I read an interesting article recently in INC. about brand management (http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070101/features-brandmakeover.html ). The branding, PR, and marketing discussion was an interesting read, however, I was struck by an idea the article presented, a passion project. The article described a project that the brand management firm, Deskey, went through to keep its employees fresh and creative.
Most of Deskey’s current projects consist of accounts for large companies that have significant restraints and lack creative flexibility. Most of the folks working at a brand management firm are going to be the creative type who need to keep creatively stimulated in order not to get bored, unproductive, or unhappy. One way Deskey changes this is to inject a passion project into the mix once in a while. The project will have a scope that is outside the bounds of the normal bread and butter projects of the firm. Some key characteristics of the project are that it is relatively short, can involve the whole group, and requires significant creative flexing. The financial requirements of the project are not as critical since the main goal of the project is to allow the team to get up and stretch its legs.
It struck me that these passion projects could be useful for folks other than just the creative/art department. Engineering teams need to stretch their legs and flex their muscle in order to stay awake during an extended project. Ambitious and intelligent engineers will grab onto these projects and run. Engineering is a method for solving complex problems. It is important to keep all of the tools in an engineer’s toolbox sharp. This requires an engineer to occasionally step outside his specialty area that consumes his day. As an added benefit this will identify your more qualified engineers as they step up and grab the reigns during these projects, since by definition a passion project is a change from day to day activity, and change is hard.
aaron.berndt
No comments:
Post a Comment