180 Amsterdam’s Al Moseley: The Creative MBA – Why Creative People Should Lead Companies
At the Spikes Asia Festival The Sweet Shop’s Claire Davidson reviews some of the key points presented by Al Moseley, president and chief creative officer of 180 Amsterdam. The theme: ‘The Creative MBA – Why Creative People Should Lead Companies’.
In today’s market, some of the most successful companies are led by creative people. Take Mark Parker at Nike or until his death, Steve Jobs at Apple. With creativity being our currency, should creative people be running the agencies of today and for the future? Should your CEO suggest weird ideas and ask stupid questions? (I’m thinking that would be quite nice so that it wouldn’t be me asking all of the stupid questions all of the time.)
Creative leaders have the capacity to make the world a more beautiful place. They also have the capacity to change our economy. Ideas are the fuel for a catalyst for any business. We are living in an economy of ideas. The trend today is a move from shareholders to idea sharing employees. It’s a move from hierarchy to co-creation. We think of ourselves as a creative industry, yet there has always been a mistrust of creativity. However, there is a way forward. The two sides of an agency can come together – business and creativity.
Creatives understand better than anyone what brings about ideas and the conditions for how to execute those ideas. Our clients come to us for our work. Our audience likes us for our ideas. Creatively awarded campaigns are 11 times more successful. See – it’s not just about the cabinet full of shiny hardware!
Moseley left us requesting that we ask ourselves one simple question when thinking about the business and creative side of our companies: does it make the work better? Look at weird things and ask silly questions.