When experiencing great writing, inspiring designs, or stunning architecture; People think about the amazing talent behind it or how much work went into making it.

What people never think about are all the trashed drafts in the process that never made it into the final product.

The truth is, great creatives ideate, explore and draft a lot — especially at the beginning stages of a project. Great creatives are unafraid to test and explore.

But that’s not the full formula. There needs to be a person who decides what eventually becomes part of the final product and what doesn’t. And that person needs to be a relentless curator.

The final quality of a product is largely determined by how many ideas were excluded in the process.

With digital cameras today, you can take thousands of pictures literally for free. What pictures become part of the final collection the clients get to see? This is where real artistry comes into play.

Movie directors and editors are the ones curating a film. The actors often have little idea what the final piece will look like until attending the premier. They see bits and pieces without a high-level artistic view.

Steve Jobs was a famous curator who picked what ideas made it into the big product release. The stakes could not have been higher with the whole company on the line.

Seasoned curators often become the most senior people at companies. The success of the product stands on their shoulders in the end.