Creating Odd.studio: Applying the Mesa Method to build our own brand
In May 2019 we started our company Odd.Studio. It was a wish and an can’t-miss type of opportunity, all in one. From May to December we worked and traveled a lot, so there was little to no time to talk about branding. We were having an amazing opportunity to test ourselves as entrepreneurs before actually translating what we thought we were and want to represent. Not every company has that privilege, so we wanted to take our time, building portfolio and getting to work as a team for the first time.
In November, we decided we were ready to start discussing our brand, but we decided to do it ourselves, and not just participate in the process. After all, our vision was to build a studio with graphic design, experimental and practical design-like interventions with our clients, and this was the perfect opportunity to test our abilities. Hiring some other company to do it did not feel right, so we understood it was the perfect opportunity to test the Mesa Method.
But what is a Mesa and why use it as tool?
Mesa is a Brazilian company that has reinvented problem solving and how consulting works. They apply a 5-days sprint method to come up with a real deliverable at the end of day 5. Their method comes from the belief that a Mesa (“table” in Portuguese) is the perfect combination of work and pleasure, and all you need to work is talented people around a table to solve real and complicated problems. I have already been asked to contribute in 2 “Mesas” and not only have enjoyed it and learned a lot from it, but wanted to test my abilities as a leader, applying their method to solve our problems (if you want to learn more, please go to mesa.school, they have an online course that teaches their method, and although participating in one teaches you way more, I do recommend it).
The method was perfect for us: we didn’t have a lot of time, but wanted to do something awesome that captured who we were to start 2020 with a logo, portfolio and a digital representation of our work. So we set out a budget, made sure we would take a week off just to focus on it, and started prepping for the process.
Writing your Mission and choosing your Team
are the most important parts of getting a Mesa right
You never know exactly what is going to come out at the end of a Mesa, and that is the excitement of it, but you have an idea of the professionals needed because of the Mission. Building your team and writing a good Mission are key to having a good sprint, and we definitely did that: it is a great opportunity to really test someone’s abilities as makers and by the end of Day 2 you are so aligned in vision, ideas and goals with everyone around you that even though you are working simultaneously in different bits and parts of the work, everyone is speaking the same language and focused on the same targets and goals, and it all fits together.
The result can be something really incredible and you end up wanting to hire everyone that did a great job to continue working for you, simply because going through the trouble of explaining everything again for someone else just seems a waste of time. We did our job, but we were also lucky we found truly amazing people that decided to take our challenge as their own. So, our special thanks to everyone that left everything on that table with us: we will always remember your work ethics and dedication. That intensity just bonds people, and it is heartwarming to see them sharing the same dreams ❤
We didn’t have the biggest budget, so we had to make some tough choices: usually there are 12–14 people at a Mesa plus the leaders. We only had 7 people, our team being 3 of those, which meant being leader, maker, decision-maker and everything else you need. Being the Mesa leader and a maker at the same time was a huge challenge and I only recommend it if you have a good relationship with the people you are working with, because there might be a lot of operational challenges along the way. My biggest mistake was not hiring someone to work on sensitive issues, such as space, food and comfort. Worrying that everyone was fed as well as productive was a lot, and I’d go back and just have someone do it for us. Trust me, it will be a worthy investment.
And I believe that is where things could have gone really bad, but we managed to work it out: our main designer, Bruno, was tasked with the challenge to both coordinate other designers and develop a big part of the website. But his part was crucial for the development team, and they were depending on it to start programming. I’m really glad we were able to see that he was overwhelmed in time to get things done.
On Day 4 his part was not decided yet (which is very late for a Mesa!), so we called in reinforcements so he could share his ideas with an outsider, helping him focus and clear his mind. It worked, I wish I could have thought about that sooner, but it is a great resource and I recommend it as a “get that out of your system” kind of process. Having someone with a fresh look can definitely change your perspective!
I also have to thank my incredible designer and sister-in-law, whom I called 7 in the morning to “please come work for me today”, and and hour later she was there with Redbulls and Monsters for everyone. Love you Mary.
Mesa is all about rituals and processes
and there are two I really love: how they begin and how they end.
You are not supposed to discuss your Mission or any ideas you have on Day 1, and that is scary as hell, because you already have a limited time to work and you already hired and paid for everyone, so you want to get them working asap. But it is extremely important to follow the rules, and totally worth it.
Day 1 is all about downloading content from outside speakers, internal alignment and getting to know your team members, and if you are not on the same page with them, the rest of your days won’t engage as easy. So selecting the right guest speakers and telling the company’s story is as important as anything else to get things done.
Another ritual I loved was the final presentation. At the end of Day 5 the method demands you present your results to a selected group of people. And that is a real game-changer, because you definitely would leave a lot of things behind if you didn’t have the commitment to present it. We made sure we invited close friends and partners, but family as well, because you never wanna mess up in front of your family members! Creating that deadline and commitment to people you care is very important and it sure helps getting things done.
So what was the result?
Well you can check it for yourself, we are pretty proud of it: odd.studio
We not only achieved in a week — yes, 5 freaking days — our goal to develop our brand, logo, visual identity, but we also had our website online and running. We met amazing professionals that became good friends, got an incredible amount of other ideas we did not invest and have to explore throughout the year, and participated in the process of building our own brand. Choosing to do it ourselves was the best decision. I believe hiring someone else to do it wouldn’t have given us the results we were wishing for with the time we had.
But there was a lot of work into it too: more than 500 hours of dedication, late hours into discussion, some very vulnerable — but heart opening — experiences, hard choices, truthful one-on-one moments with my business associates, litters of coffee, candy cotton Monsters (which I did not know existed), Redbulls and an insane amount of passion and commitment.
Plus, you work at least 100 hours before and after a Mesa, not everything gets 100% solved and you have a lot of prepping — it took us another month to get pictures, fix bugs and write this post!
Was it worth it? Definitely. Do I believe Mesas can actually solve any problem out there?
I still have my doubts, but here is where I think it would work and why:
This process works really well for anything creative, design, conceptual, and even prototyping — physical or digital. It is mind-blowing what you can achieve with the right team and mission.
So, getting that idea off the paper? Easy. It works for creative processes and data science.
But things that require exploring and deep-diving I’m still curious to try out. For example, if you have a database you are not familiar with and needs to analyse and explore, maybe this is not the ideal process to start with.
But building a dashboard once you already know the data? Perfect.
Trying to analyse and select the best variables for you model, optimizing it to its fullest potential? Tricky, it might get you nowhere, because in data science sometimes you hit dead ends.
But creating indexes and applying different modeling techniques to a dataset you already know and have can be a great approach. Plus, you’ll get both the data science and the business/area of expertise collaborators in the same room to achieve quick results that otherwise would take endless meetings you to get mildly done.
I’m simply in love with the method, I think it is an incredible way of solving problems and I can’t wait to put our learnings into practice for a next challenge, either in our company or with a client’s problem, proving all you really need is good talent and a MESA to achieve greatness.
ps.: this was a private effort, with no contact whatsoever with the Mesa team, and we are not “officially certified” in any way, so this is my own, personal opinion, and I do not speak for the Mesa team, I only admire what they have created .
