Trust While the Clock is Running Out

Jacob Bailey:

I am someone who likes a good plan. Plenty of lead time, thinking through every detail, and then executing step by step. Some people thrive under pressure, but I tend to believe the science—when my brain isn’t in panic mode, better decisions are made, more elegant creative solutions emerge, and ultimately, the final product is stronger for the client.

But last week, Bailey and I found ourselves with our backs against the wall. Family Building Blocks needed the keynote family story for their Sustainer Happy Hour fundraiser. We had been tracking a story for well over a month, but life happened—weather, illness, staff changes. Things outside of our control. And suddenly, we were in a mad dash to find the story, capture it, and edit it into something with the emotional arc it needed to hit home.

With one week remaining the only available filming day with our key family landed when I was out of state. So, Bailey and I huddled. I mapped out the production objectives and handed off the challenge. Four days before the event, he synced with the FBB team and went solo—both filming and interviewing for everything the story would need, a full-day shoot. Three days before the event, I was back in town and with all the footage in front of me I dove into the edit. 48 hours later, we had a first cut. The day before the event, Bailey took it for a final color pass. By mid-morning on event day, it was done.

Somehow, we had pulled it off. And it came down to three things:

1️⃣ Trusting my teammate. Bailey stepped up big time, executed at a high level independently, and nailed it.

2️⃣ Trusting myself. Sitting down for the edit, I didn’t panic. I cleared my head. Felt into the footage and let years of experience lead the way.

3️⃣ Trusting our client. Family Building Blocks absolutely supported everything we asked for. They cleared a way for us to do what we do best. We moved together. And the end result was something special.