One of the major changes in the world, and therefore in our business, has become what we may gently call "democratization." No longer do people trust "experts," like film or restaurant reviewers. We go to Rotten Tomatoes or Zagats for insight and reviews from our peers. At presidential town halls, we accept questions not from Pulitzer-winning journalists but from the lady down the street who has three kids, no job and a 1982 Buick.
The same thing has happened, unfortunately, in advertising to the detriment of the quality of the work and its cost. What I mean is that in agencies today it seems everyone gets a vote--from the junior ae to the technologist who makes type move. Discussions about work do not involve its efficacy so much as they are spasmodic gyrations and compromises on the road to consensus.
We have shifted, to put it simply, from "is it good" to "does everybody feel good about this."
This is neither good nor something to feel good about.
I know that with the relativism of the 60s came the decaying of absolutes. But I, for one, miss them. There's nothing wrong with eliciting thoughts from a lot of people from disparate backgrounds. But at least to me it makes sense to have a professional filter, process and sort those inputs and coalesce them into a point of view.
That, not making everyone feel "invested in the process" is the primary role of a leader.
