One tendency that is prevalent amongst all of the creatives I have met in advertising agencies is the ability to control focus.
It is an essential skill to go from ‘big picture’ right-brain thinking, where the mind is open to ideas from any direction, to incisive, focused, left-brain detail-orientation, where you strain over ever single word, and become intensely self-judgmental about the validity and effectiveness of what’s before you.
And this change in focus must happen instantaneously.
Often while throwing around ideas, you can see this come into play. The ability to catch onto an idea and collectively, systematically, put it through rapid-fire scrutiny, and simultaneously seek possible avenues for embellishment. It's in their eyes as they dart from one hemisphere to the next. It is an interesting phenomenon.
