Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Culture, England, Mum, Mum & Dad, Social Divide
I’ve talked a lot over the years about a lesson my Mum drilled into me – ‘care about what others care about’.
Looking back, that lesson has played a huge part in my life.
It’s influenced how I do my job.
It’s shaped how I work with others.
It’s encouraged me where I have chosen to live.
I say this because recently I saw a photo that stopped me in my tracks.
It was this …
For me, that sums up everything wrong with society right now.
Selfishness over selflessness.
Of course it’s always been that way, but right now the division within society is insane.
In the past people at least pretended to care about others, but not any more.
We hear so many talk about the loss of community but witness more and more only caring about things that directly affect them.
Or said another way, acting in a way that is the absolute opposite of community.
Of course, a big part of this is because of how many governments behave and act.
Creating policies that actively divide a population.
Forcing an attitude of selfish survival.
Right now, the UK government has to be one of the worst at doing this.
Pandemics.
Poverty.
Wars.
Unemployment.
Energy prices out of control.
Inflation at levels not seen in 40 years.
Schools underfunded and uncared for.
Youth with less opportunities and hope in generations.
And yet, if you watch their reactions and responses, it seem their attitude is to either turn a blind eye or blame everyone else for what is going on.
That’s right, the people who are supposed to represent us, prefer to divide us.
Of course times are tough.
I appreciate there is no silver bullet to sort it.
But cultivating an attitude that if it doesn’t happen to you it either doesn’t happen to anyone or the people it is happening to, somehow deserve it … is utterly destructive.
Humanity is stronger and able to deal with more when it is united and compassionate.
A nation is stronger when everyone feels they are seen, heard, valued and educated.
That we continue to think the structures that got us in this mess will get us out of it, is mad.
Which is why the older I get, the more grateful I am to my Mum … because when you care about what others care about, you don’t just gain understanding, you build community.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Business, Culture, Egovertising, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Respect
Scale.
A single word that has become the barrier to so much.
How big can you get it?
How much can you make it worth?
How do you plan to expand, expand, expand.
Now I get it …
If you want – or need – investors, they want to feel their cash will grow.
But the by-product of this is that scale has now become the measure we define ourselves by.
If it’s not big, it’s not worth it.
If it’s not the largest, it’s not the greatest.
If it isn’t known around the world, it’s not worth caring about.
And I’m not just talking in terms of investment, but in so many fields.
Advertising is one of them.
And I certainly have been guilty of it.
Thinking working on global brands meant I was somehow better than those who worked on more local clients.
But thankfully, I quickly learned that was bollocks.
Because on top of everything else, far too often global brands are a shitshow of politics and hierarchy.
Wading through pools of treacle.
That are located inside a maze.
Constantly being moved around.
In the dark.
All in a bid to delay making a decision.
Because not pissing off your boss is more important than creating value for customers.
Which is why for all the NIKE’s, Spotify’s and Metallica’s there’s a whole lot more … well. let’s just say there’s a whole lot more of those other sort of global clients.
And while I’ve been luckier than most with the global clients I’ve worked with – which is fortunate given most of my career has been working with them – the reality is it’s got nothing to do with their scale and everything to do with the values and aspirations of the individuals you’re working with.
That doesn’t mean they don’t want to grow … of course they do and that’s what they’re paying you to help them achieve it.
However growth and scale are different things.
Growth is building, evolving, creating and changing.
Scale is power, speed, conformity and consistency,
And that’s why people focused on scale, can tend to get blinkered …
Focusing on speed and size rather than standards and substance.
And before you know it, they’re churning out all manner of communication landfill, because they believe being something for everyone is better than being everything to someone.
Which is why I love this small hole-in-the-wall store I saw not so long ago.
I have no idea how many people need a quick buttonhole service …
I appreciate the sign is a ramshackle mess.
And yet it made me so happy because the shop looks like it’s been there for a long time which suggests the owner has built a position and value within the community they serve.
Where ‘quick’ is more a by-product of their experience rather than the objective of why they’re in business.
Maybe.
And while I could be completely wrong about them, the reason I love it is because it reminds me that we should celebrate business who wish to live up to a standard not down to a scale.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Effectiveness, Gaming, Innovation, Internet, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Relevance, Resonance, Singapore
The photo above was taken by me in June 2006.
So sixteen years ago.
I found it recently in my flickr file.
I don’t know if I ever used it for a post.
