Most industries, and society as a whole, are plagued with inefficiencies, middlemen, and a tainted system that gets in the way of recognizing quality work. We're up against centries of entrenched practices that are unfriendly to merit-based opportunity. Call it depressing or unfair, but don't accept it.
Here are a few ways we can usher in the era of creative meritocracy.
[twistage 84a1af529cca8]
Proper Attribution. Support transparency and easy access to information. Be wary of any efforts to isolate talent, whether it's headhunters, bloggers concealing sources, or your boss not giving credit where it's due. Creative meritocracy relies on transparency and direct attribution. The accumulation of appreciation (or credit) is the currency that buys opportunity in today's networked marketplace of ideas.
Leverage The Opinion of "Credible Mass" and not Critical Mass. Community curation is probably the most valuable force of the Internet today. Amidst an endless flow of content from creatives with varying degrees of talent, the primary challenge becomes how to discern quality. Aided by tools like Digg and Facebook's "Like" button, communities are starting to curate themselves. Anything from articles to pieces of art can now be sorted based on consensus.
Scott is the author of the national best-selling book Making Ideas Happen and CEO of Behance, a company that develops products and services for creative industries. Behance's products include the Behance Network, the world's leading platform for creative professionals to showcase their work, and The 99%, a think tank and annual conference focused on leadership and execution in the creative world.
Get more Work Smart.
Read more Work Smart.