So recently I was in a meeting when a client said – admittedly with tongue [a bit] in cheek – that the greatest invention for men was ‘the mall’.
When I asked him why, he responded by saying “… it keeps the women happy and occupied when the guys want to hang together.”
After gently pointing out that all the men who laughed at this comment were divorced, I asked the client …
“Do you know what the greatest invention for women was?”
After a bout of nervous coughing filled the room, I put them all out of their misery by telling them: “The mall”.
There were a few confused faces around the room before I explained …
“…women like the mall because it gives them something to do because their men aren’t fulfilling them mentally, emotionally or physically”.
At this point, the women in the room laughed or tried to contain their big, smug smiles.
Now is what I said totally true?
Of course not, it was a major generalisation, but the underlying issue of my comment is much more prevalent than many would think – especially Asian men [or should I say men in Asia] – however the point I’m trying to make with this post isn’t that too many relationships seemingly have a ‘Berlin Wall’ running through them … it’s that that too many people make major decisions and choices without ever considering the perspective of the other parties concerned and that is dangerous, stupid and just plain wrong.
The irony of all this is that in adland, we have people who are supposed to be able to represent the views of the real World – and they are called planners – but as I wrote here, too many let their own personal views and experiences cloud their judgement and so you end up with communication that has been created to appeal to the creator, not the people you need/want to reach.
Now I know what you’re thinking …
“But Rob, you’re an opinionated piece of shit and are always slagging off focus groups so what the hell are you talking about?”
Yes I am …
… but just because I have certain points of view doesn’t mean I don’t explore and consider the views, thoughts and circumstances of those who have different opinions and/or approaches to mine/ours – hell, that’s why we try and put 2 planners on every piece of business so objectivity and tension is inherent within the development process – but even with all that, I still accept my/our view is only one of countless views and possibilities … it’s just I believe our views and possibilities are a damn sight more interesting and effective than everyone else’s, ha!
Maybe it’s because I’m a gemini [or because I do have multiple personality disorder] but I seem to spend more time arguing with myself about what I think is going on &/or what I think is the right way to move forward, than I do with my colleagues [and trust me, I argue with them A LOT!] … and even though I get ‘shown up’ by their brilliance far too frequently – that’s still preferable to being one of those guys whose point-of-view can be destroyed with a single question simply because they arrogantly think they know everything and don’t value/consider anyone else’s view, experience or circumstance.
But back to the point of this post [and I know you all know this already, but the story I started this post with has really bugged me] … regardless of what you may think or have experienced in the past, if you don’t explore the contrary views/thoughts and behaviour of people [even if it represents a small group which ultimately reinforces your original view] you’re not just doing your client [and public] a huge disservice, but also your brain.