My Creative Philosophy: Embrace the "ER"

By: Lisa Slagle

I read THIS article by Jeff Welch at MercuryCSC about how not everyone in the outdoor industry is an "ER" (Surfer, Climber, Snowboarder, etc.), and I thought about it all weekend. Welch states that not everyone is an "er." Some people would be more aptly described with an "ing" suffix. Like someone who lives in Texas may go snowboarding one or two days a year on vacation, but they would never buy a board, book a heli trip, or end the season with a goggle tan etched deeply enough into their pores to identify with the word snowboarder. They enjoy snowboarding without having to call themselves a snowboarder. 

Interesting, right?

I'm an ER. 
In just about every facet of my life, I'm a 100% all in, ER. 

Snowboarder. Mountain Biker. Business Owner. Designer. Writer. Rapidly turning back into a filmmaker. 
The difference between the ER and the ING suffix is a level of commitment, passion, and a willingness to completely absorb the mini culture associated with whatever noun-ing you're into.

I think my creative philosophy has a lot to do with this mindset of er-ing, and these are the traits I look for in my creative team, too.

Don't just design-- be a designer. 

• Look at everything you touch.
  
• Examine the colors and the typography on every business card you see. 
  
• Notice different design techniques and trends across advertising. Notice what makes a website easy to navigate or confusing. 
  
• Pick your food at the grocery store based on the packaging. 
  
• Paint the walls in your house with a Baroque color pallet just because you can. 
  

Don't just write content. Be a writer. 

• Read as much as you can. 
  
• Notice what kind of copy keeps your attention on websites. 
  
• When you flip through a magazine, spend as much time reading the ad copy as you do the articles. 
  
• Listen to everything. Podcasts. Speech patterns when people talk. Words that people use to describe things in casual conversations. 
  
• Write often, and in different styles. Stay up late, writing words--not for work--but for yourself, to clear your head and ease your soul. Write about whatever you want.
  

Don't just make brand videos. Be a filmmaker.

• Watch the kind of films you want to produce, and identify exactly what you like about them and why.
  
• Become obsessed with peoples' stories. The need to tell these stories will keep you awake at night. 
  
• Listen to that intrepid feeling in your gut that urges you to capture everything. 
  
• Automatically evaluate the lighting in every situation you are in.
  
• Analyze movies when you watch them-- everything from the camera work to the music to the editing. 
• Shoot video all the time-- practice capturing as many different subjects and situations as you can.

Don't just manage. Be a manager.

• Care about your people more than their tasks. Learn what motivates them, how they learn, and what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how to work with them.
  
• Help your people succeed, and also learn how to fail and try again.
• Learn how to make expectations clear and objective, even when something seems obvious.
  
• Support your crew, even outside of work. The manager hat never comes off completely.
• Be kind,  patient, and direct- this will transfer to all facets of your life the more you practice it.

I think that everyone at Wheelie is creative, obviously, but I also think there are multiple "ER"s in all of us. I've seen our designer be an amazing product photographer in the same day that she was a terrific project manager and a killer designer. The variety makes her a stronger creative.

I don't think people only get one or two er's attached to their identities. 

Live passionately. 
Embrace the er.