We are continuing our series on a topic that is especially important this year: making yourself irreplaceable. How are you going to do that?

So we are discussing four main topics to think about:

1 Relationship King
2 Service Superstar
3 Industry Ally
4 Valuable Partner

NUMBER TWO: Service Superstar

If your clients don’t get their information in a timely manner or you treat them like anyone else, how will you #beirreplaceable to them? We all like to feel special and heard. So what are you doing to make sure you can respond in a seemingly unique and thorough way? There are many ways to up your service to clients, but we want to talk about one of the most important ways here: timely and special communication.

Let’s talk about making your clients feel special. Email communication is easy and fast, but does it make your clients feel like one of a kind? One of the great ways to stay on top of things like estimates, schedules, proposals, green reporting, user names and passwords, etc., is to make templates of these items that you can customize on the fly. We have about 30 different forms that we use to respond back to the client in a much more memorable way than just shooting them an email. Make PDFs with some of your branding, and areas for theirs that they can save, print out and generally feel good about. The great thing about these artifacts is after you create them, you have records of the information as well.

A another crucial piece to the service puzzle is making your communication with clients faster. Don’t make them wait a week for something that in their minds should only take a day or two. To do this, you need to figure out a system of tasks, schedules and job tracking that will help. Now there are a million options out there, but DS recommends the products from 37signals. They are not free, but they do have great functionality, some good pricing options, and continual upgrading. We have seen many large and small companies utilize Basecamp, a project management and collaboration tool, and Highrise, a great CRM. Both are great options. For more details on 37signals’ full suite of options, click here. (We will write soon as well about all the great options from Google, but that is a whole post in itself).

Whatever your method is of tracking and staying on top of work, our point is do it in a way that will help you save time, keep up to speed, and respond quickly to your clients. Don’t give anyone an edge on a relationship that you have worked hard at developing. We hear from people all the time about clients who accuse creatives of not being able to manage jobs efficiently. Don’t fit into that category, and take some time to tweak your service so you can be a superstar.

How are you irreplaceable with your service?

It’s always interesting to me how things work in cycles. It wasn’t too long ago that everyone said, “You have to have a website; everyone who is anyone has one.” And to a certain extent, at least nowadays, that is true. Recently, you see the same thing happening with social networking. Do you have a Facebook page? A twitter account? Are you LinkedIn? And we see a lot of clients asking for those, just because everyone else has them. Ahh, peer pressure.

We do agree that our clients (and you) should make use of these various communication vehicles. However, like a website, it needs to be done for the right reasons and should be analyzed in the correct way. Otherwise, all social networking will do for you is drain your resources.

So, why do you want to do it? If it’s just to get a lot of followers, your efforts will produce little fruit. But if you use twitter to spark conversations about a particular area of interest, promote your culture and attract clients, if it’s for personal education or connection to certain topics, now you are talking something more strategic. But there are several rules of thumb that this will all always boil down to:

1) STRATEGY: What are your goals? What is your strategy? Does it work for your culture? Is it for customer feedback, more transparency, or research? Outlining your strategy enables you to measure success and know how and when to evolve.

2) CONTENT: Content is king! Without good content, your network will become stale. Have a plan. It can evolve, but have a plan.

3) CONSISTENCY: These forms of communication need consistent updating. If you don’t have a plan or the horsepower to update, reply, and interact, it would be better not to start at all. ( Also, a bonus rule of thumb: start small, then build. This will help you keep things consistent.)

If you figure out these three items for you and your clients, you are off to a great start.

In an upcoming post, we will talk about how to use social networking to build your business. In the interim, what has worked and not worked for you or your clients in this area?

I would be willing to guess most of us think that a creative retreat is a good idea. Whether it’s just you or the whole team, it’s worth more than anything it would actually “cost” you while out of the office to take the time to recharge, get inspired, and to just have fun and be creative. Sadly, more times than not, it just doesn’t happen. Here are some thoughts to change that and help your retreat be successful.

1) PLAN IT
Just having the idea for a retreat or getting together with some Play Doh is not going to make your getaway successful. Plan it like you would a project. Set a goal, a strategy, a time line, and create a great structure to the day. Most importantly, get a date on the calendar so it actually happens, and plan your projects around it.

2) INCLUDE EVERYBODY
Once you have your plan, share some of your ideas with the team. Get their thoughts and suggestions and allow everyone to be a part of it in someway. If you have a big group, consider splitting the day up and let different people own different activities to help run the day. The more involvement and organization the better your retreat can be.

