting.net</b></a></li></ul>no00:22:33112Making RACIs Actually Work - with Elissa Strellfull<![CDATA[People Before Process: Building Creative Ops at DoorDash - with Shannon Duncan]]>Shannon Duncan, Chief of Staff for Marketing at DoorDash, explains how to build creative operations that scale with hyper-growth without becoming bureaucratic. She shares why understanding your team members comes before implementing any tool or process, how to use incremental changes to build trust while introducing new systems, and why internal creative studios need to stop being treated as free resources and start operating with “creative currency” that protects their capacity and positions their work as expertise.

About the Guest

Shannon Duncan is Chief of Staff for Marketing at DoorDash, where she previously built the company's creative operations from the ground up. She joined DoorDash in 2021 when the internal creative studio was just beginning to take shape - a few creatives, freelance project managers, no established processes - and transformed it into a strategic partner serving one of the most dominant players in food delivery. Before DoorDash, Shannon spent years in creative ops and project management at independent agencies, where she learned that the most important variable in creative operations is people…not tools or dashboards. Her people-first philosophy has shaped how she approaches everything from process changes to stakeholder management to building a culture where “1% better every day” is the standard.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why creative leaders need to earn team members’ and stakeholders’ trust before implementing new systems
  • How to use the "1% better every day" philosophy to make incremental changes that stick without overwhelming teams
  • Why in-house creative teams hit an "abuse state" when treated as free resources, and how to protect their capacity
  • Why creative ops leaders need to understand business priorities beyond their own team to position their work strategically

Connect with Jesse


]]>fd5bfa54-6132-4ea4-a0ca-f07c8c673597Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT<p>Shannon Duncan, Chief of Staff for Marketing at DoorDash, explains how to build creative operations that scale with hyper-growth without becoming bureaucratic. She shares why understanding your team members comes before implementing any tool or process, how to use incremental changes to build trust while introducing new systems, and why internal creative studios need to stop being treated as free resources and start operating with “creative currency” that protects their capacity and positions their work as expertise.</p><h2>About the Guest</h2><p>Shannon Duncan is Chief of Staff for Marketing at DoorDash, where she previously built the company's creative operations from the ground up. She joined DoorDash in 2021 when the internal creative studio was just beginning to take shape - a few creatives, freelance project managers, no established processes - and transformed it into a strategic partner serving one of the most dominant players in food delivery. Before DoorDash, Shannon spent years in creative ops and project management at independent agencies, where she learned that the most important variable in creative operations is people…not tools or dashboards. Her people-first philosophy has shaped how she approaches everything from process changes to stakeholder management to building a culture where “1% better every day” is the standard.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>Why creative leaders need to earn team members’ and stakeholders’ trust before implementing new systems</li><li>How to use the "1% better every day" philosophy to make incremental changes that stick without overwhelming teams</li><li>Why in-house creative teams hit an "abuse state" when treated as free resources, and how to protect their capacity</li><li>Why creative ops leaders need to understand business priorities beyond their own team to position their work strategically</li></ul><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><p><br /></p>no00:33:23111People Before Process: Building Creative Ops at DoorDash - with Shannon Duncanfull<![CDATA[Stop Taking Orders, Start Asking Questions: Stakeholder Whispering with Bill Shander]]>Bill Shander, author of Stakeholder Whispering, explains how to shift from reactive execution to strategic partnership by uncovering what stakeholders actually need before starting work. He shares the Socratic method for guiding conversations without creating defensiveness, why bringing external expertise (not just creative talent) builds credibility with business stakeholders, and what CMOs can implement tomorrow to build cultures where strategic thinking becomes the default.

About the Guest

Bill Shander has spent 30 years bridging the gap between creative work and business strategy, specializing in data visualization and storytelling. He teaches organizations like the World Bank, multiple US government agencies, and major consulting firms how to transform complex information into compelling narratives. His book, Stakeholder Whispering: Uncover What People Need Before Doing What They Ask, addresses the fundamental problem that keeps creative teams reactive: stakeholders rarely know what they actually need, and most creatives don't know how to uncover it. Bill also teaches courses on LinkedIn Learning and speaks internationally on data storytelling, stakeholder alignment, and strategic communication.

