The Next Chapter
How it feels to take an unexpected leap from creative director to CEO while staying in the same place — an agency I love.
About a month ago, I found myself sitting at a table with Struck’s board of directors. It was an anxious meeting — I had no idea what I was doing there and they seemed to have something monumental on their minds.
After an attempt at small talk, the then-CEO of Struck cleared his throat, looked me in the eye and said two things I never expected to hear:
“First, I have decided to leave Struck. And, second, we would like to appoint you as the new CEO.”
If the first statement was a stomach-punch, the second was a whirling haymaker. The room didn’t spin, it dissolved. My eyelid twitched. And, after an awkward, stupefied silence, I responded:
“You’re all crazy.”
I’ve worked at Struck for six-and-a-half years. Before that, I was the in-house creative director for one of Struck’s clients. In one way or another, I’ve known the folks at Struck for nearly 15 years. But I’d never imagined myself at that table, talking about this. I am a writer and a creative director. When I was promoted to executive creative director last summer, I believed that was it for me. I’d do that job for a while and then I’d do something else. If I was extremely lucky, I’d figure out how to do that job well enough that I’d find myself on a llama farm in a decade or two.
Even the general idea of a “CEO” position terrified me. My mind raced from the broadest strokes to the finest details. I live in Portland while the rest of the executive team is in Salt Lake City. I don’t really understand corporate tax liability. I can’t remember what EBITDA stands for. As I sat there, I felt completely unprepared and unqualified. It all felt too heavy and way too sudden. Honestly, I still feel that way now — unprepared, unqualified, terrified, Portlandian—and I doubt those feelings are going away anytime soon. I will probably always feel like a bit of a misfit, a creative peg in a business hole.
Something makes me think that’s why they chose me. And it’s also the reason I said yes.
I believe in doing the things that make us the most scared. It’s not easy — and I take the comfortable route more than I probably should. But looking a challenge in its blood-red eyes and realizing that you have absolutely no idea how this is going to work out… that’s the very feeling that drew me to this career in the first place. Solving messy problems. Wandering through the unknown. Grasping for answers and then finally tugging on the thread that unravels everything… that’s what keeps me coming back.
It also doesn’t hurt that this position comes with a cheat code. Or all the cheat codes. This chapter of Struck’s history doesn’t start at Level 1–1. It starts somewhere else, somewhere more interesting and more advanced. We get to build on nearly 20 years of history and a world-class portfolio. We get to build on a foundation of incredible thinkers, dreamers and doers. And we get to build on the existing relationships with our friends and co-conspirators, our clients.
We get to do what few other agencies have been able to do — we get to start fresh without actually starting fresh. Nothing is broken. The ship is not sinking. Our previous CEO is leaving on the best of terms. (I don’t know if it’s good to admit that his going-away party was something of an epic, mythical hero’s journey through the underworld of SLC… And, yes, SLC has an underworld.) He’s a friend and a mentor and a champion of the agency. We’re in good financial shape. We have work on our plates and food on our tables.
Personally (and selfishly) that’s the part that excites me more than anything else. I love Struck. I’ve seen it grow from a three-person shop into a renowned digital design and development powerhouse — only to grow again into a well-rounded creative agency with clients of all shapes and sizes and flavors. I’ve seen dear friends come and go and come and go again. I’ve seen pivots and evolutions. I haven’t seen it all, but I’ve seen enough to know that this place is special.
Struck has always believed in the power of creative ideas. That will never change. Our ideas, our work, our craft — they spark an emotional reaction in our audience. The things we make inspire and entertain. And, as the CEO of Struck, it’s my job to make sure we live up to that ambition and that potential. It’s tricky, right? I’m a creative director, but I’m also now something else. So I’m going to embrace that difference. There’s a lot to figure out, but I know this much: We’re going to push ourselves and our clients until we all find ourselves doing something we didn’t think possible. We’re going to be smarter and faster and more responsive. We’re going to read more books and listen to more records. We’re going to defy logic and listen to our emotions. We’re going to be greater than we’ve ever been before.
It’s terrifying. It’s exhilarating. It’s completely crazy. It makes total sense. Let the next chapter begin.
