Making creativity a priority

FIND A WAY TO SAY “YES”. January 8, 2011

When you have an idea, don’t ask your friends, gurus, etc. for too much input.  It’s so easy for people to think of 5 reasons why your idea won’t work, but it takes vision and creativity to find ways that it will.  When I’m working on concepts for major public companies with teams of lawyers, that’s the part where I hold my breath.  The really good ones think of ways to be able to support  innovative concepts. But it’s much easier, and definitely safer on their end, to tell you why you can’t say certain things.

When I present ads or strategies to clients, I always tremendously value their first instinct.  If they say, “Wow, I love it.”, then think about it a bit and get to, “But, I’m not sure we should say/do this…”, they’ve gone from audience to client.  I tell them that the only time they can really have a “first impression”, like their market, is the very first minute they look at the idea. After that, they become, not their market.

Trust your instincts. They’re as good, probably better, than anything.