Have you ever watched the commentary feature on a DVD? It’s when the actors, writers, directors, producers, etc get together and comment on specific episodes or the movie. A little while ago, I was watching the commentary on the first episodes of Entourage’s first season. Apparently some people (I don’t remember who) wanted a different song for opening credits but they finally accepted to play the current song and kept the song they originally wanted for a scene.
I don’t know much about TV writing, directing, acting or producing, but opening credits seemed like a big deal to me – they’re there every week, everyone sees them. Because someone on the team to accept to forgo their creative opinion for “the greater good” is probably one of the reasons Entourage was such a great success. I wonder how that decision happened – was there a lot of fighting, arguing and pouting; was there hurt feelings and understanding; was there acceptance and trust? I’m gonna guess it was a little bit of everything. The fact remains that big creative egos (actually, I’m not sure if the Entourage creators have big egos at all) were able to compromise to make a great series. So the question is how do you get your employees to work together and compromise to make great products or services?
What’s a great product or service?
The first step is obviously to determine what makes a great product or service. That’s entirely up to you, but there’s going to be a good mix of vision, customer-centricity and acceptance that you won’t please everyone. For example, Entourage has had success as a TV show, but it’s not enjoyed by all. Every employee will have to work towards that goal.
It a trust thing
The second step is building trust among employees. In their book Trust Agents
- Make your own game: Stand out
- One of us: Belonging
- Archimedes effect: Leverage
- Agent zero: Developing access
- Human artist: Developing understanding
- Build an army: Developing mass
In other words, it boils down to a mix of your individuality and team-playing. You can pretty much take these elements and work at building trust within the office. Encourage your employees to both be part of the team and be themselves.
Complete confidence in coworkers
I think another element is confidence in your coworkers. Obviously confidence comes with trust. But beyond building trust, hiring the right employees is increasingly invaluable. It’s always been important, but now it’s mandatory. Are you hiring for today’s world? Others must have confidence in other employees’ knowledge. An employee that fits with the company culture is as important as an employee with great experience. If you have a dog-eat-dog corporate culture, hire employees that believe in that system, no matter what their CV looks like.
I think those elements – direction, trust and confidence are major to having a dynamic and creative company. Do you have anything else to add? I’d love your insights!
(Photo credit: toxickore)
