Today is my last day at Brains on Fire. I am leaving to pursue my Masters in theatre. And while I’m excited about moving forward in that part of my life, and I am really sad to leave what has been my home. I have worked at Brains on Fire for a little over five years, and so, in the grand tradition of Virginia Miracle, I thought it only fitting to post my top ten lessons – big and small, specific and esoteric - learned in my time here. Not that whittling down my time here to 10 tidbits has been easy, mind you. It’s just such a nice, round, David Letterman approved number.

10) Unpack: I have spent a lot of time on the road over the last couple of years, and it was all too often that I would go to pack for my next trip, only to discover that I was still packed from my last trip. But on the trips when I would actually unpack, even if it was just for a day or two, I felt more at home, more in my space.

9) Technology is my friend: I have always been great with a word processor. I type about 80 words per minute on average. But in my time here I’ve learned html tags, resizing images, online communities, Web 2.0, the joy of putting the wrong head on the wrong body… but more importantly, I learned the power and application of those things. Brains on Fire is where I grew up in technology… and I’ve carried those lessons into the work I do for theatre and non-profit… a world that is generally a little behind on the technology front.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: This kinda goes hand in hand with the previous lesson. Technology is insanely accessible. Anyone can have a piece of it these days. But not everyone will benefit from a blog. Not everyone will benefit from a social community. Not everyone needs to understand a wiki. Just like any tools before them, finding the right tools for you and for your audience is far more important than using something because it’s there. Be authentic.

7) One person CAN make a difference: I am one of those obnoxious people who feels the need to correct people’s grammar… all the time. I know, it’s annoying. But ask if anyone at BoF ends their sentences with “at” anymore. I’m creating a better world – one dangling preposition at a time!

6) Write it down: Whether it’s the work you’re supposed to do for tomorrow or something really embarrassing a colleague said that you want to make sure to bring up at every possible opportunity, if you don’t write it down, it will be lost to you forever. And you’ll be sad.

5) Stand for something: anyone can make something, sell something, be something, do something… but if you believe in something, it changes the lens through which you view and are viewed. It changes the game and turns you from anyone into someone.

4) Just because you haven’t done it before, doesn’t mean you can’t do it: It’s a lesson we teach our clients as they take the enormous, life-changing risk of opening themselves up to their customers. And it’s the lesson Brains on Fire taught me when they took the enormous risk of asking me to head up the new-to-us (and new-to-me) insight department.

3) You don’t need to have the “right” degree, you need to be the right person: Again, hand in hand with the previous lesson. I majored in Theatre and English… walking out of college with those BAs in hand, I couldn’t help but imagine myself waiting tables for the rest of my life. But it’s amazing how far creativity, imagination, problem solving, organization, ability to read and understand people, a positive frame of mind, and plain old hard work can take you. We’ve all heard about “the rise of the creative class” and whatnot. I just think it’s an important thing to remember. Skills can be learned, hire for temperament.

2) Working with your friends… works: I’ve been here for five years. I have come to know and love the people I work with, and I venture to say most of them are pretty fond of me (except Spike… jerk). And I truly believe that these friendships/relationships contribute to the work we put out. Sometimes the people you work with are just the people in the next cubicle. And sometimes the people you work with are the friends you’ll have for the rest of your life. Cheesy? Maybe. True? Definitely.

1) Real still matters: in this world where so much is virtual, and every industry is leaping on the internet bandwagon, people are still people, and they still yearn for human interaction. It’s the reason 80+% of WOM still happens offline. It’s the reason books will never become extinct. And it’s incredibly comforting to me.

You know… I need to add one more lesson:

.5) People are generous: I think I tend to assume that people are bastard coated bastards with bastard filling (thank you to Scrubs for that perfect turn of phrase). But through the absolutely brilliant Curiosity Team, I have been repeatedly floored by the extreme generosity of these people who are willing to take some of their valuable time and contribute some of their valuable ideas. Some of them are my friends and family from years gone by… and some are people I now consider my friends after the time we’ve spent playing in the sandbox together. But all of them confirmed for me that people want to play… and people want to share… and I will truly miss them, and be forever grateful to them!

So there you go… my top 10.5 lessons from Brains on Fire. I can’t begin to thank BOF for everything they’ve done for and meant to me over the last few years. So I just have to say thanks to everyone… salute all you blog readers… and I’m still a member of The Curiosity Team… so I’ll see you online!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 4:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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