I’m not sure where I took it – though I assume Singapore airport.
But I bet you I captured it because I found it weird to see someone playing games.
On their computer.
At the airport.
Remember, 2006 is way before the very first iPhone.
Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Google Earth had only just started.
Shakira was number 1 with ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ and the first Cars movie had just hit the cinema.
And while gaming was huge – and handheld systems had been around for years – the idea of someone playing on their computer – at an airport – was obviously strange enough for me to take a photo.
But would we think that now?
Well, maybe the idea of needing a big-ass laptop to do it may still be considered strange – for totally different reasons than it was in 2006 – but the idea of someone gaming at an airport at all times of day wouldn’t cause a blink of an eye.
And here’s the point.
We – as an industry – are quick to kill new.
We write off different without any hesitation.
Believing if it makes no sense to us, it can’t make sense to anyone. Like we’re the fucking gods of everything.
And yet history has repeatedly shown new needs time.
Time to grow. Time to find its place. Time to find its energy.
From Apple computers to the internet to electric cars to gaming culture.
And while sometimes it may burn out, it’s worth remembering what a Fast Company journalist once said about reviewing tech.
“The biggest mistake is reviewing new tech against established tech. It will never win that because it’s not trying to be that”.
Which is why when you see new habits, beliefs or trends emerge that make little sense to you, it may be worth remembering before you pass judgement that it’s not them who have got it wrong, it’s possibly you who has misunderstood.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Culture, Emotion, Family, Fulfillment, Happiness, Love, Mum & Dad, Paul
There’s a lot of talk about the ‘great resignation’, but as I’ve written in the past, when you spend time talking to the people doing it – or hoping to do it – you learn the correct term for it should be ‘the great reset’ or, in some cases, ‘the last hope’.
The reality is the situation isn’t new.
People have felt trapped in their jobs for decades. Centuries even.
But the basic premise was ‘if you want to earn increasing amounts of money, you have to stay on the path you have chosen’.
It kind of makes sense, until you factor in the economic value of happiness and fulfilment.
Add in companies increasing lack of loyalty towards their employees and you realise the younger generation are both smarter and braver than most of my peers.
I say most because there’s people like my best friend Paul.
I’ve written about Paul’s journey from printer to Frothy Coffee Man but the more I think about it, the more amazing it is.
Because while leaving a paying job to do the same job for yourself is an act of self-belief – acknowledging it still requires a huge amount of effort if you want to continue growing, rather than just stay where you are – leaving a job you’ve done for decades to do something totally different is an act of hope.
Well, that’s what it may seem …
The reality is carrying on doing something you aren’t enjoying is the most sensible thing you can do.
What stops us is the risk of it failing.
The worry that instead of taking a step forward, we end up going backwards.
And then that idea fucks with your head and you end up carrying on as you were.
Miserable is your arrested development of life.
But Paul didn’t do that.
He decided to do something about it …
Now becoming Frothy Coffee Man wasn’t all a punt in the dark.
While he hadn’t done it before, he loved the idea of being self-employed. He loved the idea of dealing with people. He wasn’t frightened of hard work. He was realistic about what he needed and wanted out of it. He loved being outdoors. And his fucking wonderful personality was made to build relationships with strangers.
He also had an incredibly supportive wife who encouraged him.
As well as a best mate who did the same. ie: Me.
So he went for it. And it has been the best decision of his life … first emotionally and then pretty soon afterwards, financially.
I’ve written a lot about how my parents drilled into me the importance of fulfilment over contentment.
To be honest it took me a long time to realise what they truly meant.
But in essence it was this.
Always choose the bigger life.
I’m so glad Paul did it. I’m so glad I was taught it. I hope more people find theirs.
Because as hard as it may seem, it’s only one considered decision away.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Film
I bloody love this idea.
If they ever get round to reissuing the movie, I really hope they do it.
Hell, I’d even happily pay to help justify the joke. But I’m strange like that.
That said, I’m surprised Hollywood hadn’t thought of doing this before.
Let’s be honest, their current business plan appears to be ‘remake once popular movies [and some, not so popular] rather than investing in new ideas’. So reissuing the brilliant Groundhog Day but calling it a sequel, sounds like their Holy Grail.
Either way, it would be a brilliant example of how to use a brand idea … because for all the claims out there from agencies and brands about creating ‘big, sustainable, long-term brand platforms, we don’t see that nearly as much as we could. Or should.