Workflow Wednesday

Several years ago, I found myself challanged with work, I was frustrated, and burned out. I felt I was spinning my wheels on the same problems. So I made a list of everything I was struggling with sorted into 3 columns.

• Things I couldn’t control
• Things I could influence
• Things I could change right now

And I started there, with what I could change.

One of the biggest shifts that came out of that moment was Workflow Wednesday: a weekly all-hands meeting at MAKE focused not on projects or deadlines, but on how we work.

At first, while well intended it was easily devolved into weekly gripe sessions. Conversational, honest, but not always productive.

With some tweaking it became more of a series of top-down presentations, more structured, but also a little stiff and time-consuming to prepare each week, and could come off as preachy.

For a while, we tried culture-building prompts like “share your favorite shot,” some liked it, but many on the team, especially the more experienced, felt it was a fluffy waste of time.

Now, after years of tweaks, I’ve dialed in a format that works for a creative studio:

60 minutes weekly - flexible if deadlines are tight. Always with an agenda, so people know what to expect.

First 15 mins: Studio Pulse

• Pipeline/software updates
• Knowledge base drops (articles & videos)
• New hires, shout-outs, industry news
• Surveys on what people wish they understood better, or would like to see at the studio
• Anyone can contribute. Everyone’s invited to shape the agenda.

Last 45 mins: Deep Dive

• Topical refreshers from our knowledge base, or detailed updates.
• Group discussions around pipeline /process / software shifts.
• Tool deployments and updates.
• Artist & producer-led workshops, requested by the team
• Calibrating discussions, like what is our artistic vision, or how do we approach AI?

If the topic’s not relevant to you? You can hop off. Every session is recorded for anyone who wants a refresher later.

Sometimes we still mix it up, an occasional team lunch, watch some animation, or getting out of the studio. But the heart of Workflow Wednesday is shared learning, peer leadership, and staying connected to how and why we do what we do.

It’s helped turn the studio into a place where communication, growth, and autonomy are built into the culture, and where the process gets better because the people doing the work have the power to improve it. It has helped people leave their routine and participate in mentorship and invest in their work, and the artists around them.

🛠️