Sitting at a computer looks like work, but seldom is real, deep work. We in advertising have forgotten this. Us working is often us doing something totally unrelated to the project.

Here is a question never asked in business circles: "What does an employee thinking on a project look like?"

Let’s go a little further. “Are we charging for the ideas or the time?”

What if we billed enough that time didn’t matter? I’m serious. What if we placed a hard value on ideas instead of time?

If we are billing for time, then we're the reason no one values the ideas. I'm not sure we can get to where we charge for the idea, not the time, but we have to try.

And why isn't the industry united in selling the power and value of ideas? We are our own worse enemies.