Intuitive agency culture

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Whilst reading this you're going to find yourself in one of two camps, and to be honest, you probably belong to the intellectual camp - I must chuckle at the irony, who decided that the antonym of intuition is intellect? Epic fail!

Let's take a look at intuition, basically the clever people who decipher language and code dictionaries have told us that intuition is "the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning". Okay, that's great academic 'know-it-all's', but intuition is packed with a helluva lot of reason, albeit subconscious - actions, thoughts and strategies do not have to be a laborious reasoning for it to be classed as intellectual. For millennia, nature has selected stimulus and the ability to measure, reason and judge a situation in seconds; human nurture has taught us to be patient, ignore immediate conclusions and act counter-intuitively.

For the first time I find myself in the intuitive camp, and life is 'La Vie en Rose' here people. I'm fortunate to have found a place in an agency that understands intuition, their methods are untaught, natural and native to each person's experience and personality, and did I mention everyone I work with is super smart? Look out for these attributes if you're looking to join an agency with intuitive agency culture (IAC)?

IAC's, gut-hire

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." - Theodore Roosevelt.

The greatest attribute on which IAC's hire, is cultural fit. Do we like you? Will you naturally merge with your team? Do you have a rich life outside of work? Are you an asshole? Getting the job done is not what gets you a foot in the door, an IAC expects that - getting the job done well and having fun whilst you do it gets you a nod, and at least two more interviews to let others suss you out.

Overtime isn't the norm

You have a set amount of time allocated to getting the job done, if you're efficient and not overloaded, this time is enough. Intuitive agency culture respects the time of their employees, it encourages them to be whole individuals with important lifestyle choices that add to their person (outside of work). It encourages well-rested, creative individuals - because that's how we get the job done, well. Rigid work hours also buck against an intuitive culture, flexi-time allows employees to live their lives and incorporate work into a 'this feels best' slot - coming to work isn't a time-bound, must do. It's a choice.

Bigger is not always better

Having a greater sense of belonging to your organisation is essential, but intuitive agency culture understands that smaller teams work better, they are intimately familiar with each other and often evoke a dynamic response to client work. In an IAC, smaller teams work as their own business units, red-tape is eliminated, thoughts are shared more readily and learning is huge. Responsibility can't be managed away, so team members need to have each other's backs and constantly check in to adjust course.

Intuition doesn't disconnect from intellect

Inside intuitive agency culture, top management isn't disconnected, unapproachable or unknown, typically they have a series of check-in lunches that often don't event touch on work things. IAC employees share experience, stories and their lives. Intuitive agency culture employees don't separate a work personality form a personal one, they bring their whole selves to work. Being intuitive means you're smart enough to know what feels right, actions are mature and flow in that space.

IAC's trust instincts

Great work is hallmarked by quality and a quick turnaround time. Malcom Gladwell best describes this in his book 'Blink' - "We live in a world that assumes that the quality of a decision is directly related to the time and effort that went into making it... We believe that we are always better off gathering as much information as possible and spending as much time as possible in deliberation. We really only trust conscious decision-making. But there are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world... decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately."

Finding an agency that prescribes to intuitive culture isn't easy, but worth it. Work-life balance won't seem like a dreamy concept, and the work you do will inadvertently speak volumes about your creative capacity.