Is there something deeply wrong with me?

Before you give your verdict, I should probably explain.

I’m *not* saying I enjoy it when they don their Anonymous Blobfish costumes, dive into the Google doc and replace my carefully arranged words with their own anonymous fish blobs.

That’s no fun. Nobody enjoys that.

No.

I’m talking about those times when you’re chatting on a project call or ping-ponging emails around in the most unremarkable kind of way.

And then, from nowhere, they casually drop something so perfect that no amount of mind-mapping or idea-dumping could ever have produced.

It could be a throwaway description. An unusual analogy. An original turn of phrase or a seemingly insignificant technical detail.

It could even be a line they’ve written and buried on page 257 of Strategic Update_v7.3_edited_final_finalfinal_THISONE.doc.

But it’s something so different, so unassuming and so unexpected that you absolutely have to use it in your copy. Either tweaked a little or exactly as it is.

The best part is when you come to present the work to your client.

“Oooh I wish we’d thought of that!” they say.

And you reply, “Well, you know what, you actually kind of did.”

And you watch their faces light up as the penny drops.

It’s a reminder that the best ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time.

And that the right words aren’t always found in dazzling originality or deep creative exploration.

Sometimes, they’re sitting there staring straight at you.

First published on joejeffries.co.uk