A Book For Everyone Who Works With Creative People

It's somehow always surprising to me that not everyone who runs a museum works well with creative people.

Bonnie Siegler's new book,  Dear Client: This Book Will Teach You How to Get What You Want from Creative People, may well be the perfect gift for those folks struggling to get the best results out of their creative relationships.

The tone of the book is set from the very first quote, attributed to Steve Jobs: "It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do."

In a visually compelling presentation, Siegler, a graphic designer, lays out 66 pithy tips for working with creative people.  

Here are a few of my favorites:

No. 5  Have Clarity of Purpose

As Siegler mentions in her book, if you have more than three priorities, you really don't have any.

No. 8  Decide Who Will Decide

Creative vision is NOT a group activity. Choose one person who will be the decider and/or tie-breaker.

No. 20  Be Up Front About Money

Trust us with your budget parameters --- it will make us feel like we're on the same side.

No. 49  Don't Let Data Drive Your Decisions

I love what Siegler says here -- data doesn't leave room for the most unquantifiable of qualities: vision.  

People will always respond to the familiar in a way that can be recorded.  But how do you crunch the numbers on something new and remarkable?

There are many other excellent takeaways in Dear Client: This Book Will Teach You How to Get What You Want from Creative People.

In fact, you may want to purchase two copies --- one for yourself, and one for your next client!

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