Artie Isaac

From: artie@speakersite.com
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 11:44 AM
To: rob@speakersite.com
Subject: Your 2 o’clock

Hey, Rob,

I glanced at your Google calendar and saw that you’re interviewing a potential hire at 2 p.m.

Thanks for doing this. You always tell me we’re betting our company on the talents and brilliance of our creative team. “That’s our business model.” I’m grateful to you for interviewing another candidate.

Oh, and I saw the candidate’s name on your calendar. I don’t know her. But I also saw that she’s from CCAD.

I do know what “from CCAD” means.

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of candidates and hired from all over. The folks who come from CCAD come with a promise. Year in and year out, “from CCAD” means this candidate—like everyone from CCAD—

• thinks — She’s not just a pair of hands. She’s going to know the underlying strategy that supports her work. Her concepts will be “client ready.”
• observes — She doesn’t live her whole life glued to her Mac. She’s a student of the world, exploring its nuances and bringing those insights to her work.
• understands — So many young people just want “a job.” But like you tell me, “This ain’t just a job.” It’s a lot more. We’re betting our company. Our houses. Our children’s college funds. Our futures. CCAD grads get it.
• produces — Everyone from CCAD is technically competent, broadly educated, and an art and design workhorse. The rest of the staff will be inspired to keep up.

Have fun at 2. I know it will be time well spent.

– Artie

Artie Isaac co-founded SpeakerSite, an online community of public speakers and event planners (2008), and Young Isaac, an award-winning creative marketing strategy and advertising agency (1990). A sought-after teacher and public speaker, he teaches Strategy, Creativity, and Ethics in Marketing at CCAD and Personal Creativity and Innovation at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. Isaac started his career with agencies in New York, including Ogilvy & Mather. He holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from Columbia, a B.A. in English Literature from Yale, and a high school diploma—and varsity letter for cheerleading—from the Columbus Academy.