3) GET OUT OF YOUR OFFICE
Equally important to the agenda, planning and goal of the day is the location. Whenever possible, go off site. Some places may have a slight fee, so be creative with where to look if that is a hindrance. Consider a local park, library, community center, museum or favorite restaurant. If those aren’t right for the whole gig, add an extra little field trip to the retreat to foster team building. Consider bowling, outside creative assignment, or a great place to eat.

4) PRIME YOUR TEAM FOR INSPIRATION
Once you have the day planned, send out an agenda to all participants to get them excited. Additionally, depending on your goals, you can start promoting the day by asking questions, giving early assignments, or telling them what they need to do to prep. This will help all involved realize that this is a day to take seriously, but also one that will be fun.

5) ALLOW ENOUGH TIME TO DISCUSS, REVIEW, AND HAVE FUN
Like most things in life, your retreat will only be as good as you plan it. And a bad retreat will do more harm than good, so take it seriously. In fact make sure that you have all involved give you feedback on the day. Ask them what they thought, what they enjoyed and what they would change for your next one. Use those suggestions and ideas in planning your next retreat.

In the coming weeks we will share some activities for a retreat or creative exercise. Until then, tell us if you have retreats. If so what are some tips, or maybe some missteps from your experience?

At a conference like AIGA’s Make/Think Conference, it’s impossible to boil down the few precious days into one sound byte, but there has been a quote going around that, if we were to be so bold, could come close to summarizing the very purpose and reason the conference exists:

“Creativity is a habit. It’s not something the happens in the shower.”
Read the rest of this entry »

For some, working away from the office is no big deal. But what about for those of you who haven’t tried it yet? The good news is that it can work, but it does take some planning and flexibility.

The reasons for going remote are numerous. Perhaps you feel the itch in your office for some flexibility in this area, or maybe in this challenging economy you need to downsize and transition to having your employees work from home. Our particular scenario began when a member of our team got married and needed to move to where her husband was working. I was bummed to lose such a great friend and creative, but then we decided to try working remotely. It has worked out better than expected, and here are some things we have done and suggest:

1: Access, Access, Access
Creating a central online schedule such as a Google doc, iCal calendar, Basecamp, etc. is essential for open communication and tracking. Also, set up a VPN or a separate FTP to make sure all parties have easy access to files. The key is consistent communication and file transfer.

2: Say Hi Everyday
This may seem obvious, but daily face-to-face chats are a must. Using iChat or Skype, go over the day’s schedule, questions, and define expectations. It helps everyone feel like they’re part of both the culture and the day to day office happenings. Also, don’t downplay instant messaging: it’s a great tool for immediate check in.

3: Drab Won’t Do
For the remote worker, try to make yourself an inspiring work place. Is there some piece of the studio you can bring with you to feel a part of the team? Some favorite design posters to hang on the walls? Set aside a couple days to add creativity to your space. It will be well worth the investment.

4: Change It Up
Although a bunny slipper commute might sound nice, working from home can get stifling at times. Take walks, get coffee, read a new book, maybe even take a cat nap. Go to creative events (try your local AIGA chapter). Talk to your boss about sponsoring it or adding a couple magazine subscriptions as part of your employee package for an extra creative boost.

5: Keep the Conversation Going
In the end, make sure both parties talk about what is working and not working. It’s essential to talk about the smallest to the biggest concerns, as well as being open to a little change. This will only work if you commit to it; so be honest, flexible and ready to try something new.

Tell us what you think about working remotely, on either side of the equation. Or what suggestions do you have?

Work (and life, for that matter) would be so much better if we could just get things done. But how do we escape all the little things that are vying for our attention and precious time? That’s the basis of David Allen’s Getting Things Done® series.

We’ve found this series helpful, as this is definitely a struggle for designers who are trying to balance the business world with finding ample time for creativity. However, there are tricks to getting things done and staying sober while doing it! The solution is finding a “get things done” system that works for you. This could be anything: a well-organized moleskine, field notes or the BeHance dot grid book. But, no matter what you choose, understanding the basics to the GTD process will help you achieve more creative time while crossing even more off that to-do list. Below is a quick guide to the GTD system.

The Goal of GTD is to get everything out of your head and into ACTIONABLE items with appropriate categories. Whether that category is sketches, meetings, designs or the ones below, having it written down is the first step.

