Darrel Girardier

Nobody is Asking

Nobody at the office is asking for you to do something original. Even if your job responsibilities have the word “creative” in it, you can probably get away with work that is not original. In fact, in most work places, they do not want you to do something original, because if you did someone, somewhere would be upset.

Original work will get you promoted, envied, harassed and even fired.

Original work is when you create something that is reflection of you. That reflection may not be pretty or even coherent to outsiders, but that is not the goal. When you have something thathave to do, that you have to get out of because you can’t sleep or eat until it’s done, then you have some original work to do.

Could You Just …

Do you think you could just…?

That statement is usually completed by something makes most creatives cringe. It can be anything from “whip up a logo”, “put a few clips together” or “make this look cool”.

The issue here is the word “just”. Here it’s being used as adverb to let the creative know that what the person with the request wants is something small and insignificant. The problem of course is that creative work is neither small or insignificant and should not be treated as such.

How do you respond? First, you can say yes, which only allows the problem to keep happening. You could also say no, which could make the person requesting angry and confused. Or you could try qualifying your answers.

Qualifying your answers? Simply put, give a reason why behind your yes or no. Let the person know that what your being asked to is not as simple as they think. Look at like it as a chance to educate the person asking about the creative process. Will that require work? Yes, but it could alleviate you of future requests of the same kind.

Will they argue with you? They might. Will they think you’re dodging the work? They could, depending on whether or not you are being truthful. Face it, some people love making requests of others without thought of what the work might require. Some people even go so far as to say that they are “empowering” you to do the work (I hate the word “empowered” for that very reason). Then again, there are some people who just need help with creative work, and that is where you come in.

The When/Then Trap

I have to have an iPad.

What I find amusing is people who are dying to get an iPad, but simply can’t answer the question “What are you going to use it for that your current computer can’t do?”.

The underlying point I am trying make is that promise of new technology and what it will do always fall short. The problem is when we put our faith in a new plugin, software, device that will somehow make us more creative or help us finally complete that project that we have been putting off.  It won’t.  However, by waiting for the new technology, we then put off working the very thing we know we need to be doing.

You know you are in trouble when you hear a “When/Then” statement.  It simply goes “When I get X, then I will do X”.  It never happens, no matter how bad we want it to.  We will inevitably find an excuse for why we can’t get it done and then the cycle repeats itself.

So go ahead and buy an iPad, I know you probably will.  However, don’t plan it helping you do what you are supposed to be working on right now.

Fine Tuning vs. Tinkering

Apple fine tunes products.  Just take a look at the new iPhone.  They spent days figuring out which glass to encase the phone in.  The user interface icons were painstakingly chosen and refined.   Everything is fine tuned and you can feel it.   This fine tuning is possible due the fact that Apple just focuses it efforts on a few projects and sets it’s own internal deadline for releasing a product (in other words only they know the release date).

Microsoft tinkers with products.  Just look at the amount of money they spend on R&D ($9.5 billion).  Why do they get so little return on that money?  Because more than likely they have hundreds if not thousands of projects going on at the same time.  At that rate you really can’t fine tune anything, especially when you announce products almost a year in advance.  This of course throws a public deadline around your neck, which has Microsoft rushing to get it out the door.   Too many products, with a lot of tinkering and public deadlines is a complete mess.

Tinkering is okay in the creative process.   Sometimes by tinkering with something you can make a new discovery.   However, tinkering doesn’t need to take place when you are trying to get something out the door.

Fine tuning though, is a must towards the end of a project.  Fine tuning provides the user the feeling that what they are experiencing has depth and was carefully thought through.  Fine tuning is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.

So tinker all you want on the front end, just make sure you fine tune on the back end.