Babita's Blog: Staying Inspired

How does a man who drives the snow plough drive to the snow plough?

One of the epic Volkswagen ads.

Saw it again this morning in my archive and it made me think.

 

An industry that inspires millions to have a change of head and heart.

Creative and strategic minds that relentlessly create inspirations.

How are these minds inspired?

Because if they are not, the work will never be.

 

Out of sheer habit, keyed in the words to see what the search engine throws up.

The French Riviera topped the list.

While a trip itself can definitely be “inspiring”, it is the work that gives hope to the agency folks. The pride of a Lion.

Beyond that, there is nothing much specific to us on the Net.

Made me work on my own list. Some of this is what I have experienced. Others are what I would like to experience.

 

Getting the teams together frequently to appreciate Showcase work:Make it an evening, with the client agency together. When it’s an informal session, we tend to be ourselves and not the roles we play at work. And we can applaud creativity without thinking “competition”.

 

“Perfection is a lot of little things done right”:  Marco Pierre White’s quotes, his culinary art and leadership can be more inspiring that most things around us at work.  An evening with a chef, a musician, a soccer player, a percussionist, a folk artist can open our eyes to new ways.

Of thinking. Or working.

 

The Wife and the Child:The ones we create work for can be our greatest inspiration. And focus groups showing staccato motions are not necessarily where we get them to speak. Just meeting a group of women over a tea session, have a child’s day at work where children talk to each other and us can again show us what we probably see every day, without realising it.

 

People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it: Simon Sinek made this point in a Ted Talk. That the story behind, is what inspires. Diving into what went into the creation of some of the best communication case studies de-mystifies them. Shows the rolled paper balls in the bins, the times the team said “we quit” and came back, the debates, the pushbacks, the monies or the lack of it. Behind what we see as a success story. And tells us that for every idea binned because it doesn’t work, there are two more waiting to be penned down.

 

That yellow sofa:  We do need room to think. Literally.  Most work places are done up very well today. It works. Entering an office that makes us proud can be very inspiring for every day work.

You can lead but can you inspire:Leadership is not just a designation. It is a role that calls for inspiration. Starting from the vision to walking the talk. A team with an inspiring leadership shows a commitment that goes beyond the brief.

 

Come to me and I will cover you with gold: The famed artists of the Renaissance were reported to have been lured by patrons like the Medici family with the promise of gold. While money jumps out as an ugly word in a piece about inspiration, rewarding the right talent disproportionately and institutionalising it, can be a big inspiration to the work place. 

It shows an organisation who believes in excellence.

 

As Maya Agnelou wrote, “People will never forget how you make them feel”.

 

The ones who create inspiration for the rest of the world, do need to stay inspired.