Become An Executioner

When I worked at Saatchi Los Angeles, I had a magazine headline taped to my door. It read "Like That, But Funny." I was probably the best job description I've ever had. Basically, it means you are executing someone's else's idea. For example, I could be sitting in my office and a creative director might drop by and say, "I just saw "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," could we make that into a 4Runner spot?"

Sure.

The first thing I do with an assignment like that is to take a piece of paper and divide it in half. I draw a blue flag on one side and a red flag on the other. Blue represents unbiased creativity. The red flag denotes problems. The key is to get clear what David Allen calls psychological RAM. It means I have to clear away the barriers no matter how valid in order to invest myself in solutions.

For example, my red flags would be 1) Toyota has invested in a brand without borders, do we want the re-emphasize the oriental? 2) Whether it's mechanical effects or digital effects, we're talking bucks. 3) Does the metaphor work or is it just visual pyrotechnics? Then, I have to table those doubts for later and think of it as a "doubtless" exercise. Doubt will slow you down. It will whisper in your ear every second. It will make you less productive.

The lesson here is that the ratio of ideas to executions is billions to one. Even if I am an idea person, there are times when I have to be an committed executioner no matter what my level of interest. If you want to read more about clearing your RAM, read David's great book Getting Things Done. http://www.davidco.com/