Creatives don’t need consultants
I can’t stop thinking about something Jerry Seinfeld said. It was his answer to a question in an interview by the Harvard Business Review. The interview is already 5 years old, but I didn’t know about it until earlier this week, when I stumbled upon it via Twitter.
This is the part I keep thinking about, copied from the article:
You and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together, without a traditional writers’ room, and burnout was one reason you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model?
Who’s McKinsey?
It’s a consulting firm.
Are they funny?
No.
Then I don’t need them. If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it — every word, every line, every take, every edit, every casting. That’s my way of life.
Of course it’s hilarious that the interviewer asks the most successful comedian in the world if a friggin’ consultancy firm could have helped him be more successful. And it’s even funnier that Seinfeld asks who McKinsey is and if they are funny :D.
But what stood out for me was this:
“If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way.”
I love this quote because it’s true. There is no easy path to real creativity and quality. Processes, standards and protocols may result in good things. But to create someting great, you have to be willing to be inefficient. You have to keep exploring, iterating and fine-tuning until it becomes great. That’s how creativity works. And interestingly enough, consultants are starting to discover its value.
Because in the past decade, big consultancy firms like Accenture, Deloitte and yes, McKinsey, have been acquiring design agencies, in the hopes of strengthening their creative power. Isn’t it ironic? Seinfeld’s interview has shown us that creatives don’t need consultancies to tell them how to do their job. It’s actually the other way around: consultancies desperately need creative people to tell them how to create outstanding work.