Michael Johnson: Logical Creative: The 11.5 Irrefutable Laws of Creative Leadership

Michael Johnson: Logical Creative: The 11.5 Irrefutable Laws of Creative Leadership: "OK, so you’ve landed your job as director or manager of a creative services unit within a corporate environment. That means you’ve successfu..."

The 11.5 Irrefutable Laws of Creative Leadership

OK, so you’ve landed your job as director or manager of a creative services unit within a corporate environment. That means you’ve successfully shown you have an inherent understanding of the company’s strategic objectives as well as the knowledge and methodologies of delivering communications and marketing products.

Now comes the hard part: developing products in a real-world environment, one full of nearly impossible deadlines and a belief by many within the corporate structure that doing what your department does is as easy as someone sitting down at a Mac and pressing the “easy” button. (Someone with a request may even want to “watch you” come up with a wonderfully creative and strategically on-target idea and final form in the next hour, but that’s a topic that deserves another blog examination.)

No, the subject here is delivering creative leadership, defined for this column as satisfying the VP of the department who is accountable for the project and continually ensuring you’re getting the best ideas and end-products from your in-house writers and designers.

And in the spirit of John Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” allow me to present “The 11.5 Irrefutable Laws of Creative Leadership.” More info: John Maxwell, via Amazon.com

1. Establish parameters

A good creative work plan – a scope of work – is essential. It gives your writers and designers a barometer for expectations: purpose, audience, tone, “must haves,” and due dates.

2. Don’t set up a 12-foot concrete barrier

But asking for a 24-page capabilities brochure without approved copy and under a 48-hour “gotta have it” deadline is at best disrespectful. Ask what's doable within the time frame and according to department work load, and negotiate and prioritize resources from there.

3. Get the right people involved.

You may work easily with certain team members, and it’s tempting to go back to them for all your needs. For the best possible products, however, think through who has the right background or understanding, and add them to the team mix. It may take a bit more time to create momentum, but the results will be worth it in the end.

4. Allow time for creative pursuit.

You will want the perfect answer on the first try – after all “you” know what you want. More often than not, it’s the second or third version that will really deliver the right form and tone. The best creative ideas, for he most part, aren’t generated in brainstorming meetings around a conference table.

5. Don’t buy in to the “I’ll have it when I have it” statement.

Sometimes the creative group or person will resist the “needed by” dates, seeking an open-ended process. Don’t buy in to this – professionals will give you their best in the time provided.

6. Be able to describe the mindset of the target audience.

In the end, a communications product is a sales presentation. The art and copy work together to eliminate arguments against your product or service. To do that, the best creatives will want to imagine they are talking to a specific member of the target audience.

7. Don’t insist that you already know the mindset of the target audience.

You may think you do know what aspects of the product or service the customer wants to hear. But different people respond to different kinds of appeals. Take the time to carefully consider the approaches provided to you. They may find the irresistible argument that works for the greatest majority of people.

8. The first idea just may have a nugget of truth.

Sure, the first idea may be off target, but often there is brilliance in the approach that just may need some polishing.

9. Some ideas hit the “creative” mark, but just aren’t worth pursuing.

Good creatives will naturally give you a number of ideas. Not all will be exceptional options for the long term goals. Work carefully through these at an early stage, and weed out the weaker ones.

10. A good creative person will be receptive to critique.

In the professional ranks, a strong creative person will consider your critiques of the approach, engage you in thoughtful discussion, and be able to adjust accordingly.

11. A good creative person will have already considered potential problems.

When the creative team presents its approaches, respect the time and analysis provided. If you don’t see the relevance of the solution, asking how they got to that end product will give you additional information that just may be right on target.

11.5 Respect creative ability as much as you respect your own talents and skills.

The great sportswriter Red Smith once said that “writing is easy … you just sit down and open a vein.” Remember that good creatives are not just giving you their talents, they’re going deep into their soul to deliver for you.

"That'll Never Work"

This post is for all administrators out there who've somehow ended up managing an in house agency group or who've been given the "you decide" decision-making role for your ad agency's creative work. Even though they may know less about the unique, magical meshing of imagery and messaging than your mother. (I'm presuming your mother has never been a creative director.)

And yes, these people are out there. Sometimes it just happens because of the way some consultant draws up the org chart. Sometimes it's just the best option for the money available. If this is you, I bring you a cautionary tale.

So the creative team catches up with you to pitch a TV commercial idea, and this is the description on the draft of the creative work plan:

Objective: A cell phone can be fun, and it can be for business

Action Description: "Business commuters wait for the subway, but when it arrives it's a roller coaster. Other people take taxicabs that are bumper cars. A woman roller skates through an office. Other people in a building take the elevator, which is a free-fall ride. Others spin around on a teacup ride."

"Sure, it's a simple idea, and that's good," goes the thinking. "But it just sounds silly ... and besides, there's no way to pull that off technically."

And so the creative team takes their notes and heads back for another try.

But what if the ending could be different?  Imagine if the  TV commercial idea was encouraged, then developed further. Other ideas that enhanced the original concept were added. An idea became a vision, the foundation was laid, and the fabric of  words, artful techniques and music were woven together.

Fortunately, this tale of creativity, fulfilled, is true. What I've shown above as the commercial "description" actually is the description of the "AT&T Rollercoaster" spot released in August.

The theme of the commercial: "AT&T and BlackBerry teamed up to evolve the smart phone. Business meet fun. Fun, business."

Does it work? You be the judge.

AT&T Commercial "Roller Coaster"

 For me, the silly idea gave life to a wonderful TV spot. Thank goodness the idea was given the respect and consideration it deserved.

Get Smarter About Creative Work

Claiming to have a creative bent is easy. It's much harder to parlay creative thinking into practical forms that advance strategic priorities. I know, I know -- many creative communication professionals will howl against having parameters. They'll want their "creative freedom," and their "unique ideas" accomplished their way. It's this kind of thinking that gives us copywriting/concept creating types the spoiled-child persona that business executives find annoying and leads to a "me" vs. "them" work relationship that just doesn't get the job done.

I'm a lucky guy. I've been blessed with a creative mind that also veers naturally into the logical world. So when I take on a creative assignment, I don't just go away and be creative and come back later with ideas. I demand information first. I want to know the background and the intended outcome. I want to know the psychology of the intended audience and the logic behind the product or service. One of the ad gurus I've studied once said "It isn't creative if it doesn't sell," and that's the difference between any creative approach and the best creative execution. It's also the difference between someone who's creating out of a self-centric need to "be creative" and someone who's using their creative-side brain to deliver an instant, understandable and memorable communication connection. Yeah, advertising and marketing communication is an art .... but it's also a science.

Remember that next time you see a TV commercial that you talk about with your friends or colleagues: If you remember the commercial and not the product benefits or company name or purpose, the commercial delivered the "creative" aspect but missed the "communication" imperative. Give your creative execution people room to play, innovate, and wonder "what if." Give yourself room to explore  their world, but work with them as a partner so they can see yours.