What does it take to produce great work?
Courtesy of alicepopkorn Flickr.
It is a big question and depending on who you ask, you could get a multitude of answers. Adam Cohen, Creative Director at Capstrat and a really smart guy introduced me to a documentary called Art & Copy. Over my vacation, I found it available to stream on Netflix so I pulled out the handy iPad and watched it. Isn’t technology grand?
The documentary looks at the advertising business by interviewing some of the most influential creative folks in the industry. They discuss many of the most well known advertising campaigns from the early days right up to today. The documentary is incredibly well done and for anyone in this business, a must watch.
What I found most interesting was the discussions in the movie about what it actually takes to produce great work. The one theme that really jumped out at me was that it takes a lot more than getting a bunch of smart and talented people together to create truly inspiring work. A number of these industry giants discussed how the work environment is absolutely critical to foster and incubate work that will be remembered.
David Kennedy from Weiden+Kennedy spoke about that one of his main responsibilities these days is to ensure his company has a conducive environment to create top-notch work. I found this amazing and refreshing. The founder of an ad agency with offices around the world who has developed campaigns for Nike, Coke, and ESPN believes in this so strongly, he has taken on the responsibility himself to ensure his company has the right culture and environment. How many CEO’s do you know who does that?
Jeff Goodby from Goodby, Silverstein (no relation, unfortunately) and Partners mentions people in advertising are usually insecure because their ideas are more often than not turned down or disregarded. Think about the creative process, you come up with a whole lot of ideas during a brainstorm, some might rise to the top while other ideas are kicked to the curb. You present those ideas to others and more get trashed. You might do focus groups and eventually present ideas to the client. All during this time, your ideas are being poked, prodded and killed. I had never really thought about it that way before.
Goodby emphasizes the need to have a work environment that encourages the team to take chances and NOT be afraid to fail. When a team has that level of comfort, they are free to think outside the box and deliver superior work. Without that level of comfort, people will not extend themselves and put them in a position to be vulnerable.
I know none of this is earth shattering stuff, but when you live in a fast paced work environment with so many things going on, you tend to forget the importance of things like culture, vibe and inspiration.
This documentary reminded me that I need to do a better job at creating that optimal environment for my team. I need to spend more time inspiring people and not always concerned about getting work from Point A to Point B. I have been thinking about specific ways that I can inspire my team, company and myself. I am still working on that and will share when I have something of value to say. In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on how you inspire and create that optimal environment. What have you experienced that has really worked?
I’ve been meaning to watch Art & Copy, Cord. Thanks for the reminder and the nudge; I might try to track this down today.
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Grant, great documentary. Really enjoyed watching it. Let me know what you think after you watch it.
I too enjoyed Art & Copy.
Inspiration breeds inspiration.
Seeing others creating stellar work can be all the fuel some folks need.
Thanks for the reminder about Art & Copy. Netflix kept giving me an Instant View error on the title before; sounds like it’s worth getting the DVD.
Creating an “it’s OK to fail” environment is really important if you need everyone to give 100%. My improv class just did an exercise where you have to do six totally different characters in 60 seconds. Our instructor introduced it by saying, “Everyone fails at this exercise…but that’s okay!” That expectation actually reduced everyone’s stress, and we threw ourselves into doing the six 10-second scenes.
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Thanks, Cord. Hadn’t heard about Art & Copy. My vacation is coming up in less than 2 weeks–have it in my Netflix instant queue. Now, if only I had an iPad, too…
Scott, absolutely agree. What I have been left pondering is how we can do a better job at Capstrat to create that type of environment.
Karl, do you enjoy the improv class? I have always wanted to take one of them.
Jeff, I think you need to treat yourself and go out and get an iPad for the vacation.
Thanks as always for your comments!
Well as someone on your team, I look forward to your innovative ways to inspire us further! I just put this in my Watch Instantly queue on Netflix, since I missed the opportunity to watch it in the office last week. It is now high on the viewing list. Thanks for the inspiring me to watch.:-)
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Cord: I really like DSI’s improv classes in Carrboro. Students in my six-week Improv 101 class are 50% actors and 50% business types. I like that creative director Zach Ward takes time to connect the improv curriculum to real-world situations (being open to others’ ideas; how we sometimes imagine extra rules that don’t exist; understanding others’ motivations; etc.). http://www.dsicomedytheater.com/classes/improv/
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Update: I saw “Ad & Copy” last week. I can see how it would have limited appeal outside of the marketing community, but I liked getting additional perspective on the advertising industry in the past 30-40 years.
I was surprised to see how many people alluded to being in advertising because they had something to prove — kind of like Don Draper, right?
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