We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Gross. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love it if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

Growing up playing competitive sports taught me that a fierce dedication to one’s craft, coupled with putting in both time and reps is the path to creating separation. You also learn the value of winning and losing. When you lose, it’s best to look inward and evaluate what you could have done better. When you win, there’s no better feeling. Playing sports also taught me the value of teamwork, comradery, and perseverance. Most importantly, you gain through experience just what it takes to achieve your objectives.

I also subscribe to the philosophy that nothing in life is deserved and that everything must be earned. While my career has had its fair share of ups and downs — that will happen when you bounce around between agency, freelance and client sides — I do recall this one particularly low moment, when a sense of entitlement got the better of me…there was an expectation of a fancier title, more money, power – all of it – but it wasn’t happening as quickly as I’d hoped. Then I remember chancing upon a coffee mug emblazoned with the phrase “nobody cares, try harder” and it was like a bolt of lightning. Message received. The truth is that nobody wants to help you; your colleagues have their own motivations, agendas and issues to deal with…so you have to constantly learn to prove your value again and again. Only then will you gain the attention and respect of those around you. This hard lesson has become a great motivational tool.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Music is my single-minded obsession and has been since I first had my mind blown at age nine, listening to the radio in the back of a car on the way to a surfing beach. Everyone who loves music will recognize that “holy sh*t” feeling I’m describing, of a mysterious new world suddenly revealed. I’m lucky in that there’s been a recurring series of these special listening events over the years, where I’ve found myself so incredibly shook to the core by a song that it’s left me truly humbled, yet gifted with a clarity of vision and purpose. It feels like a superpower, honestly. I was shown just how moving music can be, on a personal level; I simply couldn’t ignore that in choosing a career.

Another thing about me is that I’m always hungry for new inspiration. I’m particularly fired up about the challenge of harnessing AI as a creative tool. I recognize that this emerging technology is a disruptive element that will change everything. I’ve heard all the doomsday talk, but conversely, I am reminded by the historical context that roughly every 20 years or so new technology bubbles up which totally disrupts the status quo, especially in the music industry. Change is what leads to great art and new discoveries. There will be a heap of growing pain, but also a tremendous amount of opportunity which will lead to wild bursts of creativity and a new generation of talent harnessing AI in potentially transcendent ways. No doubt there will be wonderful surprises along the way as well. I’m excited to be in the middle of it all and I also love sharing with our clients how Squeak E. Clean is already utilizing AI to elevate our creative processes.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. “Don’t be on time, be early” — is an old mantra I learned during my years playing water polo. Be prepared and do your research. Know who you’re meeting with, and anticipate the conversation and any questions you might be asked in advance. This will demonstrate not only your conviction but also your intuition skills.

2. Relationships are currency. Grow your network from the ground up. Nothing replaces a face-to-face meeting. Look people in the eyes, ask smart questions and be mindful in reply. Always send thank you notes. Find a small way to make people remember you.
3. Listen first. In any room you walk into, meeting, lunch etc – listen thoughtfully. Give the other person the opportunity to speak. You’ll pick up important details that will inform your response. Being the smartest person in the room doesn’t mean asserting your voice right out of the gate; in fact it can often make you look a bit foolish. Remember this important lesson as you work your way up in your career.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Feeling overwhelmed is “Standard Operating Procedure” when you’re a producer on the come-up. Unfortunately it comes with the territory when you have so much executional responsibility while still being tasked with managing budget and timeline in a creative industry that loves to push & pull at both of those things. Here are a few tips I’ve learned for how to cope:

1. take a series of deep breaths. Remember that this is just advertising. Things will sort themselves out. Often the best thing to do is allow a conversation to fully play out before you action up on it.
2. Organize your thoughts in a constructive way. I’ve found that writing down my to-do list is a huge help. In my first job as an Assistant Producer in corporate events, my boss told me I was forgetful and mandated that I jot every task down in a notebook and then systematically check the individual boxes as I completed them. At first it felt demeaning, but over time I understood the benefits. It’s sort of like waiting tables (shout out to all my fellow service staff): there are to-do’s rapidly flying at you throughout your shift and what you need is a mechanism to help capture all the details. Soon enough that notebook never left my hand. I still use a notebook and the check-box system. Now I adorn it with things like stickers and wave doodles to make it something I feel proud about carrying around. To summarize my point: when you’re feeling like everything is hitting all at once, simply making a list and then methodically working through it is an extremely useful tool for reminding yourself that you will persevere through any challenging situation.

3. Move your body — I’ve found that when feelings of anxiety arrive, simply going outside for a walk is a great way to decompress. You’ll find your mind naturally settles and that your problem-solving skills return.
4. Last thing, best thing: pet a dog ��

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