What Digital Leaders can learn from Kevin Bacon

'A good director creates an environment, which gives the actor the encouragement to fly.' - Kevin Bacon

And Kevin, I tend to agree with you - especially in the context of digital workplace environments.

Having worked most of my career in either the media, marketing, or digital space, I’ve been lucky enough to work in some pretty innovative, creative spaces in Australia, New York and London.

Unfortunately, I have also worked with a few companies (who shall remain nameless) that didn’t prioritise their workplace environment - or the people working in it.

That seems crazy, right?

Think about it: You pay your people well, and expect them to do great things for you and you give them a dull office, bad lighting and a lifeless vibe. You then have the hide to ask them to be innovative, inspire others or do more. That's like planting sunflower seeds in wet concrete and expecting 6-foot-tall flowers to grow!

Walk into an office where you know the “director” has allowed for creativity, thought deeply about the space of his actors (or in our case, designers and developers), and brought to life a space that reflects the culture and collective personality of those that act in it. You'll notice how it can dramatically improve your whole day.

There is an indefinable 'vibe' that we can pick up on in these spaces. As a client, employee or visitor, an amazing workplace can you feel better instantly; meetings are a little bit more elevated, people are friendlier, work seems to happen more effortlessly and, importantly, people smile.

So, why is a COO of a 40+ person digital product agency thinking about Kevin Bacon and his ruminations on creative environments? Well, it's one really effective we can be building up our team, and sharpening our competitive edge.

We aren’t a huge global company with massive interior design budgets.  We are a mid-sized team of exceptional user experience designers, highly technical developers and some kickass producers. Don't take my word for it, read some more of of our team's thoughts here and see for yourself.

We work really hard every single day on multiple complex digital projects, each with tight deadlines, and so we need to do it in an environment which inspires us, reflects & builds our team culture and gives us the encouragement to fly.

So thanks Kevin - we'll make sure to send our 'Director' a thank-you note for the wonderful creative environment they've created here.

Please come and see our new offices. Drop us a line and let us know a good time for you :)