Ideas vs. People: The Chicken vs. The Egg
By ANGELA MARTIN As Creative Week 2012 rolled along, the creative community became hooked to the panels, the shows, and the parties. Whatever piqued each person’s interest did not fail to deliver. While Creative Week presented insight after insight after insight, two main themes emerged and wove their way through the entire week: 1). Big Ideas 2). Great People In order to be successful in this industry – in order to be current and innovative – you must have big ideas and great people. Yet during The Creative Suite: Presented By Adobe, featuring the Chief Creative Officers of six companies, an interesting discussion ensued. “Ideas are useless,” Dave Clemans, ECD, TAXI, declared. At that statement, Jimmy Smith, Chairman/CEO/CCO, Amusement Park Entertainment, bounced from being seated next to Clemans and across the stage. “You can’t start anything without a good idea,” Smith strongly opposed. Clemans elaborated that ideas are useless until you make them happen; the only way that ideas have power is to have the people that can make it happen. In order for an acorn to grow into a mighty tree, Clemans says that you need “Make It Happen” people. The type of people who are forward-thinking, nimble, and equipped to overcome obstacles, by Clemans’ definition. So, which are more important – big ideas or great people? Which came first – the chicken or the egg? Questions like these lend themselves to never-ending debate. How about a few points to help you argue either side:
Without big ideas, great people won’t have anything to create content against.
Without great people, all those big ideas simply won’t get produced.
You need the great people to come up with the big ideas.
Enjoy where this takes your mind. And let Creative Week know which you think is more important: The Big Ideas or The Great People.