Key Topics Discussed

  • How to get stakeholders to understand and reveal what they actually need
  • Why hitting pause before execution is one of the most important skills creatives can develop
  • How CMOs can use "useful paranoia" to run weekly 15-minute sessions where teams question one underlying assumption
  • Why AI executes orders perfectly but only humans can read context, body language, and ask the unexpected questions that lead to better work

Connect with Jesse

]]>bcca6d55-470b-4ed9-936f-b7a513030b91Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:00:00 GMT<p>Bill Shander, author of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.amazon.com/Stakeholder-Whisperer-Uncovering-People-Before/dp/1394289529/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37HK7X5ZRF6UU&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.haOwUYWvT3mBkR4SGidDsQ.LZ7kAtn0Yh_h4Zkz2E-3y3jzSP97Gy5hVMdpyC0TYvE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=stakeholder+whispering&amp;qid=1743187264&amp;sprefix=stakeholder+whis%2Caps%2C158&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank">Stakeholder Whispering</a>, explains how to shift from reactive execution to strategic partnership by uncovering what stakeholders actually need before starting work. He shares the Socratic method for guiding conversations without creating defensiveness, why bringing external expertise (not just creative talent) builds credibility with business stakeholders, and what CMOs can implement tomorrow to build cultures where strategic thinking becomes the default.</p><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Bill Shander has spent 30 years bridging the gap between creative work and business strategy, specializing in data visualization and storytelling. He teaches organizations like the World Bank, multiple US government agencies, and major consulting firms how to transform complex information into compelling narratives. His book, <i>Stakeholder Whispering: Uncover What People Need Before Doing What They Ask</i>, addresses the fundamental problem that keeps creative teams reactive: stakeholders rarely know what they actually need, and most creatives don't know how to uncover it. Bill also teaches courses on LinkedIn Learning and speaks internationally on data storytelling, stakeholder alignment, and strategic communication.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></p><ul><li>How to get stakeholders to understand and reveal what they actually need</li><li>Why hitting pause before execution is one of the most important skills creatives can develop</li><li>How CMOs can use "useful paranoia" to run weekly 15-minute sessions where teams question one underlying assumption</li><li>Why AI executes orders perfectly but only humans can read context, body language, and ask the unexpected questions that lead to better work</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse</b></p><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul>no00:26:47110Stop Taking Orders, Start Asking Questions: Stakeholder Whispering with Bill Shanderfull<![CDATA[What Going In-House Taught Me About Stakeholders - with Jen Perry]]>Why do creatives assume stakeholders don't care about good work, while stakeholders assume creatives are precious artists who can't handle feedback? That fundamental misunderstanding damages relationships, undermines creative quality, and keeps teams stuck in reactive, order-taking mode.

In this episode, Jen Perry, Executive Creative Director at Vagrants, shares what she learned by doing something most creatives never do: going in-house, then returning to the agency world. That dual perspective gave her rare insight into the pressures both sides face. She explains how to build genuine empathy with stakeholders, why information sharing is a core leadership responsibility, and what it takes to position creative teams as business partners instead of service providers.

About the Guest

Jen Perry is the Executive Creative Director at Vagrants, a creative studio in Boston. She spent 15 years at traditional network agencies including BBDO, Deutsch, and Hill Holiday before moving in-house to build and lead a creative team at a tech company. Unlike most creatives who go in-house and never return, Jen went back to agency life with a fundamentally different understanding of stakeholder pressures, business constraints, and what it takes to connect creative work to business outcomes.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why traditional agencies separate creatives from clients and how that stunts professional growth, especially when creatives go in-house
  • The empathy gap: what creatives misunderstand about stakeholders and what stakeholders misunderstand about creatives
  • Practical ways to build empathy
  • Why information-sharing is a core part of creative leaders’ jobs

