Seth Godin writes today about a common problem (Clean Sheet of Paper) facing creative types, business leaders, consultants and project managers. He says there are two ways, generally, to assign and manage projects. The first is to use your experience to select the best possible partner and then, with amazing discipline step back, and allow the talent to create an awesome result. The other approach is to use your experience to drive your team or self to a more clearly defined sought-after result, before assigning the project. Both can work. And give you winning results.
Just to add a bit to the conversation….I have had more success with the first approach, particularly if you want to achieve breakthrough results. Your efforts are really relegated to finding the right person or team for your project and then on selling them that their efforts will be useful and more to the point, used. In short, true talent in this area is very selective on their projects or on how they spend their time. Many come to them for solutions, for ideas, for work…and they understand that they hold the power in the relationship. Your task lies in selling them on “Why you?” Why should they invest their time, energy in you?
Here are some approaches to try with this group. Let me define this group for you….it is the hottest social media agency in town, the best strategic planning group, the best graphic artist in the state, or the genius programmer. These are the people who demand fees far out of your budget, they expect success and have the results to show for it. As someone once said to me long ago, “They have their s&#^ together and they can carry it too.” You know the type.
Some approaches:
1. They love new. Convince them that your blank piece of paper, with only the title on it, represents a clear big idea. You need to sell them on the story you have created for this work. It is all about the story. They love stories.
2. Contrary to what Seth said, you don’t have to take their work as is. They love collaboration by equal creative energy types. Show passion in what you want, the market you serve, and they will listen and adapt. They will run over less qualified and muddy thinkers. This is not the time to assign your B-team for ‘seasoning.’
3. Don’t give inane feedback. “I like the house drawing, but could you just add a second story?” makes them cringe.
4. Your first words should always be: THIS IS AMAZING. Always. THIS IS AMAZING. Just like the story, this must be said in a very convincing manner, so practice it so you say it in a convincing manner. Any add on comments can be made after this…and will be received with much, much greater willingness to accept your ideas.
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Let me throw my battered old hat in the ring. I am a much decorated and scarred veteran of multinational and Indian corporate worlds. I am now in much deserved retirement and this post is amusing to say the least.
I have had both scenarios in my experience, working with someone better than I was and being better than the one with whom I was expected to work.
If anyone tells me that either is a cake walk, he does not know what he is talking about. Both are extremely stressful situations and unless you are the owner manager, you are constantly walking on the razor’s edge.
Management and Leadership have been milked beyond their real value. You can have one without the other and also both and all three situations work under certain circumstances, just as much as they fail under certain circumstances.
One tries one’s best given the circumstances and adapts to the given situation to the best of one’s ability and performs. This cannot be constant and consistent. Flexibility is the key and a keen sense of the other person’s inner working helps.
You nailed it, Rummy. Thanks for your experienced comments…you are a welcome, insightful and relevant voice for readers here.
Great article, hits the mark on how to manager creative thinkers, don’t tell them how to solve, state the issue and let them go. This article should be required reading by all Business Schools to achieve true levels of innovation that can take our industry forward.
If you want to maintain an existing site where little innovation is possible/ desired, then don’t mislead a creative thinker by suggesting there are blue skies to be explored. It shall create frustration for both parties. In this case, you need a worker bee type. If you want true innovation, to create something that’s never been tried/ created before, management needs to understand to treat the team as a collaborative space with strong leadership to guide, NOT tell the team how to create/ solve the problems.
OLD school thinking: hover over your team & micro manage to control outcome.
NEW thinking: trust you hired the right team, let them create!
Thanks for bringing to light a greatly needed perspective which can help us advance our industry’s ability to compete with gusto, not just keep up with the Jones.