Hallmark’s Creative Leadership Symposium

Letters Are Lovely | Hallmark's Creative Leadership Symposium

 

On Tuesday Hallmark hosted their Creative Leadership Symposium and invited the entire creative community to attend! The day long event was filled with amazing speakers, and I have so many notes I knew I needed a blog post to process all the amazing tidbits I scribbled down. Best of all, it took place at the beautiful Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Here are some takeaways from my favorite speakers:

DAYTON MOORE

Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations
General Manager, Kansas City Royals

  • You have to have a vision to win. 

  • The habits that you have off the field can lead to a broken focus.

  • We have to manage failure, and the will to win for one another must be first. You win with an undying passion for something bigger than yourself. 

  • Share the glory together, settle disputes quickly, lead with hear


GILLIAN FLYNN

Author

  • If you want to write, write. Trust in your own weird voice.

  • It is easy to follow the market, but that is not always the best route.

  • Creativity is 99% work.

  • It is important to buckle down, have discipline, and if something isn't working get rid of it. 

I have no muse, if there is one she does not care for my company.
— Gillian Flynn

MAURO PORCINI

Chief Design Officer, PepsiCo

  • The world has radically changed in the past FEW years. 

  • Brands have competition beyond their direct competition and need to be part of a two direction dialogue.

  • In this new (elevated) competitive landscape technology will touch everything. And customers are savvy, smarter and connected. 

  • People don't buy products anymore, they seek out holistic solutions, meaningful experiences, and authentic stories. 

  • People consume content at the speed of light and brands now need to become the topic of conversation, and they must earn this right. 

  • The brand experiences then becomes even more important. What will buying the product communicate about ourselves to others?

  • Products must be relevant to people's lives. Purchases are either visceral (impulse), interactive (satisfaction & loyalty), or expressive (communicate something).


Art by Amber Goodvin for Hallmark CLS

Art by Amber Goodvin for Hallmark CLS


ROB RIGGLE

Actor/Comedian/Writer/Producer/Director

  • Brevity is the soul of wit.

  • Great writers aspire to make an impact as quickly as possible.

  • Electricity is being around others who want to make others laugh.

  • Choose joy, choose happiness, choose laughter. 

  • Humor, honesty, and sincerity from those you love never goes out of style. 

  • His goal in life is to make someone happier because they came in contact with his life's work.

  • Comedy is not about overwrought perfection, it's hunting for the joy. 

You turn folded card stock into joy grenades!
— Rob Riggle

CARLA MOORE

Vice President of Talent Acquisition, HBO

  • Live with purpose. You already posses the power to change your own life. 

  • It takes a personal transformation to make a leadership transformation.

  • Life presently. Passion is for you, purpose is for others. Purpose provides motivation.

Nothing will keep me from living the life I imagine.
— Carla Moore

RAUL ALEJANDRO

Designer / Animator / Letterer / Art Director

  • You can't let your fear hold you back from the things you really want to do. 

  • Life is never quite what you expect it to be.

My work is not satisfaction from all the people I’ve proved wrong...
It’s a tribute to everyone I’ve proved right.
— Raul Alejandro

Thanks, Hallmark, for the inspirational day!