About
John Manning & Lola
Education
Undergraduate (Illinois Institute of Technology)
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Economics
• Psychology
• Philosophy
(Satisfied degree requirements in each major except Physics)
Graduate (University of Chicago)
• Physics and Mathematics (2 years)
Business
Business Experience (many of them overlapping):
Pit Trader Commodity Futures (Silver & Gold) 11 years
Sales (Stereo equipment, Advertising space) 3 years
Retail Entrepreneur (Stereo equipment, Clothing boutique) 6 years
Technical Writer 1 year
B2B and B2C Copywriter 6 years
Creative Director of Small Ad Agency 4 years
• Brokerage Services
• Automotive Aftermarket
• Health & Fitness
• Professional Services
• Cell Phones
• Pet Health Insurance
• Hotels and Restaurants
Commercial Photography 38 years
• Fashion & Beauty Photography
• Executive & Professional Portraits
Awards
Advertising Awards
American Marketing Association Award for Creative Excellence
National print campaign for Thug Bug Automotive Security Systems
Photography Awards
Fashion photography course at Parsons College, NYC
Tied for First Place
How to avoid BS:
Start by doing necessary reseach based on authoritative sources.
Recognize complexity and nonlinearity everywhere. It affects the quality of your results.
Always seek epistemological clarity. Clear language always helps. So does Systems Theory.
If you find an area of life where complexity and nonlinearity don’t rule, be sure to let me know. Because I don’t think it’s possible.
Here’s my POV:
Aside from your experiences, life and work are about ideas. Creativity is about finding those ideas. They provide the means to solve the problems you or your clients face. It’s never about the stuff. It’s always about the ideas.
As a photographer I found most other photographers thought it was about the equipment. Many writers think writing is about words. Both fields are not about the tools you use. They are actually about the ideas you create or discover and what you do with them.
My motto:
Think clearly. Behave decently. And always laugh at the funny stuff.