Connect with Jesse

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]]>6ceeacaa-8509-4b25-96cb-1b256df68306Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:00:00 GMT<p>Why do creatives assume stakeholders don't care about good work, while stakeholders assume creatives are precious artists who can't handle feedback? That fundamental misunderstanding damages relationships, undermines creative quality, and keeps teams stuck in reactive, order-taking mode.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Jen Perry, Executive Creative Director at Vagrants, shares what she learned by doing something most creatives never do: going in-house, then returning to the agency world. That dual perspective gave her rare insight into the pressures both sides face. She explains how to build genuine empathy with stakeholders, why information sharing is a core leadership responsibility, and what it takes to position creative teams as business partners instead of service providers.</p><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Jen Perry is the Executive Creative Director at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.vagrants.com/" target="_blank">Vagrants</a>, a creative studio in Boston. She spent 15 years at traditional network agencies including BBDO, Deutsch, and Hill Holiday before moving in-house to build and lead a creative team at a tech company. Unlike most creatives who go in-house and never return, Jen went back to agency life with a fundamentally different understanding of stakeholder pressures, business constraints, and what it takes to connect creative work to business outcomes.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></p><ul><li>Why traditional agencies separate creatives from clients and how that stunts professional growth, especially when creatives go in-house</li><li>The empathy gap: what creatives misunderstand about stakeholders and what stakeholders misunderstand about creatives</li><li>Practical ways to build empathy</li><li>Why information-sharing is a core part of creative leaders’ jobs</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse</b></p><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><p></p><p><b>Subscribe &amp; Review</b></p><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:26:2619What Going In-House Taught Me About Stakeholders - with Jen Perryfull<![CDATA[How To Bridge the IT-Creative Divide and Get the Infrastructure You Need - with Lisa M. Watts]]>Why do some in-house creative teams thrive while others get caught in an endless cycle of being brought in-house, then outsourced, then rebuilt, then eliminated again?

In this episode, Lisa M. Watts, CEO and Founder of CREE8, explains why infrastructure designed for velocity looks completely different than infrastructure designed for cost control. She shares practical frameworks for reframing conversations with IT departments, scaling distributed teams securely, and proving strategic value through metrics that actually matter to the C-suite.

About the Guest

Lisa M. Watts is the CEO and founder of CREE8, a cloud-native production platform built around a “Studio-in-a-Box” infrastructure designed to give creative teams visibility into their work, control over their assets, and the velocity brands now demand. Before founding CREE8, Lisa spent nearly 25 years at Intel, where she pioneered initiatives including the first VR esports league and Intel's first virtual CES booth. She's a member of the Television Academy (Emmys), Forbes Business Council, and Hollywood Professionals Association. Under her leadership, CREE8 won the 2025 NAB Show Product of the Year Award and has executed three strategic acquisitions to build an end-to-end platform for creative production teams.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The IT department disconnect: why creative infrastructure needs look like "apples and oranges" to IT
  • How to reframe infrastructure conversations from cost control to velocity and business outcomes
  • Where technical infrastructure steals time from strategic creative work
  • Why "velocity minus control plus AI equals chaos"

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]]>637975e1-79dd-4d9e-9475-849fe03f1075Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:37:56 GMT<p>Why do some in-house creative teams thrive while others get caught in an endless cycle of being brought in-house, then outsourced, then rebuilt, then eliminated again?</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Lisa M. Watts, CEO and Founder of CREE8, explains why infrastructure designed for velocity looks completely different than infrastructure designed for cost control. She shares practical frameworks for reframing conversations with IT departments, scaling distributed teams securely, and proving strategic value through metrics that actually matter to the C-suite.</p><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Lisa M. Watts is the CEO and founder of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.cree8.io/" target="_blank">CREE8</a>, a cloud-native production platform built around a “Studio-in-a-Box” infrastructure designed to give creative teams visibility into their work, control over their assets, and the velocity brands now demand. Before founding CREE8, Lisa spent nearly 25 years at Intel, where she pioneered initiatives including the first VR esports league and Intel's first virtual CES booth. She's a member of the Television Academy (Emmys), Forbes Business Council, and Hollywood Professionals Association. Under her leadership, CREE8 won the 2025 NAB Show Product of the Year Award and has executed three strategic acquisitions to build an end-to-end platform for creative production teams.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></p><ul><li>The IT department disconnect: why creative infrastructure needs look like "apples and oranges" to IT</li><li>How to reframe infrastructure conversations from cost control to velocity and business outcomes</li><li>Where technical infrastructure steals time from strategic creative work</li><li>Why "velocity minus control plus AI equals chaos"</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse</b></p><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a><p></p></li></ul><p><b>Subscribe &amp; Review</b></p><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:19:3118How To Bridge the IT-Creative Divide and Get the Infrastructure You Need - with Lisa M. Wattsfull<![CDATA[ How To Make DAM Management Actually Work with Phil Seibel]]>Why do some DAM implementations transform how teams work while others become expensive digital filing cabinets that nobody trusts?

In this episode, Phil Seibel of Aldis Systems explains why the platform is never the problem. The real difference between owning a DAM and having an effective DAM system comes down to governance, resourcing, and understanding your team's actual workflows. Phil shares practical frameworks for planning DAM implementation, avoiding the side project trap, and building systems around how people actually work rather than theoretical best practices.

