Stories That Move
When we create videos for our clients, there's often an incredibly rich narrative that we can't include in the final cut. Being behind the scenes, we're fortunate to hear the depth and full context behind each story.
So in this podcast, we want to pull back the curtain and allow you to experience the extraordinary stories of extraordinary people we've been honored to connect with.
Go on an adventure with us.
Gain a new perspective.
Learn something new.
Be challenged.
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Stories That Move
Jesse Oxford | Building Brands That Last
What makes some organizations thrive for decades while others fade away after a promising start? Jesse Oxford, founder and creative director of Ox Creative, has spent years pondering this question—not just as the leader of a successful creative agency, but as someone fascinated by the intersection of longevity and impact.
Jesse's creative journey began not with heavy metal (despite his joking claims about ACDC and Black Sabbath shaping his infant years) but with craft projects that provided a sense of belonging as he moved between eight different schools before eighth grade. These early experiences taught him how creativity could serve as a bridge when words failed, especially in unfamiliar environments. Later, through an internship at a Chicago megachurch, Jesse discovered filmmaking and began developing the skills that would eventually lead to founding his own creative agency.
The most compelling revelation from our conversation comes from Jesse's current research project examining century-old nonprofit organizations. Working with Baylor University researchers, Jesse discovered approximately 7,000 nonprofits worldwide have survived for 100+ years. His investigation revealed six crucial principles these enduring organizations share, with perhaps the most fundamental being an enduring founding mission. "If your mission is built around something that may not last in a hundred years," Jesse explains, "you may need to revise it to be something that will still be a clear need without people questioning your identity every time there's a huge change or innovation."
Throughout his career, Jesse has helped cause-based organizations harness creative storytelling to illuminate their work. He observed how innovative nonprofits like Invisible Children and TOMS pioneered film-based communication strategies while other established organizations struggled with outdated approaches. This experience informed Ox's mission to elevate nonprofit messaging to match the quality of profit-driven companies.
For those feeling the pressure of instant success, Jesse offers sage wisdom: "Just because something isn't happening instantaneously doesn't mean anything's wrong." He points to Colonel Sanders starting KFC in his late 50s and Christopher Nolan directing Memento at 40 as reminders that meaningful impact often requires patience and persistence.
Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn or follow @OxCreates on social media to learn more about his upcoming book "Here for Good" and discover how your organization can achieve both lasting endurance and meaningful impact.
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You can endure for a long time but lose your impact, and you can have impact but not endure, and the key is to have both. And it can become easy for well-funded organizations who have survived a long time to continue to survive but not actually make as big of an impact as they're capable of if you were to look at their bank account, because they're a little bit more focused on enduring than what they are on impact.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to Stories that Move. I'm your host, matt Duhl, chief Impact Officer and co-founder of DreamOn Studios, and co-hosting with me today is our Chief Operations Officer, alexis Grant. Today's guest is Jesse Oxford. Jesse is a creative force with a heart for impact. He's the founder and creative director of Ox Creative, a board member at Nuru International, and he's currently writing a book about 100-year non-profit brands. In this episode, we dive into Jesse's journey as a filmmaker and creative leader, the stories that have shaped his worldview and his passion for purpose-driven work that stands the test of time. This conversation was a cool full circle moment for Alexis, who was hired by Jesse at Ox Creative when she was in high school and spent over 11 years there building her career. Okay, let's get into it and welcome Jesse Oxford to Stories that Move. Hello friends, welcome back to Stories that Move. I'm your host, matt Duhl, with me today. Alexis Grant. Hello Alexis, how are you doing today? I'm doing awesome. I'm so excited about today's conversation. Jesse, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1:Thanks, it's good to be anywhere at my age.
Speaker 2:That is awesome. That is great. Well, hey, I want you to introduce yourself to the audience a little bit, but before we go there, any initial impressions. As you look back, atlexis, and you think back to those early days, anything that stands out to you that we should know about right off the jump, I think like the like.
Speaker 1:I knew you as a student and in my wife's small group. The first time that I like was like oh wait, she's really great at filmmaking. Um, there was a, a shoot that I believe that, like our now CEO at Ox, tony, was involved with. I feel like it was at a campground or something. Yep All.
Speaker 1:I remember is like I was like, when I heard about what the scale of the shoot was, I was like this is a big deal. And I was like Alexis planned all this. I was like this sounds great. I need to like talk to her more about this. So, um, yeah, it was just cool just seeing um even at like, uh as like a teenager, what, uh, the kind of like work that she was able to do and accomplish and lead other people um in doing um, yeah, I remember like the relationships that you built with your peers and teammates, and even like people who were older than you at the time, was like foundational in your ability to like accomplish filmmaking and stuff too.
Speaker 1:The technical end of things but, they're not good with the people side of things, or even like DPs who are excellent artists but aren't good leaders, and I felt like you had a great combination of both and just really like a winsome spirit and able to accomplish stuff, and I was like we need some more of that at Ox and now it's great that you're able to bring that to everyone you work with.
