The culture of the Bureau
by Jeff Yamada, Managing Director
Company culture is everything and nothing at the same time. Culture is something we share as a group, something that guides us in how we approach things, and how we enjoy all the time we spend together working hard and celebrating. After reading far too many articles and books about trying to build great culture I’ve come to believe that culture isn’t something you build directly and instead culture is the result, the definition, and implementation of core values. I think a lot of people try to build a culture around a glorified vision of collaboration and excitement, while our team can often go hours in silence as we all end up spending long stretches focused on our work. Sure, we have to pro-actively plan for times where we can all chat and relax, and often have to play music so it’s not too quiet, but I really value the fact that we’re such a small team that gets more done than a lot of teams far larger.
In a different context, we refer to our culture as the traditions and heritage of our parents. In that context, there are great aspects of any culture, and they’re all different. At their core they all tend to value the same things, the shared traditions we use to celebrate all aspects of life together. These traditions change over time, but their meanings and values tend to stick around. At Impossible Bureau I feel like our culture has grown, evolved, and changed over time too. We have some traditions, but in the end I’ve always sought to have everything start with the shared passion we have for the work we do, and the mutual ambition to be proud of what we accomplish together as a team. While other companies might build a culture around something “cool” like free coconut water, it feels like we’ve built a culture around being able to do the work far larger teams struggle with, with not being afraid to tackle huge problems with huge clients, of valuing our various perspectives and talents, and most of all a culture of delivering on what we set out to accomplish.
Much like the traditions I was taught by my parents and family, I’m most excited to pass on a lot of the things that have excited me over the years. I’m excited to see some of the younger guys working on really impressive pieces that I know will give some of them their first taste of digital fame. I’m eager to pass on the tradition of taking everyone out for sushi whenever we win an award (got that one at RED years back from a guy who won more awards than anyone I’ve ever heard of). Most of all I’m excited to continue building a team whose culture reflects a shared passion for having a blast while doing great work.
