Give Your Creatives Space to Think
Everyone wants "scroll-stopping" creative, but few are willing to challenge the workplace norms that make it nearly impossible.
Let me ask you something.
When was the last time your team produced work that genuinely excited you?
Not "met the brief" kind of work.
But "this changes everything" kind of work.
Here's why I ask: B2B marketing departments are incredibly efficient at producing content, campaigns, and collateral, but systematically terrible at producing breakthrough creative work.
And it's not our teams' fault. It's the environment we've created.
Your Best Ideas Aren't Born in Slack
You've probably had it happen. You’re in the zone, wrestling with a big idea you've been stuck on for weeks. Your energy is electric. You can almost hear the sparks from one brilliant idea after another.
Then you hear the ding.
“Quick question” in Slack.
And just like that—poof—creative thread lost.
Cal Newport talks about "attention residue" (a term coined by Sophie Leroy), where your brain can't fully focus because it's still processing the last interruption. It takes about 20 minutes to get that focus back. But the real cost is more than time.
Every “quick sync” and check-in actively sabotages your team’s ability to produce their best creative work. This might be heresy in a world where collaboration is corporate religion, but creative work has phases—and ideation is an essential and solitary activity.
Think about it. If anyone can use AI to produce decent content, the original idea is everything.
Ideas are currency. And their value is skyrocketing.
Protect Creativity at All Costs
We all have the same 24 hours, but after a day stuffed with meetings, Slack messages, and emails, the creative gas tank is empty. There's nothing left to fuel the work that actually differentiates your brand.
It's a zero-sum game. Every unnecessary meeting, pointless status update, and administrative task depletes your team's ability to produce exceptional work.
Marketing leaders must protect their team’s creative energy—it's a strategic weapon. While your competitors drown their creatives in task management and meetings that could've been emails, you can create time and space for work that propels you ahead.
The Importance of Ritual
I used to scoff at the idea of creative rituals.
It all seemed a bit precious. But I can’t deny that when I need to create something important—not just another status update—I have my own little pre-game routine.
Rituals are vital for creative work because you can't risk anything pulling you out of your flow. If you think about interacting with your environment—even for a microsecond—it can send your brain off track. Attention residue.
In every truly creative work, you need to eliminate friction between you and your words, your art, your music—whatever it is you're creating right now.
But in marketing, we often expect creative work to function like admin work. Need a breakthrough campaign concept? Great, let's schedule it for Tuesday at 10 AM in the main conference room, right after the budget review and right before the sales meeting.
If you pack their days with status meetings, you're not giving them much time at all.
If you mandate a rigid work schedule, you might not be getting their best creative energy.
If you mandate that they work in an office—even most of the time—you’re adding friction to their space. There are too many distractions and far too many conversations that can pull their focus out of deep work.
Okay, okay.
Some of this might be unrealistic based on your company policies.
But my point stands.
No matter where they work, you must give your creatives space to think.