I sat round a table facing several employees at a large London County Council. I was the creative lead. The head of the group, an angry lady, threw several pieces of work at me. It spun down the table and as it stopped she said “I don’t like this.” I looked at her, looked at the work and said ‘I don’t blame you, it’s shit.’
At which point the very junior Account Handlers tried to interject. I listened to what they all said. They were all getting their moneys worth. All battling against each other to show who was top dog at that table and when they had finished I talked through all the reasons why the work and the team that had done it, was not right for them. I gathered up the work and promised them my commitment to getting it right next time.
I worked on projects for that Council for many years after that. I built up a close working relationship with the angry lady. She retired and the account went to another agencey.
I’ll never forget that day around the angry table.
They didn’t teach me that at Art College.
