Episode 3: Gaemer Gutierrez - CVS Pharmacy
I had the pleasure of talking with Gaemer Gutierrez, Creative Director of CVS Pharmacy.
Gaemer has a ton of experience working in large companies, and he has a lot of advice for creatives finding success in the corporate world. One of the things I loved about this interview was hearing how Gaemer views corporations as a network of conversations and talking through some of the ways to navigate that network.
In this interview, we talk about how Gaemer found his way to his current position, adapting to the change from designer to manager, and some of the ways creatives can thrive in a big corporation.
Following a passion
Gaemer’s passion for design began in high school, and he was hooked after designing a poster for a theater performance. He had worked day and night on the poster, and he immediately fell in love with design when he got to see that his creation was a part of the entire performance and everyone in it. He still loves the rush of creating something that touches so many people.
After going to school for design, Gaemer started in the world of publishing. Over the years, he worked for several different publications before shifting to the beauty industry.
He worked with several big brands like Estee Lauder and Tommy Hilfiger where his role incorporated global advertising, packaging, and tv ads. In these roles, he was really taking a 360 degree look at creating a brand.
From there, Gaemer made his way into retail working for the Gap and Anne Taylor, and he eventually found his way to his current role at CVS.
Needless to say, his resume is pretty impressive, so I was curious how he landed a lot of these big roles.
According to Gaemer, a lot of these came about from just being out there and talking to people about what he does. Usually, these jobs came from connections within the industry who liked what he was doing.
In fact, he heard about the opportunity at CVS while out having a drink with a friend.
Networking is so important in progressing your career, and it is important that you are genuine in building relationships with others. Gaemer clearly has a passion for what he does, and that has shined through to those he works with and around in a way that has propelled his career forward.
From designing to managing
The nature of Gaemer’s work has changed greatly over the years. He used to be the one doing the design work, and now he is in charge of a big team.
He talked about how this was a hard transition for him. He had to be okay with the fact that he was no longer the one doing the work.
He had to develop and learn new skills. He had to work on budgets and manage conflict.
He had to be okay that he was no longer invited out with the team to get drinks and complain about management… because he was management.
One of the biggest challenges for him was the mindset shift that took place. Initially, he felt like he had lost ownership over the work that was being done, because he no longer had his hands directly on projects. It took some time to realize that he was still a creative, and now he was just leading the work in a different way.
Being a creative in a corporate environment
As a creative director for a large corporation, a lot of Gaemer’s day involves meetings and calls. There are tons of projects going on at the same time, and all of them are in different phases. Some are in the execution stage, some in the strategy stage and some in between.
I’ve seen a ton of creatives get frustrated or have trouble working within a corporate environment. For many, it is a big, clunky machine that doesn’t move or respond to the way creatives tend to work. But, Gaemer has a different way of looking at the landscape of a corporation.
He defines corporations as a network of conversations. A corporation is comprised of the emails, phone calls, and meetings taking place. Each of these networks are different in how they talk, dress and in their priorities.
If you break it down, all of the departments within a corporation have a different network of conversations, and the way to transform an organization is to transform the network of conversations.
One of the main ways to do this is to change your vocabulary. For example, if you are making the case for a color change, a creative may want to say, “Oh, I love it, it’s great!” But, that statement won’t hold any water with a department whose focus is much more data driven.
Instead of responding like you are talking with creatives, present the information in a way that meshes with the network of conversations that department is having. You may say something like, “This color will have a greater impact on the shelf, and data shows this will lead to more engagement with the customer.” This change in language can explain design in a way that the corporation can really get behind the proposed change.
As a designer, you will often work with different organizations over the course of your career, and they are all a little different. Part of the work is figuring out those differences and making sure they get what you are trying to say.
Before you start pushing your ideas, you have to understand what their goal is, what they need, and what is important to them. No matter how brilliant your idea is, you may never get alignment if you don’t figure out these things and communicate to them.
Advice for designers
Gaemer often hears from designers in different stages of their careers who are interested in his advice. One of the main things he tells them is to really figure out what they want.
Do you want to just be a designer?
Do you want to lead a team?
If so, do you want to lead a team of 10 or a team of 100?
Once you know what you want, you can find out where you need to go and what you need to do to achieve that.
You also need to figure out the pros and cons of achieving this.
If you want to lead a team, are you okay not being the one working on the designs and that each promotion you get takes you further and further from the work?
Are you someone who is prepared to work on budgets and manage conflict?
If you eventually want to manage a team, be sure to focus on gaining the necessary skill sets. In addition to knowing design, you have to take budgeting classes, learn to use Excel and understand how to lead others.
