One Take with Tony Sharpe

👉 The Scoop – Tony Sharpe was a hotshot creative director at Foote Cone & Belding in Chicago, working on one of the agency’s best clients (Johnson Wax) when he was laid off at 50. Today, he managed to take that oh-so-common insult (OK, Boomer) into a business and plays guitar and vocals in his band “You Me & Kyle”.

👉 Decisive Moment – Got laid off at 50. Started a touring rock band (You Me & Kyle) and a consulting company (OK Boomer).

👉 Unexpected change or event – The ad industry has been hit by dozens, if not hundreds of changes that have completely transformed it.

👉 What did he do? – That a guy like Tony would take all of his experience and create “OK Boomer”? That’s expected. That an “old guy” would form a touring band, master AI tools to create video and artwork, master social media to create a community? That’s the unexpected part. And Tony is enjoying it tremendously.

👉 About older workers – There are people out there like you and me that have seen social media, and messaging, and media, and all those things done well and have led teams that did all those things well. Wouldn't that be the person you would want on your team? Wouldn't you like to have somebody that has seen all the parts and done them well? That's what I would say to a CEO.