There's Value in Thinking Different—Here's to the 'Crazy Ones'

While many claim to want innovation, all too often the emphasis is placed on the wrong things—things like school education or experience in the “right” agency for the requisite amount of time.

Such qualifications are almost anti-originality; they are formulaic, represent the accepted norm and leave little room for those different thinkers to flourish. By holding on to the idea of a more familiar resumé, it can be too easy to overlook the really talented people, the ones who have more than a list of qualifications to offer.

Without the typical markers of a “successful” candidate, they often get dismissed, but it’s the people with different life experiences and perspectives who are often the most likely to bring in the fresh thinking and values that our industry really needs right now.

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Creative talent doesn’t come from privilege

We’ve seen many examples of “outlier” creative talent having a major impact on the world, and advertising used to be so much better at creating space for misfits. Plenty of people, including celebrated British directors of film and advertising Alan Parker and Tony Kaye, never went near a university, but that didn’t stop them from graduating from the agency mail room to the Hollywood big time.

Differences might come from a person’s color, background, gender, physical ability, age, neurological profile or any number of things. Given that our industry is still mostly led by men, difference also comes from being a woman—and it’s not surprising that it’s women who are driving some of the biggest and most necessary changes in the industry.

You have to be comfortable with being a little bit uncomfortable.

—Rania Robinson, CEO, Quiet Storm

More and more organizations are springing up to help agencies connect with a diverse talent base. In the U.K., we have educators like the Brixton Finishing School, recruitment specialists like Hidden and the government’s own Kickstart Scheme.

Many agencies have diverse shortlist policies, and some are devising their own outreach programs, too—BBH’s The Barn, for example, provides exposure to the industry for candidates from different backgrounds.

They are all great resources, but on their own, they are not enough; they provide a foot in the door, but not a career. Like any job, success in advertising takes commitment from the new recruits themselves, but if you want to diversify your workforce, you need even more commitment from agencies.

Being the difference

Diversity, equality and inclusion take a lot of hard graft and a willingness to adapt and evolve in order to make room for different thinkers. From experience, when you take on new talent, you have to be prepared to be flexible and creative in finding ways to bring out their full potential, because their fresh ideas and viewpoints can be challenging to the status quo.

You have to be comfortable with being a little bit uncomfortable. It’s too easy to say that you tried to hire someone “different” but it just didn’t work out. You have to invest in the things you think are important and valuable and will deliver a return, and once agencies realize that, they will put the time and effort in. It’s not to be seen as a risk, but as recognizing that the rewards are worth the effort.

However brilliant their thoughts, if new recruits are not products of the traditional education system, it can be hard for them to structure those thoughts into scripts or presentations. It’s got nothing to do with ability, of course, but it might be necessary to pair someone up with a more “conventional” staff member who can guide them, as well as learn from them.

Yes, it’s more work to be creative about how you develop talent. It’s about the combined agency collective, and the support you put in around an individual, setting them up to succeed because you understand that they won’t have much chance to thrive if they are required to slot into a process-driven structure.

There’s no one formula or set of boxes to tick when looking to develop a more diverse workforce. As an industry, we need to keep our minds and hearts open, to make space for the outliers and to celebrate the different thinkers we rely on to push our industry forward.

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