So I survived and no one died. Yet.
Yesterday was wonderful.
Everyone was so nice to me, which means they don’t really know me.
Anyway, while I’ll be talking a lot about Colenso and New Zealand in the future, today I want to talk about something else.
A while back, the amazing Martin Weigel wrote an absolutely brilliant post about the importance of language in strategy.
Except it wasn’t just about the language you use in your work, but how you use it.
How you ensure you are writing a strategy that has colour, movement, clarity and provocation.
I’m doing it a disservice as it is basically a masterclass – as all Mr Martin’s brilliant posts are – on how to write strategy, with the end result being you not only have a greater understanding for how to do it, but a greater respect for doing it.
The craft.
The consideration.
The way to take people to a place they can see and feel and want to fuck with.
However, as brilliant as it is, I’ve heard some say, “it’s all obvious”.
And while there is an argument for that – because what Martin says isn’t a revolution on how to approach strategy, simply a focus on how to do it well – the reality is there’s a big difference between knowing the theory and actually doing it.
Which leads to my issue.
Our industry is filled with planners who talk about how to make world class creativity, but have never made any.
That doesn’t mean they don’t have a right to talk about it, but it does mean they don’t have a right to act like experts about it.
But they do.
And while I am not suggesting these people aren’t good at many other things and ‘world class creativity’ is about as subjective as you can get … in the area of actual making work that has defined brands in culture, I think if you looked at the reel Mr Weigel can put forward, it would be better than most agencies could present.
But here’s the thing …
World Class creativity isn’t specifically about work that has run across the globe.
Nor is it about work that is for a global brand … though, it should be noted, he has done this and done it brilliantly which is often far harder to achieve than work for a smaller client with far less politics.
It is simply about the actual work.
Not the theory of it.
The actual work and how it changed the way culture looked at the brand and how the brands fortune changed because of it.
Not one or the other.
Both.
That he has done this at the highest level and – arguably – on the most consistent level of any planner on the planet, means people who are looking to belittle it because ‘it’s obvious’ or because ‘he works at Wieden+Kennedy’ are idiots.
Maybe you can get to this level because of luck – especially if you’re male and white – but you definitely can’t stay there because of it.
Especially at Wieden.
What this piece of brilliance Martin gave us was an act of generosity.
Something designed to help the individual be better so that the overall work can be better.
Making work that fights indifference.
Making work that has a point of view.
Making work that we can all be proud of making.
So to all those who truly care about the work, follow the people who actually make it at the highest standards, because anything is easy for the person who never has done it.