The Key to a Creative's Heart

This past Friday our offices were all a buzz with positive energy. We have a client that desperately needs a new company name and brand identity; and Friday was the big reveal of our recommendations.

It was fantastic. Our creative process produced some very strong recommendations that we were excited to present, but that wasn't what made the day so great. It was the client.

I learned a lot on Friday about the key to getting kick-butt creative from your agency. Our client has a gift with people and he used that gift to get every individual at our Indianapolis marketing firm to give him their best work.

Here's what he did.

He came in to the presentation excited and open to new ideas
He listened and then he spoke
He respected their expertise and asked their opinions
He asked fair, tough questions in a non-judgmental way
He didn't glance at his Blackberry during the presentation, he was completely present

It seems simple enough, doesn't it. I started thinking, these items apply to a list of life situations much longer than brand identity development and business logo creation. What would you add to the list?

Comments for The Key to a Creative's Heart

Monday, June 22, 2009 by Nila Nealy:: You're absolutely right. That particular client made it easy to do good work for him. I got to see what was to be presented in advance and was excited for both the creators and the client. Bravo on a job well done, all!