by Robert Black

If I ever have my own design company, I think I'll have a BIG white board on one wall, and on it will be all our goals and strategic planning. That's it, not some typed out document with careful flow charts. It will be messy, and anyone will be welcome to squeeze in new ideas where there are gaps. Everyone will be able to see our plans, probably even visitors (why not, it will have evolved into something different and better a few weeks later).

Periodically we'll have an informal meeting in front of it, and decide that a whole section is now irrelevant, so we'll grab a duster and wipe it clean, so people can fit in new ideas/goals. We can document it by taking a photograph every so often, but even if it were accidentally erased, I've always found that ideas are always faster and better the second time around (after losing part of an essay or letter when the computer bombs :-)

This scenario fits closely with what I've always done anyway, but felt guilty about: it can't really be a plan if it's not written down properly and set in ink. Hmmm, suddenly I don't feel so disturbed about Tom Peter's ideas on "strategic planning vs flexibility".

What does this have to do with design as a profession? Well, I'm really interested in what goes into making a successful culture within a design company. Design as a profession attracts people who pride themselves on their creativity and individuality, so it is a challenge to create an environment that recognises this while at the same time encouraging team work and selflessness.

I get the impression that what everyone really dreads, myself included, is working for a typical company that is inflexible and built on a rigid management hierarchy. At such companies designers are quickly categorised, sorted by their strengths, and then in an effort to gain maximum efficiency from them, they are chained to their specialty from that point on. For a person whose profession revolves around creativity, this is an anathema. No wonder then that so many designers dream of working for themselves.

But times are changing, and companies run by traditional management models are finding themselves too heavy and inflexible to evolve quickly enough. It is no longer enough to improve efficiency. To compete in today's topsy-turvy world, companies need to reinvent themselves on a daily basis, and I suspect that the companies that learn to cultivate a high proportion of design talent will find themselves propelled forward past the more traditional companies if they empower their employee's passion for new ideas rather than give it lip service.

And of course, don't bind up their strategic plans with fancy long-range charts ;-)
(written 1996)

Return to Observations

The views expressed this article are not necessarily those of AGDA. Please note that the information in this article is the opinion of the author only. I can therefore accept no responsibility for actions taken on the basis of this information. Can you? ;-)
Copyright Robert Black (robert@thereforcomau), 2002. Feedback and constructive criticism most welcome.

"As a design business owner and partner I have moved through (and usually blended) lots of roles: graphic designer, web designer, account manager, studio manager, team manager, project manager, and database designer (yikes!) As a creative, I have freely developed skills in a broad range of areas including illustration, painting, photography, sacred geometry (that's a real thing), inventing, and mountain biking (I wish).

In my current business, more direct changes have occurred over the last five year period. Prior to this, I saw myself as an all-round creative. Just as well. My point is that I've worn lots of the shoes in the problem expressed by Robert, so it rings a big fat bell for me. I often deliberate over a good solution to this, and it is constantly in my awareness. Like Robert, I also dread the 'creative-anathema' referred to above, but I also find it is one of the most difficult things to avoid while operating an organisation in the pursuit of good business. In an attempt to be more efficient (there's that word!), we have recently developed small teams to streamline workflow, each with a specialising manager-so I cringe when I read this as one of the symptoms leading to poor creative-management.

I want the answer! We aspire to being excellent creative-managers within an awesome studio. We have always had a fun and casual aspect to our business, and we are also very serious about business. So whiteboards are a big part, as are planning days, non-stuffy meetings, customised internal management software (the very excellent Traffic Office Manager(tm) from Cormoran Communications), fun team outings, involvement, involvement, involvement, target marketing to attract clients that enthuse and inspire, cool self-promo, and so on.

We have created lots of ways to involve all team members across all creative areas of the business, although this hasn't worked very well. We find that things start to get 'dis-organised' pretty quickly. Focus becomes lost, billings go down, and I'm not certain that the happiness desired by the creative diversity was achieved. As owners and managers, we often have staff expressing more desire for more creativity, and less rigidity. Doh!

So how does a responsible studio manage to fulfill the strengths of all individuals, nurturing their specialist growth in this regard, while also developing other aspects of their creativity? And all the while making an even more successful and happy businessplace for everyone. Otherwise, why would we all do it? Phew! I'd love to find the golden egg. Or is that the goose? Whatever. I noticed it's been a few years since Robert authored the article, have there been any insights or feedbacks since then? Any good books?"