Google Partners Blog: Interviews

Unleash your creativity

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Reading time: 5 minutes

In a world of superheroes, creativity is a real human superpower. Everybody has it. It doesn’t just live within certain types of people within an agency. We all have creative potential. But as we feel safer and more comfortable, we run the risk of losing that creative spark as life becomes associated with routine and order.
So is there a way to get back into your creative self? What methods from business, innovation or anywhere else are there to help you tap into that wellspring of positive ideas?
We sat down with Doctor Frederik Pferdt, Google’s Chief Innovation Evangelist, for the Google Partners Podcast episode 31, and he offered some fascinating insights (and tips) on how to answer some of those questions. During the discussion, he offers his thoughts on how adults can rekindle some of the creative fire they had as children, and other key takeaways to spark innovation at every level.

Ask questionsAccording to Doctor Pferdt it’s not only about ideas, but also about asking the right questions, finding good problems and therefore developing a healthy disregard for the impossible. Find a “what if” and a “why”.
As author and marketing guru, Simon Sinek recommends that you see if you can reframe the problem by getting to its roots. “Start with a Why.” Why do you normally approach a certain challenge from the angle you do, and why not step away from the issue and take a completely new perspective? Try something new. Get into a room, fill a wall or even two with post-it notes: what connections can you make and what new associations can you find, when you are free to consider them?

Break routinesEvery human being is looking for routines. They give us safety, security and save our brains energy. They make us feel good. That said, routines sometimes only help us to perform to our average level or below. Like putting your smartphone into ‘Low Power’ mode, some of the more complicated applications won’t work. To free us from the shackles of everyday thinking, it can be necessary to break those routines. Go and walk a mile, go check out a local gallery. Or even, as Jan Chozen Bay suggests in Mindfulness on the Go, pause and take a breath every time you walk through a door². You can also make a list of your routines and they see if any of them are worth breaking (just as some will be worth holding onto).

Two modes for thinkers As Doctor Pferdt mentions, it’s helpful to consider different approaches to thinking. According to him, there are two kinds of thinking: Divergent thinking powers the imagination, so it’s used for generating new possibilities and combining new thoughts. Convergent thinking powers your judgment, when you’re making decisions it’s how you evaluate and it’s the mode you use when you’re testing something or criticizing.
Allow yourself to recognize which of the two modes you are using. For example, try to think divergently when considering your methods or plans, so that you can embrace new possibilities. Give your ideas a chance to breathe before you start to criticize (and think convergently). One practical example writers use: if you have a speech or memo to deliver, try writing it out with a pen and paper before you type it out, and don’t stop to edit yourself. Let the words flow first and come back to edit later. You’ll find the shape of your ideas, which you can then come back to and refine with your critical eye later.
Challenge assumptionsWhy is it that way, why can’t it be different? New, radical solutions mostly emerge outside of our comfort zone. Constraints should be welcomed as an opportunity. Consider early users of Twitter. Writing a coherent message in just 140 characters (as it used to be) seemed a crazy challenge. But the constraint became creative fuel to millions of messages and new ways of communicating in shorthand. Just as the rigid structures of the meter, rhyme, and theatrical convention were subverted by William Shakespeare - even as he adhered to them.
From the Elizabethans to the present day, forms of convention and modes of communication move forward inexorably. The most successful thinkers and doers have to be ready to learn new ways and keep themselves learning, so they can stay in touch.

Build innovation into your daily routineWhen you consider the pace of change in technology, it makes sense to include ‘innovator’ in your job description, in both your actions and attitude. What can you learn and take on in your thinking that will prepare you for the changes to come?
Doctor Pferdt recommends adopting what researcher Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset” (the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems), which can start a virtuous cycle whereby believing you can improve, you actually improve. There is also a sense that having an open mind to new ways of working will not just be crucial in 2019 but might also be the key to agency success in the future. Scott Harrison, founder of The Boom! has this to say on learning at work and the importance of a certain kind of versatility.¹

