Maximize Productivity with Clarity of the Ask
Vague requests reap vague results. Sounds pretty simple, yet I have been repeatedly astounded at how poorly a team of professionals can be handed a problem with little thinking going into the ask. I’ve seen far too many start up meetings around a problem that ask for a marketing strategy, a campaign or a particular tactic and has no background, no reference or strategy to point the team in a proper direction from the word go. The meeting ends up being an interrogation by the creative team to find out exactly what they’re supposed to be working on, and what problem are they solving. I think a lot of this is the account lead’s lack of understanding how to harvest the good info to tee up exploring a solution. I also think a lot of it is simply passing the buck knowing the creative team will ask for what they need and make up for what’s not there. If this is the way your team approaches collaboration and creating answers for your clients you might ask yourself if you’ve got the right people in place. Get more from your team by starting them off with great insight, clarity in the ask and by having asked the client really good questions before circling your talent around a half-baked brief.
Better homework makes better work.
Better homework makes better work.
Keep It Between the Ditches
I've heard people say they don’t care for structure. They want to do it their own way. Go about things without being confined. Rarely do I see this prove totally true. People do like structure. They like to know where they’re going, how much time they have to get there and what’s waiting once they arrive. Can you give them directions so they don’t waste their time and get lost? They like to know who’s along for the ride and how much gas money they have to spend to get there as well as what type of car they will be driving. Now the appealing lack of structure comes in how they drive in the appropriate direction down the road. They like to drive all over the road, weaving, exploring the left lane, right lane and often just straddling the center line on the road. With more responsible drivers you can widen the road and let them really enjoy the drive. Others need to be limited on the weaving and require a more narrow road. Structure can keep you on the road and arriving on time and at the right place. As my dad always said when he tossed me the keys and I got in the car, “Know where you’re going. Drive safely and keep it between the ditches.”
The TakeAway
A little structure can make room for a lot of creativity.
The Corporate Tango and the Boutique Boogie
You work hard to be productive and add quality as efficiently as possible. You motivate those around you and work hard at providing good direction so they can help meet expectations. Then, in steps the “motivated” client contact. Now starts the back and forth process of meetings, emails, conference calls, endless revisions, running it up the pole and one more review to only end up with watered-down work, mediocre products and suffering morale. Its as if the client blindly enjoys this dance. And, its not relegated to large companies. Consider the “Boutique Boogie”, where the client feels even more in the lead. Now who’s in control? Establish a clear expectation on the front end by clearly defining the scope of work, making sure to outline the process, timing, deliverables and payment. Agree on the front end what exactly defines a win. Start taking the lead and anticipating the client’s moves, setting timelines and scheduled check ins to lighten stress. It might not be a waltz or a ballet, but a little choreography can make it all go a lot better.
The Takeaway
Stay in the lead by guiding a client through your process, not their’s.
Recognize Your Unique Knowledge.
I worked with a writer once. He was really good at writing simple headlines. He was also really good at summing up a situation and getting to the point quickly. It’s like he could just see things so much more clearly than the rest of us in the room. He wasn’t arrogant or pompous about it. In fact it was quite the opposite. He would sit there like the rest of us listening to a client or reading a creative brief and would quietly ponder while others would think out loud and head off in a hundred directions. People would ramble on about what a concept could be or what we could say that would differentiate a product in an ad. I watched this guy do it again and again. He’d sit there and get quiet, chin on his fingers and just stare. Then in a brief amount of time he’d look up and say something brief, bold and to the point. It was almost always the best answer for the problem at hand. But it was just another meeting, another job, another creative solution for him. For us it was magic. How did he see it so clearly? I asked him once in a one on one meeting how he could zero in on a creative solution so efficiently. His answer was to recognize what was special about what you’re talking about and then simply say it. I’ll add that you have to have a gift that helps you in that situation, but he was right. Recognize what’s unique. Know what sets you apart then say it as simply as possible. So often people make things harder, more complex, too creative for their own good. It gets in the way. When you’re good at something acknowledge it. Use it.
