Filed under: Entertainment, Experience, Minimum Wage, Social Divide, Unfair Life
… especially in Asia, where over the years, I’ve attended meetings that frequently have 20 people in them, even if only 2 were needed and only those 2 actually comment.
And if you think Asia can afford to do this because salaries are so low, they need to look again.
We’re getting to a point where for certain roles, in certain industries, expats are becoming a cheaper option than local talent.
Of course not all the time – and an expat is pointless if they don’t know something about local culture – but there are an increasing number of situations where this is the case.
It wouldn’t be so bad if overall standards were superior, but the job-hopping attitude of millennials means salary levels are being pushed to ridiculous levels without the experience or talent to necessarily justify them.
Not only does this mean average talent is pricing themselves out the market [though an amazing amount of companies seem to be paying it], it also means overall standards are falling because people not qualified to have certain jobs are being given them as they are the only ones willing to accept the salaries on offer. [Mainly because it’s more than they would otherwise get]
In essence, we’re entering a period of corporate devolution, which if I was a CEO in a company, I’d be scared shitless of. Except I’ll probably be leaving in 18 months with a big, fat cheque so that can be someone else’s problem, can’t it.
Mind you, if you are a talented local – of which there are lots, including many millennials – then the future has never looked so bright, which is very exciting for me to see … though I hope they don’t fall pray to the ‘good enough is good enough’ attitude that is currently rewarding so many for so little.
Based on the people I know and work with, I live in hope.
I realised that this week, I’d written a lot of rather sad posts.
Not all, but there’s definitely been a meloncholy feel running through them all.
So I thought I’d end the week on something positive.
My son.
I’ve written how much I love being Otis’ dad.
I can’t put into words how much of an honour it is to take care of him.
Watching him learn in front of my eyes is amazing.
Seeing him try things he’s just seen Jill or me do, is remarkable.
A few weeks ago, he started to clap.
Seeing his little hands bang together, while still remaining stiff, is something I’ll treasure forever.
But knowing it is all passing by at seemingly, the speed of light, is something I hate.
I want it to stop or at least slow down … and yet, at every turn, he seems to discover or learn something new and that is something I want to see so I’m sort of damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
A few days after his 7 month birthday, he started to crawl.
I know, I sound like a besotted Dad – and I am – but think about it, when was the last time you literally saw someone do something for the first time.
Try their first food?
Recognise their reflection?
Be able to move by their own actions?
It seems such a small thing and yet it is something huge.
To be where it all began is an amazing thing, made better by the fact you actually know it is significant whereas with most other things we go through in life, we only discover their importance after the event.
Which is why I want to share this moment of Otis’ development with you.
Not because I expect you to share the same emotional warmth about it that I do, but because regardless how sad, grumpy, angry or conflicted you may be feeling today … seeing a child literally experience something for the first time is something very beautiful indeed.
Have a great weekend.
Filed under: Comment
One of the things that drives me insane is when a footballer kisses the badge of his club – indicating his love for the team he is playing for – only to move to another club within months and start kissing that badge like a lust-ridden teenager at the school disco.
Of course, when they are kissing the badge of your team, you love them.
Yesssssssss.
You are united in your passion for your club.
Determined to be there through thick and thin.
Committed to the cause.
Sure there may be tough times, but with unity and belief, you can achieve anything.
And then the fucker demands a move to get more money and you feel like the hardworking wife who has been left by your bastard husband for the younger, hotter bitch from the accounts department.
Which is why I was warmed to see this article on German footballer, Marcell Jansen, who at 29 has said he’d rather retire than play for another club.
Yes, I know he probably has enough cash in the bank already to be able to do that and yes, I know that when a club doesn’t renew your contract – especially at that age – it tends to mean they’re not very good … but in an industry that makes adland’s money-grabbing ways look almost gentile, I think that’s a very impressive gesture, especially given he was offered well paying contracts at other clubs.
When I was younger, I used to think footballers who complained about not playing were idiots.
