Filed under: 2025, A Bit Of Inspiration, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Clients, Communication Strategy, Context, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Design, Details, Emotion, Empathy, Fashion, Imagination, Integrity, Italy, Jewellery, Legend, Loyalty, Luxury, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Martin Weigel, Passion, Paula, Perspective, Planners, Planning, Precision, Professionalism, Reputation, Respect, Strategy
A few months ago, I found myself in Milan, having lunch with one of the most famous and successful designers in the World. At their house!!!
It was bonkers.
I had no right to be there, but the person I work for occasionally is a very good friend and he had wanted me to attend a few meetings … which is how I found myself one Tuesday lunchtime, eating pasta and trying to talk in broken Italian to them and their family members.
But this isn’t a post about my good fortune, this is a post about one thing they said that really hit me.
This designer is known for the distinctive nature of all they create.
The intricacy and craftsmanship that goes into every element of what they do.
Their work is instantly recognizable and this has built the foundation of their success, prestige and aspiration for decades.
Anyway, at one point – in mangled Italian – I asked them about where does ‘craft’ come into their process of design to which they looked at me like talking to a small child who didn’t know what the fuck they were saying [ahem!] and simply said:
“When you ask about craft, it sounds like you see it like an outer layer of the process. We don’t think that way. For us, everything is about the integrity of what we value and believe. It starts from the inside, never the out”.
In some ways, it sounds obvious, but it hit me hard.
So much of our industry is based on ‘making something’ and then ‘crafting the details’ to make it shine.
But they do it differently …
The ‘shine’ is the starting point and their goal is to ensure that is never lost in all they do.
It’s not an ‘after thought’, it’s the focal point.
More than that. It’s judging craft more by how it feels than how it looks. Or said in ways more relative to our industry – craft isn’t about gaining applause from the industry it’s done to help others connect more deeply to the work.
And somewhere along the line – in our quest for efficiency and speed – we have forgotten that. And as a result, we have increasingly lost it. Both in terms of having the time to do it and – arguably – the ability to. Because too many people see it as an ineffective use of time, when it is literally what helps give what we do it’s real value.
I couldn’t help but think of the Strategy Is Constipated, Imagination Is The Laxative talk Martin Weigel, Paula Bloodworth and I gave at Cannes in 2023.
There, we argued that too much of the straegic process is designed to blindly follow where logic takes us versus going where imagination reveals we can play. And by doing this, we are actively removing the excitement of possibility from our approach rather than doing all we can to protect it.
And that’s one of the reasons we are where we are.
Protecting the wrong things and as a byproduct of that, destroying what makes us valuable.
And while I appreciate some will say that is both a naive and commercially stupid statement … maybe, just maybe, what it actually reveals is how our whole industry has lost sight of how to build things versus just say things.
Lost in the cult of systems, tools and market evaluation rather than appreciating and understanding the integrity of who they are, who they’re for and where they can go.
Or, as the nice hosts of my lunch in Milan also said.
“Shortcuts lead to long term oblivion”
Which – to paraphrase the brilliant Lee Hill – explains why building a career these days is less about what you do, and more about identifying the optimum time to get out.
_______________________________________
Today is the 2nd anniversary of us saying goodbye to our dear Rosie. In some ways it feels even longer than that but the loss still cuts deep.
She was a complaining princess, but she was our complaining princess and I’d like nothing more to have her here, bossing Bonnie about – who would love her whereas Bonnie would simply be tolerated.
Love you Rosie. Miss you.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Cannes, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Conformity, Craft, Creativity, Design, Details, Efficiency, Emotion, Empathy, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Marketing Practice, Martin Weigel, Planners, Systems
I met someone recently who said they bet I spent my money on crap.
To be fair to them, our conversation had probably led them to that conclusion based on something I did while I was talking to them.
But I still say it was because I was interested in knowing more about them, rather than just trying to avoid them – which I appreciate sounds like an excuse, but it’s not. Honest.
That said, I appreciate what I did could sound a bit ‘weird’ out of context and while I know many would suggest this is just one more bad purchase decision in a long line of bad purchase decisions [100 robot dogs and a windmill anyone?] … the reality is in both those cases, they – admittedly, amazingly – made me money, which means I’m a genius.
Or it would if they weren’t the exception to the rule.
