By Laurens Grainger

3 Things You Need

Personality, Tenacity and Initiative.  When we visited the offices of Creature London yesterday, those were the three things that Stu Outhwaite (Creative Partner) outlined as the most important assets that a young creative can have.  But what do they actually mean?

Well, personality is being likeable.  Personality is showing an interest in what other people do.  Personality is treating the junior team, the middle-weight team and the Creative Director all with the same amount of respect.  Personality is being yourself. Personality is not trying to be something you aren’t. Personality is not being a dickhead. Personality is not showing a sense of entitlement because you’re lucky enough to have got a place at the best ad school in the world.  Personality is being interesting. Personality is having something unique to add to a conversation. Personality is being remembered for all the right reasons.

Tenacity on the other hand….Tenacity means working hard. Tenacity means grafting. Tenacity means having the guts to bang your head against a brick wall one more time than anyone else to make sure that you are the one that gets through. Tenacity is getting over the fact that your first time will be rubbish.  Tenacity is learning from that experience so that you can go back better a second time around with just as much enthusiasm. And then a third time. And then a fourth time. Tenacity is taking advice on board and tweaking, overhauling or even killing your ideas to make sure you solve that problem. Tenacity is never settling.  Tenacity is turning down a trip to Byron Burger because you want to spend more time mastering your craft. Tenacity is working your ass off to master your craft.  Tenacity is knowing that there is no shortcut.

And initiative? Initiative is being agile.  Initiative is finding a way around the brick wall.  Initiative is making your own luck. Initiative is taking notes whenever someone good has something to say; whether it’s about your work, about their work, about anything.  Initiative is taking the time and effort to learn something new.  Initiative is making sure that you find out the right question to ask the right person at the right time, so that they feel like the most important person in the room. Initiative is finding that right person to talk to in the first place and having the balls to get in contact.  Initiative is finding new ways to dig deeper in to a brief. Initiative is going out there and speaking to the target consumer to make sure you really understand what makes them tick. Initiative is giving stuff enough thought so that you can go the extra mile. Initiative is not lying in your bed at the end of the day thinking ‘I should have done that’.  Initiative is not accepting things the way they are. Initiative is what bloody good Creative Directors did when they were in our position.

What do you want to be?