My dad was a prolific home builder, and while he never counted them, he probably built over 150 homes in his career all over Marin County. One thing I used to love doing as a kid was driving around with him, going from job site to job site and inevitably (the real reason I loved this) going to a lunch of cheeseburgers and milkshakes.
One day I asked my dad how he knew so much about building houses. I mean, as the contractor, he must know everything, right?
He looked at me and said “I know enough to know who to hire to do it right.”
That was it. The one piece of "career" advice I ever got from him, which didn’t even seem like advise until years later when I read “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. There is a famous quote by Henry Ford in that book:
“I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk, and by pushing the right button, I can summon to my aid people who can answer any question I desire to ask concerning the business to which I am devoting most of my efforts. Now, will you kindly tell me why I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purposes of being able to answer questions, when I have people around me who can supply any knowledge I require?”
It sort of clicked. In his own way - my dad had echoed the above. Basically “Be confident in what you know, and don’t know, and don’t be afraid to hire the experts.”
I was very insecure when I got my first Creative Director title. Yes, I was a 3D artist, but certainly not the BEST 3D artist. Not by a long shot. Here was the kicker though, I knew I wasn’t the best. And thanks to my time in the film industry, I had a solid rolodex of people who were the best.
Being a good creative director is akin to a baseball manager. In baseball, the best players don’t often make the best managers. In Creative Direction, yes you are still being creative, but much of your time is spent thinking about licensing, branding, marketing, schedules and budgets as well. Just like there is a right tool for every job, sometimes the best artists prefer to stay as artists, while creatives with skill sets in people management and larger creative vision, go into director roles. The key there being, know what you know, and know who to trust when you don’t.
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