Why we all need a Personal Manifesto

This comes as part of recent items I’ve seen online, including the incredible Win Without Pitching proposition by Blair Enns.

Luckily enough, Bristol Media folk can grab Enns when he comes to present his ground-breaking work in September, according to a recent chat with e3 Media‘s co-founder Mike Bennett. This is not to be missed.

The Win Without Pitching Manifesto is mind-blowingly powerful for creatives, and it got me thinking. For most of the week, actually.

And my thinking was based around this simple idea – in these days of personal branding, the dissemination of the corporate structure at the merciless hands of social media domination, as well as the creaking global economy leaving many creatives in a position of complete despair, the advancement of personal protection in a creative environment has become an imperative.

Let me put it this way – companies of a certain size have had Mission Statements for years – their way of letting the rest of us know how they do business, their morals, business ethics and general way of doing business in the world.

Now, given the above conditions, and the way you may have been treated by certain clients in the past (I recall a key client going into overnight liquidation on me and their other suppliers about six years ago, leaving us all well-and-truly stitched up) would it not be a pertinent idea to consider your own Mission Statement – call it a Personal Manifesto.

A Personal Manifesto which makes it perfectly clear what your boundaries, modus operandi and terms of commercial engagement with the world actually are. A Manifesto which is sustainable, ethical and allows you to sleep well at night.

You might be thinking it’s not of any interest to your current clients, but how powerful would it be for potential clients to see exactly what they are buying into when they’re considering working with you and your creativity. And it reduces the pitching.

Here’s my Personal Manifesto, as an example:

Things you can expect when working with me -

* Fair, honest and thorough consultancy on agreed activities

* Reasonable responses within 48 hours at all times

* An upfront, engaged and passionate approach

* Added value from multiple areas of expertise

* No office politics, no smoke and mirrors, and definitely no use of the word ‘synergy’ – ever

* Consistency, humour and appropriate expertise

Things you won’t see when working with me -

* An acceptance of late payment at any time

* Beauty parades

* Corporate speak and pointless reporting/meetings