When we launched Collective Content it was a little under a year ago. I’ve since learnt about others with a ‘collective’ approach – meaning you can have a dispersed, project-right team, because that’s how you get the best people, in a way that won’t bankrupt you.

I’m still amazed by how many people ask about the whole collective thing and those we call our Collectivists. (No hammers and sickles, I should add.)
But there was another unforeseen consequence.

I touched upon it briefly in a personal blog over on tphallett.com at the start of the year (Moonlighting? No, just the rise of the side project). Many of the best people I or any of us might work with are full-timers somewhere else.

That doesn’t necessarily put them off limits – legally or in their own minds – but it does often mean you can’t publicise their contribution.

For certain types of role that isn’t a problem – for example, in tech or design – but in other areas service value is closely linked to an individual’s personal brand, in written or video work perhaps.

Creative individuals working in several spheres, for several pay cheques is becoming increasingly common. And with even medium-sized companies leaning towards a collectivist mindset we can only imagine the rest of the world will have to catch up, because this is just the way it is.

Look out for us adding new Collectivists in 2013 and other agencies pursuing this model to be agile.
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