About the Guest

Phil Seibel is a digital librarian with Aldis Systems, a media asset management company that helps organizations implement, optimize, and manage DAM programs. Phil brings a library science background to the technical challenges of digital asset management, focusing on user journey mapping, metadata governance, and building sustainable systems. At Aldis, Phil works with enterprise clients across industries to design DAM programs that align with actual workflows and deliver measurable ROI.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The critical differences between owning a DAM platform and having an effective DAM system
  • Why governance matters more than platform features
  • The questions teams don't ask that they should about user journeys and workflows
  • Resourcing options: hiring internally, fractional support, or full outsourcing
  • The risks of treating DAM management as a side project

Connect with Jesse

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]]>c3310b6b-0a73-410f-b8f9-b1797423bebeWed, 07 Jan 2026 16:09:36 GMT<p>Why do some DAM implementations transform how teams work while others become expensive digital filing cabinets that nobody trusts?</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Phil Seibel of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://aldissystems.com/" target="_blank">Aldis Systems</a> explains why the platform is never the problem. The real difference between owning a DAM and having an effective DAM <i>system</i> comes down to governance, resourcing, and understanding your team's actual workflows. Phil shares practical frameworks for planning DAM implementation, avoiding the side project trap, and building systems around how people actually work rather than theoretical best practices.</p><p></p><p><b>About the Guest</b></p><p>Phil Seibel is a digital librarian with Aldis Systems, a media asset management company that helps organizations implement, optimize, and manage DAM programs. Phil brings a library science background to the technical challenges of digital asset management, focusing on user journey mapping, metadata governance, and building sustainable systems. At Aldis, Phil works with enterprise clients across industries to design DAM programs that align with actual workflows and deliver measurable ROI.</p><p></p><p><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></p><ul><li>The critical differences between owning a DAM platform and having an effective DAM system</li><li>Why governance matters more than platform features</li><li>The questions teams don't ask that they should about user journeys and workflows</li><li>Resourcing options: hiring internally, fractional support, or full outsourcing</li><li>The risks of treating DAM management as a side project</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Connect with Jesse</b></p><ul><li>Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net/creative-ops-assessment</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><p></p><p><b>Subscribe &amp; Review</b></p><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:23:1616 How To Make DAM Management Actually Work with Phil Seibelfull<![CDATA[Why Your Failed Creative Ops Initiative Deserves a Second Chance (And How to Know When)]]>We've all heard the quote about insanity being "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." It's often attributed to Einstein, which makes it feel like scientific fact. But it's complete nonsense.

In this minisode, Jesse challenges this widely misquoted phrase and explores why in-house creative teams give up too easily on initiatives that failed once. From DAM system proposals to strategic positioning efforts, creative leaders often let one "no" define the future. But conditions change. People change. Your team's capabilities grow.

Jesse breaks down how to diagnose why past initiatives failed, identify when conditions have actually shifted, and determine when it's strategic (not stubborn) to try again.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why the "insanity" quote is factually wrong on multiple levels
  • How in-house creative teams hold themselves back after one failed attempt
  • The diagnostic framework: separating stakeholder readiness from solution quality
  • Real client example: strategic positioning that failed two years ago but succeeded recently
  • When you genuinely shouldn't try again (and how to know the difference)
  • Three specific signals that conditions have shifted enough to warrant a second attempt

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]]>1802acdf-d68a-49cb-980a-9ce057f2f85cThu, 18 Dec 2025 15:58:17 GMT<p>We've all heard the quote about insanity being "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." It's often attributed to Einstein, which makes it feel like scientific fact. But it's complete nonsense.</p><p></p><p>In this minisode, Jesse challenges this widely misquoted phrase and explores why in-house creative teams give up too easily on initiatives that failed once. From DAM system proposals to strategic positioning efforts, creative leaders often let one "no" define the future. But conditions change. People change. Your team's capabilities grow.</p><p></p><p>Jesse breaks down how to diagnose why past initiatives failed, identify when conditions have actually shifted, and determine when it's strategic (not stubborn) to try again.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>Why the "insanity" quote is factually wrong on multiple levels</li><li>How in-house creative teams hold themselves back after one failed attempt</li><li>The diagnostic framework: separating stakeholder readiness from solution quality</li><li>Real client example: strategic positioning that failed two years ago but succeeded recently</li><li>When you genuinely shouldn't try again (and how to know the difference)</li><li>Three specific signals that conditions have shifted enough to warrant a second attempt</li></ul><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Jesse's work at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to suggest a topic for the show? Reach out to Jesse at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><h2>Subscribe &amp; Review</h2><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:08:3616Why Your Failed Creative Ops Initiative Deserves a Second Chance (And How to Know When)full<![CDATA[Setting the Stage: In-House Studios with Lauren Jensen]]>Most creative leaders think asking for a smaller budget will help them get approval for a studio. They're wrong. In this episode, Lauren Jensen of Provost Studio explains why that approach backfires, and shares the frameworks she uses to help in-house teams navigate the complex process of winning studio approval. From deciding whether to build in the first place through execution and beyond, Lauren reveals why this is fundamentally a transformation project about people and relationships, not technology and equipment.

