As creatives, we gravitate toward free-form ways of doing things. That’s both good and bad. We feel liberated when there isn’t a rigid set of guidelines, but at the same time, the blank page can freeze us in our tracks. That’s where an agency operating system can help, but we have to create the right mindset to put one in place.

We shun the idea of boundaries for the things we do, but creativity tends to wander without structure. If all the steps we take to do our jobs are only in our heads, how is our process ever to become repeatable? How do we become creative on a schedule? How does our agency run when we’re not there? An agency operating system and the structure it provides is the answer to all of these questions.

When I accepted Jeff Goins’s 31-Day Writing Challenge, I did so without knowing what I’d write every day. All I knew was that I needed to write again to build confidence. At the same time, I know I need to start to document my efforts to create a system for my agency. So why not combine the two?

Wait, an agency operating system?

I’m not talking about an all-in-one software package that does all the work for you. There are some out there that can certainly help agencies get more organized. No, I’m talking about a system. Checklists, guidelines, and resources that take away the worry of “how” we do our jobs every day.

Creativity isn’t just a product of a mysterious internal source of genius. When it’s your job to be creative every day, it takes work. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I work best when there is a clear set of rules and boundaries. I need structure to be more creative, and I’m betting I’m not alone.

The idea of an agency operating system has been floating in my head for years, but I’ve never managed to do more than cobble together a few loose processes, spreadsheets, and various software bits to make things work. That needs to change.

It starts with the first step.

We work inefficiently. We do good work for our clients, but there’s a lot of trial and error. Experience and a lot of mistakes have made us better at what we do, but there’s always this nagging feeling that we could do so much more if we’d just buckle down and have the discipline to build a system we could reliably turn to for nearly every task we do.

No agency will be perfect. Reaching perfection is not what this process is all about. This process is about picking our brains and for the first time writing down steps to get things done. When we stare at a blank screen or an empty whiteboard, we need more than gut instinct to tell us where to start.

An agency operating system can give us the confidence to engage clients more effectively. Steps, checks, and balances will guide us in what we do. That will free us from having to think about the next step and let us focus on being creative.

Is this all a pipe dream? I don’t think so. Ray Croc changed the world by doing the same thing for McDonalds. He created a system that would outlive him. We’re not flipping burgers, but every business that wants to grow from being a small one to a larger one needs a system. Agencies are no different, so it’s time to build one.

Also published on Medium.