Greetings from the home office - Episode 31: Martin Matt, Mjm.cc

Martin J. Matt is founder and CEO of the creative agency Mjm.cc. With his team of ten, he has been handling mandates throughout Switzerland for a good 15 years - including the Best of Swiss Web and Best of Swiss Apps awards. The father of two loves art, film and traveling. If the Corona crisis lasts much longer, he will finally be able to successfully complete his eight-year project of running the New York City Marathon next year.

Werbewoche.ch: How long have you been in the home office?

Martin Matt: Since Friday the thirteenth, like almost all.

Is your entire agency located in a home office?

Since we have trimmed our agency to flexibility over the last years, we were ready for home office within an hour.

Did you face any technical problems when setting up your workstation back then?

Even before that, I only worked one or two days a week at the agency. I'm used to working in crowded trains, with customers, in over-sounded cafés and at home. What is unfamiliar to me is the total immobility.

Where have you set up?

Since I'm currently a teacher, dog sitter, cook, project absentee, lawyer and full-time dad in addition to agency rescuer, my workspace is always where I'm safe from my kids for what feels like five minutes. In the garden when it's raining, in the living room when the sun is shining, and sometimes in bed.

What all do you need to be able to do your job?

Coffee, cell phone, MacBook. In that order. And a gin and tonic on Fridays.

Is it difficult to separate yourself enough when the children are at home?

As mentioned above: impossible. But I admit, I am enjoying it very much. I hope that, looking back, I will see the crisis as a positive family time.

Do you have home office experience or is this a first?

It's not new to me. However, it is then less a home office than a mobile office. I have been trying for years not to work too often at night and on weekends. It remained and probably remains with the attempt.

Which processes are difficult compared to the normal everyday life of an agency?

The team spirit. The vast majority of our award-winning projects have a very strong participatory character. In this respect, I think that our great quality is working with people and involving them in our work. Accordingly, I miss my accomplices, that is, my team, our clients and freelancers. Our projects are never created in one head, but are always the product of ideas from a conspiratorial band of personalities with the same goals and similar ideas.

Which jobs go smoothly?

We've been doing meetings via video conferencing for a very long time. To my amazement, team meetings and brainstorming sessions via zoom go strangely well.

Is there anything that even works easier or more productively in the home office?

Commuting within one's own home is already very pleasant. Otherwise, it has become neither easier nor more productive for me.

What do they do about the ceiling falling on your head?

I haven't been as fit as I am now for a long time. We take much more time to cook and to eat consciously. In that sense, the Corona crisis has made me healthier.

Has something like home office jitters started to set in for you?

If I weren't an agency owner, the extra two hours of sleep each day, the extra family time, the daily exercise, the good food, the eliminated commute and travel time would be very bearable after all.

What do you miss most about the physical day-to-day life at the agency?

The contacts with people and the incubation of creative ideas for new projects. The only thing that can't be digitized is the human interaction. In the agency, I have my workplace in the middle of the team. This forced isolation is not good for any of us in the long term.

Are you confident that your agency will come through the crisis unscathed?

In January, we were on the verge of an absolute record year. Now it will probably be more of a negative record. Since we do a lot of live productions, this crisis is hitting us hard. But as always, there will be losers and winners. And we are trying to be among the Corona winners with restructuring, new ideas and our flexibility. I believe we will succeed.

As we all know, everything has its positive sides. What is it in your current home office situation?

As mentioned the plus of family and sports. And I'm a more skilled cook again.

When and why did you last laugh in connection with the home office?

My son has the potential to be an entertainer. Together with his sister, he makes me laugh all the time. Especially during Zoom conferences. Both of them quickly realized that I say yes to a lot of things during video meetings and naturally take advantage of that.

Even if you don't have a crystal ball: Do you expect the current situation to continue for a long time?

The crisis and its direct impact on us will certainly keep us busy for a while yet. I am more concerned about the subsequent recession. In this respect, I believe that Switzerland is once again holding its own better than others. But this will not leave us unscathed.

What would you like to give your colleagues in the industry to take with them through the crisis?

I am too young to be able to give good advice. If I had any, I would be old enough to know that it is better to keep it to myself.