Author: Fabrizio

Tension breaks down

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You are never the best judge of your own work. You cannot be.

Sometimes it is because of sunk costs, other times because of laziness, more often than not simply because your perspective is narrow, as it takes an incredible effort to see the world as others might. And so, we are often in tension between judging our work too harshly or too softly. Either way, it is never an appropriate measure for how we are doing.

This is valid also for groups. Going beyond the boundaries of what is known, liked, achieved is extremely difficult. Sometimes, we can mitigate this with diversity, and we should certainly try. But in the long term, a group will always appreciate their work with some degree of distortion.

Of course, this should not stop us from doing the work. Actually, it is an additional reason to put our work out there as soon as we deem it good enough. To see if there’s a fit, if it resonates, if it works, if it can spread. And if the answer is no, go back and repeat.

What we should never do, on the other hand, is protect the work from others, from feedback, from criticism, from admiration. We should not become executors that see a delivery (or a missed one) as the final stage. What we should never do is give that tension too much power, because eventually tension breaks down. You might be too far, too lost, too blind by that time to get back on track.

Systems

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In the urgency of now, we often make the mistake of looking at systems as if they were uniform and uncomplicated.

Technology increases the chances of such a misunderstanding. We are led to believe that tools and apps magically solve incredible problems as we look at their success ex post, failing to consider the various factors that have contributed to it, or the pains they have brought about, or the multiple reiteration they had to go through.

And so, nowadays, when we have a system that does not work, or that could work better, we usually look at technology for the solution.

The problem is that by doing so we focus our attention on a manifestation of what is going.

Change rarely starts at a superficial level. The only way to make it effective is to start from the roots of the problem, moving gradually horizontally and laterally, preparing for what is about to happen and managing the different circumstances.

There is nothing magic in such a process.

All of the attention

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A 30 seconds spot during the Super Bowl sells at $5.6 million.

And while I assume most people use breaks to do stuff they can’t during the match, the buzz it generates and the consideration of the almost totality of the Americans make it probably worth it.

It’s just a pity that such a memorable and expensive opportunity is often wasted with trite cliché and ground level irony. Some random stars, a couple of jokes, a pinch of visual effects and most agencies call it a day.

This year, among those who have gone against the tide, my personal favorite was Google with Loretta. It resonates because it tells a story from the end user perspective. It answers the question “what can I get done with Google Assistant?”, rather than “what does Google Assistant do?”. And as a bonus, it is inspiring and moving.

Genuine help

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There is a profound difference between asking “Do you need help?” and showing up with the tools, the mindset, the preparedness to roll up your sleeves and genuinely help.

Double reminder

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News, magazines, social media, broadcasters, experts, webzines, blogs, radios.

They are all out there fighting for our attention. And of course they exaggerate the things they say and they write.

Here’s a double reminder, particularly useful in these days of overexposure and quick bursts of fear.

As consumers, we can decide what to dedicate our attention to. It’s often not easy, but we can concentrate on the job we are here to make and cut out all the rest. No matter how dramatic, alarming, important the news of the moment is framed to be.

As content creators, we have a choice to make between trying to shout louder and use a softer tone of voice. If we decide for the latter, it will be tougher at times. But when we go for the former, the message we want to share will simply fade in the overwhelmingly buzzing noise that jams our audience’s ears at all times.