It seems like I’ve been off for weeks [always a good sign of a good holiday] but today I am officially ‘back at work’ and as much as I love what I do, I could quite easily sit on my arse and do nothing for the rest of my life.
Now I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong … and my mate, Mark, is living proof that you can have a great life without ever working.
No, he’s not a dole-bludger, it’s because he won a bucketload of cash on the National Lottery [plus a further FIFTY GRAND on a scratch card about 6 months later] and he’s done nothing but ‘live it up’ for the best part of 5 years without giving even a second thought towards working again!
OK … OK … he has invested his cash very, very, very well in property, but it’s hardly real work is it!? The Bastard … hahaha!
Anyway, I suppose what makes my first day back even worse is that I have to fly to Malaysia to speak at a 2 day conference … which is hardly ‘easing my way back into it’ eh?
The last time I had to give a speech on the first day back at work was years ago, at a conference when we’d just started cynic.
After I’d spoken, I asked if there were any questions and this bloke from DDB NYC said,
“That’s all very interesting, but given I’ve never heard of you or your company, why should I believe it?”
It was a fair question I suppose, and had he not had such a smug look on his face I am sure I would have answered it in a calm and professional manner … however, as he was obviously trying to look good infront of other ad agency folk – and I was in serious post-holiday depression – I found myself replying …
“Fair point … Fair point … but I’ve been talking for 40 minutes and I think everyone in this room knows what cynic stands for … your agency has been around for decades and I don’t know what the fuck you stand for!”
Cue: Riot.
Seriously, there was outrage and it was only made worse when Andy started shouting, “RIOT, RIOT, RIOT” which the microphone picked up and amplified at 10,000 decibels!
Of course, like most things, it all ended OK in the end because …
1. It led to a big discussion about ad agencies and their [lack of] differentiated positioning.
2. The people who agreed with us were all at agencies/companies we loved and respected.
3. We were given projects from Virgin, BBC America, IKEA and NASA [yes, THAT NASA] almost immediately.
4. Crispin Porter, asked us about working on projects together.
5. It got our name out far more than we ever hoped … or planned for … hahaha!
So what does all that have to do with the conference I’m about to attend? Well, put simply, it could be a hell of a start to my working year if any one of the delegates gives me a funny look … hahaha!
Happy 2007 everyone … it’s going to be a big one! [Though maybe not, after I’ve answered my 10 evil questions which will be later this week. Unfortunately!]
PS: Well done to my beloved Forest for beating Premiership ‘Charlton’ 2-0 at the City Ground and thanks to Age for finding this great quote on the power/importance of ‘Understanding’.