At times I need to use creative people. I have learned some helpful ways to manage them. First, I avoid putting them on salary if possible.  I prefer to pay by the job or project, even at a higher rate per hour than if they were on payroll. If they don’t work out, I don’t have to use them again.

Creative people do not like deadlines and hate business plans. They feel too confined. They want a steady salary that allows them to do their creative work month after month and year after year. An art studio like Disney has little choice; they need to put these people on salary. Most of us don’t.

Who is responsible for follow up?  There’s only one answer to that question:  you are. Follow up is one of the most important, and often most ignored aspects of business.  This is true whether you are managing people, a process or sales. 

We see an example from Scripture, “As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.” (Joshua 11:15 NIV) When nothing is left undone, that always requires follow up.

When you drive down the street and a police officer pulls in behind you, your driving improves. You might normally push the speed limit a bit, change lanes too aggressively or forget to signal a turn. However, when you know the eyes of the law are on you, you stop aggressive driving. The drivers who fail to pay attention or don’t care are the drivers who tend to collect traffic tickets.

The same principle applies in business. When you know you are being supervised, you tend to pay more attention to what you are doing. The supervisor cares about quality. You understand you can’t slack off, just like you don’t step on the gas when the policeman is behind you.

Most businesses want to improve productivity. Usually the more efficient the business is, the stronger the profits. Often a business owner will seek a great breakthrough to improve productivity. Then, the breakthrough fails to materialize. The truth is that you increase productivity by putting together a series of small improvements that generate a major change over time.

I recently encountered a thorny issue with a company I work with. I will avoid the specifics because I want to protect the confidentiality of others. I assist a company to market a product as a side business. I do some of their advertising and sales and earn a commission from each sale.

Advertising is a key part of my efforts. I create and use my own advertisements and pay for the exposure. I sent “Linda” the sample advertisement last July for review with a request to let me know if they had any changes they wanted or had any issues with the content. They confirmed receipt of the ad and never raised any issues. I took this as approval.