Moving On...

There is a big difference between “moving on” and “moving out”. “Moving Out” has this feel of finality. It sounds like there will be no return. “Moving On”, on the other hand, says to me that good things are happening and there is opportunity out there. It also feels like you may not know when, but you’re coming back. Jane and I are definitely “moving on”.

This chapter of my career started in the copier room of a friend’s agency, next to the file cabinet on a small typing stand with my typewriter…yes, I said typewriter…from college and a stool. Decades later today, we’re leaving the big agency world where there are now four people in the office with a great view of the mountains and Puget Sound that I was occupying just a few weeks ago. Our new space is just right for us. It’s on the water too. We’re looking at Seattle’s Lake Union where the float planes come and go. We’ve got great skylights and a nice place for Friday afternoon “tension suspension” summer barbeques right outside our door. And with all my memorabilia (one man’s junk…) that I’ve been shuttling over there for a week, it’s going to feel like home.

I learned a long time ago that an office space has a personality and that it can affect the work that’s done there. When we moved into Ron Elgin’s agency almost 20 years ago, it was a fun place to be and there was great work being done there. As the liaison to other DDB offices around the country, I quickly found out that we were the exception. We may have been in the “Mad Men” world but we were mavericks. No cold, high-rise steel, glass and cubicles for us. It reminded me of my corporate days where the executive offices were in an old hotel with each of us having a hotel room with fine art in it...an original Warhol, Rothko and Pollock in mine. At DDB, we were red brick, dark wood and “conversation areas” with bright colors sprinkled all over the place. And all the time, the great Bill Bernbach, the model of a "Mad Man" looking down on you.  It was comforting.  Like a breath of fresh air.  You could breathe.

There was not a client or visitor whose mouth didn’t drop open when they walked into our offices. Even other DDBers from around the country…and the world…were envious. We were along the waterfront then and when we moved up the hill just two blocks, I was concerned that we were going to lose our personality. Well, it didn’t happen. Ron made sure that there was not a straight line or an unaccented wall in the place. He even had them cut two large holes in the floor so that we could move from area to area without elevators. We had stairs…great amazing wooden stairs! It was glorious.

From the tequila shots before the annual cruise to summer barbeques on the roof and later the deck looking at Mt. Rainier, the workplace was a model for “the best companies to work for”…and we were. My new office will be fun too. Friday Tunes from 4pm to 6pm will still signal the coming weekend, a tradition that began in the mid-90’s. We can even do our own little cruises right from the dock in front of us. We’re walking distance to such long time clients as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Space Needle and Chihuly Studio. And we can take the SLUT(South Lake Union Transit…they actually changed that name to simply the Streetcar for obvious reasons) downtown to visit our friends at the Seattle Symphony, the 5th Avenue Theatre and old friends at DDB. Not bad at all!

Texas singer-songwriter (Mr. Bojangles) Jerry Jeff Walker and I are kindred spirits. We’ve gone through many of the same life changes…and talked about it. He ends his live concerts with a song called “Movin’ On” that sums up my thoughts today pretty well. Change just a couple of words and it’s how I feel. Here’s the bridge, last verse and chorus.

Yeah, everybody here was great
And we liked it fine
But there's other people waiting for us down the line
We don't want to overstay our welcome here you see
When we come back next time
Think how happy we'll be

Now the right one is turning
The wheels are in the well
Whether we're remembered, only time'll tell
It's a crazy business, making people sing and dance
But we don't even think about it
We step up, we take a chance

I hope everybody here is really feeling fine
Speakin' for myself and the band
We've had a hell of a time
We laughed and cried and we carried on
Everybody sang a sing-along
Had a good time, time now we’re movin' on

WE’LL SEE YOU AT 1220 WESTLAKE AVENUE NORTH, SUITE D. YOU’RE ALWAYS WELCOME.