Like many people, I’m a big fan of Leonardo da Vinci’s technical drawings. These visual intersections of art and science are fascinating to contemplate. This one in particular caught my attention as a metaphor for the work we do here at The Creative Alliance. It is a device Leonardo developed that converts circular motion into linear motion.
Da Vinci's slider device
That’s pretty much why clients hire us.
They are looking to direct the ideas and discussions, dreams and ambitions they have pondered at great length internally to us as an objective outside resource able to convert these circles of discussion into one linear direction of a vital brand and clear marketing direction.
Converting circular to linear.
This is not to disparage the “circular” part of the process, which is actually indispensable. It’s a process of vigorous debate, of refining of ideas and of making hard decisions about what a company wants to do and who its audience really is. Our job is to join in a few rounds of these circles, and then develop a linear approach to establishing goals and creating the strategies and tactics to get there.
In other words, there comes a time to end the circular discussions and choose a linear route. New clients that hire us instinctively know that this time has come. They are ready, as Stephen Covey would say, “to start with the end in mind.” Then, together, we reverse-engineer the most creative way possible to achieve that end.
Whether launching a new company, revitalizing a brand, or grabbing a bigger chunk of market share, the process is that of getting folks from where they are today to where they want to be tomorrow with da Vinci-like ingenuity.