Harry Livingstone Barrett III

Harry was a force of nature who blew into my life as a new colleague and instant friend when we both were both young and dangerous in our careers at a small (and in many ways inexplicable) agency called Agawam Direct Marketing. This was the early 1980s.

We shared days filled with dreams and schemes, triumphs and disasters, adventures and laughter—careening through work for Atari, Xerox, American Express, Eastern Exclusives, Mullen, and his early years at Synectics. 

Harry's pure delight in people and places and possibilities was at once intoxicating and inspiring as it was inescapable. (Ben, his sheer joy on the day of your birth was unforgettable!) 

A great traveling companion, a wonderful storyteller, and a brilliant creative partner, our paths later diverged. But Harry's spirit of delight and wonder always endured. It was a gift he offered to all he met. In a life that lives on in all who embraced him.

THE HARRY BARRETT I KNEW.

When I joined precursor Digitas agency Eastern Exclusives in 1984, my first client was AT&T’s Jerry Chappell, known to all as “J-dot D-dot Chappell.” Forget the silly, self-serving name; you want uncompromising, unyielding, and unreasonable? You got him. Thank god for my other AT&T client, Ed Naczi , who was decent, kind, and capable, everything Chappell wasn’t.

I remember nothing positive or noteworthy about Chappell, except for the name he pegged on my then-boss Harry Barrett, calling him “An unmade waterbed,” something that has remained permanently lodged upstairs in the years since.

Harry replaced the person to whom I reported initially, Kristen Wainwright, who, like several other colleagues in those early days of chaos, confusion, and general madness, succumbed to illness and left, never to return. Kristen struck me as sober, serious, and studious; Harry was the opposite: a lineman-sized, larger-than-life football-playing thespian with a singular flair for exuberant performance. In Chapter 56 of The Art of Client Service’s second edition, the one that precedes the current one, I describe him as,

“a very smart, very personable, and outrageously funny executive. He was a big guy, kind of a bowling ball with legs. A client described him as ‘an unmade waterbed.’ That moniker captured his rumbled, tie-askew style.”

You familiar with the Saturday Night Live comedian Chris Farley? That’s doesn’t do Harry justice, but it’s close.

I remember one day traveling with him by car post-client meeting, in transit from AT&T’s Basking Ridge headquarters to Newark Airport, when, in a moment of frustration and disappointment compliments of our client Chappell, he leaned over from the back seat, clutched the driver by the shoulders, shook him, and said in his loudest, most exasperated stage voice, “Don’t ever, evergo into advertising, you hear me!! EVER!!!”

It broke the tension, put things in context – it’s only advertising – and made me smile; Chappell didn’t seem quite so evil anymore.

There was another moment when I was struggling with an underperforming, direction-resistant colleague who reported to me. Harry made the point that real leadership skill comes not with managing great people – “That’s easy,” but in making good people better and average people good, “That’s where the talent lies.” Very wise.

Over the years I’ve written about Harry from time-to-time, in particular here, here, and here. Harry moved on from Eastern Exclusives, eventually joining the firm Snyectics and later starting his own venture as a “Creative Jedi.” Both were suited to his true skill as an innovator and idea creator.

My other memories of Harry admittedly are random, but here are a few:

Given his size, I figured he couldn’t be quick or nimble; not so. Proof was in the way he decimated me on the racquetball court, then gleeful in reminding me, without ever sounding mean or cruel about it.
He made more money than me, but that didn’t stop him from asking me to pay his monthly oil heating bill; I passed, figuring it was a gift, not a loan.
Having no qualms about taking advantage of whatever generosity I was willing to offer, he would try persuading me to write a presentation deck for him; I passed on this too, figuring if I did it once, I’d be doing it forever.
He introduced me to a drink I still consume today: Mount gay rum and tonic.
I spoke with Harry a few years back; it was clear he was dealing with a couple of significant physical setbacks, but until I read a notice on Facebook’s Digitas Ditchers page, I didn’t know that in June he departed to the big idea factory in the sky. He was just a few months younger than me.

Stories and memories notwithstanding, in truth I didn’t really know Harry; we were friendly but not friends, more frenemies than not. I did know he could be among the world’s most frustrating colleagues, someone who could be wildly inconsistent in his notions and unreliable when reliability was what mattered most.

In the end, this isn’t what I choose to remember. Instead, I remember Harry as a pretty good guy, with a big heart, and a creatively fertile and inventive mind. Godspeed old friend.

Harry remains in my mind a unique and vibrant, truly unforgettable personality that in so many ways can only be characterized as "larger-than-life." I am saddened that our regular reminiscences over the past couple years has been cut short. RIP old friend and I will miss laughing with you.

Harry was one of the most unforgettable of Synectics colleagues and an early mentor of mine. Nothing was off limits if it met the goal of seeing something differently or stretching our clients’ thinking in a unique way. Whether having a client team carve pumpkins together to understand team dynamics or interviewing Rosie O’Donnell’s manager to understand the relationship between chocolate and the contemporary woman, jumping into what might “seem” like uncomfortable waters was second nature for Harry.

But what I remember most was his patience as a trainer, helping to develop others in the un(limits) of the Synectics method of collaborative innovation and creative problem solving.

Our colleague Connie Williams’ tribute here so rightly mentions Harry’s fondness for the Einstein quote on imagination being more important than knowledge. It makes me think of one other Synectics principle that Harry not only loved but just may have coined himself, “It’s easier to build feasibility into a new idea … than newness into a feasible one”.

