Stan Lee hated to see an idle artist. The renowned comic book writer and publisher, who died this week at 95, thought idle talent was bored talent, and bored talent was easy to lose to the competition. It also personally bothered him that the people in his employ might be scrambling to earn enough money. So Stan made sure to provide continuous employment, sometimes to the detriment of the company.
What Stan Lee Knew About Managing Creative People
A study of Stan Lee’s approach to managing creative talent reveals four lessons that are useful far beyond the comic book industry. First, keep talent busy. Nothing bores creative people more than being idle; Lee always hustled to give his artists work to do, even when they were doing more work than the company could publish. Second, don’t censor creativity. If you ask someone to do a creative task, stay out of their way. Third, give credit where it’s due. Lee shone a spotlight on his artists by putting credits in the back of comic books — something no other publisher was doing at the time. Fourth, dream big. Lee was always trying to elevate comics, and talked about them as real art, worthy of serious study. That’s the kind of mission that brings out the best in people.