Staple Design: Organization for Creative Good

Staple Design has evolved from a one-man t-shirt business into a dynamic communications consultancy with a client list that includes sacred brands like Burton Snowboards, Puma, The Gap, Apple, Sony, and other world-class companies. Jeff Ng (aka Jeff Staple) has crafted a highly productive creative enterprise that includes a retail store and a burgeoning design business. Behance caught up with Jeff to get his take on time management, staying organized, and building a creative team.

Time management is a common strain for creative professionals. Jeff has read a bunch of books on the topic, none of which really nailed the issue. However, there are a few tips and tricks he’s picked up over the years:

• "Having a properly working syncing system between your PC and Handheld PDA is VITAL."
• "Your contacts and appointments must be identical between your PDA and your PC. If you're not using a PDA, you're slightly behind the game. If you're not syncing, you might as well as be using a Franklin or Post It notepads."
  

As Jeff travels from place to place, there are three lists he has on him at all times:

• "HAVE TO" is basically a priority list. Stuff he MUST do, mostly work related things. Examples he provides are "fedex this," "pay this," "fire him," "hire her," etc…
• "SHOULD DO" includes things that Jeff would like to TRY to do, things that would probably help his life and business, but are not urgent and lack deadlines (i.e., Backup PCs, order more promotional items, etc...).
• "WANT TO" includes personal things that Jeff aspires to do or accomplish someday, examples might include “see a chiropractor, get a colonic, check out the Vitsoe line, buy Shoe Goo."
  

Jeff has encountered some of the common challenges that face creative teams. He cites hiring a good team as one of the hardest things to do. As he explains it, "its hard because even when you hire the right people, there are challenges in keeping them motivated and happy. Then of course, you can hire the wrong people and it all goes to shit. Trust your first instinct. I'll be the first to say I always judge a book by its cover. That's not to say I hire based on what one wears or how one looks. But I listen to my instincts on the first hand shake with someone."

As for traditional means of running a business, Jeff questions the norms. "I have never written a business plan," he explains. "I never even planned on starting a business. It just snowballed. So fast forward ten years and I still don't see a reason to. My financial advisor begs to differ, though."

Jeff’s mission is reflected in Staple Design’s motto, "A POSITIVE SOCIAL CONTAGION." Jeff explains, "whether it is through design projects, collaborative projects, apparel collections, retail stores or galleries...our mission is to just spread the idea of positive thinking, creativity, and fun. Add a pinch of some good design sense and maybe, just a tiny little bit, we can make the world a better place to live in."

For parting words, Jeff cites the old Casey Kasem advice, "Stay grounded. Stay humble. Stay in your lane. But work like there is no tomorrow and dream like the sky is the limit."

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Jeff @ Honeyee