Career Coaching for Advertising Art Directors, Copywriters and Graphic Designers
Coaching and Consulting Advertising Creatives to get them unstuck
When artists, designers, animators, and all the talented people who choose to work in advertising and graphic design come together to produce something like this…there aren’t words…
It’s human. It’s real. It’s beautiful.
Spoken Word Poem by Shane Koyczan
Animation by Giant Ant
[written and posted Jan. 25, 2013]
Over and over again (ad nauseum) I hear creatives say they want to “make cool shit.” Awesome. But what are some (maybe most) doing instead of dressing ponies in sweaters and creating krakens that kidnap right now? Whining.
Wait. Hold on a minute. I love advertising creatives. I have the highest respect for great art directors, copywriters and graphic designers. And I understand that some clients are hard to work with, some projects suck, and account managers will inevitably get on your nerves. I get it- creatives need to vent.
But do they need to vent on The Creative Confessional for the world to see? Many people already hate advertising; they hate what it’s about and the people who create it. And yet, this week advertising professionals have aired the dirtiest of their laundry anonymously, yes, but publicly online. Couldn’t that time venting and then reading others’ confessions be spent “making cool shit,” maybe?
Sure, some of the posts are industry inside jokes.
Yet, some creative confessions are downright depressing, hurtful or frightening.
What do you think? Is it all fun and games, or are we shooting ourselves (and the advertising industry) in the foot? Is this creative confessional what it’s all about?
Whether it’s a 6- or 7-figure money amount or that Creative Director title or another level of success, how bad do you want it? Just as we all define success differently, we all have different motivators and varying levels of motivation.
Let’s talk about that motivation.
In the current 4-minute Spartan Race promotional video, Rap Preacher Eric Thomas reveals what may be a modern day fable with one of the strongest examples of what urgent motivation is.
(The Spartan Race is an Obstacle Racing Challenge that originated in 431B.C. The Spartan Race website shows races in 2013 scheduled in America, Canada and Great Britain.)
Imagine if your motivation was as imperative as getting enough oxygen. What if your drive to achieve success was as powerful as your desperation to get air during an asthma attack?
In the video, Thomas continues, “You don’t care about no basketball game. You don’t care about what’s on TV. You don’t care about nobody calling you. You don’t care about a party. The only thing you care about when you’re trying to breathe is to get some fresh air. That’s it. And when you get to the point where all you want to do is be successful as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.”
Now, take out the parts about breathing from that quote. The last line becomes, “And when you get to the point where all you want to do is be successful, then you’ll be successful.”
What are you willing and ready to give up in order to own your success?
Did you notice some of the people in the race video were missing arms and legs? They gave up the limitations either they put on themselves or others tried to contain them with. How bad must they have wanted the success of crossing that finish line?
When you get to the point where all you want to do is be successful, then you’ll be successful.
In the comments, share what you know you need to give up in order to reach your next level of success. I’ll start.
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Time and time again I’ve heard clients, colleagues, friends and even strangers wish for the most achievable of things.
“I wish I had more money.”
“If only I had a steady stream of income from my freelance business…”
“I wish I had an extra week vacation.”
“Working this much would be tolerable if I sat near a window.”
“I don’t know what to do next because I don’t know where that company is in the hiring process.”
“I wish I knew how So-and-So did it, because then I could be successful like that.”
“I wish I knew what So-and-So had to get that promotion over me.”
“Why hasn’t that person given me what he or she should know I really want?”
Can you relate to any of these? What do you wish for?
As creatives we often think so far outside the box that we forget the box itself. What if it doesn’t take the next big idea or an elaborate plan, sweat and hard work to get what you want? What if all you need to do is ask? Ask for what you want.
If you want more money, ask for it. Ask your boss for a bonus or a raise. Ask your freelance clients for more money, more projects and more referrals.
Ask to sit by the window all day or even part of the day.
Call the company you applied to two weeks ago and ask where they are in the hiring process. Then ask that company for any next steps you can take.
Ask So-and-So what they did to get where they are. Ask your boss what So-and-So had to get promoted over you and what you can do to be the promoted person next time.
