25 Lessons in 25 Years: Part 1/5 — Creativity
2017 marks Torque’s 25th year of business! As we look back, we have much to be grateful for–and a lot of people to thank. We’ve outlived many small business statistics, survived the Dot Com Boom (and bust...and boom again...), dodged a few recessions, rode the wave of a half a dozen industry changes and had our best year yet last year.
Our company has provided a living for so many people over the years and is a contributor to the employment economy in our local market–these are humbling facts. Running a business has allowed us to get to know so many generous, accomplished and caring people–employees, clients, partners–from whom we’ve learned so much. These are the memories and relationships we cherish.
We don’t typically wax sentimental, but it’s hard not to look at the past and see how it informs the exciting years ahead. With all our growth, resources and experience, we are in a great place to build, grow and continue learning and serving our people, clients and community.
As we reflect on all that these past 25 years has taught us, we’ll be releasing a few of our top 25 lessons each quarter. (Because we know from experience that too many great lessons at once can be overwhelming.)
5 of 25 Lessons We’ve Learned in 25 Years: About Creativity
Marketing is a deeply strategic and wildly creative business that requires extra brainpower, strong coffee, original thinking and challenging of the norm. We’d like to share just a few of the lessons we’ve learned about creating together.
Prioritize passion. Passion kicks us out of bed in the morning, big-eyed and full of intent. It is the infectious thing that makes people want to work with us, and us with them. We believe, as many successful people before us have said, that passion is powerful.
Marketing is storytelling. As consumers, we don’t just buy products–we buy the stories behind them, and the stories we expect to create post purchase.
Forever seek to invent the future–even when it’s exhausting. We’re in an industry that runs on big, new ideas - each bigger than the last. Our world is constantly changing. We wouldn’t dare rely on past success.
Be a collaborator. A room full of smart people can create something wilder, more interesting, and more effective than one mind alone. Creativity should never be a lonely endeavor. We try to foster a culture of collaboration.
Organic creative work benefits from a healthy dose of process. It’s natural for wildly inventive creatives to want to work without structure (forever rebelling), but our work has only gotten better as we’ve improved our processes.
We hope you enjoyed these lessons and can apply them to your own businesses and careers. Stay tuned for more throughout the year!