Not enough people don’t know what they’re doing.
Especially in the creative industries.
Everyone has an opinion and it’s very rare you hear anyone say ‘I don’t know’.
Often it’s a fear of looking indecisive or out of their depth. Or it’s the fear of making a mistake and creating a turkey. Unfortunately in some cases, there’s a touch of arrogance too.
But the nature of being creative is to do things that are new.
Things you don’t know how to do or have never been done before.
Fear should be something we want.
If you’re not a bit worried then you’re not creating something fresh.
You’re probably just doing something that’s been done before. Something safe, comfortable and easy. And because of that, much less likely to have any impact. Which is something that should actually make you afraid.
We had a client once who fed back to the agency that we always went too far with the work we presented. You can imagine that created a bit of panic, about avoiding a pitch or stepping back the ideas we’d go in with.
But after a call it turned out he hadn’t meant it as a complaint but a big compliment.
He wanted to work with people that push the boundaries. He knew he could always pull us back if needed. And that was easier than having to try and push people who were too safe.
Panic over and back to creating work that made me panic a bit.
P.S. I am aware of the irony of saying ‘I know what to do’ on a post about saying ‘I don’t know’. Rest assured there is a huge amount of stuff out there I don’t know, but want to.
