The Indiefield Blog

A great supplier will point out to the client possible pitfalls and problems with the project before beginning the work and immediately put in place contingency plans in order to look out for the best interest of the client and ultimately the success of the project. When the planned for problem strikes the great supplier can take care of the issue seamlessly and immediately for the client, thus truly looking out for their best interests. It's the opposite of short changing a client or trying to do as little as possible for the most revenue or trying to squeeze efficiencies out of your already streamlines processes. Are we out of our minds? Probably.

I remember hearing the story about how it was theoretically impossible for bumble bees to fly because their little wings could not possibly generate the lift required to get them off the ground. Obviously bumble bees know absolutely nothing about fluid dynamics and just continued flying around until some researcher discovered that bumble bee wings generate tiny air vortexes that increase airflow and allow them to fly. Sometimes theories are wrong and sometimes all things are possible - nothing is ever settled (in theory).

It's quite easy to be original - you just need to follow your passions and grab all the opportunities you are presented with and have the ideas that no one else has. It is about understanding what makes you different and challenging yourself every day to add something new to world (whenever you can - these things can take a while!).

Get totally organised.

Keep detailed records of everything.

Be creative all the time.

Stay focused on your objectives.

Provide a great service for your clients.

It's easy to look for the fastest perceived solution to fix a problem. Usually a client, a staff member, or the public at large is to blame. So the project was lost because the bid didn't win or the sales are down because the marketing is wrong. But sometimes you must step back and take a deeper look. Maybe the customer journey is unclear or you have lots of tech that doesn't quite work and still think more tech is the answer. When an underlying problem is not solved first the problem will always continue.

Everyone is always running from point to point, paying no real attention, taking nothing in. It's hard to get anyone's attention for long these days. Far better to concentrate on the few that are willing to slow down, to stop lurching from supplier to supplier, and who actually pay attention and stick around for the ride.

Erika Mitchell was originally publishing her own fan fiction based on the Twilight books and films. She found it such a thrill that she created a new pseudonym and again she self-published. But this time the on-demand print sales turned into thousands and by the time Fifty Shades of Grey was re-released by Vintage Books in 2012 it became the fastest selling paperback of all time in the UK. It's part of our DNA to wait to be picked - to send our work off and to wait for approval. For the HR Manager to offer us the job. For the client to pick our proposal. For the industry leader (or the industry itself) to offer its approval. So if there's a chance to pick yourself then you take it - HR, the client, the industry will soon follow.

Apparently it is possible to visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris for the first time and see nothing new or exciting. Same with The Colosseum in Rome. So it seems that it's possible to miss "the big idea" because we only see what we want to see. That's why fieldwork is so important. If you want to understand a Mercedes driver go and spend some time with him or her; if you want to see how a busy Mum operates talk to her about getting the children off to school in the morning; if you want to understand how Financial Directors have weathered the pandemic sit down and crunch their thoughts and their numbers. Only when you understand things can you really offer up the ideas.

Stephen Fry once said that the joy of 70s supergroup ABBA was: "That they were far, far, better than they needed to be. There was a dedicated pursuit of pop craft that offered an undefinable elevated and inspirational quality to what they did.". Let's all aim to be far, far, better than we need to be.

In the middle of a stage play actor Michael Sheen broke character and asked an audience member to switch off their phone. He understands that all work is a work of co-creation and if the other party is not working with you, egging you on and encouraging you then they are not doing their part - they are actually tearing you down. He is a professional and so are you. I am not asking you to halt a performance at The National Theatre. But I am asking you to demand that you get the attention you deserve.