Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Culture, Environment, Management, Meetings
Meetings.
They seem to be happening more and more.
Meetings for meetings.
Meetings to discuss meetings.
Meetings to plan if there is a meeting.
And what is amazing is that anyone can call one of these.
Anyone.
And given most companies place a limit on the amount an employee can spend without prior approval – I find it hilarious anyone can commandeer thousands of dollars/pounds of employee time on a whim.
What makes it even more laughable is often these meetings are no more than a simple question that could have been handled by just going up to a colleagues desk.
But it’s not entirely the fault of the person who calls meetings …
We now live in times where looking busy is a key requisite – more than even being productive – and nothing makes you look busy than calling and attending a meeting.
Of at least an hour, of which 47 minutes is made up of waiting for everyone to turn up, small talk and then going off on tangents at least 7 times.
What I find funny is companies continue to say they want to help employees with their work life balance …
They talk about reducing emails while pushing things like slack … that are far more demanding for immediacy of response.
They talk about wanting everyone to take their holidays … and then dictate when they can/can’t be taken.
Ans they talk about wanting to aid productivity then allow so many meetings to happen that you end up starting your real work towards the end of the day.
With that in mind, here are the 4 questions to ask when you are asked to attend a meeting that you are not sure should be a meeting. Or at least a meeting you’re not sure you should be attending.
1. What is this meeting trying to change?
2. Will the people who can make decisions be there?
3. Will they have all the information they need to make a decision there and then?
4. Why do you think I am one of these people?
Yes it’s a pain.
Yes, they will think you’re a pain.
But I guarantee you, it won’t be as painful as another day of sitting in a vast majority of inane meetings that are designed to make the organiser feel important – or able to share the blame of the situation they are in/caused – while also ensuring you end up having to work late.
Again.
You’re welcome.
Today is the birthday of Queen bassist, John Deacon.
John has always been the least well known member of the band – despite writing such mega hits as Another One Bites The Dust and I Want To Break Free – and he likes it that way.
John turns 70 today and while Roger Taylor and Brian May are continuing to fly a version of the Queen flag … John stepped down the moment Freddie died.
In many ways he has become somewhat of a recluse – occasionally popping up in a newspaper when someone has taken a photograph of him and then sold it to a tabloid who then runs a headline about how much he has changed since his rockstar days, as if it’s a piece of investigative journalism.
Pricks.
However the reality is John has always been a reluctant rockstar.
He has a degree in electronics.
He got married very young.
He had kids very early.
He rarely did interviews.
He never dressed up for concerts.
He even took 5 years to believe the band would be successful, despite global tours and worldwide number 1 singles.
And while it has been well documented he has suffered depression for a long time – made worse by the passing of his best friend, Freddie – he was no shirking violet.
John was – and arguably still is – the businessman of the band, ensuring they always receive the monies owed to them while structing deals to ensure they benefited the most.
He also once left a note on his bass during a Queen recording session that simply said, “gone to Bali” after getting pissed off with the band.
With all this, it’s safe to say Mr Deacon is a complex individual and yet he was loved by the band. On one level they protected him – accepting he was who he was and not asking him to change – while on the other, they constantly encouraged him to express himself … whether that was in terms of music or, after a glass or 2 or vodka, taking the piss out the band or the music business in general, of which you can see a glimpse of it at 2 mins 40 seconds here.
When I lived in London I saw him in a little Toyota with his daughter … laughing away and smiling and for me, that was a wonderful way to see him.
Because despite being worth $170 million and having lived, seen and helped create some of the biggest musical moments in life, his place of comfort and happiness is living small.
Out the spotlight.
Out of the conversation.
Out of the drama and noise.
While many may never understand that, no one can begrudge him it.
Happy birthday Mr Deacon. You’re a quiet inspiration.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Context, Corona Virus, England, Health, New Zealand
Yesterday, my life consisted of the 2 movies above.
Why?
Because despite moving 12,000 miles to NZ to get away from covid, we found only ourselves back where we started.
In lockdown.
OK, it’s only for 7 days [for now] … but the feeling of it happening was so familiar.
The gathering of your work stuff.
The dark humour between colleagues tinged with truth.
The sense of things closing in and taking over beyond your control.