Don’t Give Them an Ad. Give Them an Idea.
While creating an ad is admirable my experience has shown that when you return with an idea that goes beyond the ask you’ve really added value to your customer’s situation. You’ve added depth to their brand.You’ve added value in the marketplace, and you’ve created value for yourself and your team. This is why it’s so important to understand the difference between tactics and ideas. It’s hard work. It’s harder than coming up with ads and gimmicks. That’s why you sit in meetings and everyone wants to come up with some one off execution (an ad). Tactics are things you do. Ideas are what create the tactics. Ideas are bigger than ads. They spawn the tactic not the other way around. They keep producing ways to communicate. Be the one that says, “Here’s an idea”. Be the one that says an idea would allow us to do this or that and these types of things. So the next time someone asks for an ad say, “I can do that, but how about the power of an idea?”
Solve the Problem Not the Agenda.
In an effort to become their best people often put their own interests ahead of doing the right thing. Subjectivity drives decisions that favor personal opinions opposed to following proven fundamentals, research, experience and other proven factors. It’s a bit ironic, but once you set aside personal goals you can actually achieve them faster and more efficiently. Quit designing the next piece for your portfolio, the next line on your resume, and solve the problem at hand. Your work will become more efficient, better, more valuable and more rewarding – just what you were seeking in the first place.
Don’t Wait to Be Prescribed Success.
Success is something you attract. As you become more experienced and skilled you attract more opportunities to yourself. You become more valuable. It’s not something you go get. It’s not something you go conquer. There’s a misconception that someone is coming to hand you your opportunity and give you the thing that will make you rich, famous and successful. That’s not true. You have to prove yourself and that proof, through hard work that demonstrates you’re thinking and your originality, that’s where you earn the right to get to do it again. People are impressed when you add value to their world. Your success is not something people are waiting to make happen, so get busy. Get to work and start generating your proof so you can attract your opportunities and build upon them again and again. Otherwise you’re just waiting on someone or something to show up at your doorstep. And what if they never come knocking? That's a prescription for failure.
Hire the Person, Not the Resumé.
People work hard to make their resumés shine brightly. Lots of choice words and often the craftsmanship of hired hands are presented in hopes of landing a job with your company. Don’t be swayed by just the resumé or portfolio. It’s merely the advertisement for the individual. Just because someone worked at a well-known company or had an impressive title doesn’t make them the best fit for your needs at this point. Have you ever sat down in a nice restaurant, looked at the menu, been impressed with so many delicious-sounding offerings, only to order way more food than you could eat? The same principal applies with hiring. Don’t let an impressive presentation sway good decision-making. Know for certain what you need, ask good questions that will pinpoint if this is a solution for your needs and hire the right asset for your situation. Later you won’t find yourself hungry for more.
People work hard to make their resumés shine brightly. Lots of choice words and often the craftsmanship of hired hands are presented in hopes of landing a job with your company. Don’t be swayed by just the resumé or portfolio. It’s merely the advertisement for the individual. Just because someone worked at a well-known company or had an impressive title doesn’t make them the best fit for your needs at this point. Have you ever sat down in a nice restaurant, looked at the menu, been impressed with so many delicious-sounding offerings, only to order way more food than you could eat? The same principal applies with hiring. Don’t let an impressive presentation sway good decision-making. Know for certain what you need, ask good questions that will pinpoint if this is a solution for your needs and hire the right asset for your situation. Later you won’t find yourself hungry for more.
Don’t Interview. Evaluate.
A potential hire comes into your office, dressed better than he typically does and nervously answers questions hoping to impress and land the job. What really needs to happen is not an interview, where questions are answered about past achievements, experience, etc., but an evaluation. It’s right there in the word itself, value. Get to the main objective and have this person define how they will add value and become an asset to your team, your specific situation, your company's vision. Ask what they are really good at doing and consider how that is your benefit, not theirs. An evaluation discovers one's assets. It finds real value. An interview just gives me a view of the person on the other side of the desk. Don’t interview. Evaluate.