Work: Creativity is hard work

A big hello to those of you reads my blog.

It's been quite a while since my last quality post, and I must admit, I am ashamed how mixed up my posts have been. This is clearly not the type of blog you can learn anything about but myself. And the fact that I'm not a million dollar celebrity means that you're reading this either because you're bored, you've got nothing better to do, or simply put, you're a stalker. (Haha)

I have decided to 'tag' my posts' subject according to what I will be sharing about, so you can easily choose to skip to better reads.

Tonight, I want to talk about work.

Briefly, let me tell you about my current job, and what it entails. I will then proceed to talk about the subject on creativity.

I've been with ihub Media since 18 June 2012, and in exactly a month from now, I will be celebrating my first year. I am happy how far I've reached in my three years of entering the work life. Recall your younger years as a worker, how far have you gone as to where you were before?

Some may have just moved on to a new job, some who are still slaving away under employers who don't deserve them. There are some who are lost in their vocation and are unsure which industry they belong to. Many may be discerning how they are in the working world, and there seem to be a restlessness stirring in them. A small minority may be truly in love with their job the same way they were since they first set foot in it.

Whichever you may be from what I've just stated, you are definitely not alone There are many of you who feels similar to what I've mentioned above. What about me? I like my job. Currently, I am looking at how I'm growing with this company. It has taught me a lot about the world of Facebook.

Work Background

ihub Media, my employer, is Asia's leading social media agency. We specialize in the 4 platforms of Facebook (Pages, Apps, Community and Marketplace Advertisement), Google Display Network advertisements, as well as various Digital Services such as CMS websites creation, and SEO implementation. We have a Pan Asia presence across various countries - Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and recently we are penetrating Vietnam.

The people there have been wonderful, and are truly knowledgeable in their fields. I am blessed to be with ihub, and truly thankful for the many opportunities that I've been given. I have inspiring, respectable and truly amazing bosses to look up to, and the plus point? They don't micromanage.

I'm working as an Account Executive for apps management now - managing Facebook applications for clients under our patronage. During the 4 months probation, I was already being given tasks that allowed me to maximize my potential. Months into my employment I feel I've reached a certain point where I am itching to do something more. I am starting to think that a certain decision to be limited to a team may have been a wrong call, but hey, I am still growing and learning. Online media is constantly revolving and its pace is incredibly fast. There's always something to know, something to learn and many opportunities to discover.

I am currently dedicated to the full support of 2 wonderful sales ladies in my team. I develop ideas for applications on Facebook for clients in the various industries that the ladies handle, most commonly, beauty, travel and entertainment. I advise them on what work and what wont for clients' campaign for applications. With the help of the tech team, i also ensure they know the technical feasibility of the application mechanics that clients demands for.

Based on these aspects of my job scope, it's pretty obvious that creativity is very heavily involved. When I create proposals for application, I think up of how I can link our current apps library to the brand I'm proposing for. It's fun to do this, instead of sending clients generic applications. Of course, it varies, depending on the state of the pitch.

About creativity

As per my post's title, creativity is hard work. Although it can come naturally to me, most of the time, I need time to form up the linkage between a brand and an application, while ensuring to keep to client's almost non-existent budget set aside for application. It's all about keep the cost down, ensuring an optimized timeline, and managing thousands of demands, and of course, the need to keep clients happy. It takes creativity and a certain attitude, and full support from our management to actually achieve the bending of the impossible triangle.

About creative (minded) people

Creative (minded) people are hard to work with really. They have both extroverted and introverted personalities that you can never point out exactly how they're going to react to things. They can be so abnormal one second, and the next they're acting like your average joe. There are different fields creative minded people enter, and it's usually those that gives them challenges. The moment this person has mastered the duty or the job, it's highly probable that they will need something new to spice up their work life. It's usually important for these people to be in a fast paced environment that allows them to feel the adrenaline rush they need to get them going. But it is a must to ensure that these creative people are given a lot of air pockets for breathers. They cannot, and I repeat, cannot be expected to be a work horse, and not have a source of inspiration they can actually take sips from. Though creative people can be mules, able to work hard on projects, they will need time to recharge otherwise their creative juices will quickly evaporate. And poof! That same person you admire for cooking up loads of awesome and brain-whacking ideas just vanishes to thin air, because they've hit a dry spell. These people need to commune with their thoughts and their entire being in order to produce award winning solutions.

It will also be a huge mistake to micromanage this people. Think of the saying "Plants need space to grow". Space is what you really need to give them, although, it's not the vacuum type of space you need to give them. You need to give them something to work on, brainstorm and you need to woo their minds, to spark some flames and ignite their minds, eventually allowing the creativity juices to start flowing.

Creativity is not chanced upon, it's in-built in people who were granted such minds to create, innovate and execute solutions that can benefit everyone. It's hard-wired on such people and usually, they have certain traits that is evident. And funny enough, creative people are usually dubbed as 'weird'.

To conclude, here's an infograph to show you a mind-map of a Creative Genius Mindset. Let's see if these traits actually make you think creative people are weird. Looks pretty normal to me... maybe it's you who are the rigid ones that are weird.