don't feed the board monkeys

WELCOME

• Founded in 1988.

• 1,200+ peeps, 400 dedicated to digital.

• Six factories: Boulder, Miami, LA, Toronto, Gothenburg, and London.

• Part of MDC Partners: “Where Great Talent Lives”.

• “A Holding Company For Smart People”.

A BIT ABOUT CP+B

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OUR ROLEProvide value to clients and consumers through the design of delightful, intelligent and rewarding products, experiences and relationships, both at the micro and macro level.

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Industrial Design

Information Architecture

Game Design

Visual Design

Sonic Design

ArchitectureVirtual Worlds

Retail Design

Are you or is someone you know a “Board Monkey”?

Um.What the hell is a “Board Monkey”?

Story Time.

VIDEO TITLE (1:52)Video description goes here and is really interesting and insightful.

“So how do I avoid Board Monkeys at my workplace?”

-- or perhaps --

“Damn, I think I may be a board monkey.”

The CP+B UX 13

THE CP+B UX 13

1. Passion

PassionCONSIDER:

• Do they excite you?

• Are they cutting you off?

• The “bounce test”.

• Life beyond work.

• Can they control it?

• Relentless pursuit of perfection.

AFFECTS:

• Just a job or loves the journey?

• Willingness to settle for mediocrity.

• Potential to elevate entire team.

THE CP+B UX 13

2. Mental Quickness

Mental QuicknessCONSIDER:

• How long until they could finish your sentence?

• Speed to intelligent answer when put on spot.

• Contextual questions.

• Eye Contact.

• Speed chess.

AFFECTS:

• Approximate Learning Curve.

• Likelihood of being viewed as the smartest person in the room.

THE CP+B UX 13

3. Creative Vision

Creative VisionCONSIDER:

• Can they bring a solution that 7500 other designers couldn’t have thought of?

• Do they hide?

• Picking battles.

• Design Challenge.

AFFECTS:

• How good the work will be.

• How seriously they’ll be taken by other creatives.

• Movement from production shop to creative shop.

WHAT IF…

THE CP+B UX 13

4. Strategic Acumen

Strategic AcumenCONSIDER:

• Can they balance creative aspirations with business realities.

• “In a sentence” challenge.

• Can they defend their decisions?

• “MBA Talk”

AFFECTS:

• Potential for delivering business results.

• Client-facing readiness.

• How seriously they’ll be taken by company and account leadership.

THE CP+B UX 13

5. The Fundamentals

The FundamentalsCONSIDER:

• Can they communicate their vision thru documentation?

• Portfolio.

• Design Challenge(s).

• “What’s wrong with this picture?” challenge.

AFFECTS:

• Working Speed.

• Quality of Deliverables.

• Trust / Need to micro-manage.

• Credibility with teammates.

THE CP+B UX 13

6. Attention To Detail

Attention To DetailCONSIDER:

• Asking questions they haven’t thought of yet.

• Visual polish of their documents.

• Giving you more than you asked for.

• Spelling Mistakes.

AFFECTS:

• Credibility with teammates + clients.

• Quality of Deliverables.

• Trust / Need to micro-manage.

• Likelihood of problems during development.

Prepared for:Cripsin Porter + Boguvsky

THE CP+B UX 13

7. Zoom Control

“The lens through which leaders view the world can help or hinder their ability to make good strategic decisions, especially during crises. Zoom in, and get a close look at select details—perhaps too close to make sense of them. Zoom out, and see the big picture—but perhaps miss some subtleties and nuances…

… Some people prefer to see things up close, others from afar. Both perspectives—worm’s-eye and bird’s-eye—have virtues and pathologies. But they should be vantage points, not fixed positions. Leaders need multiple perspectives to get a complete picture. Effective leaders zoom in and zoom out.”

Rosabeth Moss KanterMarch 2011

Zoom ControlCONSIDER:

• Can they speak to both the micro and the macro strategies and implications of their past projects?

• How high and low can they go?

• Breadth of design challenge solution.

AFFECTS:

• UX team leadership abilities.

• Ability and willingness to get their hands “dirty”.

• Likelihood of Tunnel Vision.

THE CP+B UX 13

8. Comfort In Numbers

Comfort In NumbersCONSIDER:

• Knowledge of digital metrics / analytic systems.

• Their Past Clients.

• Ability to clearly articulate past project performance.

• Design by numbers?

• Education.

AFFECTS:

• Performance and quality of work.

• Defensibility of recommendations.

• Ability to effectively argue with Creatives and Clients.

THE CP+B UX 13

9. Translation Skills

Translation SkillsCONSIDER:

• Can they mold their narratives to each audience?

• “What do they care about” test.

• Do they have backgrounds in any other field?

• Their reading list / blog roll.

AFFECTS:

• Number of rounds for deliverables.

• Ability to sell an idea thru.

• Diversity of perspective when ideating.

TECHNOLOGISTS

DESIGNERSCREA

TIVE

D

IREC

TORS

COPYWRITERS

METRICS

ACCOUNT

PARTNERSCLIENTS

DAY TO DAYC-LEVEL

THE CP+B UX 13

10. Awareness + Inspiration

Awareness + InspirationCONSIDER:

• Blog roll call.

• Inspiration beyond Marketing.

• Ability to abstract.

• Ability to communicate out to others.

AFFECTS:

• Will they stay ahead of the curve?

• Are they content being a “fast follower”

• Will they know more than the client?

• Will they make the whole team better / more inspired?

“Anyone who’s looking for inspiration from other advertisers is in the wrong company.”Alex BoguskyFounding Partner, CP+B

THE CP+B UX 13

11. Platform Jumping

Platform JumpingCONSIDER:

• Understanding of the nuances of designing for each platform.

• Ability to abstract experience design principles from one to the next.

• Ability to push a platform.

AFFECTS:

• Their obsolescence, or not.

• Ability to develop holistic ecosystem strategies.

• Uniqueness of experiences on each platform.

• Number of Dead Ends.

THE CP+B UX 13

12. Lessons Learned

Lessons LearnedCONSIDER:

• Their biggest failures and their responses, both as an individual and as a team.

• Their biggest weakness personally.

• Intangible knowledge acquired during their journey.

AFFECTS:

• Approximate learning curve.

• Teamwork in adversity.

• How quickly they get back up.

• Likelihood for us to repeat the same mistakes.

THE CP+B UX 13

13. People Skills

People SkillsCONSIDER:

• Would you want to grab a beer with this person?

• Do they make the people around them look good?

• Do they know the line?

AFFECTS:

• Will people like them and want to work with them?

• Will the client want to work with them?

• Will they make the work place fun?

1. Passion2. Mental Quickness3. Creative Vision4. Strategic Acumen5. The Fundamentals6. Attention To Detail7. Zoom Control8. Comfort In Numbers9. Translation Skills10. Awareness + Inspiration11. Platform Jumping12. Lessons Learned13. People Skills

THE CP+B

UX 13

THANK YOU

Matt Walsh@IceColdVideomwalsh@cpbgroup.com