Do what you love

We're fortunate to love what we do. Twenty-two years on we still get excited about the type of work we create and the people and organisations we collaborate with. The source of who we are and the motivation that's led us here comes from a few different factors. It started with personal ambition, the drive to explore, experiment, and push the edge of what's possible. Mix that with the desire to create meaningful impact for others and you have the core foundations of Cerebrum.

Here's three key areas that keep us motivated:

Meaningful impact

The essence of our work is about designing for and in service of others. As we've mentioned before, people need to be at the heart of our decision-making. Ultimately, we are solving human problems. Creating meaningful impact is about solving clients' needs with regard to the human touch points of the business and their context. This lens provides clearer insight and a deeper understanding of the interconnected parts.

Our work is driven by understanding truth. What makes us 'us' is our investment in understanding where the real issue lies. We pride ourselves, sometimes to the annoyance of our clients, on seeking out the details to get to the source of a problem. A solution is only possible when we know what we are truly solving. The process of helping clients come to this realisation brings us immense joy. That 'ah ha' moment when crucial insight comes to light. It's at this moment strategy and solution come together, providing the means to design the best possible outcome.

Inspirational insight

Our learnings propel us forward. The challenges teach us the fine art of refining how we do business. The advancement of technology pushes us to extend our abilities. The insight of others inspires us to think differently. Again, the connection with people is the underlying motivator for us. We are part of a community of people we thoroughly enjoy working with and learning from.

Graeme Lahman, one of the founding members of Cerebrum who we sadly lost over a year ago, continues to be a strong force. Even before the beginnings of Cerebrum, Graeme was influential. His drive, ambition, and enthusiasm were infectious. But it was his genuine interest in you as a person, and his passion for you to be successful, that really leapt out. Success to him was manifesting your dreams by being true to yourself.

'Graeme knew how to gently push people to do their best, even me.' —Simon Dawes

The energy, the kindness, the business nous Graeme brought to any conversation carries on being a source of inspiration to us—but man do we miss him.

Aspirational drive

From a personal perspective, Cerebrum continues to be a vehicle for us to drive personal ambitions, to grow, and challenge ourselves. The ability to experiment, build new skills, share knowledge... fuels inner aspirations as well as strengthens and expands our place in community.

The business is also influenced by other interests. Take the men's work Simon has been involved with for over the past 25 years. It continues to provide him solid grounding—inspiring openness and authenticity. This reflects in the way Simon runs business, the honest conversations with clients, the calm, safe space he provides that encourages others to follow the same purposeful path.

Image Credit
'Do what you love' by Jason Leung on Unsplash