Christopher Adornato
vice-president / owner
Being creative is about learning; staying creative is about understanding.
We often hear motivational quotes such as “You need to take one step back in order to take two steps forward.” Unfortunately, we frequently dismiss these sayings as nice words that you see adorning corporate walls. That is until the saying rings true in surprisingly personal ways.
"You must unlearn what you have learned"
– Yoda
For my 40th birthday my wife took me rock climbing. At the time, I was in great physical shape and figured I could rise to any challenge. So when it was my turn to ascend, I looked straight up, kept my eyes on the prize, and moved forward. But as I quickly realized, moving forward wasn’t always the best decision. The lesson was simple; I did better when I stopped, looked around and reevaluated my situation in order to find a better approach. Sometimes I had to move left, sometimes I had to move right, and sometimes I even had to go down a few steps and try again. Instead of thinking UP was the only way to go, I listened to my body, the staff, the mountain, most importantly my wife, and together we found a way.
In the creative field, we sometimes get comfortable doing the same thing over and over simply because that’s what’s worked best in the past. We have our fully stocked “batman utility-belt” of tools and know what gadgets to use at a moment’s notice in order to get the job done. However, as I’ve since learned, that’s not always the best solution in every situation. Making magic isn’t about a single spell.
As Creative Director, I’ve realized that my greatest asset is sitting back and listening in order to give my clients the space to talk freely about their ambitions and desires. It’s okay that some days I might not be moving forward as quickly as I’d like but I’ve learned that listening and understanding are some of the most powerful tools in my utility belt.
I listen to and understand my team, I listen to and understand myself, and most importantly, I listen to and understand our clients.
Being creative is about learning; staying creative is about understanding.