In the end, the challenge comes back to us all. How do you change your everyday approach to get creative?
Watch the video below and tune in to the Google Partners Podcast to find out more; and let us know your thoughts on Twitter. ¹ Kapow! how you can hack, teach, make and steal your way to creativity in digital, Think With Google, June 2018 ² Hacking your innovation mindset, re:Work, June 2018

Recruiting talent is a talent

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Reading time: 2 minutes

Interviewing candidates for a position in your agency is a lot like speed dating. It can be interesting, and exciting, and a little awkward, but while you only have a few short minutes to get to know one another, when you meet the right person it can be the start of a great (working) relationship.
Preparing for those few minutes is crucial, that’s why we’ve put together some helpful advice and tips to help you get ready.

Before the interview

Be detailed in your job description: The more specific you are, the more qualified your candidates will be. If you’re vague, you risk creating work for yourself as you sift through hundreds of unsuitable applications.

Screen with phone interviews: This is a great time-saver for you and your applicants. It gives you the chance early on to narrow down your selects and save them some disappointment as well.

On the day

Ask interesting questions: If you ask every candidate where they see themselves in five years or what three words their friends would use to describe them, you’ll be burnt out listening to answers before lunchtime. Ask questions that keep candidates on their toes so you’ll see their true self, not their rehearsed answers.

Sell yourselves: An interview is as much about a candidate deciding if they want to work for you. Make sure you discuss potential career progression, benefits, work-life balance etc. to make the position more appealing.

Be open minded: It’s important to choose someone who meshes with your company culture. Take the time to show candidates around and introduce them to some of the team to help them get a feel for the place and see if they feel at home.

Follow up

Be respectful: Even if you choose not to hire a candidate, remember they still took time out of their day to come to the interview. Let them know if they didn’t get the job and offer honest feedback. Just because they’re not right for the job now doesn’t mean they won’t be later on. And who knows? They might be interviewing you someday.

If you’d like to learn more about perfecting the interview process, check out our helpful video below:

I/O 2012: Innovation for Agencies

Monday, July 23, 2012

Google I/O 2012iOS debutNexus 7Google+ Eventsour most ambitious product demo yetI/O Live+Creative SandboxChristian HaasAdWeekTim Peterson On agencies, digital, and Google platforms:
We believe that we’re creating this amazing toolkit, or palette, for agencies to do really fantastic things. And we have also seen agencies become a lot more technologically oriented, and they are investing in technology-driven approaches to the way that they’re developing campaigns.

On collaborating with agency partners:
We absolutely spend a lot of time with agencies in soliciting their input and perspective on existing products and on our product road map…They bring fantastic insights at scale because they’re working across various industries and they’re confronting different marketing problems on a day-to-day basis, so we actively solicit their perspective. Their feedback is a powerful source for us in driving the innovation engine that we have going at Google.

On the introduction of I/O Live:
The time felt ripe…to really elevate the new things that we’re introducing because, again, they enable this amazing opportunity to create new experiences and highlight for them that it’s not just about developers; that Google, even though fundamentally we’re a technology company, our desire is to allow agencies in partnership with their clients to create beautiful, seamless, immersive experiences that connect brands to consumers. Particularly given the nature of the announcements this year, it felt particularly important to amp up the visibility of the conference with our agency partners and get them in the mindset of thinking of Google I/O as a way for them to stay on the cutting edge and make sure they’re constantly pushing the envelope with what they’re doing for their clients.full interviewPosted by Kelly Duane, Americas Agency Team

Mobile will require advertisers to redefine how they measure success

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Google: How are you helping your clients to assign dollar values to mobile all along the funnel?Kerri: 6 minute call duration = an interested consumer
Agents convert 30% of interested consumers
Interested Consumers * 30% = # of conversionsGoogle: What types of clients have you seen be successful with understanding the value of these micro- conversions?Kerri:Google: What success stories or best in class examples can you share?Kerri:Google: What's iProspect POV on where mobile is going?Kerri:
Posted by: Samantha Podos Nowak, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Partners Blog

Unleash your creativity

Recruiting talent is a talent

I/O 2012: Innovation for Agencies

Mobile will require advertisers to redefine how they measure success

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