Overhead

For years I have been toying with an idea.

...shit, forgot it...

No, I've got it back:

Here we go...

...nah, gone.

Playing with you.

Creative people - don't mention your ideas to anyone. That's lesson number one.
Until you make it plain that your idea belongs to you keep it to yourself.
In the creative economy the most significant way of profiting from your ideas is to deny others.

You don't need suits.
They need you. You may feel that granting power and control to someone who is more comfortable with the people with the money Will save you grief then I need to put you straight. Most suits are crooked. They Will take your ideas; they will either appropriate them, distort them or make a deal which makes it seem like you were irrelevant in the conception or execution.

I have a terrific book (somewhere...I have to rent storage for books) called Chiat Day - The First 20 years. Brilliant. In it there is a story that relates how Steve Jobs of Apple made a visit to the agency. As he met and greeted he asked people about their roles. This is from memory, so spare me ...

"I'm production manager, I ensure art is correct and distributed to the right magazines at the right time, on budget." "I'm a copywriter I conceive ideas with my art director..." You get the picture. Gets to the suit who offers up a description of his role. Jobs says, "Oh,…I get it…overhead."

I get it.

In my next post I'll tell you how to protect your ideas...

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