Speaker 3:Awesome, awesome. Thanks so much.
Speaker 2:Very cool, very cool. Well, jesse, for our audience, tell everybody a little bit um about yourself and kind of what you're up to in the world and uh, and then maybe we'll rewind a little bit to talk about some origin story pieces for you but what are you doing these days?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, uh, a year, uh, I guess like January of 2024, uh, after 14 years of being the CEO uh of Ox, the agency that I founded, um, I stepped away from that role. A new CEO, tony awesome stepped into that role.
Speaker 1:Uh, I took uh yeah, just kind of like a year in like a like a different type of seat, like not really like involved in day-to-day projects with the company, which was like honestly, I'm not going to lie, it was weird, it was a weird year. Yeah, that year was so weird, it was good, but it was like weird. So I took like two sabbatical, like months off. So like the month of January I wasn't in the office at all, and then in like in july at this time a year ago, my wife and I uh went like we're really into cyclings, so we went to france and italy and followed like the tour de france in its entirety, wow, which was awesome uh, and then kind of put our toes back in in the water for like the last half of the year with, uh, with working on on some projects.
Speaker 1:So been working three days a week, uh at Ox. Uh, starting at the end of last year, beginning of this year, um, me and like a co, a producer at Ox have just been heading up all of the of the film things and like re-imagining how Ox, like it, does film um, so all of my work at ox these days is related to film um, which is really fun, uh, still working three days a week, uh, and I'm taking the month of july. I've been off uh to write, so it's been like a writing month, um, for me.
Speaker 2:Awesome, uh, yeah that's kind of like where I'm at Awesome, amazing, amazing. So you know for our listeners. You know, alexis, take us a little bit through Ox and you know where it is, what they do, you know you and Jesse kind of process, some of that, and then you know, again. We'd love to rewind and hear about some of the beginnings.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 3:So OX is a global yet based out of Chicago agency that creates world-class creative for a better world, and I think really the heartbeat of that is that we've partnered with innovative organizations, whether that's World Vision or Compassion or Nat Geo, to essentially highlight the good messages that those different nonprofits and so forth create and kind of partnering with them in that. And I think, yeah, what I've found in the last really decade and a half of working with Ox is that it's a human brand and so I think so often agencies can get lost in the glitz and glam of new technology or what's like the latest trend. But at the heartbeat of Ox, if I'm understanding correctly and have observed correctly, is that, you know, we're all human at the end of the day and we've got stories to tell. How can we really exemplify those stories in a way that's honoring to that process, right? Or to even that individual that we're highlighting, to that process, right, or to even that individual that we're highlighting?
Speaker 3:And so I don't know, I think, separate of that, even the relationships that have been formed through rocks, whether it's through the staff or through external, you know, collaborators and contractors and so forth. It really just feels like family cheering on family or friends cheering on friends and that, um, there's this um pursuit of mastery, and I think Jesse has kind of been the one to shepherd that message and really lead um, yeah, the crews and so forth, and so it's just been really cool being a part of that journey, um, even still living it out in my day-to-day life, whether it's here at Dream On or freelancing, and I think, um, you know, taking it even back to you said earlier, you know you heard of Ox through the Global Leadership Summit.
Speaker 3:Well, one of their principles. Is this idea of a ripple effect right? And so what is the influence that you have in your position of leadership, and how does that impact those around you? And so I think, jesse, it's like the work that he has done has rippled into my work, which ripples into whoever else around me. So I don't know if I explained that well, no, that was awesome and perfect.
Speaker 2:And again for our listeners, you know Ox first came on our radar through our work at Global Leadership Summit and you know this is before Mason and I even stepped out and launched Dream On Studios. And so you know, jesse, it's a huge honor to talk to you and you know to, to have Alexis now as part of our organization and just some of those values you know now coming our direction, because we looked at the work you all were doing and we're just blown away and thought what an amazing agency doing incredible work, telling really, really beautiful and powerful stories.
Speaker 2:So so off the get go. I just want to say thank you for the influence that you've had um in in us and our company, our team and um, you know, now with Alexis here, you know, impacting us directly, it's, it's, it's pretty amazing, so so thank you for that. So let's rewind, talk to me a little bit about what life was like growing up for you. Maybe just family background, early influence, what were some of those things that just shaped some of those creative instincts that you know became part of your everyday life? Acdc Black.
Speaker 1:Sabbath. These were the bands that shaped me as a young child.
Speaker 3:The age of three.
Speaker 1:I was listening to dark metal as an infant I love it Really just burrowed its way into my psyche and formed me into the child that my mother hoped that I would become oh my gosh, awesome. I don't think I really thought of myself as creative until I was like in my 20s. Okay, creative Until.
