I’ve been diving into the world of Ops recently. Fascinating stuff, and interesting when applied to Creative Leadership. One such concept I’ve come across is that of ‘Muda’ - a Japanese word meaning “wasteful” or “inefficient”. It describes any activity or process which does not add direct value to the product, service, or customer. ('Mura' is imbalance, and 'Muri' is overload.)
The product Creative Companies sell is the brilliant execution of brilliant ideas. (That have a commercial benefit.) They arrive at this product by thinking of a large volume of ideas, then filtering down, and shaping and sharpening the best ones.
Whilst creativity is nuanced, and isn’t a linear, Muda can still help us eliminate waste, and in that sense, be a powerful tool. Here’s how:
1. Overproduction (The curse of too many ideas)
Often stemming from insecurity, agencies write, visualise, slide out, and otherwise bring to life— too many ideas. This usually happens in situations where clients will buy only one. Choice is good. Too much choice is bad, and leads to paralysis via overwhelm. This wastes time, money, and energy.
ACTIONS
+Clear, interrogated client briefs.
+Early internal alignment.
+Regular culling of ideas.
+Early agency and client alignment. (“A-ha, not ta-da”, to quote Mischief.)
2. Waiting (The Fire Spitting Hydra that is ‘Stakeholders’)
Feedback delays, waiting for approval, multiple stakeholders - it all holds up progress in a time-sensitive process. This leads to rushed work when deadlines approach. It can also create significant bottlenecks in the creative process, leaving ideas underdeveloped.
ACTIONS
+Clear timelines for feedback and decision making…
+Implemented via collaborative tools like Slack, Trello, or Asana.
+Ensure key decision-makers are engaged early and remain accessible throughout the process.
3. Transport (The Infinite Approval Chains)
This is the excessive movement of work between teams, from Creative to Account Management to clients, or between too many layers of internal approvals before it’s presented to the client. This increases the risk of miscommunication, creative dilution, and momentum loss.
ACTIONS
+Make sure every department understands, values, and is comfortable talking about ideas. (“Anyone, in any department at this agency, should be able to get a job as a creative at any other agency”, to butcher a Forsman and Bodenfors mantra.)
+Reduce the number of hand-offs by creating agile, interdisciplinary teams.
+Flatten the hierarchy for decision-making on creative work, allowing more direct access between creatives and decision-makers.
4. Extra Processing (The Black Hole of Tweaking)
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#creativity #advertising #marketing #ops #creativeagency
