As I mentioned a few weeks ago, when I was in NY, I was invited to speak at design gods … Pentagram.
Whenever I’m asked to speak at something, the first thing I think is ‘why?’
The second thing I think about is ‘what right have I got to talk about this subject?’
And the final thing is ‘what am I going to talk about’.
In the case of Pentagram, I didn’t know what I could say that would be of any interest of them.
Then I remembered the only reason they asked me to come is because of my relationship to a certain, famous rock band so instead of doing a deck – where, let’s be honest, they would be judging the design of each slide rather than listening to what I said – I bought 12 iconic albums on vinyl [they’re the ones in the picture above] and talked about the relationship they had with the music and the fans of the music under the heading, ‘Design is not decoration’.
Now I have no idea if they actually learnt anything from my talk, but it certainly created a bunch of conversation and debate and for me, that’s a big win.
Actually, getting out alive was the big win, but seeing some of the most talented design people in the World talk about the relationship between music, design and fans was something I’d pay for just to witness.
Which is why one of the best lessons I learned about strategy is less about what you are going to do and more about what you’re going to sacrifice.