Speaker 1:I was like in my 20s. Okay, my mom, when I was like eight, I moved or not. I was a little bit older than I was like let's, let's say 10. I'm just gonna go with a round number 10. We, we moved into a new neighborhood. I'd only been there for like a week or two and my mom looked out the window and I was playing with a bunch of neighborhood kids and they were all following me around, but I was the one who just moved there. So she she was like he's a leader. Um, so she, she told me that a little bit later in life. At the time she never told me I was a leader.
Speaker 5:I don't know if she was keeping that as a secret for me.
Speaker 2:He's like he didn't. He doesn't need to know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's keep that under wraps for a minute.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, but I think that was kind of like a thing that she saw. I remember like I always enjoyed. I remember creativity as being crafts and enjoying crafts and not feeling like I was that good at sports. I wanted to be good at sports. I was just never. I was thinking about this a little bit last night and I was like, could I have been good at sports if I had had had had wanted to.
Speaker 1:And I was like, I feel like, I feel like I lacked a little bit of the drive at that age that I have today, like a tolerance for pain, so I went to crafts. Pain, so I went to crafts. But I remember like, like, really enjoying like, uh, like I took a pottery class. That was like super fun. I remember really enjoying that.
Speaker 1:Um, when I moved to taiwan, um, uh, like just being in schools at first that were like, um, primarily like Chinese, uh first, or Mandarin first, uh, and struggling Cause I hadn't learned that yet, uh, and then switching to a school where I felt more just at home with, with English, and like I was able to succeed and one of the first projects they gave me there was to make a big uh. It was like the year of the snake for Chinese new year and, uh, I had to cut out a big snake out of construction paper. Um, and yeah, I just felt like a lot more at home having that like responsibility than I did at my previous school, where I was like the only Westerner and I felt like I stood out and I didn't understand and speaking the language.
Speaker 1:When I just had the opportunity to make something, I didn't really need to talk to anybody and it felt like I felt way more confident in it. Um. So I think that that kind of um yeah feeling has kind of of gone with me through creating um. I went to a lot of different schools growing up. I was homeschooled at first, then went to a few different schools in Taiwan and then when I came back to the, just probably like a number until probably like eighth grade I think. I think I added it up once.
Speaker 1:I feel like it was like at least eight schools I'd gone to before eighth grade and after that I I settled down in one place, which was great, but yeah, just kind of like developed a skill through being able to make things and contribute creatively to a space that maybe I felt uncomfortable in or that I didn't belong in, and the creative act kind of became like a place to belong and able to contribute to a community that maybe I didn't feel like I was a part of.
Speaker 2:At what point in your journey did just the idea of you know film and creative work start to become a thing? What was the spark for that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had like an internship at Omega Church in Chicago. And I was I. In college I studied technical theater, so stage design, lighting, the technical aspects of things. I was very uncomfortable working with actors. I wouldn't have called myself a director, uh, but I was like I'm the behind the scenes guy that can like make this. I'm, I'm the grip, uh, and. And then I was a music composition major or a minor sorry, so like uh music theory, stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Classical music Okay.
Speaker 1:Um. So when I had this internship, I um, yeah, just had like a lot of opportunities to do like scenic design, uh, and just planning like services. I always described um services at a mega church is kind of like having, uh, being a producer on American Idol, right, uh, it's. It's a weekly show. Yes, every week there's going to be a new show. It doesn't matter if you're ready or not, there's an airtime and the show is starting. Uh, and it included like a lot of different um mediums every week. So it was in a in a theater, with like multiple cameras, the lighting board, all that type of stuff, switchers, but then there was like dance experiences, onstage, theater videos that we would produce. There would be like the brand and the campaign for that series that we were doing that week. So it was an opportunity to use my skills in like a lot of different like ways at the same time. And during that period, um, they, I had never used a Mac before, I'd only used like PC uh.
Speaker 1:Jess, paint shop pro was the graphic design program that I used up until that, but they were like, yes, here's an Apple, it's got Adobe on it, here's like a camcorder, we want you to go out and like film something. And I started to be a part of filmmaking. Actually, the person who? Who showed me all that is Justin Bell, who's like my, like my, co-executive producer at Ox now. So it's fun, we're still able to work together, but he was the first person to introduce me to film. I had grown up in a really rural area and at the time, like today, you know, everybody has like a video camera on their cell phone.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but when I was growing up in the mid 90s, like it wasn't, like I would never been able to afford a video camera or editing equipment or anything like that, I just would have not. So it didn't even cross my mind that I could have done that. One of my friend's dad's not one of my friend's dad's, my friend's dad he owned like a radio station. Ok, that One of my friend's dads not one of my friend's dads, my friend's dad he owned a like a radio station. Okay, so I used to go to the radio station all the time and use their studios and like we like we made stuff in that, but video was like really like, uh, out of the box for
Speaker 3:me so so, jesse, you just kind of told us a little bit of your background, you know, even just a journey into that early twenties and kind of finding your place of belonging. And you mentioned, you know, maybe you didn't find that sense of belonging in your adolescence but you created a new path forward and even just a new place to um be who you were. So can you tell me a little bit more about just the founding of at that time, what's called J Oxford Studios, which eventually became Ox Creative and then, down the road, now Ox for Good? So yeah, tell me a little bit more about the founding of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was looking at like paperwork a few weeks ago and I realized that I actually like incorporated the company 20 years ago, so it was so ox has existed for 15, but like I was using the same like corporate rapper I guess like at the time.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of like weird because like yeah, like um, I got married and then my wife started pitching me for work at her work. Um, I don't know if that counts as nepotism or if it's just. You want other people to know about good things um, so I did my first like uh commercial or like corporate like I was actually hired to produce a video for somebody in like 2005. Um, we had done like a lot of like um wedding videos before then.