About the Guest

Lauren Jensen is Vice President of Growth and Partnerships at Provost Studio, a firm that designs broadcast studios and camera-ready branded spaces for major corporations including NASCAR, Atlanta United, and Fortune 500 companies. She helps creative teams translate technical needs into business language that resonates with leadership, and guides them through the organizational challenges of securing approval, building internal partnerships, and executing studio projects. Before joining Provost Studio, Lauren spent over a decade working at experience design agencies and led transformation initiatives at Disguise, a virtual production technology company.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Whether building makes sense versus continuing to rent or outsource
  • Why asking for too little budget is one of the biggest mistakes creative teams make
  • Building authentic relationships with Facilities, IT, and other internal partners early
  • Managing the studio approval process alongside day-to-day responsibilities
  • Why studios should be treated as transformation projects, not just technical upgrades
  • What happens after the build: preparing for unexpected demand and use cases

Connect with Lauren

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]]>d0343618-987d-4305-b72f-1ad812dbcb43Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:53:39 GMT<p><b>Most creative leaders think asking for a smaller budget will help them get approval for a studio. They're wrong.</b> In this episode, Lauren Jensen of Provost Studio explains why that approach backfires, and shares the frameworks she uses to help in-house teams navigate the complex process of winning studio approval. From deciding whether to build in the first place through execution and beyond, Lauren reveals why this is fundamentally a transformation project about people and relationships, not technology and equipment.</p><h2>About the Guest</h2><p>Lauren Jensen is Vice President of Growth and Partnerships at Provost Studio, a firm that designs broadcast studios and camera-ready branded spaces for major corporations including NASCAR, Atlanta United, and Fortune 500 companies. She helps creative teams translate technical needs into business language that resonates with leadership, and guides them through the organizational challenges of securing approval, building internal partnerships, and executing studio projects. Before joining Provost Studio, Lauren spent over a decade working at experience design agencies and led transformation initiatives at Disguise, a virtual production technology company.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>Whether building makes sense versus continuing to rent or outsource</li><li>Why asking for too little budget is one of the biggest mistakes creative teams make</li><li>Building authentic relationships with Facilities, IT, and other internal partners early</li><li>Managing the studio approval process alongside day-to-day responsibilities</li><li>Why studios should be treated as transformation projects, not just technical upgrades</li><li>What happens after the build: preparing for unexpected demand and use cases</li></ul><h2>Connect with Lauren</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Provost Studio at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.provost-studio.com" target="_blank">www.provost-studio.com</a></li><li>Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurendjensen/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurendjensen/</a></li><li>Follow Provost Studio on LinkedIn at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/provost-studio/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/provost-studio/</a></li></ul><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Jesse's work at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><h2>Subscribe &amp; Review</h2><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:24:5115Setting the Stage: In-House Studios with Lauren Jensenfull<![CDATA[Embracing Risk with Tim Bradley]]>Jesse speaks with Tim Bradley, founder of Pennant Video, about why in-house creative teams tend to play it safe and what that caution costs them over time. Tim shares insights from running a video agency that collaborates regularly with internal teams, revealing the dynamics that keep teams stuck in risk-averse patterns and the practical steps leaders can take to break the cycle.

About the Guest

Tim Bradley is the founder of Pennant Video, a mid-funnel focused video agency specializing in the critical trust-building phase of the buyer's journey. With expertise in helping brands communicate new positioning, support sales kickoffs, and capture customer stories, Tim works alongside in-house creative teams at inflection points where speed, focus, and objectivity matter most. He brings a unique outside perspective on what holds internal teams back and what makes creative partnerships genuinely productive.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why in-house teams are more risk averse than external agencies
  • The compounding cost of playing it safe
  • The case for protected time
  • What to look for when evaluating agency partners
  • Building strategic value through internal relationships and calendar visibility