You’d think having had well over a year of lockdown, I’d be OK with it, but it still felt uncomfortable, even though I am fortunate to have already had one of my vaccinations.
But there was one big difference between yesterday and March, Friday 13th, 2020.
And that was the way the Government handled it.
Where in the UK we had chaos and confusion … here we had incredibly valuable detail, clarity and calmness.
In addition, the schools not only sent out an immediate message that detailed how online lessons would be handled, the note also said the following:
Given how badly the UK government handled providing parents the tools to teach from home – not to mention the additional pressure they placed on parents to keep up with the curriculums – it was amazing to see them acknowledge the importance of providing reassurance rather than just demand adherence.
It’s a weird time, even if it’s just for a week, but the way it has been handled is light years away from what we experienced not that long ago.
Not only that, the fact the patient and doctor identified and reported their case immediately – and this was followed up with not just track and trace info, but down to individual locations and destinations – is also another reason to be hopeful that if anyone can deal with this situation effectively, it’s NZ.
We’ll see. But regardless of the outcome, thank you to the patient, the doctor, the government and the people of NZ.
If it wasn’t certain before, I can categorically say Jacinda is miles better than Boris.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Childhood, Comment, Cunning, Dad, Daddyhood, Fatherhood, Jill, Mum & Dad, Otis, Parents
When I was a kid, the Rubik’s Cube came out and a nation was transfixed.
My Dad bet me 5 pounds I couldn’t do 2 sides and 50 pounds I couldn’t do it all.
Now back then, this was big money … and given we didn’t have that sort of money to throw about, I can only assume he suggested it because he knew I wouldn’t be able to do it.
He was right.
So I took it apart and put it back together arguing he hadn’t specified how I solve it.
He admired my attempt to win on a technicality, but still didn’t pay up.
Over the years, the Rubik’s Cube has made a number of comebacks, and while I loved watching the documentary on ‘cubers’, I never engaged with any of them again.
Till now.
Otis has become OBSESSED with them.
But unlike the relatively simple 3×3 I had back then, there are literally hundreds of different combinations.
From cubes that transform into different shapes which means everything gets even more insane … to different shapes that have more sides/combinations to solve that ever before … to cubes where each square is split into two colours to make things even more maddening … to cubes that go up to 33 x 33, which surely is basically some form of modern torture!!!
And while Otis doesn’t have all of them and can’t solve any of them fully – yet – he is transfixed.
Constantly playing, trying, exploring, learning, solving [2 sides] and I have to say I find it amazing.
Amazing for what he is doing and amazing that technology has become so much part of his normal life, that cubes … CUBES … offer a tempting distraction.
Of course I still can’t do any of them.
And of course Jill can do most of them.
Which all goes to prove the person who said ‘practice makes perfect’ either didn’t know what they were talking about or – as I fear – I am just really, really pathetic.
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Update: Since I wrote this post, Otis has got more cubes and can now do a 3×3 on his own. Me? I remain proudly consistent in my cube performance abilities.
Filed under: Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Colenso, Comment, Creativity, Culture
So I’ve been at Colenso for a few months now and I think things are going OK.
Sure, there’s some stuff I – and we – need to sort out, but I’m enjoying it and as far as I can tell, they’re tolerating me with the sort of laid-back attitude, New Zealand is famous for.
That said, there is one guy who has made an extra-big impression on me.
His name is Daine.
He’s a good person who – like everyone here – wants to do great work.
But when you meet him for the first time, there’s one thing you notice about him above all other things …
He’s also 6 foot 8.
SIX FOOT BLOODY EIGHT.
Now of course he has probably had people commenting on this his whole life, which is why I chose not to.
Instead I decided to show him.
Over the past few months, I’ve been capturing his height in a range of ways … from calling him Mr Giraffe, to littering my instagram feed with photos that capture his head-in-the-cloud tallness, like the one at the top of this post.
I know, kind eh?!
Amazingly, he hasn’t punched me in the face [yet] but I cannot tell you how proud I was of him when, having decided to annoy him further by sending him a Facebook ‘friend’ request – I immediately received the following as a text message.
Daine. you might belong in the animal kingdom, but I’m glad you’re in my zoo.
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PS: To any HR or lawyers reading this. Breaaaaaathe … I can assure you Daine gives as good as he gets. Well, he gives less than he gets, but it’s not for lack of trying.