Board Monkeys. We’ve all worked with them. They’re the ones who make one design after another without a shred of imagination or defensible logic, bringing solutions that 7,500 other designers could have thought of. They’re frustrating as hell. But we’ve also worked with genius. Designers who bring unique value. Who inspire us. Who make us see things differently. Who balance the needs of users, clients, partners and teammates with ease. Design leaders who are clearly the smartest people in the room, and make great work. But what traits differentiate the former from the latter? How do you avoid being a board monkey? Or, as a manager, what should you look for to make sure you’re getting what you need? Whether at a big agency or a tiny startup, the answer doesn’t change. This talk will look at 13 attributes to consider, with discrete examples that illustrate how each has translated to better work for us, and could for you.

4. WELCOME

5. A BIT ABOUT CP+B
• Founded in 1988.
• 1,200+ peeps, 400 dedicated to digital.
• Six factories: Boulder, Miami, LA, Toronto, Gothenburg, and London.
• Part of MDC Partners: “Where Great Talent Lives”.
• “A Holding Company For Smart People”.

7. OUR ROLE
Provide value to clients and consumers
through the design of delightful, intelligent
and rewarding products, experiences
and relationships, both at the micro and
macro level.
7

8. 8

9. Retail Design
Virtual Worlds
Architecture
Sonic Design
Industrial Design
Visual Design
Game Design
Information
Architecture

10. Are you or is someone you
know a “Board Monkey”?

11. Um.
What the hell is a
“Board Monkey”?

12. Story Time.

13. VIDEO TITLE (1:52)
Video description goes here and is really interesting and
insightful.

15. “So how do I avoid Board
Monkeys at my workplace?”
-- or perhaps --
“Damn, I think I may
be a board monkey.”

16. The CP+B UX 13

17. THE CP+B UX 13
1. Passion

18. Passion
CONSIDER:
• Do they excite you?
• Are they cutting you off?
• The “bounce test”.
• Life beyond work.
• Can they control it?
• Relentless pursuit of
perfection.
AFFECTS:
• Just a job or loves the journey?
• Willingness to settle for mediocrity.
• Potential to elevate entire team.

20. THE CP+B UX 13
2. Mental Quickness

21. Mental Quickness
CONSIDER:
• How long until they could
finish your sentence?
• Speed to intelligent answer
when put on spot.
• Contextual questions.
• Eye Contact.
• Speed chess.
AFFECTS:
• Approximate Learning Curve.
• Likelihood of being viewed as the smartest person in the room.

23. THE CP+B UX 13
3. Creative Vision

24. Creative Vision
CONSIDER:
• Can they bring a solution that
7500 other designers couldn’t
have thought of?
• Do they hide?
WHAT IF…
• Picking battles.
• Design Challenge.
AFFECTS:
• How good the work will be.
• How seriously they’ll be taken by other creatives.
• Movement from production shop to creative shop.

27. THE CP+B UX 13
4. Strategic Acumen

28. Strategic Acumen
CONSIDER:
• Can they balance creative
aspirations with business realities.
• “In a sentence” challenge.
• Can they defend their decisions?
• “MBA Talk”
AFFECTS:
• Potential for delivering business results.
• Client-facing readiness.
• How seriously they’ll be taken by company and account leadership.

30. THE CP+B UX 13
5. The Fundamentals

31. The Fundamentals
CONSIDER:
• Can they communicate their
vision thru documentation?
• Portfolio.
• Design Challenge(s).
• “What’s wrong with this
picture?” challenge.
AFFECTS:
• Working Speed.
• Quality of Deliverables.
• Trust / Need to micro-manage.
• Credibility with teammates.

33. THE CP+B UX 13
6. Attention To Detail

34. Attention To Detail
CONSIDER:
• Asking questions they haven’t
thought of yet.
• Visual polish of their documents. Prepared for:
• Giving you more than you asked
Cripsin Porter + Boguvsky
for.
• Spelling Mistakes.
AFFECTS:
• Credibility with teammates + clients.
• Quality of Deliverables.
• Trust / Need to micro-manage.
• Likelihood of problems during development.

