Creative Ops Compass

Take the free Creative Ops Assessment at www.infocusconsulting.net/assessment Show Notes AI keeps getting better at producing creative content, faster and at higher volume than ever before. For some leaders, that raises a difficult question: what does a creative team actually contribute beyond execution? Meredith Bailey, Founder and CEO of StreamWork, has a front-row seat to this shift. She works...

In-house creative teams often have no idea how their work is performing. No data, feedback loop or connection between the assets they're producing and the business outcomes those assets are supposed to drive. Jess Abdulnour kept running into this problem, and eventually built a system to fix it. In this episode, Jess shares the Creative ID system she developed to connect creative output to perform...

When your output is no longer the work: that's the shift that defines creative leadership. But most creatives who move into leadership roles struggle to make it. They still measure their value by what they produce, not what they enable others to produce, and that quietly undermines their teams, their influence, and their own satisfaction. In this episode, Tyler Mitchell shares what that transition...

Most companies' hiring systems weren't designed for creative work. Internal recruiters don't usually have the creative industry expertise to evaluate tone, craft, or cultural fit. And creative directors end up stuck in approval processes that take weeks when they need someone tomorrow. Steve Potestio has spent 20 years in creative staffing. He's watched companies build systems that make it harder...

RACIs are one of the most fundamental frameworks in creative operations, but most teams struggle to make them work. In this episode, creative ops leader Elissa Strell breaks down why RACIs fail and exactly how to implement them successfully. Key Topics Why the definitions of Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed matter more than you might think Why creating a RACI in a vacuum guarantee...

Shannon Duncan, Chief of Staff for Marketing at DoorDash, explains how to build creative operations that scale with hyper-growth without becoming bureaucratic. She shares why understanding your team members comes before implementing any tool or process, how to use incremental changes to build trust while introducing new systems, and why internal creative studios need to stop being treated as free...

Bill Shander, author of Stakeholder Whispering , explains how to shift from reactive execution to strategic partnership by uncovering what stakeholders actually need before starting work. He shares the Socratic method for guiding conversations without creating defensiveness, why bringing external expertise (not just creative talent) builds credibility with business stakeholders, and what CMOs can...

Why do creatives assume stakeholders don't care about good work, while stakeholders assume creatives are precious artists who can't handle feedback? That fundamental misunderstanding damages relationships, undermines creative quality, and keeps teams stuck in reactive, order-taking mode. In this episode, Jen Perry, Executive Creative Director at Vagrants, shares what she learned by doing something...

Why do some in-house creative teams thrive while others get caught in an endless cycle of being brought in-house, then outsourced, then rebuilt, then eliminated again? In this episode, Lisa M. Watts, CEO and Founder of CREE8, explains why infrastructure designed for velocity looks completely different than infrastructure designed for cost control. She shares practical frameworks for reframing conv...

Why do some DAM implementations transform how teams work while others become expensive digital filing cabinets that nobody trusts? In this episode, Phil Seibel of Aldis Systems explains why the platform is never the problem. The real difference between owning a DAM and having an effective DAM system comes down to governance, resourcing, and understanding your team's actual workflows. Phil shares p...

We've all heard the quote about insanity being "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." It's often attributed to Einstein, which makes it feel like scientific fact. But it's complete nonsense. In this minisode, Jesse challenges this widely misquoted phrase and explores why in-house creative teams give up too easily on initiatives that failed once. From DAM system propo...

Most creative leaders think asking for a smaller budget will help them get approval for a studio. They're wrong. In this episode, Lauren Jensen of Provost Studio explains why that approach backfires, and shares the frameworks she uses to help in-house teams navigate the complex process of winning studio approval. From deciding whether to build in the first place through execution and beyond, Laure...

Jesse speaks with Tim Bradley, founder of Pennant Video, about why in-house creative teams tend to play it safe and what that caution costs them over time. Tim shares insights from running a video agency that collaborates regularly with internal teams, revealing the dynamics that keep teams stuck in risk-averse patterns and the practical steps leaders can take to break the cycle. About the Guest T...

In this solo episode, Jesse tackles a question that comes up constantly with in-house creative teams: should there be a mandate requiring stakeholders to work with you instead of external agencies? Jesse shares his honest perspective on why mandates often backfire, when they might actually make sense, and what it takes to build a team that stakeholders choose to work with rather than one they're f...

In this episode, Jesse speaks with Priya Shah, CEO and founder of Shah Squared Consulting, about one of the most frustrating challenges for in-house creative teams: getting process improvements to actually stick after implementation. Priya brings over 15 years of experience helping global companies, startups, and mission-driven organizations enhance their social media presence and operations. In t...

Jesse speaks with Joel Kaplan, founder of MK3 Creative, about how in-house creative teams can build stronger, more productive relationships with external agencies. Joel shares nearly 30 years of insights from the agency side, revealing what separates one-off projects from long-term partnerships and how better communication in the intake process saves both time and money for everyone involved. Abou...

Welcome to the Creative Ops Compass podcast!