When Rick Rubin begins working with an artist, he establishes this policy:
“We make an agreement. We [will] continue the process until reaching the point where we are all happy with the work.” (Page 372 of his book The Creative Act: A Way of Being.)
Lest you think Rubin’s nudging you toward groupthink or decision-by-committee, think again. He goes on to say: “The moment one collaborator gives in and settles on a less preferential option for the sake of moving forward, everyone loses.”
Malcolm Gladwell called out the above in their (really good) Broken Records podcast conversation, and Rubin elaborated further.
“There will be dissent along the way. But that just means we haven’t gone far enough,” said Rubin. “It just means: If you like it and I don’t, it’s not good enough. If I like it and you don’t, it’s not good enough. If we can get to the point where we both love it, it’s probably better than the version that one of us loved and the other didn’t.”
I love this. It’s the epitome of “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
While the above isn’t always the right way forward at work - sometimes, as a manager, you just need to make good decisions quickly and move on - I do think there are plenty of opportunities for leaders and teams to employ a similar, collaborative strategy in the working world:
When making hiring decisions.
When deciding if a deliverable is really ready to ship.
When working on new internal policies or workflows.
When making brand decisions.
And, may I humbly suggest where this policy might be particularly useful in one’s personal life? → When making home decor decisions with your partner. (IYKYK.)
Additional Links, Listens, and Reads:
If you haven't checked out Rubin’s book The Creative Act: A Way of Being, I highly recommend it. Across 78 short chapters, he writes about the rules, processes, and parameters of thought that have supported and influenced him over the past 30+ years.
If you don’t have the time for a full read but want the gist of it, check out some of the great podcast interviews he’s done in promotion of the book. There’s the one above (linked here on Spotify) with Malcolm Gladwell, as well as great convos with Andrew Huberman and Joe Rogan. (While you’re there: You could check out Season 1 of my podcast, Content People, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.)
The Creative Act definitely shares some DNA with Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way - two other great reads for artists or creative professionals.
Ok, now I’m going to plug some of my own LinkedIn content. I’ve started posting daily and have really loved it as a bit of a professional creative outlet. This week I wrote about the above, as well as:
Why a company might not post a salary range. (Annoying.)
How to communicate a raise or a job offer to your staff without getting flustered. (I suggest one key phrase.)
And a small shout-out to my new favorite background noise for writing. (For me, it involves Logan Airport. ✈️)
You can check out those links or follow me here. Thanks for reading.