Does collaboration actually just screw things up?
September 29 2014, 3:20 pm | | 2 Comments
By Simon Veksner
Creative Director, DDB Sydney
We work in a highly collaborative industry. And collaboration is universally held to be a good thing. In fact the very worst thing you can say about an agency is that they work ‘in silos’.
But hey, long-term readers will know that I get a kick out of questioning received wisdom.
So – just as a thought experiment – let’s ponder for a moment, what would our industry be like without any collaboration? READ ON…
2 Comments
Collaboration only works when everyone is as good as everyone else. Otherwise it just slows things down to the speed of the lowest common denominator (usually the account guy who organises the meeting, the junior team who just don’t get it or the “maker” charlatan wheeled into the session because, well, that’s what makers do). I have been lucky enough to collaborate with some great people but they are always at the top of their game with years of expertise in their discipline and the experience to know when and how to contribute to a line of thought. Otherwise it’s just a mess.
La is spot on. Collaboration can work very well and be extremely rewarding but it depends greatly on the members of the team (sounds obvious I know).