There was a particular quote in the interview that reminded me of a situation a few of our agency clients have gone through in the past year, and undoubtedly many of you have experienced at one time. First, the quote:
“It’s so much more important to surround yourself with good people than great talent. Because the talent does not-and will not ever- overcome being a bad person. And the people that have such great talent firmly believe that their talent will overcome any of their bad actions. “
In the case of the clients I mentioned, one of the situations did involve a “bad person” but the other was more a “difficult” person, shall we say, and regardless, both were very talented. They were both ultimately let go and of course their talent went with them. Tough choice in some situations, a no-brainer in others. In these two examples, however, it was worth it, for the overall health and morale of the agency. They also found other talent-it’s out there.
Use this post as a quick jolt and take a look around your agency. Do you see a similar situation? Maybe you don’t even need the “jolt,” because you’ve been debating it for a while. This is one of those cases where the recession may be a positive, in that there are a lot of good and talented folks out there looking for jobs in the advertising industry.
It’s never easy to let go a real talent, but as Herbie pointed out, surround yourself with those “good people” whenever you can. In the long run, it’s probably worth it.