I’ve often wondered why creative companies follow a standard business template. A group of artists working together to create a game, music, or animation is a rarefied model that can get lost trying to warp itself into an accepted business model.
Reconciliation between creative and business goals can suck the original mission dry and replace it with a watered down creative product. Creativity demands a different service than hierarchical systems designed to please a more standard practice.
I suggest creative companies are more successful in limited single focus project models, designed to come together in a high level crucible dedicated to breakthrough result. Duplication of project timelines often prove futile, since breakthrough creativity flourishes best from a blank slate and constant challenge of norms. Routine and structure are antithetical to authentic creativity.
Yet creativity is a force. It can change markets and generate super-charged profit. What’s a winning model? Something closer to a goal-oriented SEAL team. Plan, execute, reform team for next mission.