I believe being an operator is something different, and it will be the most valued skill of the future. 

I love the creative space. Truly. I love the community, the competition, the craft. And it's hard to watch AI change it. Creative agencies are getting squeezed, and making cuts to stay afloat. It has really made me think about what can be done to save the industry that I've spent my entire career in.

I've spent 20+ years designing operations for creative agencies and building businesses from within. I've had the honor of growing teams from 14 to 140 people and revenue from $850k to $22M. Milestones that feel great to recite, but were never the goal. Doing my part for the team was.

Hitting these marks took getting intimately familiar with how things should operate. It took executive acumen and an individual contributor's hands. High EQ and grit. That's what makes an operator.

I'm watching people with qualifications like mine #OpenToWork because of the pressure on creative agencies. I see agencies in need of the judgement, the EQ, and the know-how to build new and amazing operating systems. I see a whole generation of people missing the opportunity to learn from prior generations because of AI and the strain it's putting on agencies. And I believe this is feeding the race to the bottom.

Agencies need operators now, more than ever. We know how the work actually runs, we know how to keep AI honest, and we know how to build great teams. AI will never be able to read the room the way we do, and the work we create needs a human touch. This is why agencies need operators. To upgrade their ways of working and build the resilience this new world requires.

I started The Operations Club to bridge the gap between these three islands - the future operators, the seasoned operators, and the agencies that need them.

With real operators under one roof, we can share our expertise, learn from one another, and help each other with business. We can coach and mentor future operators so they have what they need to break into this new market. And we can work together to provide creative agencies the help and upgrades they need to thrive in this new world.

Right now might feel like a scary time to be a college grad, a creative agency, or an operator in the creative space. But that's why TOC exists.