Donald Trump brought the "Apprentice" into our homes and, while we
don’t aspire to be The Donald (although it would be fun to preside over
a boardroom battle and yell, “you’re fired”), we are intrigued by the
idea of bringing the apprentice into the world of brand design. Some
of the most important lessons are learned through hands on experiences.
An Apprentice can be defined as: One bound by legal agreement to work for another for a specific amount of time in return for instruction in a trade, art, or business.
Many branding agencies hire interns and freshly plucked graduates
year after year, but perhaps that’s not the best approach to secure
great talent. Interns typically turn into gophers and extra bodies,
jumping from task to task as needed.
An apprentice learns the business from all angles by immersing
him/herself into each position. Instead of diving into a job without a
true comprehension of the business or company they are joining, the
apprentice would benefit from shadowing a seasoned professional in
order to learn the ins and outs of a company and what it has to
offer.
Here are a few key advantages to hiring an apprentice:
It’s All About the Culture
When new talent joins a company, it can take months for them to become entrenched in their new environment, figure out who does what and where they fit in. How many times have new hires looked so promising, but shortly after joining they flame out? Success depends not just on talent, but also on how they integrate their skills, and fresh thinking with the prevailing culture and atmosphere.
I challenge you to ask any junior designer at any company what their company does and see what they say. Do they know the clients the company has worked with or even the projects that have recently completed? Do they know the services they offer? The answer is probably no.
An apprentice could spend several weeks in each department getting to know what the people in that department do and gain valuable insights into each person’s contributions. This is critical to gaining a deep understanding of the business.
The Client is King – Forming Bonds and Partnerships
Nobody wants to hear the client say: “You’re Fired,” so better to give an apprentice time to learn the skills necessary to service clients appropriately. This is something that cannot be learned in a classroom where when an assignment is given, you design, you present, and you’re done. In the real world clients need nurturing and have strong opinions about how their brand should look and feel. By shadowing an account executive, an apprentice will learn how to interact with clients, how to listen to clients, and how to partner with clients to achieve optimal results for their brand.
Tick-Tock: the Clock is Running
On The Apprentice, contestants constantly battled the clock to get their tasks done. In school there are multiple classes and multiple assignments but, in the real world, there are deadlines that often occur simultaneously. What happens when a client calls at 5 pm and wants changes made to a package design and delivered for the CMO to review by 9 am the next day? Learning how to prioritize, multitask and manage time efficiently in a team environment is critical for success.
Respect – In and Out of the Boardroom
Respect can be a political minefield. Sure, we all learn (or should have learned) to show respect to our superiors, but within the world of a brand design firm, respect goes much deeper. Interaction among fellow employees, upper management, outside consultants and, of course, clients, is something that has to be learned. Watching how others handle these situations can bring clarity to individual situations. The nuances of the business require learning to respect other people's time, requests and efforts as well as respecting opinions, ideas and values.
If we followed the career trajectory of Donald Trump’s apprentices, we may have discovered that they've been "fired" or, perhaps they're super successful business tycoons. All I know is. . . maybe he was on to something.
About Rick Barrack & CBX
Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer/Partner is the lead creative force at CBX (www.cbx.com) and one of its founding partners. He is responsible for inspiring, directing and motivating the creative teams to develop powerful design solutions. Barrack has close to 20 years of experience in corporate identity and consumer brand identity design. He has led major design initiatives for companies such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, Petro-Canada, ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, and Del Monte Foods. Prior to creating CBX, Barrack was a Senior Design Director at FutureBrand and Design Director at LPK. Contact Rick at rick@cbx.com.
