Today’s guest is Taryn Crouthers, one year in as CEO of Big Spaceship, bringing a distinctly commercial and entrepreneurial perspective to her first agency role.
Taryn reflects on the challenge of evolving a 25-year-old agency without losing the heritage that made it distinctive – not least how Big Spaceship’s culture of “explorers, not settlers” shapes everything from operating structures to client partnerships.
The conversation explores her approach to change as a first-time CEO, including the “100 things that suck” and using AI to rethink traditional roles and processes.
Taryn also shares the thinking behind restoring the Big Spaceship name, creating the brutally honest press release that accompanied it, and developing BSS, their framework for being brave, smart and specific.
With a sharp perspective on creativity, AI and talent, this is a thoughtful look at how agency leaders can create the conditions for ambitious people to do their best work.
HIGHLIGHTS:
[02:15] Building new things
[06:47] Natural agency evolution
[09:40] The flight plan
[12:11] Explorers not settlers
[13:40] 100 tasks that suck
[19:46] Big Spaceship returns
[26:32] BSS: Brave, smart, specific
[32:13] Exploration over chaos
[37:00] Diverse thinking in creativity
[40:22] Evolution of innovation
