Chief Operative
CurrentI hate terrible brand names. It’s my cause to make sure you don’t have one. I take comfort knowing that I’ve introduced hundreds of names to the world that people genuinely enjoy. Best of all, wonderful names work wonders for business. Drawn from my career, these are the kinds of names I strive for:Tonal digital fitness systemHumantoldMythic AIRather OutdoorsFitbit SensePlume Pattern EnergyTurntide TechnologiesAdobe LightroomWanderful StorybooksAmples cryptocurrencyUtmostLyric hearing aidZoa biofabricated leatherDreyer’s Slow-Churned ice creamGlintRun Brain RunQualcomm SnapdragonYum! BrandsQuell wearable pain reliefScribe WineryRapt StudioBeyond name creation, I have 30 years under my belt developing naming strategies, nomenclature and architecture systems, and taglines such as:Love is a four-legged word (Whole Paws)Make Now Yours (Pause relaxation drink)Energy for Generation (Pattern Energy)#VoteForYourLife My perspective is uniquely holistic, informed by a career unlike any other. I’m an award-winning linguist and expert in computational linguistics. I’ve been a photomechanical typesetter, software product manager and marketer, ad copywriter, and paste-up artist. Prior to establishing my agency, Operative Words, I was Global Director of Naming & Writing at Landor Associates and a namer at Lexicon Branding. The New York Times Magazine wrote a feature story about my work. BBC News tells me 100 million people watched my interview on naming best practices. You’ll find that press on OperativeWords.com, as well as my portfolio, process, and blog where I share my expertise to help everyone become a great namer or great judge of names.I’d like you to hire me, but if you don’t, please make damn well sure you end up with a great name. You — and the world — deserve nothing less.
