As a creative person, some people are good for you and some people are not. The good ones are those who enthuse and energise you. They nurture your ideas and help them grow. They are the radiators that give off positive vibes.
Then on the other side there are those who are bad for you. They sap your power and drown you in negativity. They starve you of creative oxygen and they drag you down. They are the drains.
The most successful creative people have found a way to surround themselves by the good and avoid the bad. Others are less fortunate.
This positive and negative thinking also sums up the difference between a good creative agency and a bad one. Good agencies are full of people who want to push the boundaries and do something amazing. Their clients often want the same. They expect to be challenged when the work is presented. They want to be thrilled. They want you to be at your best.
The bad agencies often look at creativity as risky and sometimes perilous. They don’t have any confidence in bold creative thinking. They are armed with facts as to why the best award-winning work doesn’t perform so well. They don’t encourage anything that might rock the boat and they get nervous when you suggest change. And their clients think the same. They get very twitchy when you come up with anything brave or unexpected. This pisses creative people off. It makes us feel tired, drained and irritated. And inevitably – it all gets a bit messy.
It’s an important point to remember when you’re thinking about switching jobs. Because when you step into a place where the standard of the work is poor, it might have more to do with the culture of the place than simply a lack of talent. And while a headhunter may tell you to go in, be creative and change the direction of the place, it’s rarely that easy. You see, not every creative agency is up for doing creative work.
