ZAG. BELONGING TO A SMALL TRIBE

Zag when everyone else is zigging. I've always been the outsider. The new kid. I went to at least 10 different schools by the time I graduated from high school (and loved it). Some kids who move around a lot learn how to fit in easily. They adapt and conform. I guess I never did that. I was never a joiner. No Girl Scout troops for me, no after school clubs, no sororities. Instead, my life taught me to be an observer. I quietly go about doing my own thing. I might not talk to everyone at the table, but the conversations I do have with the few people are deep and heartfelt; true connections. I recognize that this can be dangerous. Quiet observation can make it seem like I don't care. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because I invest my whole self into the working relationships I have, it hurts more than it probably should when things don't work out the way I expect them to. I end up feeling used and tossed away more often than I'd like. Still, I wouldn't change it. I choose to be part of a teeny tiny tribe. I'm usually the one sitting alone. Happily. Even when I'm part of a group, I'm on the fringe. I sit at the table, but on the end. I go to the conference, but prefer to watch rather than to try to make a million new friends. Some people see this as being disinterested, but really I'm soaking it all in, internalizing it. I don't participate just to hear myself talk. I observe everything and put my all into the conversations I do have. When I participate in panels, coach businesses and design for clients I'm all in. They become part of my teeny tiny tribe. When I started my business, I challenged the status quo. I zagged when everyone else was zigging: I introduced bold color and crazy overprint patterns into letterpress stationery when everyone else had a tiny icon centered in the middle of plain white paper. I built an online ecommerce business when everyone else was chasing wholesale accounts. I partnered with licensors when everyone else seemed to view it as selling out. Always observing and always internalizing the world around me, I made business decisions based on what I saw and felt, instead of following the predictable path. And it always worked out for me. The few times I didn't follow my instincts I paid dearly. As a graphic designer and branding pro, part of my design process is to guide clients through discovery and teach them how to be observers of their own business. Sometimes this is a tough sell: clients usually come to me when time is tight. They're anxious to launch or rebrand. They want to throw the ball into my court so they can focus on other parts of their business. I get it! But taking the time to ask themselves some tough questions about their business, their audience, their products, their goals and their obstacles not only helps me design something that will work for them, but it often sparks some serious insights into their business plan. And every once in a while I get to see someone else zag.