Connect with Tim

Connect with Jesse

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]]>687092b6-244c-493b-8b8d-51a2616b843dWed, 19 Nov 2025 15:07:09 GMT<p>Jesse speaks with Tim Bradley, founder of Pennant Video, about why in-house creative teams tend to play it safe and what that caution costs them over time. Tim shares insights from running a video agency that collaborates regularly with internal teams, revealing the dynamics that keep teams stuck in risk-averse patterns and the practical steps leaders can take to break the cycle.</p><h2>About the Guest</h2><p>Tim Bradley is the founder of Pennant Video, a mid-funnel focused video agency specializing in the critical trust-building phase of the buyer's journey. With expertise in helping brands communicate new positioning, support sales kickoffs, and capture customer stories, Tim works alongside in-house creative teams at inflection points where speed, focus, and objectivity matter most. He brings a unique outside perspective on what holds internal teams back and what makes creative partnerships genuinely productive.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>Why in-house teams are more risk averse than external agencies</li><li>The compounding cost of playing it safe</li><li>The case for protected time</li><li>What to look for when evaluating agency partners</li><li>Building strategic value through internal relationships and calendar visibility</li></ul><h2>Connect with Tim</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Pennant Video at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.pennantvideo.com" target="_blank">www.pennantvideo.com</a></li></ul><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Jesse's work at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><h2>Subscribe &amp; Review</h2><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:25:0614Embracing Risk with Tim Bradleyfull<![CDATA[The Great Mandate Debate]]>In this solo episode, Jesse tackles a question that comes up constantly with in-house creative teams: should there be a mandate requiring stakeholders to work with you instead of external agencies? Jesse shares his honest perspective on why mandates often backfire, when they might actually make sense, and what it takes to build a team that stakeholders choose to work with rather than one they're forced to use.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why mandates can signal weakness and create the perception that your team can't compete on merit
  • The backfire effect: getting compliance without enthusiasm, trust, or early strategic involvement
  • The benefits when stakeholders work with external vendors (exposure to new approaches and concrete case studies for your value)
  • Three scenarios where limited, temporary mandates might be strategic

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]]>b0889d19-3720-4bfb-9e4a-ee48a0a49a09Thu, 30 Oct 2025 15:48:26 GMT<p>In this solo episode, Jesse tackles a question that comes up constantly with in-house creative teams: should there be a mandate requiring stakeholders to work with you instead of external agencies? Jesse shares his honest perspective on why mandates often backfire, when they might actually make sense, and what it takes to build a team that stakeholders choose to work with rather than one they're forced to use.</p><h2><b>Key Topics Discussed</b></h2><ul><li>Why mandates can signal weakness and create the perception that your team can't compete on merit</li><li>The backfire effect: getting compliance without enthusiasm, trust, or early strategic involvement</li><li>The benefits when stakeholders work with external vendors (exposure to new approaches and concrete case studies for your value)</li><li>Three scenarios where limited, temporary mandates might be strategic</li></ul><h2><b>Connect with Jesse</b></h2><ul><li>Learn more about Jesse's work at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky/</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to Jesse at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><h2><b>Subscribe &amp; Review</b></h2><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a comment. Let Jesse know what creative ops challenges you're facing and what topics would help your team work better.</p>no00:10:4813The Great Mandate Debatefull<![CDATA[Navigating Change with Priya Shah]]>In this episode, Jesse speaks with Priya Shah, CEO and founder of Shah Squared Consulting, about one of the most frustrating challenges for in-house creative teams: getting process improvements to actually stick after implementation.

Priya brings over 15 years of experience helping global companies, startups, and mission-driven organizations enhance their social media presence and operations. In this conversation, she shares hard-won insights about why implementations fail, how to get real stakeholder buy-in, and practical strategies for maintaining momentum long after consultants leave.

About the Guest

Priya Shah is the CEO and Founder of Shah Squared Consulting, a fractional communications firm that helps healthcare and B2B organizations enhance their digital presence through strategic comms and employee advocacy. With her proprietary Shah Squared Communications Model™, she connects authentic storytelling with measurable business results.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why teams default back to old processes despite knowing better ways exist
  • Overcoming team members' fears about consultants and change
  • The critical difference between one-to-many and one-to-one stakeholder communication
  • Finding and leveraging internal champions at all levels (not just leadership)
  • Creating sustainable roadmaps that account for daily workload realities
  • Why cultural differences impact change adoption in global organizations

Main Takeaways

  1. Address the fear factor directly

    Team members often see consultants as "the Bobs" from Office Space. Counter this by showing how new processes free them up for more strategic, visible work rather than threatening their roles.

