According to Howard Cleveland, founder and chief creative officer of Fairlawn-based DigitalDay, there are only two things that drive the innovation process: the client and the environment.
“I can’t do anything to motivate people here,” admits Cleveland. “All I do is get good clients for them.”
To prove this, he says his firm turns down 10 to 15 projects a month. That may sound crazy for a rapidly expanding company, but for Cleveland, it’s the only way to do business.
“I can’t say, ‘For an extra $5,000, you have to be innovative,'” he says. “People are innovative because they love what they do. We have great clients we love to work with. That’s what motivates people.”
To drive that point home, Cleveland recently went so far as to fire himself from the position of CEO so he could spend more time finding those great clients. In May, he handed over the reigns to Jim Zedella, now president and CEO, and took a new title he found more suitable: chief creative officer.
“I can’t create opportunities sitting around here talking with my attorneys and banks,” Cleveland says. “You create opportunities being with your customers.”
Some of the opportunities he has created of late include a new marketing firm, Cross Town Traffic; a business incubator, HATCHBOX; and a wireless company he hopes to launch within the next month.
DigitalDay’s client list includes National City Bank, FedEx Custom Critical, Arhaus and Sherwin-Williams. The firm has competed with national, often highly recognizable public companies, to win many of its contracts, Cleveland says. Fewer than 50 percent of its clients are local.
“We look for clients that are passionate,” Cleveland explains. “Then, they can see the value in us. By them seeing the value in us, our people are motivated. Everybody’s motivated by somebody wanting them. Our clients want us. They don’t treat us like vendors, so in return, our people want to go the extra mile for them.”
Cleveland says it’s normal to find DigitalDay employees working on projects until one in the morning. And there are many occasions on which employees coming into work in the predawn hours run into others just leaving for the night.
Recently, Cleveland noticed that a new employee was consistently showing up for work between 4 and 4:30 in the afternoon. When he asked the employee about his somewhat strange work schedule, the newcomer said, “I didn’t know you guys had working hours.”
“He just figured that’s the way we work here,” Cleveland recalls. “He saw people working late and he saw people early in the morning. He just assumed you could work whenever you want.
“What does that say about your environment? It’s not very strict. If people love to work, they’re going to work. They’re going to be here. If they hate to work, they’re not going to show up.” How to reach: DigitalDay, (330) 668-6669
Connie Swenson ([email protected]) is editor of SBN Akron/Stark.
