Business is not an optional part of creativity, it is essential

Creativity is not an option, it is an essential part of business - so ran the headline in The Times for an article by Jim Prior, managing partner of a branding consultancy.
Basically he argues that company executives claim to want 'a brand as strong as Apple', but fail to commit the time and resources to creativity that generates strong branding.
Its a fair point and probably the reason companies such as Dell sell lots of hardware (efficient supply chain management, competitive pricing) but does not have the instant recognition and sex appeal of Apple.
So how does this relate to content and communications? Well, I would argue that a great many publishers and communicators spend too much time on creativity and the branding of their work, rather than on the less-sexy, but crucial, business processes: budgeting, service levels, analysis of response and distribution.
In this current climate it has never been more important to know where every nut and bolt of your publishing process is located, and to interrogate every stage to ensure maximum value.
Here are five starting points for a typical content specialist:

1. Writers - if you employ contributors, ask yourself if you are getting best value from them? Their rates may be competitive, but are they true advocates for your publication or comms strategy? Make sure they are onside and always on the look-out for mutually beneficial opportunities.
2. Print and/or web management costs - when was the last time you put this out to tender?
3. Distribution/marketing - take the opportunity to look at how you deliver information. Before committing resource to another social media channel, examine what you currently do and take the opportunity to clean up lists or gather constructive feedback from customers/readers.
4. Set budgets for individual elements of the publishing process and stick with them. Make sure staff understand the importance of budgeting and its relevance to the success of the business.
5. Consider an external business process accreditation such as ISO9001. Take it from me - external accreditation can be fairly straight forward if tackled in the right way, and could save £thousands in the long term.

Business is not an optional part of creativity, it is essential