Start far out there AND then you can work your way back into something both feasible AND new. It’s a gem of a concept… and a natural one for Harry … someone who could always take you “far out there”, and then gently land you safely home … and with big belly laughs along the way.

Will miss you, Harry. See you “out there” one day again.

Love you, Joey G (as you used to call me)

Dear Ben and Kate (and all who loved Harry),
I am sorry I will not be able to join you on June 22 to celebrate Harry. I was so sad to hear the news of Harry’s passing. As fellow Synectics’ facilitators, we had the opportunity to work on many client projects together over the years. American Express, the New Yorker magazine, Motorola (Power Council), Bacardi and many more. We spent a lot of time planning, designing and facilitating sessions while also enjoying traveling and hotel living for various client engagements. We were both sporadic at keeping in touch the last couple of years, but it doesn't reflect my tremendous respect and affection for your dad.

Harry was huge, and I don’t mean just in physical size. Harry was truly one of the most fearless of facilitators. His personal creativity was so strong and his management of safe climates in meetings made it secure for others to be bold, too. He was absolutely courageous in pushing clients to extend their imagination into new territories. At Synectics we often used catalysts to stretch thinking, bringing in someone from an analogous world – looking to see how a similar problem was addressed or solved in a completely different environment to help inspire new creative connections. Harry was masterful in designing experiences to help our clients think beyond boundaries. He once took a Life Insurance client group to walk across Mt Auburn cemetery to talk about life and legacy. He interviewed a porn star to talk about guilt and pleasure for a luxury chocolate company project. He loved this Albert Einstein quote: “IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE. KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED. IMAGINATION ENCIRCLES THE WORLD.”

Harry’s generosity was always apparent. He did a tremendous favor for me one time and pro bono’d an innovative team workshop for my son and several of his friends. I could not have led this training because I was “the mom”. His funny, commanding presence was so effective with teen boys, one of the most difficult of audiences! His friends still talk about the experience.

I imagine that Harry is working on his stand-up routine with St Peter and facilitating the angels in a most devilish way. I am sure he is bringing down the heavenly house. One of a kind, always. Loved him. Connie Williams

I've written about my former colleague Harry several times, but when I heard of his passing, I went searching for one of the pieces I devoted to him. What follows is a something I wrote in 2012, celebrating how I recalled Harry:

"The other day I heard from my old friend and former colleague Harry Barrett. Harry and I go waaaay back, to the early days of the agency you know as Digitas. He was my first agency boss.

"Our paths diverged years ago; I headed to San Francisco, then made my way to New York, pursuing a path in client service. Harry took a different route, leaving agencies behind to become Managing Partner of Synectics World, an innovator in “process facilitation,” which is a tortured way of saying these folks were great at helping clients discover new ideas for products, services, and addressing problems of all types.

"Harry is on his own now; if you have a minute, take a look at his website, which is first-rate. What I especially like about it is the line, “The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

"Harry will tell you that the 'muscles' you use to be creative are entirely different from the muscles you use to run a business.

"I will tell you Harry is really smart, resourceful, and incredibly easy and fun to work with. If I had a problem in need of a solution, I’d call Harry."

"If you run a business, work at an agency, or are confronting a challenge, you might want to do the same."

Godspeed my friend.

Master
Not mater

I’m all thumbs like Harry.

Harry was ,quite simply, the mater of ceremonies. Young or old-it didn’t matter-you had his attention and he had yours. There will be a lot of similar accolades from all walks of life-
So I thought I would just jump into one of his favorite jokes since I have permission from Ben and Kate. 😍

A ranch hand came into town looking for work. So he went and spoke to the cowboss and talked his way into a job. After a few weeks he asked one of his fellow ranchers where all the women were.
He said- “ there ain’t none-but there’s a flock of sheep over yonder beyond them hills”
So the new guy thought about it and a few days later decided to check it out. During the next month he made numerous trips to the flock. And one late afternoon burst through the saloon door accompanied by one of the sheep. He sat down and the sheep stood along side and he noticed all the ranchers in the bar staring at him in disbelief. He spoke up and said “ what- you guys told me to go get me a sheep.”
And one of the ranchers piped up - “ yes we did- but you got the sheriff’s girl”

Love you and miss you already Harold.

My dear friend Harry was a best friend a brother to all the Gibson’s, he gave me so much love and joy to my life, selfless and incredibly humble, we had so many cherished moments together, memories that will be forever in my heart, I loved Harry and will forever miss him…
Chubbaaahh

Harry was one of those remarkable people who could always make you feel better for having seen him or spent time with him. He always made me smile, and he was possibly the most upbeat person I’ve ever met.
The world grew a little darker with the loss of Harry.
He will be missed by all who knew him.
Phyllis

Growing up I was lucky enough to go up to Maine a lot with Harry and the gibsons. Harry was almost always there. We were in our late teens and early 20’s and he was ALWAYS one of the people I looked forward to seeing. When everyone else went to bed he would stay out at the camp fire with us until the early morning hours sometimes and he had us laughing so hard we were in tears every single time. Amazing stories and even better conversation. The thing that stands out the most is I never once saw him sad or frustrated- he was happy and smiling and making everyone laugh. ALWAYS. Rest in peace Harry I’ll never forget you!