Philadelphia retailer John Wanamaker is credited with saying “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”.
I heard Stephen Colbert describe it as “picking your chickens” when they’re developing concepts for his show.
I’ve learned that 50% of the thoughts and ideas generated at the very start of a creative project – that initial kick off meeting or brainstorm session – will not survive to the end. It’s part of the process, putting out all our bad ideas to get to the good ones. The hard part is knowing which 50% will carry through to the finish. That’s the challenge.