Programming by Committee

Ready for this?

“Great work is never reasonable, safe or boring.” ~ Seth Godin

How does your station stack up?

Did you notice the word “never”?

George Lois, sometimes called the original Mad Man for his work in the advertising industry, has a new book out: Damn Good Advice (For People With Talent).

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In a Fast Company piece about his ideas, this one stood out:

Teamwork might work in building an Amish barn, but it can’t create a big idea.”

He goes on…

Research is the enemy of creativity”

The accepted system for the creation of innovative thinking in a democratic environment is to work cooperatively in a team-like ambience. Don’t believe it.”

Whatever the creative industry, when you’re confronted with the challenge of coming up with a Big Idea, always work with the most talented, innovative mind available. Hopefully…that’s you.”

Avoid group grope and analysis paralysis.”

The greatest innovative thinker of our age remains Apple cofounder, Steve Jobs, a modern-day Henry Ford. Jobs was not a consensus builder but a dictator who listened to his own intuitions, blessed with an astonishing aesthetic sense.”

You can read the rest of his 10 Tips For Success HERE.

Then, maybe — hopefully — you can give his advice a try within your organization. Set your most brilliant minds free from the corporate hierarchy. Ignore quirky, or difficult, or “not a team player,” and just ask for brilliant results.

You’ll know it when you hear it.