The go-to image when you think of “letting go” probably involves parents dropping off their kids on the first day of school. Most of us were part of that experience as kids, some of us as parents. The work we do at Peopledesign sometimes aligns us with the third party in this scenario: the school. 

Clients place a special trust in the firms with whom they work, just as parents place a special trust in the schools their children attend. Whether we’re talking kids or brands, it can feel a little uncomfortable to look outside “the family” and entrust someone else to care for what you’ve so carefully nurtured. But the best firms take the time to get to know the brands they’re working with—just like the best schools forge relationships with families.

Recently I’ve been thinking about “letting go” in a slightly different context. After interviewing hundreds of people as a journalist and writer, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by a writer from the alumni relations department at Aquinas College, my alma mater. They had heard about the publication of Brand Identity Essentials, and thought it was newsworthy. It was one of only a few times I’d been on the interviewee side of this type of interview, and it reinforced something that can sometimes get overlooked in the day-to-day flow of projects: Letting someone else tell your story is not easy.

We regularly think about how other people will experience the artifacts we make: their preconceptions, their needs, their goals. After having the tables turned on me during an interview, I have an even deeper appreciation for our clients who have entrusted us with their brand stories. 

The writer did a great job, by the way… I sound much less bumble-y than I remember being during the interview. Here’s the story.