What We Learned In 2012: Winston Binch

Winston Binch - Partner/Chief Digital Officer at Deutsch LA, BDW founder, Google Creative Council, web warrior, father, husband, skier, music maker

I learned that not everyone is ready for invention and that you shouldn't force it where it's not understood or wanted. If you want to innovate, you need to be comfortable with a reasonable amount of failure. That's a tough pill for a lot of marketers to swallow. Instant success is not guaranteed. In recognition of this, we launched a new digital service called the Inventioni.st and I learned that it's best to sell invention in bite size bits in order to lower the risk for brands.

I learned that "if you've got your health you're not hurting" (a line from my friend Rowland Stebbins' song, "Phoenix"), and that sailing is an under appreciated sport.

I learned that while agile development methodology is the way of the future there's no replacing the importance of the creative idea.

I learned that I need to smile more and that positivity is critical to successful problem solving and business change.

I learned that I rode my bike 594 miles and climbed 74,022 feet, that LA has some of the best cycling anywhere, and half-marathons are harder than they look.

I learned that the terrain at Mammoth Mountain rivals many of the big mountain resorts I've skied in North America.

I learned that there are a lot of important things businesses can learn about operationalizing experimentation from jazz musicians and improvisational culture.

I learned there's more I can be doing to create good in the world.

I learned that digital education is not a passing interest after helping LMU and thinkLA launch the M-School: Institute of Marketing.

I learned that advertising needs to make room for the next generation of digital creatives and that their output is different than art directors or copywriters. They code, develop strategy, ideate, and add value to any creative team.

I learned that advertisers are a good fit for hackathons and that I've got some brave and smart clients in addition to a remarkably talented group of people around me everyday. It was a good year. Ready for the next one.

To read the entire "What We Learned In 2012' series, click this.