Collect - This is the most crucial part of GTD. Every morning, clear you mind and organize your game plan for the day. Everything should be written down, including meetings, project due dates, design ideas, and calls to make.

Process - Now it is time to go through that master list and do everything that will take less than a couple minutes right away. The others should be added to your appropriate collection buckets - see below.

Organize (These are default categories, but you can make your own based on what works for you) -

• - Next Action - The very next step in getting something done. (ie., sketch 20 business cards, write draft copy for website, etc.)
• - Projects - These are items with more than one Next Action (client presentation, client proposals)
• - Waiting - This is an action item on hold because it is dependent on someone else, but be sure to write it down!
• - Someday/Maybe - This is for those great ideas, and long term goals that you do not have time to start just yet
• - Context Lists - Phone calls, emails, errands
• - Calendar - Only for appointments and things that MUST happen

Review - Everyday be sure to review your list multiple times and move items as needed. It will be important to keep up with this and always work to get your to-do list prioritized into actionable items.

Do! - The best part about this system is that you can really customize it to be your own. Ultimately it is up to you what the biggest priority is and how much you can complete in a day. However, by organizing yourself you will be able to help define exactly what your action items are day to day. There are also many software apps available as well!

As art directors and designers we are constantly giving feedback on the design, the overall idea, and just how successful new business ventures might be. However, when is the last time you critiqued your business and its structure? Lets face it, every day you encounter several frustrating processes or to-do list items that you dread completing. Streamlining these necessary evils can help take your business to the next level. Now is the time to pay attention to those details and how you can innovate. Below are a couple ideas to get started.

Paper Audit - How much paper passes through your office each day? Have you taken a look at how much you throw away versus how much you recycle? What creates the most paper in your company? Maybe it’s time to convert those fax invoices to a .pdf email solution.

Software Audit - Take time once a month to check out newly released software. Is there a new online meeting system you can be using? Or a great FTP software that works much better and saves passwords? Even though it’s hard to keep up with software innovation, make time to assess your process and how software can help. Don’t forget your design/creative software either!

MOJO Meetings™ - As often as possible, get your team together and meet about how to innovate your processes. One of the easiest ways to innovate is encouraging ideas. A group talk about new ways to do those annoying tasks and ways to be more efficient will lead to a leaner and meaner business.

Failure - The best way to learn is by failing, right? If you are consistently trying new ideas, some are bound to fail. Learning and innovating from these failures propels your business into greater efficiency over time.

If you spend time auditing, assessing, challenging, and asking questions about your business, ideas will emerge. Whether business is booming or is rather slow, this always seems to take the back seat. You have to schedule time to meet about innovating and generating ideas for your and your clients. Empowering yourself and your team to generate ideas is crucial. And remember, it is okay to fail.

Innovation Inspiration Links:

Business Innovation Factory

The Genius Machine

Disruptive By Design

TED

Reading is an essential part of staying sober as a designer. However, it is extremely important to read books that are outside of the design genre. We often gravitate toward our favorite magazine or fiction book to escape, but it is equally important to read about business. Hitting up the business section for books on leadership, management, and the marketing section to learn about consumer insights and selling tips can really help you manage your team, sell in the boardroom and your thought process right at your own desk.

Don’t forget to read to remember: take notes, use a highlighter, and most importantly take your time. After each chapter think about how the information in the book can help your business and how can things be tweaked for the better.

That’s what we did, and this is how it helped:

The 4 Hour Work Week - This book by @tferriss has been a bestseller for nearly two years now. Sure, it may seem like another get rich quick scheme, but it isn’t. It challenged us with new ideas around process, email, and design management, leading us to implement Highrise by @37signals. Highrise streamlined our selling process and keeps us all on the same page whether we’re in or out of the office. This new addition has saved us hours of management time which helps us be far more productive.

GroundSwell - Having been out for just over a year now, this book has become a daily reference for how we talk about social technologies and new ways to market them. Since reading this book, we have gained an understanding and subsequently landed new business in creating social communities & blogs around our clients’ products. Now we have an additional product offering and understanding that all started with simply reading one book.

As you can see, just these two books alone helped us grow our business and we are consistently looking for new titles to learn and grow more. Explore these sections of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble and give it a shot!

Other titles we suggest -

World Wide Rave

Outliers / The Tipping Point / Blink

Stumbling Upon Happiness

Never Eat Alone