NORTHERN PLANNER

There's all sorts of psychology type research that reckons we're much happier with a job we feel has a point, where we see some sort of end result (what it doesn't take into account is people that derive meaning from what they get outside of work and are happy to just punch in and punch out but there you go). We also appreciate something a lot more if we've had to make some effort to make it or get it – from suffering the Ikea flatpack to Nike ID.

That's why a good planner wants to get involved in the creative process and involves creatives in strategy. They're not creative wannabes, they know that the only point to an agency is making stuff (yes I know that sometimes our best advice can be about nothing to do with creative work, but how often does that really happen unless you work in a brand consultancy – and if you do, how ON EARTH can you live with th fact everything you do is mostly pointless until someone else makes some sense of it) in the end we make stuff,  and there's nothing worse than handing over some thinking you're really proud of and then being told to butt out. Not to mention, because we value what been produced from our own fair hand, creatives will work with a strategy if they feel they've been involved in it.

That's why so many first reviews are exercises in creatives exploring what the strategy should be through different routes – they want to work it out for themselves. Best to let that happen before you burn too many hours

That's also why planners slave over powerpoint charts too much – they want to feel they're making something too.

..and why planners could do well to respect creatives being a bit defensive over their work. Most of it ends up in the bin.