Wildly Appropriate

"Executive" Profile

As part of Q's ongoing quest for world domination, we've zeroed-in on an opportunity to have one of our company executives profiled in a regional business publication. In order to be considered for this opportunity, one must provide answers to a standard questionnaire. Here are my answers. It's possible if not likely that I'm being slightly too precious here for a business audience:

Name: Dan Klyn
Title: VP, information architecture + engineering
Company: Q LTD – a strategic communications design consultancy in Ann Arbor, MI

Background: Librarianship
Education: BA, English Literature, U of M. Master of Library and Information Science, Wayne State University
Family: Married my high school sweetheart 14 years ago. We have three kids, one dog and one cat
Residence: Ypsilanti

INSIGHTS

Guiding principle: Prove it before you say it
Best way to keep competitive edge: Total paranoia
Mentor: John Kidd
Yardstick of success: Being re-hired
How do you motivate people: By example
Goal yet to be achieved: Proper life / work / teaching balance
Best advice you ever got: Just because you have a box of 56 crayons does not mean you need to use all of them. Especially not all at the same time
Best advice for others: Don’t ever write emails when you’re mad

JUDGMENT CALLS

Best business decision: Joining a large national agency and staying there just long enough to learn a ton without getting too caught up in their proprietary way of seeing the world
Worst business decision: There’s an NDA which prohibits me from telling this story
Biggest missed opportunity: I came this close to landing a gig selecting and mixing the in-flight pop music programming for FinnAir
Biggest management myth: We’ll recoup our current losses in the next engagement with this client
Most-respected competitor: OneUpWeb
Word that best describes you: Earnest

CONFESSIONS

What keeps you up at night: My kids
Pet peeve: Salespeople who know less about their product than I do
What did you eat for breakfast: Coffee
Guilty pleasure: $.75 single cigarettes at the tobacconist
Person most interested in meeting: Vaughan Oliver
Three greatest passions: Family, Music, Words
First choice for a new career: Campground Host, Shenandoah National Park

TREASURES

Favorite quote: There is an infinite amount of hope. But not for us. - Kafka
Favorite cause: Autism
Most influential book: Beautiful Evidence, Edward Tufte
Favorite movie: Spirited Away
Favorite restaurant: Rockenwagner, Santa Monica
Favorite vacation spot: Duck Lake State Park, Montague MI
Favorite way to spend free time: Lake Michigan beaches
What you drive: Toyota 4Runner