Speaker 1:So like just me and my wife making wedding videos. And the joke I tell is I've realized if I could make a bride happy, I could probably make any, any client happy.
Speaker 2:It's really true, it's true.
Speaker 3:The hardest clients ever. Yes, so then yeah, Um so yeah, so I just started to do like that and yeah, it was like fun.
Speaker 1:Um, so, yeah, so I just started to do like that and yeah, it was like fun. Um, and I, I love what I was doing uh at at the church. Uh, didn't really have any complaints about it, I wanted just to be able to continue to develop my skills and grow and the ways I was interested in in doing that. I don't feel like we're like really appropriate for, like the, the ministry that I was serving in. You know, it's like, uh, I would have been the person to create all of the scandals that would have been like you know where everybody's like why is?
Speaker 1:this church spending so much money on film production.
Speaker 4:You know, Um, but that's that's what I wanted to do.
Speaker 1:Like I, like I wanted to like be able to work with larger crews, have like more time instead of just like seven or 14 days to develop a concept and work on it. Be like right. What would it be like if I was working on something for like three months?
Speaker 5:you know, six months yeah.
Speaker 1:Could, I do better work. There's huge value in having to turn out creative work quickly and regularly for an extended period of time, because it just develops like a discipline and more at bats. You know, like the people who are like um, imagine like if all you did and what you started your career doing was feature films, you only get to do one project. You get one at bat every like three to five years, you know, and in some cases way even longer. Like severance. Was it the first script for severance written in 2015? Right?
Speaker 1:yes yeah so imagine if that's like all you did. You know how many, how. How would you like not get better, because you weren't doing it fast enough.
Speaker 1:So for me the early part of my career, having to create stuff under short time frames repeatedly gave me a lot of at-bats. At a certain point I was like I'm ready for my master's degree and I would like to write a dissertation, and I can't write a dissertation overnight. So that's when I started asking what if I went freelance and was able to have some other clients and stuff like that? So I wasn't trying to start a company, I wasn't. I an agency wasn't on my mind. If you were to tell me, you know, hey, here's what it's going to become in 2025. I would probably would have scared me and maybe I wouldn't have done it.
Speaker 1:Um, but uh like yeah, so that's kind of like in in 2010, stepped away. Um, I my, my wife, jen, tells me like the first day I did it she came home from work and was like how was it, and I was like I'm never going to get hired for anything ever again. Like nobody's going to call me Um, but it's. It stayed a pretty busy. Obviously there are like our ups and downs in any company, but um yeah it's been cool that we've been provided for um with that.
Speaker 1:So, starting with, uh, yeah, just like me as a like a freelance creative being able to build more of like a support team around me, um, changing a mindset to I'd love for everybody still have their jobs. If I got hit by a car, how can I build the client's trust with the team around me instead of only with me? That took a couple of years to do. And then, yeah, being in the agency model that we're in today with a lot of other great folks. Our head of creative is in London and comes with her whole set of relationships and now like a new CEO who runs things on a day-to-day basis and, um, probably 80% of the hugest conversations in the company I'm not even a part of.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah. So to go from that, that place of you know saying you know, you came off that first big shoot, told your wife no one's ever going to hire us again to that place of okay, yeah, we actually have something here, we have some momentum, we're providing something. What did you see in those times and what was maybe some of the inspiration for just the focus of hey, this is what we want to be about, like, this is the, you know, in this kind of crowded production space. We want to be about these things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, I had worked with a lot of like, um of cause focused organizations in my role as, like, a producer at the mega church that I really respected and thought had really great creative marketing and content. So if you think about like invisible children or tom shoes, a lot of these like uh types of companies or organizations were kind of like new at the time, right, and we're using film and video as a way to connect with their audiences. That is pretty ubiquitous today but at the time was very new.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:And then I saw other organizations who had been around for a while weren't approaching their marketing or or their uh, creative content and communications in that way and I was like it's kind of a shame.
Speaker 1:You know, like I, I felt like some of like of the, the organizations that were purely profit minded and not like a lot of like uh, of social impact, you know, in kind of what they were doing, had really awesome creative like work that we were all seeing every day and everybody was in love with. And some of the best organizations, from my perspective, had some of the worst communication, and I wanted to help change that.
