Most creative professionals are familiar with the term career-limiting move – when you make a mistake so bad it jeopardizes your job, or even your career. While it’s true that some mistakes are difficult (if not impossible) to bounce back from, in many cases, most on-the-job gaffes can be smoothed over by taking the right action steps.
You may have heard the phrase “Design Thinking” in your travels, but do you really understand what it means? It’s crucial that you do if you want to grow your department and your career.
Just published CATALYST Issue 7: Designing Desire: Material Matters. In this issue, Catalyst re-imagines our relationship with our material world. We map a world designed by those intrigued by the challenge of making material choices that are benign by design. A world filled with meaning, shaped by design and expressed in the language of objects and experiences.
Let’s face it, creative people like to brainstorm. We are idea generators and dream makers. We love to think outside the box, color outside the lines, and call our own shots.
So when I attended a brainstorming session in January with a room full of linear thinkers, it got me thinking about certain techniques people use during brainstorming session. One in particular came to mind—D.U.C.K.—Don’t Use Creativity Killers.
In an in-house creative environment, my days are often shaped by what fires hit my inbox. Yet to be effective, the team needs to stay out of a reactive mode of operating. What have you found are the most effective tools to proactively manage your studio and meet client demands?
Time tracking in creative services is necessary in order to monitor utilization and productivity. We previously published a blog about the benefits of time tracking, but also pointed out it’s no one’s favorite activity. Let’s examine some of the ways time tracking can be implemented and how to make it an integral part of your organization.
InSource and Cella consulting are proud to announce their collaborative effort; the In-House Creative Services Industry Report. Reporting results of the survey conducted in October of 2010, this first of what will be an annual publication looks at the who, what, where, & how of in-house operations. Look for the report to be made available within the next month.
It is the elephant in the room that nobody knows is there until it moves in the wrong direction. A healthy corporate culture can be one of the most, if not the most, valuable assets to a Creative Executive. The quantifiable outcomes of a healthy corporate culture can be tied to increased productivity, higher employee retention, accelerated learning, and more consistent innovation. If the culture is healthy and has been that way for a long period of time, you may never even realize how much you’re benefiting from it. However, when the cultural health of a creative organization goes south, you’ll quickly begin realizing its negative impact. Playing an active role in maintaining and building culture is an important aspect of being a leader.
When working with an outside agency, I am always struck by how forgiving the schedules are. Seeing concepts a month or two after the initial meeting is not uncommon. For our in-house team, however, expectations are more akin to the dry cleaners.
I work in the financial services industry. I must say, as a marketing pro with a serious creative bent, financial services is not as sexy as some other industries to work in.
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Winning awards as an in-house creative department...
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