Remember the old Tootsie Pop commercial? A kid asks the owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of the candy. The owl licks three times, crunches through it, and declares the answer.
Somewhere along the way, large production teams decided that was also a good way to approve a $300 creative decision.
You’re on a shoot. You spot something small that would make the video better — an extra angle, a quick pickup line, a tiny graphics tweak. Nothing dramatic. Just a little polish.
So you say, “Hey, can we add this?”
That’s when the journey begins.
The Producer nods.
The Project Manager writes it down.
The Account Manager checks the budget.
The Boss is asked to weigh in.
A Slack thread is born.
A spreadsheet is opened.
Somewhere, a meeting is suggested.
Eventually, the answer arrives:
“We’re reviewing budget impact.”
By then, the light has changed, the moment is gone, and the idea has quietly expired.
No one did anything wrong. This is just what happens when good people are stacked into too many layers. Each one is trying to be responsible. Together, they accidentally become slow.
The truth is, modern production doesn’t need that many handoffs for small, real-time decisions. You still need structure, documentation, and visibility — shared dashboards, clear approvals, and collaboration tools that keep everyone aligned. But you don’t need four people just to say yes to a good idea.
Great creative happens in moments.
If it takes three licks and a crunch to get there, the center is already gone.
Sometimes you just have to take a bite.
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