Every organization carries a fundamental conflict within it. Nowhere is this more obvious than in an advertising agency. I was fortunate enough to spend the first ten years of my career in one.
On one side are the clients, whose interests inside the agency are represented by the account department. These managers translate from business-speak into human language in the form of a brief — a creative brief.
On the other side are the copywriters, art directors, and designers, in other words, the creators. They invent and bring ideas to life according to the brief.
Well, that's the theory. In practice, however, the process is disrupted by imperfect humans. The client withholds some of the information while demanding speed. The manager is afraid to ask clarifying questions and hopes for a miracle.
Of course, the miracle is expected from the creator. The trick is getting him to accept the brief as flawed as it is. Done? Now it's his responsibility — and the manager reminds, critiques, and demands.
To be fair, some creators are no gift either. Mood swings, procrastination, and contempt for numbers, deadlines, and budgets. After all, gods do not work there either. Only living people.
When the dance between manager and creator worked, a wow-product emerged, followed by recognition, awards, and glory. When the dance turned into a struggle, however, the flames of chaos burned everyone involved.
As a leader, I had to find a way to reconcile them all. The value of each person — and their partnership — was clear to me.
In the end, years of searching everywhere led me to... myself. As the co-founder and CEO of the business, I was the origin. Explicitly or implicitly, it was I who pointed everyone else toward the desired long-term destination.
The entire business took shape according to the function that had been defined:
the choice of clients,
the selection of employees,
the incentive system,
the standard operating procedures,
the rules of what counts as "good" and "bad" here.
I only understood all of this later, after moving through several industries.
As for the illustration — it was drawn 25 years ago by renowned Ukrainian artist Liosha Say. As art director at Bates Ukraine, Liosha captured the moment when the great traffic manager Tanya fell sick, and the account team stormed the defenseless creative department.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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