Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps people perform at their top form, from a favorite drafting table to the best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.
Next up is Wayne Best, chief creative officer at VMLY&R in New York City.
Wayne Best and one of the many calendars that reminds him of looming deadlines.
What is one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work?
I could mention a lot of tools we use all the time. There are the awards sites where we can see all of the amazing work being done around the world. White boards that we can stand around and share ideas in real time. There are markers, pens, laptops and all sorts of devices. They all help us get our work done, but in the end there is only one tool that truly makes the great ideas happen, and that is a calendar, because the calendar identifies our deadlines and without deadlines we would never get anything done.
Creativity is a different beast than other disciplines. Unlike, say accounting, there is no right or wrong answer. And truly creative people will ideate and tinker with ideas indefinitely until somebody says, “We need to show this to the client tomorrow.” And then magically it all comes together.
Why is it your favorite?
I take my calendar everywhere since it lives in my pocket on my iPhone and in my backpack and on my computer. It sometimes exists on a printout crumpled in my pocket. Although to be clear, even though it is my favorite tool, that doesn’t mean I love it. Looming deadlines scare me, and the calendar is a grim reminder that they are fast approaching. But in the end, they also motivate. It’s like a trainer in the gym, brutal but helpful.
How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time?
I’m not sure when I acquired my first calendar, but it was probably as a child in school being told when I had a math test.
How does it help you be successful?
It forces decisions to be made and work to be ready. Like it or not.
Does it have sentimental value?
Hell no. The minute a deadline has passed it is completely useless.
Do you think your tool could go TikTok viral?
Um, no. In fact TikTok is the enemy of deadlines. It’s where you go to avoid work.
We want to know what tools you use to make you successful. If you’d like to contribute or know someone who would want to be featured in Tools of the Trade, contact kyle.obrien@adweek.com and fill out our survey.