My First Demotion, and How it Steers Me Today

Allow me to share what I’ve kept pretty much to myself for over 24 years: my first demotion. A year into my first job out of school, my boss invited me into his office for an annual performance review. He delivered a job title demotion from Associate Art Director to Production Designer. I didn’t see that coming. Or did I? Now, more than 24 years later, I’m realizing how powerful that moment was in crafting my work ethic and daily intentions as an entrepreneur.

Right out of school, I was hired by DSW, the largest ad agency in Utah. I very much enjoyed my time among so many creatives. I shared an office with another out-of-school Associate Art Director. She and I didn’t interact much, in fact I pretty much kept to myself as I designed Intel web pages using their highly-restrictive blue and orange color palette along with Helvetica Neue Bold Extended (with the bold checkbox checked). Yep, that was my one account, and that was my only allowed color/font combo.?

I loved watching over shoulders as the production team edited long strings of code to produce my visual end product. In fact, I spent a lot of time observing various teams working on video, print, media buying, and administration. I wanted to piece together the path that a project takes from idea to delivery.?

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I felt called out, as though I had taken something from somebody, and now they wanted it back. I was embarrassed, upset, and confused, unsure of what to do next.        

Following my annual review and job title demotion, I remember feeling called out, as though I had taken something from somebody, and now they wanted it back. I was embarrassed, upset, and confused, unsure of what to do next. I put in my 2-week notice and disappeared. I suppose I felt guilty for doing something falling short of what my job title specified.?I can’t say, for certain, why my managers made the decision to change my role. I speculate that I wasn’t proactive enough with design guidance to the production team. I do feel, though, that I was doing what was asked of me. I wasn’t sure whom I was letting down, other than myself. I avoided much-needed guidance from peers and mentors.

A Job Demotion, or a Job Correction?

I’m not sure I was living up to my title as “Art Director” since I certainly wasn’t art directing anybody. in fact, I wasn’t even art directing myself. I was more of a process analyst, following projects along their production lines. My new title of Production Designer was certainly a better fit for my hands-on inclination. I was functioning very much as a technician, and I was feeling comfortable in that space. I guess I was just too proud to let somebody else point that out and assign it.

How my First Demotion Changed my Trajectory

Since that 1998 demotion interview, I've recommitted over and over again to better understand the positions I was hired to fill. For some reason, it’s been hugely important for me to understand why I’m valuable. Just as I took interest in the project lifespan assembly line, I’ve shown up with intention to be that important cog in the creative process. Moreover, if I felt my skills could bleed over into other parts of the creative chain (which has certainly been the case) then I would discuss those ambitions with the team and leadership.

Today's Takeaways from a Long-ago Demotion:

• Exceed expectations
• Show up for yourself and others
• Seek mentors—they’re all around us
• Recognize your important role in the creative assembly line
• Plug yourself in to new places?
• Call yourself out before you get called out
• Be the giver and the receiver in your job titles and roles
• Take the time to understand why you’re valuable
• Let daily intentions fuel lofty goals

A Springboard for Growing my Entrepreneurial Legs

This series of events was ultimately a blessing. Stepping out of a very large agency and into smaller design boutiques allowed me to become involved in many facets of projects—from client to concept to completion…then to customer.

About the Author

I founded Targa Media, a relationship marketing and design firm, in 2002. My creative team and I focus on building emotional connections between the right people and products. More about me: I look forward to Monday mornings—I think that makes me an entrepreneur? I'm a family man. I love sunrises, speed golf, trail running, and chess. I play Ultimate Frisbee—the only team sport where I'm not picked last. I'm an ear-trained musician. I played a lot of classical music growing up, but broke all the rules by improvising—turns out that's called "jazz."

About Targa Media

Targa Media is a marketing firm that focuses on 1-to-1 marketing strategies. Since 2002, our methods have been very different from “ad agency” models with their stigma of heavy account management and closed-door creative. Targa Media works in stride with companies to help them understand their customers’ behaviors—what makes them tick, and what keeps them sticking around. This in turn produces a perpetual “value life cycle.” It’s a powerful tool for earning and keeping your best customers. More at un-adagency.com