We received some great press this week. By nature, we aren't spectacularly good at blowing our own horn. We're not alone in that. And we're working on it. In the meantime, here's a link to the Advertsing Age article.
We've taken the time to update some areas of our website to better reflect the breadth and depth of our work. 'Your Situation' now contains a precise summary of the nine physical characteristics of those companies that are best able to maximize the value of their creativity.
They're included here. As always, we're interested to know how these correspond with your own experiences.
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An organization's ability to unlock its creative potential and withstand the tests of time are based on nine characteristics. The first eight of these are inherent in every creative company regardless of its size.
- Organizational Structure. Are you built vertically or horizontally? Creativity requires collaboration, which requires philosophies, platforms and practices that work laterally.
- Speed of Response. Creativity works at light speed. Organizations typically don't. Closing the gap requires systems that reduce the lag between a question and an answer, and encourage even more valuable exploration.
- Reactive or Resilient. In every discipline, creative companies are urgently redesigning themselves to satisfy a new set of business needs. Those that succeed will be built not only for today's certainties, but tomorrow's unknowns.
- Forwards or Backwards. Information is power. How it travels through your organization determines who has it and what they can do with it. The most innovative companies act like a funnel, pulling information through the front of the house - whose need is most urgent - and feeding it through to the back - whose need is most comprehensive.
- Client Management Structure. Are you project or account driven? Both are valuable. Both require different skills, structures and practices.
- Change Management Philosophy. Do you manage evolution or wait for revolution. The most innovative companies develop a Lean Change approach that lowers the risk of change and uses personal passion to explore and evangelize the benefits.
- Workspace vs Office space. Its rare to find inspirational work being produced in corporate environments. Long-term leases create practical limitations. But solving those problems is one of the early indicators of creativity at work.
- Long-term Leadership. Many, many creative businesses are founded by evangelical leaders. Resilient companies establish a clear transition path from inspirational founders to irrelevant founders.
- Unlocking the Network. As soon as a business adds its third office, it becomes a network. Taking advantage of that potential requires: a clear expression of a company’s Purpose; the ability to connect people, and a reason for them to want to connect.