Speaker 1:So that is kind of like why I went with the niche that, like I did, and I feel like profit driven companies are a lot more I tend to be like, a lot more in tune with like uh, what? Uh? Now, if I say this, it's not going to be accurate, it's not, it's not even going to be right. Um, it's sometimes easier to convince for-profit companies to invest a lot of money in marketing and nonprofits and cause-based organizations feel like that is creating an overhead that, to their supporters, undermines the promise that they want to be able to make of 98 cents of every dollar. Goes back to the programs that you know that we like do.
Speaker 1:I actually like data has shown that like having a higher or like a lower amount of overhead doesn't make your programs more effective. So it like allows you to say 98 cents on every dollar goes to our programs, but it doesn't make those programs more effective. Goes to our programs, but it doesn't make those programs more effective If the people who are in the organization aren't being paid enough to keep that job for a long time and the staff turns over every year right, wow yeah.
Speaker 1:Versus. We pay our staff so well that they never need to work anywhere else, and we keep our team for 15 years.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how better are those programs going to be if a person's been like I've been doing this for 15 years and I'm really engaged in my work? Wow, not, I can only stay here for two years and I'm not engaged in my work because I'm looking for other jobs or I have to have a side gig to be able to do that.
Speaker 1:So there is a tension in that right when, if it's flipped and it's like 98% of our program is overhead and 2% we give back every year. Sure, Sure. We just described a large foundation. You know because they have a staff team who is there, who are financial managers, who, at the same, who are now in a mindset of all I'm doing is perpetuating this foundation.
Speaker 1:So it exists for a long time at the expense of actually making real impact, because, like I never want to spend too much of our money, because then I can't be like a guarantee that, like I'm earning a large return on it every year, which is anyway. So that's the converse of that sure, sure yeah um, but um, I feel like over time I think that ox has been like a part of that. But today, when you engage with a non-profit, I think they'd get it and there's been a shift and it's a lot easier of a conversation.
Speaker 1:There was like a period of time where, um, people didn't understand why we needed to be on instagram and there were folks on our team who were like, dude, we need to be like as a product, we need to be delivering instagram ads and I'm like our clients don't understand that.
Speaker 1:Like I can't sell that like I want to be able to sell that, but in our niche you can't that problem. It doesn't exist anymore and actually that problem is passed because it would be tiktok or something else after it. Like what's something that if I tried to sell today, people wouldn't understand why it it was needed.
Speaker 1:Seo and google optimization is fading because most people search on chat, not on google, so how would they even see your google ad if they're asking chat? Gpt for the answer. Right, and what is the difference between ai, like optimization, and seo optimization? Yeah nobody even knows what a, what ai seo is, because chat and open ai don't tell you how they build, the way they're like their um their l, their lm works, yes, so anyway.
Speaker 1:So that's kind of like a new problem, like there are always like seasons of how do I educate people on, like a new need. The nonprofit sector tends to lag behind corporate and look to corporate for the inspiration on what they're going to do. And when it's proven in corporate and when the donors from the corporate world understand why it's important, then the nonprofit world can do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah so it's a constant cycle of having having to learn and educate. Learn, build capabilities, educate your client about it and and deliver it successfully at a price that they can afford.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and that's been a little bit of.
Speaker 1:Ox's journey uh over the years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I, I, I love that Cause. You know, as, as you're processing through that, um, yeah, what I see is that you lived through so many things of, really honestly, the beginnings of social media right.
Speaker 2:And you saw that really come to the forefront and become an important part of communication. And now to your point. It's like we're all looking at AI and trying to understand how do we do that? So I think that's an interesting thing from a creative agency to know that it's more than just coming up with nice, beautiful, creative stories, that there is this whole strategic side of how do we communicate the best ways, how, how did you stay on top of that? How did you kind of train your team and, and like you said, just work with your clients and helping to educate them through those processes?
Speaker 1:I'm just curious and I'm always like reading and like exploring, um. So I think that it came like a little bit naturally to me, just cause I was interested in it. Um, there are some people who are great at really important things, who stay on top of their industry and what they do, but being able to keep up with social media isn't something that they're even interested in. I honestly, I don't even feel like I'm that interested in social media and I probably wouldn't say I'm that good at it and I don't think.
Speaker 1:I've ever been that good at it. But being able to watch the people who are and be like how can you contribute to the mission of what we're doing at Ox and kind of like inspire us and push us in what we're doing, has been important over time, and I feel like what I do have is I have an ability to spot what's next before it's happened. Um, so I might not be a like an expert in it, but I can kind of connect the dots three steps into like the future and know here is where this is going. Um, and having lived your life and watched like a cycles happen, you kind of understand how a cycle works.
Speaker 1:And then you can look for a thing like that is happening in that way. That kind of fits that model, Even if it's not for you like I. I really respect people in their fifties, sixties and seventies who are still cool and still understand stuff, Even if they're like like they're like checked out. Yeah, like you're.