  2. Customize your message to each stakeholder

    As Priya said, "If they care about numbers, come with numbers. If they care about visuals, come with visuals. Speaking their language is essential for buy-in."

  3. Think beyond the roadshow approach

    Big Zoom meetings where you announce "here's how you work with us now" often fail. Invest in one-to-one conversations where you can read verbal and nonverbal cues.

  4. Build in grace periods

    Implementation isn't a light switch. Create manageable phases, and be okay with pausing during big campaigns or busy periods. Progress beats perfection.

  5. Look beyond senior leadership for champions

    Peer-to-peer influence can be more powerful than top-down mandates. Find your hand-raisers at every level.

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Jesse

Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to Jesse at jesse@infocusconsulting.net

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]]>0f6ff700-9570-4a82-926a-90b5b8717d39Thu, 23 Oct 2025 19:04:43 GMT<p>In this episode, Jesse speaks with Priya Shah, CEO and founder of Shah Squared Consulting, about one of the most frustrating challenges for in-house creative teams: getting process improvements to actually stick after implementation.</p><p>Priya brings over 15 years of experience helping global companies, startups, and mission-driven organizations enhance their social media presence and operations. In this conversation, she shares hard-won insights about why implementations fail, how to get real stakeholder buy-in, and practical strategies for maintaining momentum long after consultants leave.</p><h2>About the Guest</h2><p><b>Priya Shah</b> is the CEO and Founder of Shah Squared Consulting, a fractional communications firm that helps healthcare and B2B organizations enhance their digital presence through strategic comms and employee advocacy. With her proprietary Shah Squared Communications Model™, she connects authentic storytelling with measurable business results.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>Why teams default back to old processes despite knowing better ways exist</li><li>Overcoming team members' fears about consultants and change</li><li>The critical difference between one-to-many and one-to-one stakeholder communication</li><li>Finding and leveraging internal champions at all levels (not just leadership)</li><li>Creating sustainable roadmaps that account for daily workload realities</li><li>Why cultural differences impact change adoption in global organizations</li></ul><h2>Main Takeaways</h2><ol><li><b>Address the fear factor directly</b><p>Team members often see consultants as "the Bobs" from Office Space. Counter this by showing how new processes free them up for more strategic, visible work rather than threatening their roles.</p></li><li><b>Customize your message to each stakeholder</b><p>As Priya said, "If they care about numbers, come with numbers. If they care about visuals, come with visuals. Speaking their language is essential for buy-in."</p></li><li><b>Think beyond the roadshow approach</b><p>Big Zoom meetings where you announce "here's how you work with us now" often fail. Invest in one-to-one conversations where you can read verbal and nonverbal cues.</p></li><li><b>Build in grace periods</b><p>Implementation isn't a light switch. Create manageable phases, and be okay with pausing during big campaigns or busy periods. Progress beats perfection.</p></li><li><b>Look beyond senior leadership for champions</b><p>Peer-to-peer influence can be more powerful than top-down mandates. Find your hand-raisers at every level.</p></li></ol><h2>Resources Mentioned</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Jesse's work at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li></ul><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><p>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to Jesse at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></p><h2>Subscribe &amp; Review</h2><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:21:2711Navigating Change with Priya Shahfull<![CDATA[Building Agency Partnerships with Joel Kaplan]]>Jesse speaks with Joel Kaplan, founder of MK3 Creative, about how in-house creative teams can build stronger, more productive relationships with external agencies. Joel shares nearly 30 years of insights from the agency side, revealing what separates one-off projects from long-term partnerships and how better communication in the intake process saves both time and money for everyone involved.

About the Guest

Joel Kaplan is the founder of MK3 Creative, a Boston area creative agency with nearly three decades of experience working with clients ranging from small internal creative departments to major corporate teams. Joel brings a unique perspective on what makes agency relationships work, having seen firsthand the communication breakdowns, missing information, and stakeholder challenges that can derail even well-intentioned projects.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The critical elements of an effective creative brief
  • How to get stakeholders involved early without losing control
  • Questions to ask that clarify creative direction and decision-making authority
  • Managing the line between helpful input and micromanagement
  • What it takes to maintain long-term agency partnerships

Main Takeaways

1. Start with a solid brief

The more information you provide upfront, the better the creative concepts and budgets you'll receive. A well-written brief saves time on both sides by preventing unnecessary rounds of revisions and proposals that miss the mark entirely.

