THAT DEADPAN LOOK YOU GET, WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND OR CARE FOR AN IDEA. or worse, the feeling like the sharing of an idea isn't welcome in the first place -
Sharing an idea is no easy thing
Many people in the creative industries share ideas every day. There's a thick-skin that is built over time from doing so. Each idea shared, more likely than not to elicit some kind of response. Always heard, sometimes responded to, very rarely, met with applause and a commitment to see that idea carried forward.
So thick is the skin that is built-up over years of doing this, that sometimes the person who has been through that set of experiences is less willing than you might think, to take on board other people's ideas - unless they've been through those same sets of experiences themselves.
This, I guess, is all a complicated way of saying that those in the business of generating ideas, are sometimes so battle-hardened that they struggle to hear ideas from those that haven't gone through the 'battle' themselves. Of business owners and marketers we've spoken to lately, a surprising number of them suggested they felt their external partners - agencies in particular - were unwilling to give credence to their ideas and worse, the clients had become unwilling to share their own. This, in the clients' minds, led them to believe that in too many instances, there weren't enough people they thought were truly important to their business, but of those that were deemed vital, they were vital because of the ideas they could deliver, rather than the ideas they'd willingly listen to, and collaborate to make.
Sounds a bit sales-y?
If you're reading this, I can imagine so. As a studio with a fixation on bringing ideas to life, it's natural that you'd think we'd struck upon this article because it's self-serving. The truth is though, it's a bit the other way around. This business has emerged and been built, because of these observations. Through talking, listening and working out what problems to solve.
The pain-point for clients was a nervousness and cynicism around their abiilty to share their own ideas to be built upon. Which seems antithetical to the main role many of us aim to play within agencies. And the knock-on effect, is that they felt they could only be on receive when the 'ideas' people were in the room and presenting. This is plainly going to effect relationships and lead to the fear of 'supplier mentality' that many agencies and consultancies fear.
So, as one of my favourite ex-clients used to say, 'So, What?'
Be normal. Present work, yes. But furiously 'sell', no.
