My Brilliant Career Breathing new life and meaning into brands
Yatish Narsi is chief experience officer at Grid Worldwide
What does a chief experience officer do?
My role focuses on bringing brands to life in use. How does a brand behave and what behaviour does it enable? This could be in a physical or digital context, related to spaces, apps and various other experiences.
My background in architecture has proved invaluable in this regard. Architecture involves a healthy tension between the practical and the aesthetic, all centred on how people use a design as well as how they respond to it visually and emotionally.
Tell me what you do at work each day.
With a wide range of clients and projects, no one day or one project is the same. The only constant is that it is a challenge. We hold our work, and each other, to a high standard. Be prepared for healthy debates, leave your ego at the door and you should be fine to begin another “typical” day.
What drew you to architecture?
I enjoyed the arts, sciences and mathematics as a kid, and, to be honest, there wasn’t much else that offered a combination of those things. I think too often we are fixated on studying what we want to do, rather than study what interests us. You can apply your interests to what you do, and in many ways I feel that leads to the best results.
What advice do you have for young people starting out in your industry?
First, depending on how young you are, the industry may not be around when you get here, at least not in the same shape. Pursue the things in life that genuinely interest you and then apply those interests to opportunities that add value. The world will always need interested people who add value. Be it in advertising and design, biotech, software, artificial intelligence or architecture.
What makes you good at your job?
Never thinking I’m good at my job! There is so much incredible talent out there, so many breakthroughs and innovations you see every day, that anyone who thinks too much clearly doesn’t know what’s going on.
Mark Zuckerberg’s idea of “productive paranoia” is certainly one I subscribe to, or the “stay hungry, stay foolish” mantra is also a good one. You need to cultivate a habit of continuous improvement. You are never good enough — there is always room to grow.
What do you find most meaningful about the work you do?
At Grid we have always prided ourselves on taking on projects that offer an opportunity to deliver value beyond the obvious. There is a reason we call ourselves the “make it mean something company”. It is that very sentiment that attracted me to Grid. We work incredibly hard, and when you are sacrificing 15 hours a day, and thinking about stuff almost all the time, you need to be driven by more than earning a living.
What is the best career advice you have ever received, and who gave it to you?
“If you can’t do what you love, love something else.” My business partner once said that to someone. I’m not sure if he fully intended it as I understood it, though. For me, what I got out of that was to seek out something worth loving in everything I decide to spend my time on. Life is too short to do crap we don’t enjoy. Make it mean something.