SummaryJacques Spitzer started Raindrop as a one-person shop and grew it into a creative agency of about a hundred people. He and Mike get into what it takes to keep your footing when the work, the tools, and the industry keep shifting under you. Jacques makes the case that people buy for only two reasons, that being ”anti-niche” is a strength rather than a liability, and that the hard part of AI is not the tool, it's leading a hundred people who all feel differently about it. Along the way: why he turns down most of the companies that want to hire him, and why his proudest result last year was a team survey, not an award.

About Jacques SpitzerJacques Spitzer is a 4x Emmy® award-winning creative agency founder who AdWeek recently named one of the Top 20 Advertising Leaders in the country. His agency, Raindrop, has generated billions in campaign sales for powerhouse brands like Dr. Squatch, Native and Grüns and insurgent brands like Good Culture, Hello Panda, Magic Spoon, Dude Wipes and more.Raindrop’s creative force has been showcased by their work on three Super Bowl campaigns and their recent execution of the largest brand launch in Procter & Gamble history for Spruce.As a champion for the next generation of disruptive companies, Jacques serves as a strategic advisor to high-growth CPG brands that Raindrop Ventures has uniquely helped launch and invested in, including Grüns, Laundry Sauce, ForAll, VitaWild and Magic Mind. With a trophy case boasting over 50 advertising awards, Jacques’ work is consistently recognized for its rare blend of viral creativity and massive ROI. His insights have been featured in Forbes, AdAge, and Entrepreneur Magazine. He was recently named one of the “most influential people in San Diego” by the San Diego Business Journal and one of “California’s most visionary CEOs” by the Los Angeles Times, who noted:“Raindrop’s creative success and results have put San Diego on the map for creative work across the country.”In addition to his work in advertising, Spitzer helped produce the full-length documentary Wampler’s Ascent, which won over 38 international film festival awards. (Watch on Amazon Prime Now).Know more about Jacques Spitzer⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠Website⁠

Takeaways

• Nobody buys your mission statement. People buy what reflects who they already are, or who they're trying to become.

• Often there's no right answer, only an answer you can have conviction in. That's true of AI, of who you hire, and of who you agree to work with.
• Leading people through a new tool is less about the tool and more about the fact that your team feels every possible way about it at once.
• A niche can become a cage. Getting clear on your real strength lets you take it anywhere.
• Saying no protects the work. Turning down most of the demand can be the choice that keeps the quality.
• A leader leaves a wake whether they notice it or not. The dangerous ones are the leaders who don't.
• Feedback works best on a disciplined ratio. If people are right most of the time, your feedback should reflect that, not just the corrections.
• Culture is not a statement on a wall. It's how you show up in every single meeting.
• The truest measure of a good year might be whether your team still wants to be there next year.

Soundbites

• ”People only buy things for two reasons. They believe it's a reflection of who they are already today. Or who they're trying to become. That's it.”
• ”Sometimes there's just no right answer. It's just an answer that you have conviction in.”

• ”It's how you show up in every single meeting. It is not a vision statement.”
• ”This is the most successful year we've ever had, not because we won this external award, but because that was the survey we got back.”
• ”Information isn't transformation, and transformation is a human experience.”

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