The Art of Maximizing ROI (Return on Ideas)

Aug 27, 2010 Ideas, Project Management

In our recent leadership meeting, our team shared tips on executing ideas faster, while still delivering excellence. The topic was extensively debated. We talked about the pros and cons of speed versus perfection. At the end of the discussion, we agreed the team shows discretion on when to pursue perfection. Here are our six steps to maximize ROI (return on ideas).

Step One: Ideation
Let’s start with ideation. We gather lots of ideas and we gather them fast, without discriminating against good or bad. (The figure on the left illustrates the funnel approach, taking multiple ideas down to the development of one great idea.) We give team members an equal opportunity to develop their ideas. We then mash up different good ideas together to create even better ideas.

Step Two: Rapid Prototyping
After carefully selecting the top promising ideas, we then quickly develop them using a rapid prototyping model. The key is to rapidly develop rough working ideas. Rough working ideas are key, because we want to capture the essence of the ideas, rather than set them in stone.

The goal is for our designers to produce simple working prototypes, akin to an architect model. It’s important the prototypes work. We want our designers to look ahead and anticipate each production step, so we can foresee what challenges this idea might pose later in the production phase. For example, if it is a video project, storyboard artists pre-visualize a few scenes. If it is a website, our coders mock up a quick prototype. In short, the goal is to produce rough prototypes to prove the idea. Our clients have to participate in the prototype review and as a group we collaborate on selecting the best design.

Step Three: Visualization
Once we pick our top idea, we start a detailed visualization, which acts as our blueprint to guide us through the production. This is the opportunity to work out the kinks. The visualization is also where we continue to interact with our clients for review and approval. We have learned that quick, continuous client feedback is key to success on projects. Our creative process is not a one-way street.

Step Four: Production
In our production phase, it is about working efficiently and effectively.  By now all the creative decisions have been made, and we can ramp up the quality and narrow the focus. This is critical in order to complete the project within the allocated timeframe and to avoid any overtime charges. The goal is not to take shortcuts, but rather to find the most efficient way to attain perfection.

Step Five: Mini Check-ins
To ensure the utmost quality, we perform daily mini check-ins, as pioneered by Pixar Studios. We talk to team members about their production status and their challenges, what works and what doesn’t. This is the best time to help a teammate who might be stuck on a production problem. Mini check-ins keep the team focused, while saving time and enhancing team and client satisfaction.

Step Six: False Deadlines
Okay, we admit it. Creative people can be born procrastinators. Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. The last step to ensure production is done on time is by setting false internal deadlines. We panic early to allow time for changes and refinements in order to perfect the project as if it were the client’s delivery deadline. At this time, we recheck the work to make sure it is perfect. Having this buffer zone gives us time to evaluate what can be tweaked, or in the worst-case scenario, what needs to be redone.

For those of us who are perfectionists, we ask ourselves a simple question: Are we perfecting to serve the clients or ourselves? If we are just pushing pixels in an endless pursuit of perfection, we need to stop. If the pursuit of perfection is to serve our clients, we will continue.

The goal is to deliver excellence, with more team satisfaction, which leads to greater motivation and inspiration to get the next great ideas into fruition. Essentially, we can achieve the best results with less time wasted and happier clients and team. In the end, if we follow all the steps we are assured a maximum return on our ideas.

Meetings with Meaning

Jul 23, 2010 Ideas, New, Project Management

Meetings – everyone has them, everyone hates them, and they tend to take up more time than the allotted 30 minutes or one hour we have scheduled in our calendars. Internal meetings are the worst; you start to talk about everything on your plate, giving the purpose for the meeting less priority. Not only does this cause you to lose your focus, it also renders the meeting “a waste of time”. Losing focus in a meeting can be detrimental to the purpose of the meeting.

SJG is no exception; we have in the past fallen into this trap of internal meeting hell. Our meetings would spiral down into production details of our clients work.  We would lose sight of the big picture. We would forget what the meetings purpose was.  We needed a framework for our internal meetings in order to regain focus on our what was important to our company. In short we needed to think of our team as a client.

Here is a set of tools and techniques that we came up with to apply to all of our internal meetings:

• Have a published agenda: Publishing the agenda to the team shares accountability for the meeting. An hour is not a long time, and an agenda will ensure each topic is addressed.
• Set the timer: Deadlines are your friend and meeting them provides a great sense of accomplishment once completed.
• Action items: What needs to be accomplished for the next meeting?
• Ownership: Who is responsible for each action item?
• Commit to next meeting! Another deadline that will ensure your team meetings are successful.

One of the outcomes was our bi-weekly blogs. We now apply the knowledge we have with our clients to the SJG team. What can you do to make your meetings more profitable and enjoyable?

Project Management in the Creative World

Jun 14, 2010 Project Management

Project management is relatively new in the creative world; traditionally it has been used in industries such as construction and engineering, and, let’s face it, most creative minds don’t like process. But in our world, project management is a large part of creativity. Managing the project and relationship of the client, the team and all other stakeholders is critical to any project’s success, especially in the creative world.

An account manager is on board to build the relationship with the client to initiate a project; the creative team produces the work. A project manager acts as the core of the project; we lead the team from project initiation through to the completion of the project. It is the meaning behind our signature line: “Right brains that can be left alone”.

Project managers can get your project moving. For example, if you were to ask a creative person or team how long it would take for them to produce an idea, you would be unlikely to get a firm response, particularly without providing them with the parameters of the idea. A project manager can identify and communicate to stakeholders the project requirements, identify the various needs of stakeholders, as well as balancing competing constraints related to the project, including:

• cost,
• schedule,
• scope,
• quality,
• risks,
• resources, etc.

A project manager can work with the creative team to ensure those objectives are met during the planning and execution of each project. This allows your creative team to be creative and produce the work without worrying about developing schedules, managing budgets, finding resources – all the organizational aspects of the job.

A good project manager provides a human touch your project, encouraging team members when morale is flagging, and has the ability to explain to creative teams and the client and other non-creative types why they produced the work in question. Interfacing with the creative team, the client and other stakeholders to ensure your project success.

Great things take time. Including a project manager as a part of your creative process can allow for seamless integration in collaboration giving your right brains the freedom to be creative!

Tags: collaboration, creative, project management, teams