You could, but what for?
Former associate professor emeritus of business at Baruch College (between 1961 and 1981), Aaron Levenstein once said...
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital."
Portfolios are the same. For instance, what you see when you look at a website is a tiny part of the full story. You can say whether or not you like the colours. But does it matter what you think? That website was designed with someone else's target market and strategy in mind. And thousands of morons judge webdesigners' capabilities based on what their clients asked them to do.
You see, some people build portfolios in search of awards, glitz, glamour and glory. Just look at the award-winning "Got Milk" ad, Pepsi commercial with Michael Jackson or a few years ago the Nissan commercial. All three of them won numerous awards and were great ego-candy for the ad agencies, but financially all three bombed miserably, having lost millions of dollars for their clients.
When you look at a portfolio or writing sample, you're evaluating one element out of context. And your judgement is based on your personal preference, which pushes you as far from reality as Anchorage from Jerusalem. Besides, you're not an expert on the topic, and judgement and discernment must be based on content expertise. Yes, you can express your opinion, but that's irrelevant in the light of the full context which you don't even know and probably are not an expert at. And we all know that...
"Opinions are like arseholes. We all have one and most of them stink."
Or imagine, you're looking for a surgeon for your child, and you're now comparing two surgeons. Dr. Erica has a 5% mortality rate. Dr. Eric has a 71% mortality rate. Now, which surgeon is better? On the surface, based on their portfolios, Dr. Erica is a lot better.
But let's dig deeper...
Dr. Erica is surgeon for celebrities. She carefully selects her patients, and accepts only 1% of applicants. The ones that are very healthy and from whom she can expect hefty six-figure insurance payments with a 99.99% certainty. She's been written up in New York Times, Wall Street Journal and has also appeared on the Oprah show on TV.
Dr. Eric, on the other hand, is a military surgeon, specialising in battlefield surgery. By the time they get to him shot or blown to pieces, 90% of his patients have basically no chance of survival. Yet, using his magic, he manages to save an amazing 29% of his patients, which is way higher than average. No one has ever written about him and Oprah has never heard of him. He quietly serves his country one battlefield at a time.
In contrast, Dr. Erica's 5% mortality rate is higher than average, and over the years she's had several lawsuits against her for negligence, which her celebrity lawyers have managed to sweep under the carpet using their influence at high places.
Now what do you think?
Using Oscar-winning British actress, Helen Mirren's words...
"Awards are the crème-de-la-crème of bullshit."
Fancy portfolios carefully hide one thing, the most important thing from your perspective: Was that initiative profitable for the client? Was it a wise investment with substantial return or just another idiotic waste of time and money?
In the movie Amadeus, the royal court requested Mozart to submit samples of his work to a selection committee to select the most appropriate tutor for a 13-year old child. Imagine! A group of pompous, snob musical morons tried to judge whether or not a musical genius was good enough to tutor a kid.
But personally, I don't care much about awards or portfolios. I only care if my work improves my clients' condition. That's all. I have been told that you can't use awards and portfolios to feed your family and make payroll. So, as a direct response marketer, I focus on helping my clients to create business development programmes that generate new sales leads and bring in new clients. Smart business owners seem to prefer money to plaques, trophies and portfolios.
Just look at the difference between martial arts and real combat skills. In martial arts you learn how to score points and win trophies. In combat you learn how to kill (a.k.a. produce results) without the frills. Huge difference. Maybe a bit rough comparison, but it will do, and being a former soldier, it's a bit close to me. If you're looking for a security guard to protect your family, who do you choose? A martial arts master with trophies or an ex-commando who has actually seen real bullets fly, has shot some people and been shot at? The former knows how to score points and collect trophies; the latter knows how to defend, protect and kill... if necessary to protect his client.
As Mark twain once put it...
"Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work."
Similarly, a portfolio is just veneer. The power is a lot deeper. Of course, idiots who don't have the brainpower to dig for substance, get impressed with style and what they see, and blissfully ignore the essence. I'm just wondering... What is the logic in admiring the photograph of a healthy-looking child, while ignoring the X-ray that shows advanced cancer? Of course, anyone can admire a photograph (veneer like portfolio) but it takes some serious expertise to read X-ray (judging things in context).
One thing is certain. Together we can create a portfolio for your company that could kick arse in your industry.
So back to Mark Twain, do you want thunder or do you want lightning? This is the earth-shattering question here.
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