There they were, sitting on the bench, earning thousands of pounds a week and yet they were complaining.
But as I have got older, I have learnt the importance of fulfilment.
Admittedly, this is something that was drilled into me by my parents, but I only really understood what it meant in the last 10 years or so which is why I now totally understand why someone would want to move clubs so they could play or even stop playing altogether so that they could ensure their most precious moments aren’t damaged.
Without going into too many details, I was recently offered a very big job and I turned it down.
Not because I didn’t think I could do it … not because I don’t like the idea of earning amazing amounts of money … not even because I had recently become a Dad and I was concerned this may impact how much time I would get to spend with my family … I turned it down because it meant I would be removed from creating.
I know everyone thinks I do no work and I appreciate ‘creating advertising’ is hardly the sort of work 99% of the planet have to do … but for me, I am at my most happy when I’m working with talented individuals creating something that will change something.
I love it.
It makes me insanely happy.
I find the whole journey of creativity infectious.
Part of the reason I love Wieden is that even though I am in a supposed ‘senior position’, I have to ‘do stuff’.
Yes, part of that is managing … people, departments, clients, the agency as a whole … but part of it is actually making stuff happen and the thought of not doing that anymore – being an observer rather than a contributor – is something I couldn’t let happen because the implications on my personal fulfilment are not worth any of the supposed additional benefits.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to lead.
That doesn’t mean I don’t still have a bunch of incredible ambitions.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to help my colleagues grow and develop.
But there is also something very magical for me in the development of ideas … working with people who open doors of possibility and opportunity you hadn’t previously seen and vice versa … which is why as I move forward in my life, the guiding principals in making my decisions will never be purely about how much money I will earn or how much power I can wield, but whether I will feel fulfilled.
It’s this principal that pushed me to take – and pass – my teacher qualifications, because I wanted to ensure I can always be involved in the creation and development of ideas [and people] and it is why I look at the decision of Marcell Jansen with respect rather than derision.
I recently read a letter in the Sunday Times from a man that wanted the right to die.
Death – as I have written about many times – is an incredibly complex issue but ‘death by choice’ is one, in the right circumstances, I wholeheartedly agree with.
What are the right circumstances?
Well, there are many … but for me, it revolves around the individuals ability to live a life of fulfilment and contentment.
Of course ‘fulfilment and contentment’ are very subjective things which is why I believe conversations must be had prior to any decision being made to ensure the person is fully aware of the alternatives and implications … however, if they believe the life they are going to live going forward robs them of all the joys they value in their life, then they should be allowed to let go.
I totally understand how hard this is for the family, but these are the moments you have to understand your feelings have to come second to the person going through it all, which is why as heartbroken as I still am about my Mum’s passing, I know she would have hated to endure the slow pain and constant complications that would have happened had she not attempted to have the operation.
That doesn’t make losing her any easier, but it means she was able to maintain her dignity and that to her was everything.
Anyway, read this letter, it gentle, beautiful and sad but with a message at the end that provides food for thought.
OK, so Rolex has had a long, long association with Wimbledon tennis.
And OK, Roger Federer is a giant of the game.
But seriously, this ad highlighting Rolex connection to Roger – and Wimbledon – is more tenuous than all those sponsorship ads that proudly say, “We work hard to make a great product and [insert team name] work hard to be a great team.”
Maybe I’m being a bit of a cynical bastard, but does it smack of being a bit shit to you too?
Especially the insinuation that when he checks his overpriced Rolex watch, he will remember the ‘hundreds of thousands of underprivileged kids in Southern Africa’ he is helping.
DOESN’T HELPING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS STICK IN THE MEMORY BY ITSELF?
I am not blaming Roger Federer – what he’s doing is a great thing – and I’m sure Rolex contributed to what he needs to achieve his goal, but as I said about Hard Rock Cafe’s when they did a ‘feed the hungry’ program, sometimes best intentions end up coming across with the absolute opposite impression, especially when your ego can’t help itself.