Some Good Advice for Multifamily Design from .38 Special

Managing creative teams in multifamily development is an art and a skill. So take some advice from .38 Special, and hold on loosely but don’t let go. Sorry, ear worm for anyone who thrived in the 80’s but good advice none the less.

When it comes to effectively managing creative teams, we need to take that same open-handed approach and hold on loosely to allow creativity to thrive, but don’t let go of the core concept we’re trying to communicate. And yes, it is our job to identify the core concept.

Only we are intimately familiar with every detail of our deal and why we decided to take it on. It’s our baby and reflects our organizations values and DNA so we are best suited to provide the proper foundations for it to succeed in the real world. That means providing our design teams with extensive information on the market, the site, the comps and all the demographic and psychographic data of our target audiences, preferably in an engaging and visual format that we took the time to curate.

We need to share anything and everything, and whatever we do, we can’t hide or sugarcoat the challenges associated with it. Creativity thrives when there are specific problems to address or limitations to overcome. Constraints stimulate innovative thinking by requiring people to find unique solutions within the given boundaries.

But back to .38 Special, if you cling too tightly, you’re gonna lose control.
You can’t present a core concept or narrative that’s too specific and insist it be executed exactly as you envision it. That creates a creative mentality of, “You don’t value my ideas or expertise so just tell me what to do to get this approved.” At that point, you have definitely lost control over getting the best work from the design team, the good lovin's gone bad, and usually it's too late when you realize what you had. Are you singing yet?

Ultimately, our job is to guide the process with an openhand, participate and co-create but most importantly, be the team member that constantly makes sure everything is on concept and has a reason for being. As a side note, it’s nice but doesn’t really matter if everyone agrees. Is it on concept? That’s what matters. So you can make your life more difficult if you want, but a well-defined narrative helps keep creative decisions as logical and objective as possible. Again, a massive time saver because the goal is clear, the bar is set and it isn’t personal.

Your design teams needs someone to believe in and a whole lot of space to breathe in, so set the stage and let them walk on, perform and shine like the stars they are.