Six Steps to Not Realizing the Potential in Your Own People
I think creative people need to wield big axes and swing them around more. There's this odd dance some managers do on creative folks.
Step 1, Can you?
Its the can you do this? Is it possible? The unknown? The energetic wow, is that possible? Its hope, its a the maybe, its the ya, we could be famous. The wow. The sun glistening off the face of possibility.
Step 1a, Of course.
We agree, it can be done, we are excited about the acknowlegement that it is possible. We get ideas. We get juiced up. All is well and we can do it.
Step 2, No so fast silly wrabbit...
High on the promise and energetic about the ideal, we get yanked. No budget. You cant do that. Did we authorizie this? We cant do this. We shouldnt do that. Excuse me Billy, put that pen down. We dont have time for that. Are you mad, who told you to work on this?
Step 3, Internal tainted, external delight.
Internal people are tainted with the ass paint of badness, we are all marked, we are all marked with uncreative ways, we cant possibily do better, we're exposed, we need outsiders, we need other brains, we need someone else to guide us, take us away from the darkness we are in.... or what management is wading through.
Step 4, Implementation of the new...
Look at what Barry can do, this is what we need, why can't you all do this?
Step 5, Barry becomes internal just like you.
What was once new is now old.
Step 6, Rinse Repeat.
Go to Step 1.