Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Whether it’s freelance or work from my day job, I usually work for one client per job or with a very small team. This allows for good collaboration but without causing too many unnecessary problems. A couple weeks ago I wrote in depth about how unnecessary opinions from other peoples can influence a client, especially when they’re not even directly involved with the project to begin with. 

Occasionally I will work on a project that has to go before a committee for final approval. Where I work, they are known as “the cabinet.“ The cabinet is a substantive collection of management that needs to review larger projects that will have a national or even international audience. Fortunately, by the time a project goes before them, they aren’t necessarily making changes or suggesting frivolous design choices, but rather ticking off all the boxes to make sure the project is ready for final approval. Things like making sure there is proper representation, a clear message, that there’s no misinterpretation, and that it includes all necessary information. Of course there have been a couple nightmare situations in the past, but for the most part, the cabinet exists as a good eye for checks and balances.

The Cabinet” sounds like an NBC crime drama series, right?

Joe Hennes and Cookie Monster

As I love to do, I reached out to some creative professionals to see if anyone had any unique stories when it came to dealing with a situation where there were just too many cooks in the kitchen as the old axiom goes. Writer extraordinaire, co–owner & editor of ToughPigs, and my dear friend, Joe Hennes responded with the penultimate and quite literal interpretive telling of having too many cooks in the kitchen. Here’s his fantastic story:

I have very rarely been a project-based "work for hire" type. For most of the projects I've been involved with, I've either created it for my own needs or been a part of a larger, corporate production company. For the latter, it can be very difficult—and yet, very easy—to get a creative project off the ground. Confusing!

There's an unspoken rule on the business side of production that creative choices should be left to the creatives, especially if we're paying them money for their talents. Sure, there are internal think tanks and approval processes, but it's surprisingly difficult to scratch that creative itch when those responsibilities are handed off to the artists. On the flip side, being on the other side of the table means that you have a better idea of what's possible and what's not, what the company really wants, and how to cut every cost before an idea gets too big.

Back in 2014, I was working in an administrative role at Sesame Workshop, and constantly trying to find ways to be a part of creative projects. A truly bizarre viral video hit the internet that year - "Too Many Cooks", an 11-minute long spoof of sitcom opening sequences that originally aired on Adult Swim. And as all viral videos do, it was the hottest thing for a few days.

Part of my (unofficial) role at Sesame Workshop was to try and brainstorm fun content for grownup fans like myself. Very few of my pitches came to fruition (the most notable being "Big Birdman" - a spoof of the Oscar-winning film "Birdman", starring Caroll Spinney), but when "Too Many Cooks" hit our radars, it seemed like it'd be a HUGE opportunity to develop a "Too Many Cookies" spoof starring Cookie Monster. I mean, the joke was right there in the name!!

Joe with Big Bird & Oscar the Grouch performer Caroll Spinney

This is where that "business side of creative" stuff comes into play. What's the pecking order for getting something like this approved and made? As always, money comes first. Since this would be aimed toward adults, that meant it would be released on social media, so that division of the Marketing Department would be paying for it. I pitched the idea to the head of the social media group, and he agreed that we should do it. But he also recognized that there's no predicting how long things can be viral, so we had to act FAST.

Literally running down the hallway, we went to the Production Department, as they'd be the ones actually putting the video together. The Executive Producer wasn't in her office, but since time was of the essence, one colleague volunteered to start pulling videos of Cookie Monster and editing them together. Once this thing was approved, at least the work would have already started.

Our next stop was with Curriculum & Research, as all things at Sesame Workshop need to be approved through them. It took some convincing (there was literally nothing educational about what we wanted to make), but since there was nothing harmful, and the video would be aimed primarily toward adults, they reluctantly gave us the go-ahead.

Looping back around to Production, the Executive Producer was still absent. We couldn't do anything without her approval, and the clock was ticking. By the end of the day, we couldn't get in touch with her and the social media director made the call to cancel the project. Understandably, if we couldn't get it all approved and created by the end of the day, there was no guarantee that this little video would still be relevant 24 hours later.

Feeling a little dejected, I went home that evening and realized that there was no reason I couldn't keep moving forward with the project on a smaller level. I wouldn't have the resources of a big production company, but that's never stopped me before. I quickly wrote lyrics for a spoof of the "Too Many Cooks" song and recorded myself playing it on the ukulele while my wife Sarah sang. I ripped some videos of Cookie Monster off of YouTube and edited a short video together. (In case you were wondering, I figured out that the original "Too Many Cooks" video featured the "Full House" font.)

