They are not trying to ruin your creative. They are not perpetually toothless, timid or trivial. They have no deep-seated desire to undermine the agency. They do not secretly wish to do mediocre work.

Do they want to keep their job? Who doesn’t?

Do they have objectives they have to meet? Would it be better if they had no direction, no goals to measure success?

Could they be better? Could they stand up for the agency more? Could they be more forward thinking? Of course. As most people, they are imperfect, but trying to do the best they can. Can you ask for anything more?

The agency is not the enemy.

They are not only concerned with their art. They are not merely sitting around watching YouTube clips and playing practical jokes. They do not care only about getting awards and bigger raises. They do not seek to simply fill their portfolios without any concern for increasing the value of your brand.

Do they want to do work they’re proud of? If they didn’t care, you’d have a bigger problem.

Are they more impulsive, unconventional, unpredictable? If you’re looking for the same ideas to be replicated over and over again, you don’t need an agency.

Could they be better? Could they take the client’s needs and requirements more into account? Could they be more in line with the brief? Likely. But creating work that stands out isn’t linear. It’s always a grand experiment.

Time is not the enemy. We all experience it at the same rate.

Money is not the enemy. How many videos have gone viral without spending a dime on production?

The competition isn’t even the enemy. You need them in order to make a comparison and show why your product is better. Without them, consumers have no gauge to help them make a decision.

So who is the enemy?

Fear is the enemy.

Fear to fail. Fear to not meet expectations. Yours and others. Fear that you don’t have control over the situation. Fear that even if you put all your effort and faith in something, you may come up short.

Fight the real enemy. And show empathy for your disguised comrades fighting the same battle that we all are.