The more, the muddier
Why teamwork is overrated, especially in the creative industry
In the creative industry, creation involves constant struggle. Over time, we grow accustomed to this struggle, and we begin to see it as an integral part of creation. “That’s just the way it works.”
But it isn’t the way it works.
The struggle we accept as the status quo is born out of conflicts of interest. The more people there are involved, the more conflicting interests. Because people inherently fail to separate their ego from the stuff they work on. Consider this example:
A big corporation hires us for an ad to sell more products. “Selling more products” is the purpose of the endeavor.
Within the corporation, the marketing department is responsible for the ad’s performance.
Meanwhile, the financial department is trying to cut costs by pushing back on marketing spending.
The marketing department recently changed lead. The previous lead got a job at a prestigious advertising firm. The new lead has big shoes to fill.
Within the marketing department, two people are tasked with selecting, hiring, and communicating with us.
The marketing department held a brainstorm about the ad before hiring us. Many concepts were pitched, and one idea was unanimously considered the “best.”
The person who created that idea also told their spouse at home about it.
For all these people, the corporate goal to “sell more products” is watered down by their own interests. They have wants and needs that do not align with selling more products. The same applies to people on the agency or creative side.
Subconsciously, everyone will try to subtly sway the project in directions that align with their personal interests. As a result, we need countless meetings and revisions to address all of these conflicting interests. Creation becomes more politics than creativity: a struggle to get the project over the finish line instead of an adventure to create the best work possible.
(I’ll write about the sticky subject of ‘quality’ in the creative industry soon.)
Solo
This unavoidable muddy concoction of interests is why I’m generally not crazy about teamwork. It complicates matters, and it requires constant check-ins to synchronize and realign and pet everyone’s ego so they’ll calm down, time and energy that I’d much rather spend on making the thing better. Working on things alone can be a true liberation for this very reason.
Because on your own — or perhaps as a duo, if you really see eye-to-eye — creation becomes fun again. An energizing ride full of opportunity, fuelled by that juvenile enthusiasm that agency hallways and client board rooms are so staggeringly void of.