Speaker 1:So they wouldn't be like I'm not on tiktok or anything, but they understand it and they're like engaged with it and it's not like what is this thing? People dating on apps you know, like they're like, oh no. Like they're like I'm not. They're like I'm 70. They're like I'm not personally on hinged, but I I understand how it works and I understand why it's important. You know, so like I want to be a person like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, not specifically but um, yeah, we matched um but uh yeah, like being able to track those cycles, I think is a really important thing to do. I think that's a thing that I've followed for most of my life to a point. So there's a statistic that says people stop listening to new music at age 35. You've just developed.
Speaker 1:You know, like you've like I've listened to so much music that I can just go back to like to my old favorites. And there's plenty of old favorites that I haven't listened to in 10 years. I don't need to be listening to new stuff anymore. Yeah, so, from age I don't know, like 13 or 14, when, like columbia used to mail those like those things to you with all of the cds or cassette tapes with the stickers, and you could be like pick 10 free and sign up for the next year. All you have to do is buy these and you get 10 free albums. You're like great, you're like picking those. Or when you went to the store every friday and there was like new singles out and you could like like look through all the single cassette tapes, or like cds and whatever. Even though music stores for the most part except for the people who are interested in LPs, who go out to buy the vinyl all the time, music stores don't exist really in person anymore, but music is still released every Friday.
Speaker 1:And that's been happening since I was like 13, 14, or 15, probably earlier than that, and I'm just not even aware of it because in the 80s I wasn't allowed, except for when I was listening to metal, right exactly.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, acdc in the crib, except for when I was listening to metal Right, exactly, yes, yes, acdc in the crib.
Speaker 1:Right, or, as Jack Black says, metal. He's like you have to put the T in there. He's like do I listen to? My children listen to metal. No. Anyway, but music is still released every Friday.
Speaker 1:Right, it's just on Spotify or whatever else You're like Tidal, if know, whatever else you're like title if you listen you're like I need my music to be the highest quality, so I pay for title um so those cycles you're able to track, and being even like in music, like style with album covers, like you're able to stay on top of graphic design trends just by staying on top of music, because the album covers of the recent releases always follow graphic design trends. So I think that certain habits like that allowed me to track and be able to kind of see what the cycles are, what's coming next, even if I wasn't like a social media expert or a person had to come to me and be like have you ever thought about like Instagram you know which is old now.
Speaker 1:The tension as a creative is am I trying to sell or, like, suggest a product? To a person I'm working with or a client because I think it's cool and trendy, or do? I think it's really going to solve their problem. It's really easy to get, especially with new innovations and stuff like that, to get like lost in.
Speaker 5:How amazing is it that this can happen or that this exists. Yes.
Speaker 1:And like I want to do that, or I saw this great video I want to produce one just like it. Yep, but it doesn't actually like solve the client's problem. And they may give you their money to do that. But at the end of the day they're not going to give you their money multiple times to do it if it isn't actually solving a problem, Right, that's good.
Speaker 3:I love that you know. You just talked about even just instilling habits of innovation right with your team. How do you continue to instill the values of having a culture rooted in good? Right, Because it's no longer Ox Creative, I mean it is right, but your name is also Ox for Good, so kind of unpack that a little bit. And what makes Ox different? Or even, what are you most proud of of the work that you guys do in the world today?
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so when?
Speaker 1:in a mission statement you say you know we're here to support organizations doing good in the world and we're called Ox for Good. The question that comes up every couple of years is what is good? How do we know what good is when you add new folks to the team and they're like this feels mushy, you know. Or when we like get inquiries, inquiries. When we get inquiries from different potential partners, how are we filtering them through the lens of what good is? After I hit the fourth or fifth time of the team asking me that question over the years, I started to get really annoyed by it.
Speaker 1:And I'm like why do we have to keep revisiting this question of what good is? It's obvious what good is? I've answered this question 15 times. You just weren't here and you're not going to be here if you keep asking.
Speaker 1:But then I realized people asking that question is an indicator of health, not an indicator that something's wrong. We should be asking that question all the time. The fact that people want to have a good, satisfying answer to that is because they care about it. When people stop asking critical questions about your mission statement it means it doesn't matter anymore wow.
Speaker 1:But when new generations of team and, as a pattern of a cycle, even like the old, like you know, people who have been there for years are still revisiting the question of how does our mission statement connect to what I do on a daily basis, that shows that it matters and that the people care about the mission mattering to them. And when they stop asking that question, it's dangerous.
