Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Relevance, Resonance | Tags: a
One of the most important skills of a strategist is the ability to communicate.
Not just in terms of the spoken word.
Or presenting to others.
But writing.
Actual words.
That should be obvious, but for all the ‘guru courses’ out there, none – as far as I have seen – have focused on the importance of writing.
Thinking.
Framing.
Explaining.
Yes.
Writing?
No.
And yet writing is the most powerful way to help others not just understand your thinking/framing/explaining … but feel it.
A way for them to understand how issues affect people.
The concerns. The tensions. The reasons behind the actions they take.
Wieden+Kennedy always valued the art of writing because Dan was a writer. It was a measure of your ability as a strategist. The skill of writing just enough, never too much. Truth without any hyperbole. Tensions not obstacles. A story not a set of points. A point of view not a range of general observations.
Some were exceptional at this. People like Weigel, Bloodworth and Lindblade to name but three … but everyone knew that while so much of the creative process came from conversations, the written word set the foundations.
Which is why – despite this not having anything to do with advertising, planning or brief writing – I am still in awe of the power of this piece of writing from The Economist that, in just 6 sentences, ignited the process that resulted in the destruction of a Prime Minister’s reign.
It is also the best ad for The Economist in years.
It’s why one of the best ways a planner can develop is read.
Not simply to expand your knowledge, but to discover how to help others expand theirs.