36. THE CP+B UX 13
7. Zoom Control

37. “The lens through which leaders view the
world can help or hinder their ability to
make good strategic decisions, especially
during crises. Zoom in, and get a close look
at select details—perhaps too close to
make sense of them. Zoom out, and see
the big picture—but perhaps miss some
subtleties and nuances…

38. … Some people prefer to see things up
close, others from afar. Both perspectives—
worm’s-eye and bird’s-eye—have virtues
and pathologies. But they should be vantage
points, not fixed positions. Leaders need
multiple perspectives to get a complete
picture. Effective leaders zoom in and zoom
out.”
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
March 2011

39. Zoom Control
CONSIDER:
• Can they speak to both the micro
and the macro strategies and
implications of their past
projects?
• How high and low can they go?
• Breadth of design challenge
solution.
AFFECTS:
• UX team leadership abilities.
• Ability and willingness to get their hands “dirty”.
• Likelihood of Tunnel Vision.

40. THE CP+B UX 13
8. Comfort In Numbers

41. Comfort In Numbers
CONSIDER:
• Knowledge of digital metrics /
analytic systems.
• Their Past Clients.
• Ability to clearly articulate past
project performance.
• Design by numbers?
• Education.
AFFECTS:
• Performance and quality of work.
• Defensibility of recommendations.
• Ability to effectively argue with Creatives and Clients.

43. THE CP+B UX 13
9. Translation Skills

44. Translation Skills
CONSIDER:
• Can they mold their
narratives to each audience?
• “What do they care about”
test.
• Do they have backgrounds in
any other field?
• Their reading list / blog roll.
AFFECTS:
• Number of rounds for deliverables.
• Ability to sell an idea thru.
• Diversity of perspective when ideating.

45. PARTNERS
TECHNOLOGISTS
COPYWRITERS
CLIENTS
DIRECTORS
METRICS
DAY TO DAY
CREATIVE
C-LEVEL
ACCOUNT
DESIGNERS

46. THE CP+B UX 13
10. Awareness + Inspiration

47. Awareness + Inspiration
CONSIDER:
• Blog roll call.
• Inspiration beyond Marketing.
• Ability to abstract.
• Ability to communicate out to
others.
AFFECTS:
• Will they stay ahead of the curve?
• Are they content being a “fast follower”
• Will they know more than the client?
• Will they make the whole team better / more inspired?

48. “Anyone who’s looking
for inspiration from
other advertisers is in
the wrong company.”
Alex Bogusky
Founding Partner, CP+B

49. THE CP+B UX 13
11. Platform Jumping

50. Platform Jumping
CONSIDER:
• Understanding of the nuances
of designing for each
platform.
• Ability to abstract experience
design principles from one to
the next.
• Ability to push a platform.
AFFECTS:
• Their obsolescence, or not.
• Ability to develop holistic ecosystem strategies.
• Uniqueness of experiences on each platform.
• Number of Dead Ends.

52. THE CP+B UX 13
12. Lessons Learned

53. Lessons Learned
CONSIDER:
• Their biggest failures and their
responses, both as an individual
and as a team.
• Their biggest weakness
personally.
• Intangible knowledge acquired
during their journey.
AFFECTS:
• Approximate learning curve.
• Teamwork in adversity.
• How quickly they get back up.
• Likelihood for us to repeat the same mistakes.

54. THE CP+B UX 13
13. People Skills

55. People Skills
CONSIDER:
• Would you want to grab a beer
with this person?
• Do they make the people
around them look good?
• Do they know the line?
AFFECTS:
• Will people like them and want to work with them?
• Will the client want to work with them?
• Will they make the work place fun?

57. 1. Passion
2. Mental Quickness
3. Creative Vision
4. Strategic Acumen
THE 5. The Fundamentals
6. Attention To Detail
CP+B 7. Zoom Control
UX 13 8. Comfort In Numbers
9. Translation Skills
10. Awareness + Inspiration
11. Platform Jumping
12. Lessons Learned
13. People Skills

58. THANK Matt Walsh
@IceColdVideo
YOU mwalsh@cpbgroup.com