Andrew Deitchman of Mother New York does not claim to be a psychiatrist, but he believes people are “sad” beings, who try to find meaning and acceptance in their lives. Deitchman theorizes that different companies have ways of meeting those human needs, either through titles or perks that make one feel important, and often manifested through hierarchical business structures. “What we try to do at Mother is strip as much of that away as we possibly can,” he says. Instead of creating artificial structures or handing out important titles, Deitchman focuses on the initial reasons why people like to work in the business in the first place. According to him there is a love for the creative pursuit. “Because they love the craft, they love the work, they like the thought process, it makes their brain happy, they problem solve, all that stuff.” Mother operates on a relatively flat hierarchy, but this has proved challenging. Deitchman says this is “very hard to manage.” He says there is a reason hierarchal organizations are the norm. “It’s more efficient; it’s easier to manage, and it’s a smarter way of doing things. I mean, it just is,” he says. Despite the challenges Deitchman believes the structure has greatly benefited Mother. “For us, it creates more happiness, it creates more of a sense of possibility and responsibility and ownership.”
At Mother, employees are given little personal recognition for their work. Instead all recognition is celebrated as a team. When the agency releases a piece of work, the credits read something like this: Art Director-Mother, Copywriter-Mother, Strategist-Mother and so on. “It’s about our collective output … It’s not for everybody, and it’s not an easy thing to manage,” Deitchman says. This has cost the agency in the past, he admits. “We’ve lost good people at times because they want to go somewhere else and have a big title or have their name in lights, so to speak, relative to some of the work, and that’s fine.” But he would not change anything about the team-centric nature of Mother. “For us, it’s simply that we’re trying to foster creativity in our way,” he adds.
Mother’s own brand of creativity is unlike any other traditional ad agency. The New York agency has made more than great advertisements; they have unveiled numerous products, such as whiskey and an upcoming mobile application, and they have even dabbled in planning rock festivals. Deitchman attributes their success, in part, to his entrepreneurial spirit. “I don’t look at anything and think ‘Oh, we couldn’t do that, that’s not the business that we’re in.’” In order be successful in all of these endeavors, Deitchman believes that Mother’s flat structure is essential. “All of this is done with one core group of creators and in order for that to function, people can’t have a sense of self-importance,” he says. One of the biggest inhibitions to creativity at Mother, in Deitchman’s mind, is having the “that’s not my job” mentality. The methodology at Mother works to “break people down,” allowing them to “get to their most basic reason for why they are in this business to begin with, and try to create as much joy and happiness connected to that.”
Creating the right environment that brings out the best creativity and where people are happy is an important aspect. Bringing in the right combination of people is another. “When you have an agency that has a really nice reputation, attracting great talent is not your biggest issue,” says Deitchman. He has learned that inspiring the best creative in people is highly correlated with two traits he and his team are looking for: kindness and openness. Deitchman adds, “People need to be able to sit around a bunch of boards from all different sorts of craft expertise and work together and have fun together.”
The space at Mother also reflects the openness of their employees. For Deitchman, this means having a “perfectly imperfect” space. “We didn’t do a lot to it and … I think that creates a casualness and a sense that you can stick anything up on any wall and you’re not going to break anything,” he says. “There is nothing pristine about it.” In addition, the space is constantly changing. From one day to the next, everything at Mother can change, from the contents of the office fridge to the furniture in the space. Seating arrangements are even changed every few months to prevent people from getting too comfortable. “If you’re in a space that feels like it’s finished, like it’s done … you don’t feel like you’re in a dynamic environment,” Deitchman asserts.
When looking toward the future, Deitchman is optimistic. Though he does not foresee Mother ever being a thousand-person organization, he thinks the agency will become more significant over time. He wants Mother to have the well-known reputation that Goldman Sachs is known for within the financial industry. “Ten years from now, whether a kid is coming out from journalism school or film school or design school or architecture school or something involving technology, and so on and so on, he tells his mom and dad his first job is at Mother they know what that is, they are excited for them because our brand becomes this celebrated company that has very wide, very open arms to a very broad group of creators,” he quips. This can only be achieved by embracing the reality that the definition of Mother as a company is far beyond that of a traditional ad agency.