2. Talk about budget early

Working through concepts without budget guidance is ”like driving with your eyes closed”. Whether you provide an exact number or a range, give your agency partners enough information to propose ideas that actually fit what you're trying to accomplish. If you're unsure about budget, have a conversation about back-of-the-napkin ranges before formal proposals begin.

3. Get stakeholders involved early in the process

Build time into your project timeline for key decision makers to weigh in before the end. Ask stakeholders what they've seen that they like, get their vision upfront, and include them in at least one early conversation with the agency. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for scope changes, blown budgets, and starting over when someone at the top finally sees the work.

4. Clarify creative direction and decision-making authority

Be clear about where the agency comes into the process. Do you need them to develop concepts from scratch, or do you have ideas you want them to execute and enhance? And be honest about who has final approval.

5. Keep your eye on the ball

When personalities, preferences, or shiny objects threaten to distract from the core goal, bring the conversation back to the fundamentals: who is the audience and what is the message? Every decision, from script writing to edit points, should serve those objectives..

Connect with Jesse

Subscribe & Review

If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.

]]>ffb1ccf9-1066-4452-b071-7daba7466eb3Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:24:48 GMT<p>Jesse speaks with Joel Kaplan, founder of MK3 Creative, about how in-house creative teams can build stronger, more productive relationships with external agencies. Joel shares nearly 30 years of insights from the agency side, revealing what separates one-off projects from long-term partnerships and how better communication in the intake process saves both time and money for everyone involved.</p><h2>About the Guest</h2><p>Joel Kaplan is the founder of MK3 Creative, a Boston area creative agency with nearly three decades of experience working with clients ranging from small internal creative departments to major corporate teams. Joel brings a unique perspective on what makes agency relationships work, having seen firsthand the communication breakdowns, missing information, and stakeholder challenges that can derail even well-intentioned projects.</p><h2>Key Topics Discussed</h2><ul><li>The critical elements of an effective creative brief</li><li>How to get stakeholders involved early without losing control</li><li>Questions to ask that clarify creative direction and decision-making authority</li><li>Managing the line between helpful input and micromanagement</li><li>What it takes to maintain long-term agency partnerships</li></ul><h2>Main Takeaways</h2><h3>1. Start with a solid brief</h3><p>The more information you provide upfront, the better the creative concepts and budgets you'll receive. A well-written brief saves time on both sides by preventing unnecessary rounds of revisions and proposals that miss the mark entirely.</p><h3>2. Talk about budget early</h3><p>Working through concepts without budget guidance is ”like driving with your eyes closed”. Whether you provide an exact number or a range, give your agency partners enough information to propose ideas that actually fit what you're trying to accomplish. If you're unsure about budget, have a conversation about back-of-the-napkin ranges before formal proposals begin.</p><h3>3. Get stakeholders involved early in the process</h3><p>Build time into your project timeline for key decision makers to weigh in before the end. Ask stakeholders what they've seen that they like, get their vision upfront, and include them in at least one early conversation with the agency. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for scope changes, blown budgets, and starting over when someone at the top finally sees the work.</p><h3>4. Clarify creative direction and decision-making authority</h3><p>Be clear about where the agency comes into the process. Do you need them to develop concepts from scratch, or do you have ideas you want them to execute and enhance? And be honest about who has final approval.</p><h3>5. Keep your eye on the ball</h3><p>When personalities, preferences, or shiny objects threaten to distract from the core goal, bring the conversation back to the fundamentals: who is the audience and what is the message? Every decision, from script writing to edit points, should serve those objectives..</p><h2>Connect with Jesse</h2><ul><li>Learn more about Jesse's work at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">www.infocusconsulting.net</a></li><li>Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessekrinsky</a></li><li>Have a creative ops challenge you're facing? Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to Jesse at <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:jesse@infocusconsulting.net" target="_blank">jesse@infocusconsulting.net</a></li></ul><h2>Subscribe &amp; Review</h2><p>If you found value in this episode, please subscribe to Creative Ops Compass and leave a review. Your feedback helps other creative leaders find the show and shapes future episode topics.</p>no00:22:3012Building Agency Partnerships with Joel Kaplanfull<![CDATA[Trailer]]>Welcome to the Creative Ops Compass podcast!

]]>079b7c7e-b601-45be-b107-a731d89792cbWed, 06 Aug 2025 19:38:52 GMT<p>Welcome to the Creative Ops Compass podcast!</p>no00:00:591Trailertrailer