The Theory of Heads

A Philosophy of Creative Business

(illustrations by Andy Cahill)

After 15 years of running creative businesses, I have come to believe that the success of any creative business is directly correlated to how many heads you have.

This is my theory of heads.

Running a business is often hard. You might think there are many historically complicated and context-heavy reasons that have led to this hardness, and that you have to grin and bear it, push through; it’s what you signed up for.

Actually, almost all of the time, I’ve come to think the reason something is hard is just because you don’t have the right heads in the room. You may be missing your head.

Know Your Head

Heads do things for glory, not money. They know that with glory comes money. They want money because it allows them to be more free and to do more things. They know money without glory is hollow and disappointing. If they had to choose (at garden3d, they don’t), they would rather have less money and more glory.

Heads are obsessive. They read widely outside their field. They have niche interests and can speak for hours about their curiosities. They are in relentless pursuit of better questions. They don’t “dabble”; they have persistent fixations. They stick, return, redefine, refactor.

Heads are sensitive. They are emotionally intense. They have strong responses to beauty, dissonance, meaning. They are acutely aware of context, nuance, subtlety. They don’t do things for craft, they do things to express their identity with action.

Heads are specific. They have deep reference stacks in their field and adjacent fields, and also completely unrelated fields. They are naturally oriented toward what’s proven durable rather than what’s trending. Their taste is not rote pattern recognition but a deep understanding of cultural symbols, historical reference points, human signifiers - what they all mean, and how they combine.

Heads aren’t satisfied with the status quo. They know haters are the real lovers. They believe the world should be a better place. The reject conventional norms and question authority. They exist in the fringes and margins, because they feel understood there. Heads want to become everything they are capable of.

Heads lurk. They are in fandoms, subreddits, discords, forums, saunas, raves, campsites. They naturally seek out peers with their same hunger. They go places and do things not to hone their productivity but through a base need to keep going deeper.

Heads are intrinsically motivated. They don’t need to be pushed or prodded, they “just do things,” because they are unhappy if they don’t do things. You can’t pay a head enough money to care about something that is boring to them, but they’ll work tirelessly for something they want to see exist.

Heads are everywhere. A head can be a barista or an accountant or a bricklayer. Head are easy to spot, but hard to find. Maybe you can’t recognize a head if you are not a head.

Heads “just get it.”

Heads and Bodies

When you have the right heads on the right project, things will feel easy.

Heads inherently understand concepts quickly, so you don’t need to labor explanations. If their curiosity aligns with the work, you won’t need to manage a head. They’ll work ungodly hours for something they believe in, so you don’t need to motivate a head. They are in relentless pursuit of excellence, so you rarely need to check their work. Part of their hunger is discovering how to do things, so you don’t need to train a head.

The more heads you have, the more their headiness compounds. A head will always recognize another head. They know how rare it is to find a peer, so they will naturally want to stay together. Heads are energized by proximity to other heads operating at their level of intensity. And if they see fellow heads getting better results than they are, they will be embarrassed, viscerally upset with themselves. In competition with themselves by proxy of other heads, they’ll naturally raise their standards, push their boundaries and grow rapidly. A head thrives when challenged by other heads.

Bodies are limber and strong and reliable. Bodies thrive in operating rhythm. As businesses grow, there are more things that need doing. A successful business will need heads and bodies. Sometimes they will hire a lot of bodies too quickly. I’ve heard older Gen X creative agencies say they just need “meat in a seat” (or today, “meat in the Meet”). Only when heads and bodies work in perfect choreography can they achieve great things.

It’s a problem when you have too many bodies and not enough heads. Sometimes bodies will work as hard as heads, but it’s rare. Bodies are more consistent but they also cost more time. Bodies will ask for permission or wait to be told. Heads just do things. So you need heads and bodies. Heads that learn managerial skills to move bodies with grace become much more powerful. But a head that is made to turn too many bodies gets tired. If you hire too many bodies, you may lose your head.

Head Shop

Heads are entrepreneurial by nature. They don’t just want to do the work, they want to own in the success of the work. Heads are motivated by recognition from people they respect. A head would rather have the one person they admire compliment their work than to win an industry award. So you must take every opportunity to credit a head for their work in front of other heads.

If a head wants to do something, you should always say yes. If you are also a head, perhaps you can help them hone their idea, but you must always fan their fire. Even if you don’t understand it, you must still say yes. If you say no, you will crush your head. If you say yes, you will be amazed by what they achieve. If you have enough heads doing that in parallel the creative output will snowball quickly, and things will get easier and easier, and the business will be more and more successful.

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garden3d is a headshop. We are always hiring heads. If you submit your profile to the garden3d creative network, we will definitely recognize that you are also a head, and we will hire you as soon as we can afford to.