That subject line might be my boldest claim yet. Among graphic artists and live sketch artists, this is about as close to hubris as you can get. The reality is different. It’s really not about drawing ability. It’s more a guarantee of process. Every team and room brings something to a session. Uncertainty, frustration, pride, questions, hope, momentum. Something. Those are the raw materials. The job is making them visible so teams can actually work with them. Why This Works Every Time A...
16 days ago • 2 min read
I got uninvited from a team meeting. It was my own two-person family team. And I have to tell you, I was relieved. In the fall of 2024, Megan and I were working on merch decisions for the Draw for Hope store. Looking at inventory, products, what to offer, how to set things up. I kept asking questions. Waaay too many questions. And then from those questions, branching into possibilities instead of moving toward decisions. What about these options? Should we do this format or that format? Have...
23 days ago • 2 min read
Every Monday at 11am, I get on a call with Doug. I'm usually holding coffee. Sketchbook open. Pen in hand. Often Megan joins us, occasionally its just me. We talk about the business, about clients, about whatever's been rattling around in my head that week. And while we talk, I draw. The same thing I do for clients, Doug does for me. He listens. He asks questions. He catches the thing I said in passing that I didn't realize mattered. I sketch what's coming out of these talks. I’ve spent years...
29 days ago • 3 min read
I'm annoying at parties, or at least in my own head I assume I am. I don’t mean in the "I don't pick up on social cues" way or in the "I talk too loud" way. It’s more in the fact that I find myself having conversations around getting people out of their comfort zone or challenging someone to follow their big dreams, or even actually telling people how I am when they ask me “How are you?”. And sure, there’s plenty of exaggeration here to make a point. People don’t actually avoid me at...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Early January, 2023. I'm looking at our work calendar and freaking out just a little (ok, maybe a lot). It's basically empty. We're eight days into the year and it’s hard to see what's coming. It’s making revenue forecasting tough and I’m definitely not feeling okay. So my thought keeps looping: If we don't see it now, it might not happen. This was me trying to solve the entire year in the first week all while demanding answers that don't exist yet. Now flash forward to early January, 2026....
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
May 2007. My first top-secret military project. Everyone in the office kept calling this one guy “Chief” but sort of off-the-cuff. There was a lot going on with this job, so just I figured it was a nickname. Maybe it was just an inside joke I wasn’t in on yet, or one of those nicknames that just crops up over time. Some relevant background: I wasn’t fully versed and fluent in military ranks yet. Had looked at the Wikipedia page once and got overwhelmed. It felt like there were ten different...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Walter Green sold his events company after 35 years. Then he said to his wife, “Honey, I’m going on a year-long trip.” She probably, of course, had questions. His reason was simple, if not audacious. There were 44 people in his life who he wanted to speak with. Who had shaped him in meaningful ways. These were the folks Walter looked back on as having made a difference, teaching him something, or who were there when it mattered. Walter’s plan was to tell each of them, in person and to their...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Megan and I were cleaning some junk drawers a few weeks ago. You know the kind. Full of random things you haven't looked at in years but can't quite throw away. Found an official-looking envelope she didn't recognize at first. Point Park University stamped across it. My college transcript. The official one. Meant to stay sealed until presented to some future authority who would need proof of my academic record. Megan opened it! Just ripped right through that seal like it was junk mail. My...
2 months ago • 4 min read
I’ve sat through more talks than anyone I know. Hundreds of speeches. Keynotes. Panel discussions. Corporate presentations. Government briefings. Sermons. Industry conferences across every sector you can imagine. Not the slightest exaggeration here. It’s literally my job to sit in rooms and listen while drawing what people say. Which gives me a strange vantage point, seeing what lands and what doesn’t. Not by judging the content or critiquing the delivery, but by what shows up on the page...
2 months ago • 2 min read