But while I am sadly much more sensible with my spending these days [comparatively speaking] the reality is I do like buying things that appeal to me emotionally more than logically.
Not because I’m a psychopath.
And not because I have bottomless piles of cash.
But because I like going down rabbit holes of discovering what other people feel are important to do – even if I don’t initially understand why they would do that.
Which is my way of explaining my latest purchase. This …
Yep, it’s a book on toilets. Toilets from all around the World.
And why would I do such a thing?
Well, it’s not because it’s a book … it’s because it celebrates people who decided they wanted to do something special with the most functional room in their house or building.
At a time where efficiency and optimization are the most biggest influences in seemingly every decision being made these days, a book on magical bathrooms is – in some way – the politest way to say ‘fuck you’ to all of that.
A reminder you can be, to paraphrase Mr Weigel, functional as hell and not be boring as fuck.
We need more of that … especially at a time where even the Cannes Lions seems to have forgotten about the role and importance of creativity that sustains over time, rather than just communicates in the moment.
So here’s to a book of magical toilets all around the World.
It’s a greater reminder and educator on the value of creativity than almost 99.6% of the hot takes on Linkedin.
Including this one, haha.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Communication Strategy, Craft, Creative Development, Creativity, Marketing, Marketing Practice, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Process, Relationships, Relevance, Reputation, Research, Resonance, Rick Rubin, Rigor, RulesOfRubin, Standards, Strategy
When I spoke at the conference in Berlin, I talked about rigor.
The main reason for doing that was because while our discipline talks a lot about rigor, more often than not – it seems the emphasis is far more on the adoption of marketing science principals rather than putting in the time and effort to really get under the skin of our clients situation and the context and understanding of the audiences they need to embrace.
The obsession with ‘sprints’ is part of the problem …
Because it seems clients care more about having fast answers than they do right answers.
Oh, I know they claim to give us all the information we need to move forward, but – as Dan Lyons pointed out in his brilliant book, ‘Disrupted’ – too many companies don’t know ‘who they are, who they’re for and what they do’, so the result of that is we are encouraged to make work that appeals to who they wish they were, rather than who they are.
Hence the need for rigor.
To be given the time and space to understand what the hell is going on.
Now of course, I appreciate time is money … and what we do can cost a lot of it … but while you can definitely take too long to do things, you can also not take long enough, which is why briefs need to be more about what we need to change than what we want to say.
And while there’s more data out there than you could ever use, the reality is nothing – and I mean nothing – has the impact of spending time with the people who are deeply entrenched in the category/product/brand that you’ve talking about.
They’re the ones who know what’s going on.
They’re the ones who see the challenges and problems.
They’re the ones who evolve what and where things can go.
And while they may well be at the far edge of where the category is, more often than not – they’re also the people who bring the masses along with them.
Or said another way, they’re the ones who can help you listen and understand like a fan. An educated fan.
Because the more you do that, the more you are exposed to the textures and nuances that reveal the truth, power and possibilities of what you are dealing with. Truth, power and possibilities that – in the obsession with speed – often get overlooked or devalued in favor of quick wins and convenient answers.
It’s basically how Rick Rubin has always approaches his job …
Understanding the artist’s truth and pushing/elevating it, rather than simply having a singular format that he adopts regardless of who he is working with or the situation they are currently in.
And before you dismiss this, there’s 2 important things to remember:
1. What he is doing is basically strategy.
2. What he has achieved – by any criteria you want to measure him by – is beyond almost anything any strategist in our industry has.
Now it is important I point out that I don’t have a problem with marketing science …
It has a place in the strategic process and has lessons/considerations that are valuable and important.
My problem with it is far more about how it is presented, specifically by the people who have a vested interest in promoting their ‘methodology’ … because they suggest it is the only way to liberate a brand’s potential when that is not the case and – generally – it is designed to not go wrong, rather than to elevate how far you can go.
Which is why we need to stop confusing ‘marketing science’ as strategic rigor when it’s more strategic 101. Valuable, but foundational.
It’s also why, I have a sign in the Colenso ‘strat’ department that reminds everyone that true strategic rigor requires us to be …
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Collaboration, Comment, Communication Strategy, Confidence, Context, Craft, Creativity, Culture, Effectiveness, Emotion, Empathy, Focus Groups, Interviews, Leadership, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Resonance, Respect
One of the things that has always bugged me about some strategists is their desire to be academically victorious in every conversation.
