[1/2] How to Do Great Work Without Being an Asshole (How to Manage Chaos and Creative Selfies) (Category Management)

I like the original title of this book by Paul Woods much more than the translation. But the translation makes sense, as the author talks about his experience in managing a creative agency. This little book is filled with funny stories about the basics of management, which in such a filing are swallowed in a couple of hours, the benefit of the book is small and here is its content. 1) Being a nice person is profitable For long-term success, it is important to build a good culture in the company, and this is easier to do without being an asshole. So it is easier to attract good employees to work and build relationships with customers. Now with the emergence of sites such as Glassdoor Everything secret becomes obvious very quickly and being a nice person is really more profitable than being an asshole. But this does not negate the fact that to get an outstanding result, you need to work hard - there are no easy ways here. 2) Egocentrism in the Creative World The author divides most of the creative people into 2 Vulnerable and insecure and selfish narcissists. The former suffer from their insecurity and need external approval, which opens the way for manipulation. The latter see themselves as above rules and processes and often destroy the culture of the company. I particularly liked the author’s quote about executives: “It’s your job to grow a team, not your ego.” 3) Business meetings There should be fewer meetings, but they should be more effective. The meeting should have a clear purpose, a list of participants and a time. During the meeting, it is necessary to start with the goal, and then adhere to the discussion plan, facilitate the discussion, fix the next steps and those responsible. After the meeting, you should send the meeting notes to the participants and highlight the expectations for the next steps. 4) Pitching Here the author tells about the fact that in the creative industry presale was not paid before. The agency prepared pitches for products often for free, and then, as in a talent contest, the client listened to n pitches and chose the winner. The author says that this is a vicious practice, since it does not characterize the standard work of the client with the design agency, since in reality they usually have to work as a couple, so it is not clear that this approach is tested. Plus, it devalues the work of creatives - no one likes to work for free. The author proposes to replace this with the practice of a demo day, where the client and the guys from the agency work together for one day on the tasks of the client. 5) Preparation of the project - here the author tells on his fingers about the planning of the project as a whole, and then its implementation with sprints from Scrum. In general, this gives the necessary predictability in the creative agency. 6) Briefings The importance of specifications from the client. In writing and with the right structure:

• The context of the task
• Project description in one sentence What business problems should he solve?
• List of specific expected accomplishments
• Intermediate and final deadlines Links to files and documents needed to complete the project 7) Feedback It should be given on time and quality. The author formulates the basic rules of feedback
• Speak directly and openly. Be positive and constructive.
• Speak clearly and accurately.
• Give examples.
• Ask questions.

End of the review in the next post

#Management #Leadership #Processes #Project #Productivity