Happy creatives produce great work; help them to do that.

This post is based on a presentation I’m putting together for my account team at the agency. Many of these points might seem obvious, but in a time when clients are demanding more from us for less and smaller creative shops are looking to poach clients from large agencies (like mine), they may need some repeating. Enjoy.

Twelve ways to make sure you’re getting the most from those lazy SOBs on your creative team

1.    Know the business.

At large agencies, it’s easy to get bogged down amidst silly client requests and lose sight of what we do. But at the end of the day, we’re in the business of selling good strategy and good creative. Strategy has direct ties to the client; why shouldn’t creative? How can we establish and maintain a relationship between creative and the decision makers on the client-side? Doing so creates a trust, which in turn loosens the leash a bit, enabling the work to get better and better.

2.    The client stinks. Like an onion.

Why? Because there are too many damned layers. The more layers, both internally and client side, the more the work stinks. How can we remove unnecessary layers and ensure that decision-maker is seeing the creative without too much interference from the layers?

3.    We won’t burn you. So chill out.

My art director partner and I haven’t missed a major deadline, or been so far off the mark strategically that we caused our account team to curse our very births. We work hard and we’re reliable. If your creative team is reliable, too, then reward them. The best reward is to avoid micromanagement and keep the non-creative-director-creative-direction to a minimum.

4.    Know your creatives.

While many of us look alike—seriously, how many pairs of thick-framed glasses are there in that department?—we’re not interchangeable. We each have unique skill sets and backgrounds that go beyond our titles of “writer” or “art director.” Knowing who does what well and where our individual interests lie will helps an agency sell more work to the client.

5.    We play well with others. Let us.

It’s true: creatives don’t love meetings. But excluding us from them means that the work suffers. Invite us to any meeting that may aid our work, even if there’s no creative being discussed. Too many times I’ve sat in a client presentation and seen incredible competitive or demographic information that wasn’t provided to me with the brief.

6.    We heart feedback.

No, really we do. We’d just prefer to hear it directly from the client at the time he or she is giving it. That way, we can ask any questions, or more importantly, explain why we opted to do something a certain way, immediately and without playing a game of telephone. Internally, please make sure your feedback is as specific as possible. It cuts down on turnaround time and revision rounds.

7.    Give us a real deadline.

ASAP is not a deadline. Of course, fires arise and need tending to, but when everything is due STAT, it’s impossible to prioritize and the output is mediocre at best.

8.    Straight from the horse’s mouth.

If we worked on it, we want to present it. This is obvious, but the people who created a project are generally the same people who know it best. Why wouldn’t you want them in the room with the client to answer any detailed questions or defend specific lines of thinking? If you don’t trust your creative team in a client presentation, then help them identify what needs to be done to improve as presenters.

9.    Safe options are like safety schools.

No one actually wants to go there. So why even apply? It just gives the client the opportunity to choose poor, ineffective work. The smaller, more nimble shops that are taking advantage of the recession are not wowing your clients with safe creative. Please do not ask for a safe option.

10.    Invest in us.

Often, creatives bitch. We can be surly and negative. And many of us (myself no longer included), have very intimidating facial hair. But, we’re generally good people who really love what we do. Which is why we spend our free time creating and keeping up with what others are creating throughout the industry. You can help us stay on top of our game even more. Send us to conferences and trainings, to local luncheons and submit our work to awards shows. And let us know your behind us—support us in client presentations.

11.    Put up your dukes.

Don’t be upset when we fight back. Creatives who roll over and play dead are of no value to you, because they tend to be the same creatives who produce lifeless work. That’s no coincidence. Expect to hear from us when we disagree with direction or feedback and we’ll expect the same from you. Plus, if we can defend an idea intelligently and specifically, then that idea is probably worth defending to the client, as well.

12.    Good enough isn’t great.

This idea is the most important and it’s also twofold.

First, there’s the old agency analogy of cooks and waiters. As a creative, I’d rather be a chef than an order taker any day of the week. Further, to truly be a strategic partner for your clients, you can’t simply accept their requests and direction as literal and good enough. Work that’s just good enough may earn client approval, but then it’s quickly lost in the shuffle with all of the other work that’s also only good enough.

Secondly, it’s ok to push your creative team further. Sometimes we get lazy. Or tired. Or just haven’t found the perfect idea yet. If we’re on the path toward Nirvana, but haven’t quite reached it yet, give us a kick in the ass. Remind us: Good enough isn’t great.

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What else? Do you have any other insights? Also, in the related reading department, Alex Bogusky of CPB explains the importance of small agencies during a recession at AdAge.