29 Jan 2019
Brand Management, Product Positioning
January 29, 2019 Andrew Casanova

The Ten Commandments of a Creative Department

Built on years of experience and a whole lot of lumps gained while establishing creative based departments (Marketing, Product Development, etc,). I have for you today, the ten commandments of a Creative Department. And yes, it is good for our pals in accounting, finance, and operations to know about these commandments too. I am starting to get the idea they think anything related to creativity looks like this:

Like I mentioned, after much trial and error, below are some general rules to help guide a creative team, and to serve as cornerstones in organizational policy or strategy.  Yes, I know it’s going to sound preachy, but sometimes things are written as if they came out of a King James Bible, the just sound more official 🙂

So here it goes:

  1. Thou shalt not break the mode of operation
  2. Thou shalt not steal – rush jobs are stealing
  3. Maintain thy task list
  4. For it is better to be correct & accurate than fast. Fast tends to bite more than once.
  5. A project without details and an assigned ticket is not a project–it is simply conversation.
  6. Do not commit product adultery. All products have a specific purpose not to be shared or copied.
  7. 99% capacity is dancing on the razor edge between control and disaster. 100% is already a disaster
  8. When in doubt ask for clarification immediately
  9. Keep thy downtime inventive and a time for reflection and improvement.
  10. Thou shalt not break thy commitment, or face thy divine judgment.

Finally, here is a little mantra for your department to get things started:

As the [creative department] for [company name] we are the leaders of the organization. We: initiate, create, invent, implement, and double-check.  Although our roles may vary, our actions steer this organization. Therefore we must be focused and accurate. It is our creativity that puts fuel in the tank, but it is our example that drives this organization.

SO hows that for a start? Let me know. Feel free to reach out any time or place a comment for more clarification, or to discuss how these commandments may apply to your exact situation.