In the end, we were right - the video needed to go up at that exact time to benefit from the viral buzz. "Too Many Cookies" currently has over 74k views, almost all of which came in those first few days. Naturally, those numbers would probably be in the millions if Sesame had created it, but I got to keep all that attention for myself. Sure, I didn't make any money off of it, and it didn't do much to help increase my clout at work, but it just goes to show that when the kitchen truly has too many cooks, it just takes one absent sous chef to bring the whole thing crashing down.

For what it's worth, the next day the missing Executive Producer said that she absolutely would've greenlit the project. Oh well!!

Me, my daughter, and Joe, January 29, 2022

What a blast! Joe busts his hump over at ToughPigs, so I am very grateful he took the time to retell his experience here. Make sure you are following ToughPigs everywhere: on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube! If you like, you can also me on Twitter and Instagram and check back every Friday to this blog!

Opinion = Influence

Several years ago I learned a very valuable lesson about how an innocuous and common gesture all creatives deal with, can dramatically change an entire concept. Now that that weighty and boring introductory sentence is out of the way, let me tell you a story.

I was creating concepts for a client who is very talented, smart, and respected. She held a significant position in management where I work and had impeccable taste, especially when it came to design. She was genuinely invested in the work I was helping her to produce and we worked very well together. I was really proud of the final concept I had done for her which I have to admit was a truly collaborative effort. I was excited for it to go into final production when on my way out of her office she uttered a very common phrase I hear many clients say, “I just want to show it to a few people first to get their opinion.

Sure, no problem. All designers have heard this and usually it results in either a few changes or the client deciding they’re not interested in others opinions and just moving forward. This time things hit a little differently though. For starters, my client had a real eye for what she wanted and worked very hard with me to attain that aesthetic. She was also a trend setter herself who exuded class, grace, and style. The only reason she even needed me was because she didn’t have access to Adobe Creative Suite. We created something perfect for her needs. Naturally I assumed this was a courtesy she was extending to her colleagues and little, if anything, would change.

A few days later, she came back to me with a long list of notes; things her peers suggested and boy was it a tedious list. What bothered me was her commitment to making these changes, not because she believed in any of them, but out of professional courtesy to her coworkers. None of these changes made any logical sense (change the font color to a slightly darker blue, move this text box a quarter inch up, make the logo 5% smaller, etc.) That’s when I recognized the big problem: A smart and successful person asked someone their opinion and they then felt obligated to give one. As I mentioned before, this particular client was a very prominent person and everyone felt special when they got to interact with her. The changes they suggested reflect that as they were inconsequential and insignificant. Having been able to work so closely with her though, I definitely understood the excitement those people felt at the chance to be a part of her project. “She wants my opinion?! Wow! I must be important!”

Don’t get me wrong, it can be hard to get a proper perspective on something you’re working on, especially if it’s your pet project or you’ve been working on it for an extended period of time and have tunnel vision. Another set of eyes can be crucial. What needs to be considered is the validity of those changes and opinions. Do they bring about substantive change or does someone just like hearing themselves talk? Since this interaction, I always reflect on that when a fellow designer or illustrator asks my opinion. First and foremost, I consider what I would have done and how in line with their concept that idea fits. Then I consider their past works and how those align with their current concept. Then I take my own feelings, tastes, and methods into account and decide how and if they align with this concept. It’s a long thought out way to actually consider if

  1. I have strong feelings about anything related to the concept one way or another

  2. If I have any past experience with the design aesthetic, client, designer, or subject matter and how it might affect my opinion on it

  3. And if any immediate changes I would personally make would have any purposeful impact on the other designers concept or is simply my own personal tastes vs. what I know of theirs

9 out of 10 times I come to the conclusion that my own opinions are simply reflective of my own taste and don’t necessarily impact the message or overall aesthetic of the concept. In other words, my opinion might just be a suggestion for a whole new concept rather than changes to what’s already been done. So despite being quite fond of my own voice, I have to objectively say I have no opinion and that it looks fine. Of course different associates will get different responses depending on how well I know them, but I think that when it comes to getting feedback, it’s important those being asked be honest with themselves as well as the client and recognize that sometimes not having an opinion is just as valid as having one.

TL;DR Just because someone asks you what you think does not mean you have to create a whole new set of values so you sound important.

This can most likely be extended to all areas of life, but the bottom line is this: if you commission someone to do work for you and you really like it, trust your gut. Now if you really don’t know and want honest feedback, trust your designer. You didn’t hire them just for their access to design software.

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