What makes a great agency? Fun
Fun. Vital in an agency both for the team and for the clients. I’ll explain why in a minute.
First though a clarification. My old father has a saying. “Fun’s fun but to hell with nonsense”. To be clear we’re talking about fun. Nonsense has its place but for me and for this entry we’re talking about good, wholesome fun.
I’m a great believer on making learning fun. After all during the most intensive learning period of your life, when you’re getting to grips with language and movement and balance we’re presented with a whole regime of fun, amazement and learning. Learning wrapped in play, in fun.
The older we get the more the fun is replaced. Certainly in my childhood anyway and, to a point, understandably so. It was only when I could chose my own path, when I could get involved in things that I wanted to do did I start to see the fun in things again. And that element of fun, especially when working in theatre doing 15 hours days in not the best of working working conditions, is vital to doing the best that you can. No fun means no enjoyment which means no passion which means no point.Any time that I’ve stopped having fun in my place of work I’ve known that it’s time to move on. It’s a great barometer for me and I’ve been right to move on every time I’ve felt the fun fade away.
Why is fun good for an agency? Apart from the benefits of learning through fun I also believe that having fun is the first step to having passion. If you have fun, enjoy what you do then the next step is having passion. I’ll be going into passion a little later but I don’t feel that you can have passion for something that you can’t have fun about.
Fun also makes more a better working environment. If everyone is stressed and miserable then it doesn’t become a fun place to be. And who wants to be in a place that isn’t fun?
For clients the benefits of an agency that embraces fun are huge. Firstly I believe that creativity stems from fun. You can be creative while being serious but never if you’re not enjoying what you do. Also I feel that clients enjoy having fun about their brand. of course their objectives are serious, it can mean heads on the line, but if you can have in coming up with a creative solution to meet those objectives the likelihood is that the client will have more of a buy-in to those solutions.
You can’t have passion without fun which is why fun is so important to the workplace. You having fun? Does your job suffer if you do have fun? Is your job fun and if not, why not?
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My job IS most decidedly, fun, and in large part it’s because the nature of it dictates that it never be the same. Each project we take on is not quite the same as the previous. We find ourselves dealing with new people, or the same people in a different way because the rules have changed. The different personalities and processes I’ve come across have taught me alot.
My job definitely does not suffer because of it. I think it’s better because of it, actually. Our group is required to come up with quick, simple solutions and a big part of our group is driven to find the solutions out of sheer curiosity and enjoyment of the process.
My boss has often repeated that the day she quits having fun, she’s moving on….so there you go.
This is a great insight and right on the money. The quickest way to bring learning to a stop is to make it a total nosebleed. Case in point: my writing. I began writing as a task and trust me, it showed. Once I decided that if I didn’t enjoy it, if it was no more than another chore…I’d stop. Since my decision to write for the sheer pleasure of it, my writing became much more honest, and the response from readers prove it. My latest effort earned me this review: “This is… oh wow… I can’t come up with enough words. Pipkin, this is why writing was invented.”
If that doesn’t prove your point, then nothing will.
As a side note, my muses went with me to Scotland. They liked your country as much as I did. And since I went, they have been speaking to me loudly and clearly.
As for how this applies to the company my son works for, I have to give you a big aaaaaaaamen!
AMC Marine is a company that ascribes to everything you’ve said so far. Constructive play is surely the key to keeping happy—and productive—workers.
Big love for the insights, shug.
ps
Still scrounging up fossil shark’s teeth for your boys, but I have no idea where to mail them. Maybe Brunskill Management?
total inspiration, this post.
*hugs*
thank you.