Speaker 1:And that should be your first indicator that something's wrong. So, um, yeah, what is good and how do we know? It's like a constant thing for us to to ask and yeah that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I want to talk about. You're in the midst of writing a book about a hundredyear brands and you just told us how you have this ability to see trends and see things before they happen, and now you're doing this cool look back on what makes companies work 100 years. We actually have two clients one that's celebrating their 100th year this year, another one that's on their 99th. We're prepping for 100 year next year. So it's been amazing to just see, like to get your arms around, like, oh my goodness, for them to create something and for it to last 100 years is incredible. So talk to us about what inspired you about that and kind of what your focus is in unpacking that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so today, longevity seems like an anomaly. Yeah, so many companies and organizations go out of business every year. It seems like most of the leadership teams and companies are only focused one or two quarters into the future and it's kind of impossible to you know, to chart a course for 10 years or more. Yeah, like we said, like news cycles are always changing, you're like I can't even predict what the headline is going to be tomorrow, let alone like what my business is is is is going to be doing um, in 2017, I made my first apple note about this topic and I had read about japanese companies who had survived for a thousand years and I was blown away by this idea.
Speaker 1:I was like how there are companies that in businesses that still exist, that have been around for a thousand years, a full article about them there's like a word, you know, that's like, specifically like, about like this type of company in the japanese language.
Speaker 1:Um, so there are like hotels, construction companies, uh, I think like a soy sauce company, uh, like other types of like, uh like. For the most part, they're family owned businesses, um, or businesses who operate as like a family. There are certain cases where there's like a son in law, or like an adopted son even, who comes in to run. But I started to dig into like why do these businesses last for a long time? Do these businesses last for a long time? There's been a lot of study into blue chip Fortune 500 companies who are old and what makes them endure. I read a research project that was into small and medium-sized businesses in America and do they follow the same rules that the Japanese businesses did and how they follow like the same rules that the japanese businesses uh did and how they survive? And the answer was yes, like the same principles apply then I started asking is this true of non-profits too?
Speaker 1:because we see, like, like, like some of the same patterns of cycles with non-profits, especially ones that are like, really like seem to be doing like a lot of good and making a positive impact. Like, um, there are these big, huge organizations who have been around for a long time. Everybody knows their brand, but if you ask most people what they do, they might not be able to tell you. And then there are smaller organizations who have been around for 20 years who, like, if you're like involved with their work, you're like whoa, this is the most innovative. Like they're like doing such a great job meeting the needs in their community. And then I'll get like an email like the next you know day of like uh, sorry, we aren't going to be around. Like for the next school year, please direct your volunteer time or your funding to our partner organization in the area who's carrying on our work. But we aren't going to exist anymore. So I'm asking like why do these like?
Speaker 1:like, like certain organizations whose names are ubiquitous keep going on, but I don't even know what they do, and small organizations that seem to be really, really effective aren't surviving sometimes. So I have a friend who heads the research department at Baylor. University like a department at Baylor University. I just like shared with her what I was interested in and I asked her hey, has any research been done into nonprofits who are a hundred years old or more and why they survive? And she was like I'll look it up.
Speaker 1:So she went into her I don't know computer and did like a search. And she comes back to me and she said Jesse, nobody's ever done research into this, I'd love to coauthor it with you. And I was like sweet. So, um, for the last two or three years, her and I, uh we, we did a global study into uh nonprofits, charities and NGOs who are 100 years old or more.
Speaker 1:If you had to guess how many charities, nonprofits or NGOs in the world are 100 years old or older? How many do you think there are?
Speaker 3:Less than 10? I don't know.
Speaker 2:In the whole world, in the whole world, I'll go 500. There are 7,000.
Speaker 1:7,000. You're so 7,000.
Speaker 2:7,000. Okay, All right, yeah. Super close, You're so close. Alexis.
Speaker 4:So if this is prices right. I won, you won the car yeah.
Speaker 2:So, 7,000. Okay, yeah, that's what I know.
Speaker 1:They're in education, the medical field. There are like a lot of like associations that like are nonprofit, that could be more industry based, or like providing like like bereavement to like sailors who like lose their lives, just like a huge range. We've discovered six principles that, if you're only going to focus on six things to ensure that your organization who is doing good survives 100 years or more, these are the six things that you should work on. So we interviewed CEOs, former presidents and board members of a sample pool of like a sample pool, and then we did a quantitative search into like a database called Hoover's to study all of the published like articles that they have written their annual reports over time, okay, and like already a book about that topic.
Speaker 1:So to me it's been like, like, really, really interesting to follow a trail of just something that I was interested in um that has been studied in the for-profit world and see how it's.
Speaker 1:It's uniquely like a different in the non-profit space um because, like, the key, like nuance, is this you can endure for a long time but lose your impact. And you can have impact but not endure. And the key is to have both. For 100 years, wow, for 100 years, wow. And it can become easy for well-funded organizations who have survived a long time to continue to survive but not actually make as big of an impact as they're capable of if you were to look at their bank account, because they're a little bit more focused on enduring than what they are on impact. And for younger organizations, yeah, I mean they have some of the same problems and challenges because everything seems so fragile, you know, each year it's kind of like, how are we going to survive? And the impact factor is equally important to them and the impact factor is equally important to them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, that's excellent. Okay, so I don't want to, you know, give away all the goods of your book here, but as you think about, you know what some of the enduring brands had in common. You talked about six things. Is there, is there one of those that you can talk about today? One thing that you say hey, this, this stood out as an element of this is a common thread. Yeah, so, like the first one is like an enduring founding mission.
