Big Ups: Your opinion, man
“We don’t need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful.” — Taylor Swift
It winds up I am surprisingly protective of my colleagues in the creative industry. The extent of my concern for their good reputations is somewhat mysterious to me; I am well aware of social and cultural norms which very often serve to mask their most sacred personal beliefs and perspectives.
When I recently encountered industry-wide criticism of “everyone in the ad industry” as having no opinions nor original thoughts, and this being the reason why they are all silent right now, I was immediately defensive. For those of us in the service industry, I feel it’s always important to consider the audience, and to keep opinions to ourselves unless the situation is right or the message extremely important. The insult made me wonder what’s so great about opinions?
Discussing this at an industry gathering in Chicago, the highly talented creative director and designer Duarte Elvas made an important point: He is regularly called upon to provide his opinion in his work, and doing so winds up being a key part of his leadership role. For the specific benefits of sharing opinions, project manager Faras Dossani lists these:
- builds relationships
- promotes critical thinking
