“In 1998, Citibank and The Travelers Insurance Company merged. They hired legendary designer Paula Scher to create a new logo.

In their first meeting, on a napkin, Scher drew what became the iconic Citi logo.

As Scher got up to leave the room, someone from the Citi team asked,

How can it be that it’s done in a second?

"It’s done in a second and 34 years," Scher replied. "It’s done in a second [and] everything in my life that’s in my head."

Takeaway 1: Creativity is a culmination.

The Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield likes to say,

"Creativity is a function of the library in your head. When you sit down to create it's a culmination of everything you've done and experienced up to that point."

Takeaway 2: Beware the Labor Perception Bias.

As Scher has become a master of her craft, she's experienced an interesting problem.

"A lot of clients like to buy process," she explains. "they think they're not getting their money's worth [if] you solve the problem too fast."

This is known as the "Labor Perception Bias."

It's an interesting phenomenon: we are generally impatient, yet, we are skeptical if, for instance, we're at a fancy restaurant and the food comes out only minutes after we ordered.

The famous example of the Labor Perception Bias is the story of Picasso in the marketplace.

Picasso was approached by a fan, who asked if he could sketch something for her. Picasso agreed, and in just a few seconds, he drew a simple sketch of a dove. The fan was thrilled and asked how much she owed Picasso for the sketch. Picasso replied, "1 million dollars." The fan was shocked and protested that the sketch had only taken a few seconds to draw.

Picasso responded, "No, madam, it took me a lifetime."

When you hire someone, you are not just paying for the time they put into the work, but for everything they've done and experienced up to that point.

“Creativity is a function of all the previous work you put in." — Robert Greene