I’ve written previously about the difference between style and substance, that substance is universal yet ineffable, and that all our experience is an internally constructed metaphor we use to make conscious sense of reality. I espouse Values First Creative with the goal of being intentional with creativity — or perhaps better put, creativity is inherently intentional and I am interested in making conscious what those intentions are.
By working to develop a more conscious awareness of our drives we can be more sure of our goals. Rarely is anything as straightforward as stating a goal, because not only is it vital to examine what is driving us to achieve that goal — why we perceive that arriving at that goal will satisfy us — but crucially because the actions we take (or avoid taking) to achieve that goal are what shapes us into the thing that the goal represents. Nobody calls driving 26.2 miles completing a marathon.
So, really, everything boils down to values. Talk is cheap, of course, and so writing down a list of noble sounding words and self aggrandisingly stating they define us is pointless. Much more interesting is an honest introspection of our inherent value system, as an attempt to make conscious our tendencies to behave as we do and take more control over our behaviour.
If we value something, it is valuable to us. Value necessarily exists as a hierarchy; for something to be worth something, it must also cost something. It is incumbent upon us to be as conscious as we can on this value exchange, to avoid where possible trading something of lower value for something of higher value. Benjamin Franklin’s statement “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety” is an examination of some fundamental values and their hierarchy. Liberty and safety are two different things, and sometimes we are less safe when we have more liberty. Crucially, time is the third variable in Franklin’s point; in his view liberty — freedom — is essential and timeless, therefore to behave in a way that values short term gain over it cannot ever be worth the trade.
Our behaviour is the result of constant value judgements, both conscious and unconscious. The subconscious desire to stay temporarily comfortable in a warm bed beating the conscious valuing of a healthy body that would be facilitated by a morning walk. The outcomes of our behaviour take us on a journey that will lead us to a destination, just as our current position is the result of the outcomes of our previous behaviour. I don’t, of course, mean that every aspect of our lives are in our control. What is in our control is our outlook, in a metaphysical sense, on our lives as they are in the current moment, and the impact it has on our choices.
With Values First Creativity, I seek to uncover the intentions behind a goal and question the hierarchy of acceptable compromise to get there. All brands have an identity that is subliminally recognised by people, and I believe the key to satisfaction is to scaffold a conscious understanding of what the brand values to make clear attainable goals and an acceptable way to behave in working toward achieving them. In other words, rather than defining success then figuring out how to get there, figure out what success is comprised of and figuring out how to make those values spread far and wide.