The Artist and The Business Person

I once had the privlege of working as a consultant to the now non-existent Ogilvy and Mather.

I remember the folks there talking about a legendary Creative Director who was both Creative and "A SUIT!"

I was recently reminded of that experience when making a marketing call on a very creative organization.

The Training Manager asked me how I would deal with "the Creatives". She mentioned that whenever she had brought in "Corporate-like" consultants… the Creatives had frozen up!

Q’uelle Suprize!

I’ve noticed that phenomenon in a lot of "Artistic" or "Humanistic" organizations.

Business is EVIL!

Markeing is BAD!

Was just having a discussion about Good Designers vs. Bad Designers with my Web Master.

Trisha asked me to talk about my painfule experiences with designers…

Here’s what I realized.

The desingers who I came to dislike had one thing in common: LACK of any "Business Sense!"

Look I’m not asking YOU, the Artist, to turn into a Marketer.

BUT, please at least get a modicum of business sense.

If you need to bugger off on a whim… do so AFTER you a) let me know you won’t be able to finish that brochure of mine, b) give me a disk with the original copy on it, so c) I can get someone else to finish my damn project!!

Don’t use obscure design software that NO ONE else can use.

DO keep me informed. Yes, I know you need your artistic Space… Hell! So DO I!

But, picking up the freakin phone for 30 seconds.. Or, banging out an email to Status me… can’t hurt that much. Can it?

Learn Customer Service basics… PLEASE!

Or, else I’ll go to some one who DOES!!

And, I’ll PAY THEM.. NOTYOU!!!