On Trust & Intuiton

I work at a small digital design agency. In fact, I run it, alongside most of the other people in it. We set up shop a couple of years ago, and things are going well. In terms of projects and clients, I’ll stick my neck out, and claim that we’re punching above our weight, and that the level of quality in the work we do is really high. I say that not to brag. I say it because, from the very beginning, that was the goal. To aim high. To challenge ourselves and our clients, and not to settle for ok. So far, so good. It’s nice to have validation that there is a market for agencies that don’t necessarily aim at growth, but rather quality and ambition.

But…

There’s always a but, right? In our case, it revolves around processes. More often than not we are asked to describe our process in meetings with potential clients. This mostly leads to us talking loosely about juggling ideas back and forth, throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, and then going at it with everything we’ve got. A couple of minutes into this rant, you see attention drifting or worse even, concern manifested across the faces of the clients. They were hoping for neatly drawn charts, minutely described phases, or at the very least a few buzzwords or mentions of certifications. And while, oftentimes, they’re not necessarily worried about the end product, they are worried about the seeming lack of structure in the way we work. So let me try to elaborate:

We run on trust & intuition

After a lot of consideration, attempts to draw easily digestible models, and seriously considering a go at getting “Prince II” or “Scrum Master” certification, I turned to what I know, and what I feel (yes, I sometimes go with feelings, so sue me).

After a bit of contemplation, I’ve arrived at this: We run on trust & intuition

Trust

Because we’re a boutique agency. Because we are pretty seasoned in each of our areas. And because we know each other well, there is a high level of trust in our group of partners. I know that the other guys will deliver on their parts of a project, and they know the same about me. We also know and trust, that should one of us be in a pickle, it is OK to say so, and the others will huddle and get things done and done properly anyway.

Intuition

As for intuition, I could draw a number of parallels. They’re all equally fitting and cheesy, so I had a hard time settling on one. In no particular order, they could be: A football team, a jazz band, a platoon (I’m way too pacifist for that one, by the way). For now, I’ll settle on the jazz band. The essence of great jazz — to me, at least — is when band members have a solid grip of the overall tune or vibe, let each other riff, and sense when it’s time to step in or step up. When those things come together, they create beautiful things, with an eire of relaxation, but never one of laziness. A sense of foundation that is deep enough, that you dare veer from it, without hesitation. We try to do just that.

Sounds peachy. Now where’s the downside?

Glad you ask. As with any other mode of collaboration, there are a few things to be aware of. In no particular order, here are a few of them:

Clients want to feel safe

Talking about trust and intuition doesn’t necessarily instill trust in clients. And in my experience it takes at least one successful project, and a whole lot of close collaboration, for everyone to have a shared sense, that thing will work out great, even if Gantt charts are few and far apart. That is why we treasure our long term client relations, and it is also why we try to celebrate and document success, in order for potential clients to see that we tend to get the job done, and get it done well.

It is on us to bring new team members into the loop

We’ve started on-boarding new team members. Mostly short term for the time being, but that can change quickly. In doing so, we have had to agree rather explicitly, that the new guys, however talented, intuitive and empathetic they may be (and they are), haven’t been along for the whole of the ride. They haven’t been there, when we’ve discussed what kind of business we have decided to run, and they may come from places that run much tighter ships in terms of processes. Bringing them into our culture and our way of working is solely our responsibility.

We need to get comfortable with being vulnerable

If this way of working is to actually work, it requires a high degree of honesty, and it means that we have to get comfortable with vulnerability. That means letting the others in, sharing work in every step of the process (even when you haven’t “cracked it” and you think what you’ve done so far pretty much sucks). But it also means telling the others when you’re in trouble. When you have too much on your plate. When you’re having a bad day, and when you need help.

This, perhaps, is the biggest challenge of them all.

If you’ve gotten this far, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read, what is probably mostly me thinking out loud.

Oh, and a special thanks to Isabel, who told me, that there is actually a term for the way we work. Apparently, it’s “Intuitive processes”. I had a feeling it might be something along those lines.