The Stress of Delivering

A few years ago, I was having a conversation with a more Jr researcher (who was absolutely brilliant and so full of potential - in fact, she still is!) about how things were going for her. We spoke about some things she loved about the job, what she was doing, and some things that were not feeling as good. 

At one point in the conversation, she said to me:

“the part that really makes me nervous is when a client or someone in the office asks me what I think about X. What if I’m wrong? It’s a lot of responsibility”

“Well, yeah… and it will never go away. Sorry. You’ll learn how to deal with it, though. Want some coffee?”

If there’s one thing that people who work in insights / planning / strategy are fantastic at, is pretending that they’re not feeling incredibly insecure when we deliver our work. And why wouldn’t we be? Delivering a multi-market brand positioning project for a global multi-billion-dollar brand is not exactly the most mundane of things. 

“So what are you up to tonight?”

“Nothing much. Going to tell this mammoth brand that they should go with agency 'A' instead of agency 'B' for their global comms work. Maybe watch Stranger Things for a bit. How about you?"

Showing your thoughts and creative thinking is one of the hardest things one can do. It takes a lot of courage to put your work out there. The fear of criticism, and fear of being wrong, the fear of not being good enough. None of that ever goes away. 

For me, presenting a project was always the hardest part. It doesn’t matter how many times clients tell you they loved the work, or how many times you hear your colleagues celebrating what you’ve done. It’s always the scariest thing I do. It really doesn’t make life much easier knowing that it’s also the thing I enjoy doing the most. Telling your friends that the part of your job you live for also makes you sick to your stomach will always get people re-assessing how sane they think you are.

But is there another way?

Honestly? No. I don’t think there is. And I don’t think there should be. That fear keeps you on your toes. It helps you do your best work, rather than wing it. But it still sucks.

I thought for a long time that it would get better. Surely after 15 years in the industry, you do it with your eyes closed. Maybe for some. for me, that never happened. Something wrong with me, maybe?

If there is, I found out I wasn’t alone in feeling like that.

In War of Art (great little book - highly recommend it), Steven Pressfield talks about Henry Fonda’s reaction to going on stage:

“Henry Fonda was still throwing up before each stage performance, even when he was seventy-five. In other words, fear doesn't go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.”

So maybe there was no solving it. Could I make it better?

Over the years, I think I picked up a thing or two that made it feel much better. It is still, as Pressfield describes, a “battle [that] must be fought anew every day”. But at least it’s a battle you can go to armed to the teeth.

What I like to do about it

See a deliverable for what it is. A point of view

We often like to think that our recommendations are the only way out of a problem. As good as any strategy is, it’s definitely not the only way to win. There might be different ways, better ways even. The weight that rests on the shoulders of someone who thinks they need to find the only answer to the problem is too heavy. An opinion, however, is a different story.

Telling yourself that what you are proposing is the best way you can think of to solve a problem takes a heavy load off of your shoulders. And it does that by giving you your humanity back (remember that? Yeah, dude. You’re human!). People come to you not because you are the almighty holder of the truth. They come to you because they like how you think and want to hear your opinion. 

Which brings me to the second point…

“Big Reveals” are for movies. Collaborate with your client(s) along the way

Here’s a point that I see a lot of people struggling with. Of course, we want to look infallible in front of clients (we shouldn’t, and it’s a terrible idea, but I can totally see that). However, if there was ever a recipe for disaster is waiting for a month to tell your client how you think about solving their problem. For one, seeing their faces when you show an idea that misses the mark by miles will throw you off your games for weeks (been there, done that). Especially when a 5min chat on the phone could have given you the right direction. 

Second, it’s a massive waste of resources (and an unnecessary emotional burden). You don’t know everything and why the hell would you want to? There’s someone on the other side of the line who has as much interest in seeing this thing shine, and who could save you hours of stress. Build that relationship, share knowledge. See it for what it is - a collaboration. Collaborating doesn’t make you any less smart (look in the mirror and repeat that to yourself a couple of times before moving on). Build it together. It’s a lot easier.

Finally, keep in mind that your finishing line is someone else’s green sign to start. The moment you start looking at it that way, your relationship with your output changes.  

Have a system in place

The easiest way to get lost is to not have a plan. 

Now, coming up with a plan is hard enough. Too many moving parts. Too many things to do. 

And when you work in client services, especially, you need to be coming up with plans on a regular basis. Want to know the best way of making yourself seriously ill with anxiety? Stop and listen to that little Gremlin inside you ask:

“What do we do now?”

I turn a little green just thinking about it. 

The best way of dealing with it? Have a plan to help you come up with plans consistently. Have a system. Know the macrostructure of your process inside out. 

Yeah, yeah, every project is different… but is it really?

Brands change, consumers may be completely different, problems as well. But your process is pretty much always the same. Have a tight master plan. Know how to deal with different types of problems. Know how to address different issues. Know what you should do when everything collapses right before your eyes (if you’re lucky it will only happen once or twice a year).