Make great work with this 7 policies for outstanding work.
Success is a journey, not a swiftly act of heavenly inspiration. Success takes a lot of energy, pushes, a lot of just good enough’s and a relentless commitment to making your work better to make it outstanding.
Through my journey, in moments of success. I found that outstanding results come as a result of hard work and commitment from a group of talented individuals. With time, I noticed specific acknowledgments among the team members and the place we were working for. This acceptances repeatedly seems to be the common reasons for the success of their projects.
These acknowledgments were shared by those individuals as part of their way they work towards their craft, the product, and their vision.
These are the “7 policies” for outstanding work. As I found these motivate and align the teams of all ages, the agency, and the client. Making a fundamental difference between absolufuncking excellent work and every other piece of out there.
1. Only Results Count. That’s all.
Nothing else matters; the money, the client, the talent, the names. All those have no importance if the work, do not meet the expected quality and time.
This is everything, in everything we do — Not only with the craft of the work but with the relationships between the team too. You can be flexible about results, but then you’ll have to swim in the compromised quality grey area of the good enough, and that, is the opposite of the second policy;
2. Quality is everything, and everything is about quality.
The only way to get the outstanding results is through quality. Usually, this goes beyond the creative, it’s the code, the client relationship, the email we send, the decks we present, etc.
Because quality is a must. Everything in the organization should only exist to best the quality of the work. That’s the reason we get more work. Quality. On Insights, data, craft, results, and relationships. You then need talented, hard work people that understand that;
3. You need to sweat your creative.
Greatness doesn’t happen from 9 to 5. Otherwise, everyone would be a rockstar. Think about the hours you spend in your best work, think about the hours and the effort it took to make it happened. You are a problem solver 24/7. Creativity is not magic. It is a craft. A discipline and you need to sweat it. Work hard and long. Invest the time. There is no way around.
4. Develop your craft.
The way you work, your goals, and objectives. Trace a plan, put it into action. Question it, make your idea better, and try it again. Set yourself for success, find your style, see how can you make it awesome a find the place that can help you with it. Find the people that can make you great. Being a little selfish is ok, just don’t be a prick, because;
5. Always remember, you can be wrong.
About business, people, and your work. Only when you accept this fact you will start to understand other people. Same as you, they are coming from somewhere, and they have their own plans. Recognizing this will help you understand their ambitions, needs, and expectations.
Money is the means, not the goal. Research shows that money is the third or fourth item of importance for creative people. Under, opportunities, growth, and recognition.*(If money is your goal, you are in the wrong industry. And because of that, you will always end up in frustration).
Don’t be a dick!
Know yourself and understand the people in your team. This way, you will learn how to set yourself up with the right people to succeed in the first two policies, because;
6. You are as good as the people you work with.
They are your secret weapon. Find the right ones, because they can help you create outstanding results. Commonly, the trick to finding these understanding that everyone thinks they do a good job. And everyone wants to do great. But not likely will make the sacrifice.
That’s why is so important to find the right people for your team. I believe that their potential can be measured by the level of effort committed to getting out of the comfort zone. Your network is critical on this one.
There is a saying, “if you are the most intelligent in the room, you are in the wrong place.” Find the people that will make you better, find the talented, smarter people, team up and get to work.
7. There is no magic formula, just work.
Plan, execute, change/improve. That’s that. Nothing else. There is no Simon Sinek Why, no purpose, no visionary CEO, no career, that can make this happen without work. Ego will get on your way.
Remember. Every place is different, people are different too, but the only real and consistent thing is the work.
I’ve got the chance to be part of talented teams and work on exciting projects, and I learn that every outstanding project leads to a new opportunity to create another one, but only through hours of hours of planning, execute, change/improve.
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Hard work, know your team, remember that you can be wrong(again; don’t be a dick), develop your craft, sweat your creative, quality is all and only ‘results’ count. Everything left is how fast you adapt to change and how much are you are committed to improving your skills.
