So I follow a blog called Designchapel, written by Robert Lindstom, the co-founder of North Kingdom. Ever heard of North Kingdom? Seen Get the Glass? How about Adidas Teamgeist? Or the Battle of the Cheetos? They partner with a lot of agencies on projects and have the reputation of seriously slick and amazingly produced work, not to mention the awards to back them up.

His last post struck me pretty hard in a good and bad way. He commented on how the execution can take a back seat to the deadlines and the earnings. He more eloquently put it like this:

“To keep quality in all your projects, every month, every year, and in particular as your agency is growing is not an easy task. Everyone who has been working at a design bureau knows how easy the growth and profit take focus from that final touch and execution. That’s a deadly, but common sin.”

It’s that daily struggle that creatives have with the client and the project managers and the account team. The battle between the quality of the work verses the deadlines and launch dates. Too often we are expected to deliver top-notch ideas, layouts, comps and copy yesterday. And when this happens, the quality of the work goes in the shitter. You’ve all been there. Swamped. Worked late all last week. Working late all this week. Account team went home at 5. Expects everything in the morning. And you compromise. You compromise the ideas, the design, the lines. “If I only had an extra day or two, this could be awesome!” you say. Next thing you know, it’s live/launched/produced and you absolutely hate it. But hey, “At least it’s done,” right?” On to the next project. When’s it due again?

But like I said before, his post struck me in a good way as well. It was also inspiring. Motivational.  In some brands’ minds, advertising agencies are judged by the amount of work they can crank out for them. But he points out that “two elements need equal focus; the economy AND the portfolio. Great work will get you more opportunities to work on great work. Great work and well-executed work earns you PR and maybe even awards. So fight for the work. Fight for better deadlines so the work is better. Let’s move past the “turn-and-burn” attitude. Focus on the work and the execution rather than just getting it executed. Success will follow.

To read Robert’s blog click here.

- Sean Leonard