To not just be ‘right’, but to be the ‘rightest of right’.
And then expect wild applause for their proclamations and declarations of self-appointed brilliance.
Putting aside the problematic nature of this behaviour, the irony is it stands in the way of them being able to properly understand – and connect to – how others feel, think, believe or behave … because they’re too busy telling others what they ‘really mean or think’.
And here’s the kicker …
The reality is people often do know what they want, think or think … they just don’t know how to express it clearly.
Which is why the key is the ability to listen rather than to judge. Or explain.
And by listen, I mean listen ‘hard’ …
Not just what is said, but how it is expressed … verbally, visually, contextually.
And while I appreciate we’re in a time poor, distraction rich world … the benefit of doing this is that not only will you have a greater appreciation of how they see the world, they will often reveal opportunities that ‘intellectual logic’ may never see, let alone get to.
Maybe that’s why I love that Lucille Ball quote so much … because in a few words, she articulates the difference between clever and smart.
And where strategy is concerned, smart trumps clever.
That doesn’t mean you don’t care about facts, details, knowledge or academic accuracy, it just means you appreciate that being emotionally resonant with others can achieve more than being academically victorious.
Or as my Dad used to say:
“If you need to show how clever you are, you’re probably not”
I say all this because I saw a brief interview with the singer Billy Idol.
In it, he demonstrates the importance – and craft – of emotional resonance.
The act of understanding what others need to be able to give them the space and place to express.
Not manipulation.
Not exaggeration.
But emotional consideration.
Which is why if a true Rockstar – who has lived the equivalent of 100 lives – can do it, then us poxy strategists should be able to, too.
Watch it, you’ll be a better person for it.
Filed under: 2026, A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Contribution, Craft, Creativity, Culture, Pride, Standards
Good enough.
Two words that trigger the fuck out of me.
Truly press every button I have.
Not because I’m some perfectionist who never gets things wrong.
Nor because I’m a myopic tyrant who only cares about what works for me.
But because I don’t have the time to waste on things – and people – who don’t share the same standards as me.
That sounds massively condescending, doesn’t it?
Believe it or not, I don’t mean it to be … but the fact is, time is precious to me. More precious than it has ever been. And – as I’ve written in the past – when you find yourself in this position, you realise you’re in a race.
That may sound over the top … exaggerated even … but I assure you it’s not.
For a start you know all the things you want to do won’t happen. Just won’t be possible.
Then to make matters worse … the more you do, the more you discover and that adds to the list of things you would love to explore and experiment with.
So you end up having to try and choose what matters – or intrigues or scares you – the most and when you have done that, you go into them like a freight train.
Hardcore.
Total commitment.
Focus on being as brilliant as you think it can be and you hope to be.
Or at least I do.
And that’s why when you find the people around you are in a different place in life … or have a different set of expectations or standards … that can be hard.
It’s not that they’re wrong, it’s just that they’re wrong for where you are at right now.
Because you have no time for casual.
You have no time for not being utterly focused.
And anything that shows a lack of consideration feels like a knife in your back.
I appreciate this may not be a popular perspective – especially on a Monday morning – but as a friend of mine’s father once said:
“If you haven’t got the time to do it right at the beginning, when will you?
The reality is standards are all that sets you apart in this industry …
That doesn’t mean everything you do has to be a hit … but it does mean everything you do has to feel you’ve pushed for it, cared for it and fought to make it as good as it can be.
Not simply outsourced to a system or framework.
Not simply doing what others have done quicker, cheaper or bigger.
Not simply following what’s popular or hyped.
But standards, efforts and taste.
Because the reality is anyone can be lucky occasionally, but real reputations are born from standards over time.
Where you are known and seen for continually making and pushing things to better and more interesting places, time and time again.
That’s what gets the calls from the clients and people who care as much about what they put out as why they are putting things out.
Of course it’s not easy, but it’s worth it … or at least worth more than churning stuff out you wish didn’t have your name attached to, even if others are OK with it.
Because when your time is running out – but your ambition, hunger and curiosity isn’t – the problem isn’t the fear of failure, the problem is giving your time to people who don’t value what you can do with it.