We are having some great dialogue today with Basil executives and the agency that is visiting from the United States. One hot topic is about potential challenges and obstacles. In short, people get used to working in certain ways. And when looking at any kind of change, many things come into play and get in the way — such as established processes, relationships, personalities and comfort level.

This especially holds true with the whole idea of creative global sourcing and looking at different ways to produce creative work. My simplest answer to people who ask me about potential obstacles to success in this arena is that they should expect challenges. More importantly, your mentality must be that there will be obstacles and “I need to plan on how to overcome them in order to give this new way of doing things a fair shot.”

We often advise agencies on a pilot project with a minimum number of hours attached so that the entire process can be experienced fully. Every step of the process should be a time of open dialogue of what is going right and what is not. Both parties should be dedicated to moving to a second pilot project in order to work out the kinks and develop a working relationship and understanding that lays a groundwork for long-term success. Ideally, that would lead to a longer term engagement with visibility to projects over the course of several months or a year that would benefit all parties involved.