We were super inspired speaking to Ariel Ross, Ariel Ross is a creative operations expert with over 15 years in scaling agency processes. Her expertise lies in developing operational frameworks for creative agencies, making projects run smoothly and keeping teams happy.
Before joining Asana as Executive Producer of the Brand Studio, she has worked for various agencies as well as for brands like Apple, Airbnb and Instagram. We chatted about what three qualities every great creative producer should have. Also, the biggest mistake every agency makes on creative operations that we can learn from.
Here are some of our favourite insights from our chat:
AR: I start by blocking out time in my day to really go through what my goal for the day is and what are my priorities. Then folks in my team for the first 30-60 minutes of the day know that I am unreachable. I can then go into the day and be hyper-focused!
AR: Friendly, Instinctual and Collaborative.
AR: Just seeing everything end-to-end. You’re involved in the entire journey and can see how things grow, develop and what the result of that is. That’s what I really enjoy.
AR: The number one mistake I see the most is communication. This really comes down to setting expectations for you within your team, organisation and external partners/clients. What are the terms of engagement? What channels of communication are you using? If these are not addressed, then folks are misaligned with project goals, expectations and who’s accountable for what. If you agree with how to communicate first, it’s easier to build trust and relationships throughout the project.
AR: In my experience, there is no clear path for this profession. It’s not like you go to project management school and learn all the skills you need. My own personal journey is that I started working as a creative, and realised that no one could organise things for my own creative purposes so I was doing all the production and creative work. Then I thought, what if I just lean into the production side of things? So my path was by no means traditional.
I look for someone who:
Can see the bigger picture – seeing the potential and scope for a project.
Detail-orientated – having all the tactical knowledge to prioritise deadlines.
Being an open communicator – like a chameleon, changing up your style of communication depending on who you’re talking to. For example, talking to an engineer, they want you to be very succinct and straightforward. Whereas talking to someone at the C-level wants to talk more broadly about the vision and the benefits.
AR: Email distractions. When I get into an email chain and there are 20,000 things to go through and trying to figure out what the status is, who’s who, where’s the attachment I need – that’s pretty frustrating.
If you want to hear more of Ariel’s amazing tips, listen to the full interview on our Creative Capes Podcast:
If you’re more of a visual learner, head over to our Youtube Channel @futurelondonacademy
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