Meet the Team: Q+A with Rob

Guardian President Rob Forrester, shares motivation, a favorite brand and industry trends.

1. What do you do in the morning to get ready for the workday?

During the workweek, I’ve found that following a certain routine sets up my day for success. Here’s what I prioritize each day:

• Centering my heart on God through prayer or reading.
• Clearing my mind by fasting until lunch.
• Energizing my body through exercise.
• Waking up my brain through exposure to sunlight.

When I do these things, my heart, mind and body are primed for the day. Then, as I get to my desk, I use Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner to tackle my to-do list.

2. What motivates you?

Learning, growth and development. I want this for our clients and their communications programs. I want this for Guardian and our team. I want this for myself. The status quo unnerves me. I want us all to be consistently moving into the potential God has for us.

3. What is your favorite brand and why?

I have a lot, but I will highlight Camp 4 Coffee in Crested Butte, Colorado because of their authenticity.

Our family moved to the mountain town for a bit during the COVID-19 pandemic and a coffee connoisseur friend encouraged me to check it out. We became fans and continue to source our coffee from there, even now that we are back home in Atlanta.

So many brands feel shallow these days. They try to use clever words or graphics to make up for a lack of substance.

Camp 4 is different. The brand is not fancy, but everything about it feels authentic: the in-person experience, their passion for coffee, the quality, the home-grown feel of their marketing and the great customer service.

They superbly deliver on their implied brand promise (great coffee), which makes them memorable and trustworthy—so much so that the coffee company has a cult following. 4. What are the biggest shifts in the industry that you have witnessed in the five years that Guardian has existed? There are a lot, but here are a few:

• A near-constant need for high-quality, digital story-telling content. And I would also note the need for refreshed websites; so many organizations are behind in this area.
• Due to the proliferation of channels, a razor-sharp brand strategy and rigorous brand management is more critical than ever. Otherwise, you will get lost in the noise.
• Requests for crisis preparation services are skyrocketing. So many groups are engaging us to help them get ready for “their day.”
• Strategic comms integrating with marketing/advertising/experiential for a unified approach to brand communication. Silos = dilution.
• Highly-digestible content. Audiences no longer have the attention span for long-form.
• Rise of GenAI and understanding how to use it ethically/thoughtfully for comms.

5. What is one impactful lesson you’ve learned since launching Guardian in 2019?

The professional journey is a school for building faith.

There are so many variables in business—many outside our control. I’ve learned that I must hold things loosely so God can work and teach. Time and again, my faith is stretched and then strengthened as He shows His faithfulness.

Of course, the other side of this is that I must also be a diligent steward of all He has entrusted to me—clients and their goals, staff, our brand and my own development.

Ultimately, it feels like a dance between God and me; each of us doing our part to make it work.

6. What is your vision for Guardian in the coming five years?

To elevate thinking, particularly in service of our clients.

I’m concerned by the lack of great thinking in culture. We have more information at our fingertips but are living in a state of overload. We are more distracted than ever. We are living in a constant stream of content, and it’s harder than ever to make time to think deeply and creatively. I want our team to continue to live differently in this area and lead with a quality of thinking that is increasingly countercultural. “Mono-tasking” is my word for the year!