And please ask – that person that hasn’t given you what he or she should know you want – for what you want!
Many times other people simply don’t know what we want, what we’re wishing for, what will make us happy. To put it bluntly – they are too busy wishing for themselves and doing everything else that they have going on in their lives to stop and consider what you may be wishing for. Or, worse yet, they may assume you are wishing for the same thing that they want.
For instance, I’ve seen it happen all-too-often, advertising creatives reach a certain point in their career where they don’t care as much about the money as they do their vacation time. Yet, employee review after employee review they end up unsatisfied because more money was thrown at them instead of that time off that they so desperately desire. And why? Because they haven’t made it clear to the decision-makers that they value vacation time the most. They don’t get what they want because they never asked for it.
When working with my clients one-on-one, we create a clear plan on how to best ask for what they want so not only do they have the confidence to ask but also 9 times out of 10 they get what they want. (There are best practices when asking and things you can do to improve your odds of getting what you want.)
Can you guess what the #1 response is when my clients ask for something from someone? What do you think that someone says?
“Oh, you could have had that sooner if you’d only asked.”
Imagine you had what you are wishing for. Now, go ask for it.
If you’d like to share, please post a comment.
Research shows that 30% of advertising employees will leave their agencies this year. (This is one of the main reasons I’m working with advertising agencies through presentations and high-level career coaching.)
When I saw the question, “How Much Do You Utterly Despise Working in Advertising?”, I immediately wanted to reach out to miserable advertising people, GRAB THEM BY THE SHOULDERS and tell them it doesn’t have to be this way – THEY CAN BE HAPPY! I know the vicious cycle too well; I lived it and I have the solution. I can help whether it’s through an agency presentation, agency-sponsored coaching program or working directly with an advertising art director, copywriter, designer, ACD or CD without the involvement of his or her agency. It’s my passion. It’s my purpose. And it’s also my biggest frustration to know that there are people in the advertising industry that don’t want to go to work in the morning and don’t know that they can change that. When I get all fired up (e.g, this very moment), I have to remind myself that I can only help those that want the help (like my past and current clients)…oh and those that know an advertising career coach like me exists. And with that, I’ll end this public rant of sorts (which can’t quite compare to the intensity of the rant in the video below created by Deutsch LA) and get back to telling the industry I exist and I want to help.
It’ll be interesting to see what Deutsch LA proposes and what they share about their “ownership culture” during next Monday’s (June 18, 2012) Cannes session “Ending The Agency Talent Rotisserie.” Deutsch LA created a series of videos as a teaser including the video above, which were included in the AdFreak article with the subtitle Deutsch wants to make you happier.
Yes, turnover is costly to agencies and money is important to a business, but it’s not all about money. Keeping talented creatives is a must. Attracting talented creatives is a must. And a certain level of happiness is a must if you want to create great ads consistently. Deutsch LA recognizes that, “this agency talent rotisserie has real costs, on recruiting, creative excellence and business development.”
I push my clients to make substantial shifts toward employee satisfaction (custom to each agency and advertising creative individual’s needs), so that each can be fulfilled when they were previously stuck. So they can dramatically slow down or stop the agency talent rotisserie. I guide them to the balance of efficiency with palatable culture. They go from talk to action. They go from their employees leaving to their employees being happy to work there again.
What has kept you from already achieving your goals? What is in the way of making the changes you desire? If the answer is either time or money, I challenge you to dig deeper.
How much is your time really worth? Would it be worth it to you to rid yourself of the guilt or disappointment of not achieving your goals? And how much time do you spend dwelling on the fact that you have these unresolved goals?
If the goal’s outcome is truly worth it, then neither time nor money are the issue. The cliffhanger is…what is the issue?
I was recently asked this question by notable speaker Mark LeBlanc and know that I have taken the steps to make the next year of my life a success in my eyes. I can help you make the changes you desire in the next 3, 6 and 9 months so at the end of 12 months, you can answer, “Yes, I would be happy if the next 12 months were a repeat of the last 12 months.“
