Why Every Agency Needs Its 'Slow Horses'

How an unconventional team can help unlock creativity

In 2024 I stopped dreaming. The to-do list was growing exponentially, full of operational tasks, timely problems and the other things that keep the lights on. There wasn’t much time for dreaming. So I did what you probably do when you’re overwhelmed—I turned on the TV.

I started watching Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ spy thriller in which the agents who’ve made career-ending mistakes are given something of a second chance. They aren’t bad agents, just bad at fitting into a system that doesn’t know what to do with them. Something clicked.

Most agencies optimize for the top right of the 9 Box Grid. High performance, high potential. But the Slow Horses would never have survived a 9 Box. They’re too difficult, too curious. They push back instead of going with the flow and ask questions that annoy colleagues and leave leaders exasperated. And yet (spoiler alert) in the end they solve the problems no one else can. These are the kind of people that give me energy. So, I decided to build my own Slow Horses.

My roster of agency misfits included former fashion and skate writers, podcasters and publishers, a former editor-in-chief and a new breed of art director. But they did have a few things in common: They asked so. many. questions. They didn’t care about how things had been done, and they weren’t afraid to say, “I don’t know.” They were challenging idealists who refused to settle for just “good” work.

To be honest, when I brought them together, I didn’t have a task in mind, beyond just, “Where do we go next?” So, we spent our first few sessions exploring, questioning and asking how we felt about the work we do and the way we do it. What’s working, what’s not, what’s satisfying and what’s annoying. There was no hierarchy, no wrong way—and eventually, a goal emerged. What’s our new story? How do we talk about ourselves on the verge of our second decade as an independent agency?

I won’t bore you with the output. But I urge you to find your Slow Horses and give them ample space for creative exploration outside of their to-do list. The future is shaped by those who do things differently. Our job isn’t to protect the organization from these people, but to get out of the way and let them help shape it.

These are the rules:

No Hierarchy

Leave titles at the door. Slow Horses are peers, operating on the same level regardless of where they stand within the organization. The beauty of the process is hearing from a spectrum of voices and giving everyone the confidence to share even the silliest thought. For our first Slow Horses group we had employees who ranged from very senior with 7 years of tenure at Day One to a brand-new creative, in the agency for two weeks. During meetings, it was important to make sure all voices were heard and to reinforce a shared mission regardless of traditional seniority.

Open Ended = Open Minded

Brief the ambition, not the operational task at hand. This is an era of to do lists and maximized efficiency, but what we all need is time intentionally set aside for deep thinking. This is how we grow, how we problem solve, how we improve. Marinating in the exploratory phase is imperative. In total, each Slow Horses group has about 8 weeks or more together. During the first 3 or 4 sessions we’re not concerned with the output, but more with the conversion. Sitting in the challenge and talking about it outside of perfect pitches. We’ve had team members hand draw mind maps, gather reference images, deep dive into braindump word docs. The goal early is all about sharing and finding new headspaces to operate in.

Get Together

Create a welcome space in which everyone’s eager to bring their perspective, to create in conversation. Being in this team should feel like an honor. It should be fun. It was often the best part of my day, and I think most of the group would say the same. These meetings are always an hour and likely a slower pace than more urgent deliverable based check-ins. We encourage the group to be in person where possible and to turn off email, Slack or other distractions if they are remote. A rarity today when we replace multitasking with single minded focus.

Still Needs Answers

This is purposely a curious and contrarian group given exploratory time, but even it needs to reach a conclusion. Eventually, thoughts will converge and ideas will crystallize. About halfway through the process I like to identify an unspoken ‘leader’ to take control and move the open forum to more actionable output. They become the “Cartwright” of the group, focused on keeping the why on track, or they purposefully lean into newly emerging directions. It is their call what the output is, but no matter what they take on the responsibility to make sure things firm up toward the end and ensure we’ve all accomplished something impactful.

The operational tasks might keep the lights on today, but initiatives like Slow Horses keep them on tomorrow.