Speaker 1:Uh, if you try to like think of what mission could we have today that's still going to be relevant in a hundred years, you know, like, if you think back to even companies like Henry Ford, you know it's like his whole, his whole quote, which I think it's debated, if he actually like said this or not. Um, but if, if people would have asked me what, what they needed, I would have said a faster horse, like certain things like that we think of as horses today, like there's no guarantee that social media will even exist in a hundred years, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So if your mission is built around something that may not last in a hundred years, it might not mean that you have to change what you're doing today, but you may need to revise your mission to be something that will still, uh, uh, be a clear need for you to exist in a hundred years without people questioning your identity, like every 30 years or every time there's like a huge like change or innovation, like in in the world. Um, so being able to frame that in a way that isn't tied to a like, a methodology, is really important. Like we're here to become the best video provider. You know in the Chicagoland area, video as we might know it might not even exist in a hundred years.
Speaker 2:So don't write a mission statement or 10 years. Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow.
Speaker 1:Um so, like the organizations who do survive, the people in those like organizations still quote their founder.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They still go back to the mission. Yes, but our founding mission was this, and that's our guiding North Star, and everybody still knows it. Yeah. It's not like, yeah, like they wrote a mission years ago, but it's not relevant at all because it was about battery acid.
Speaker 2:I don't know Right, you know Right, no, that's that's so, that's so good and I think it resonates and I think about you know, like I said, um one of our clients 99 this year, a hundred next year it's Baker youth club, okay, and so it's essentially kind of the the you know um boys and girls club of our area and they have been serving the community for 99 years to provide, you know, care for children. Right, that's never going to go away, that's never something that is going to change. And so I know their methodology has changed through the years, but at its core it's been about let's provide a safe place for kids where they can get some food, they can have a trusted adult, they can have a safe place to play and while their parents are working, right, and it's that's an enduring mission so so cool, so cool.
Speaker 2:I love that. So when is that? When does the book come out? When can we expect that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Uh, we have pitches in front of publishers right now, so it's on on their timeline, but hopefully it's like in the next year or so.
Speaker 3:Well, any final thoughts or just messages for creators, founders or even just those wanting to build something that lasts?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think there's like a pressure from society that, yeah, you know, see results, experience the interchange that we want, uh, achieve our, our career goals, uh, instantaneously. And, um, especially for people who, like, are like, are younger, it can feel like I'm 25 and I haven't made the impact on the world that I need to. I'm doing something wrong.
Speaker 1:There are so many examples of people who made huge impacts on the world who didn't even start in that field until they were in their 40s or 50s. Take Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken, for example. I don't even think he started that until he was in his late 50s or early 60s. He was on the cover of every bucket.
Speaker 1:Christopher Nolan didn't direct Memento until he was in his like late 50s or early 60s. He was on the cover of every bucket. Christopher nolan didn't direct memento until he was 40. Wow, give yourself a little time, relax, relax. There's a lot of stuff that seems to be happening like fast in the world, but just because something isn't happening instantaneously, it doesn't mean that anything's wrong. And if it does happen fast, you probably won't be able to sustain the like a notoriety or, uh, the finances that come your way, because you haven't, like uh, developed the skills to be able to do it well.
Speaker 2:And it might just like slip through your fingers Wow. That is so good, so good.
Speaker 5:Well, Jesse, thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thank you for just your, your generosity of time and the thoughts you've shared. Uh, for people that want to connect with you, learn more about Ox creative or stay on track with you as your book comes out, where should they connect?
Speaker 1:If you want to follow me on on LinkedIn, uh, you can. You can, or at Ox Creates is our handles on social and OxCreatescom is the website. But if you follow me, you can hear more about the book. It's titled here for Good and it'll be coming out shortly Awesome.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, hey, thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks so much.
Speaker 2:Awesome and for all of our viewers and listeners. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Stories that Move. See you next time. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Stories that Move brought to you by Dream On Studios.
Speaker 5:Make sure to subscribe so that you don't miss the next episode. And remember, if you or your organization have a story you're eager to share with the world, Dream On Studios is here to bring that story to life.
Speaker 2:Don't hesitate to reach out. You can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or visit our website at dreamonstudiosio. We understand how overwhelming it can be trying to bring your vision and story to life, but that's why we exist, and we've walked alongside hundreds of clients doing that very thing.
Speaker 5:Yeah, we believe every story has the potential to inspire, to move and to make a difference. Let's make yours heard.
Speaker 2:Until next time, keep moving forward and keep telling those stories that matter.
Speaker 5:Take care everyone. We'll see you next time. On Stories that Move.