It is my money and you will do what I say. Don’t you know who I am? You should be grateful to be working with me (client and artist). Thanks for sharing, I will do what I want anyway. Trust me.
Add to the viciousness of ego the idea that change sucks and you have the recipe for a major train wreck if frank conversations are not had. As always, the very definition is that is has not been done before for this client, even if you have done something similar for hundreds of clients before. This is different from other businesses, luxury very much included. While you can customize a lot of things, at the end of the day, luxury items are not themselves creative because they already exist. If someone says to you, “I’ll take that one.”, you might be an awesome business but you are not a creative business. Creative business means it does not exist before I create it for you.
The process of creation is where ego needs to be in check for the simple reason there is a power imbalance. You have the tools to transform your clients’ lives with your art, they have the power to let you do it (or not). So if we all do not play nice in the sandbox, ego will take over and the delicate dance will careen to the painful, “I just want this to be over” zone.
To which I always hear, that is what my contract is for, or I just do not have those clients or we do what we have to do. Yuck, yuck and more yuck. No we have to have the frank conversation before you start, then while you are going and finally when you are about to be finished. The frank conversation comes from you with an acknowledgement of everyone’s ego — you are the artist, they are the patron – and these are the guardrails. Boil it down to five things that always have to be present for the project to go well.
Here is an example:
- Mutual respect goes a long way — decisions will be timely (i.e., not longer than 48 hours) and in writing.
- Money will flow as outlined (and requested by artist) and if it does not, full stop.
- Doing things on your own (client or artist) where any sane person would know that not receiving input is wildly inappropriate is the recipe for disaster.
- Do not assume — every eight year old knows the adage.
- Promise to do the next thing right.
Notice what is not here are the details of the process that will unfold for the project to be successful — how you will move through the 8 stages of any creative endeavor; that is something else — the road map. What I am talking about here is how we are all going to behave in the car/plane/train/covered wagon to make the trip worthwhile. Checking everyone’s ego at the door never means only one side, it means everyone understanding that snapping trust is a nanosecond if it becomes my value is more than yours. Ego.
In today’s everything faster, cheaper, more efficient world, the value of laying out what decorum feels like gets lost. And because it is all about getting done, diminishing the creative in creative business, we lose the humanity in the endeavor. Humanity is lifting each other up so that each can discover the joy they cannot yet see. Spend the time talking about your expectations of how you and your team will be treated and how you will treat your client and those in their orbit and you will see quickly that you will both get what you need.
Yes, the exercise will feel clunky and unnecessary. Then again, when you complain how you are doing so much for you client and they just do not get it, remember this post. It feels clunky and unnecessary because change sucks. Learning new rhythms means having beginner’s mind and refusing to skip the step of moving past what you, your art and creative business need as people first, artists second, producers third. All the mission statements, Why’s,processes, business and/or strategic plans mean nothing with out ethos, culture and what vulnerability you provide and demand. The idea of “this is who we are” is your responsibility. Start there and make it as real as the device you are reading this on. It will take ego out of the equation as best as possible. From there, great work will be inevitable.
