Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, America, Apple, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Australia, Authenticity, Business, Chaos, Charinee, China, Chinese Culture, Colenso, Comment, Confidence, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Differentiation, Diversity, Emotion, Empathy, England, Equality, Experience, Facebook, Innovation, Insight, London, Management, Marketing, New Zealand, Paula, Planners, Planning, Point Of View, Politics, Relevance, Resonance, Rodi, Ros, Shanghai, Singapore, The Kennedys, Wieden+Kennedy
I recently saw the above quote in The Athletic magazine.
The idea that Manchester City – albeit during their less successful period – had to provide ‘rain charts’ to show potential signings that their city was not wetter than London surprised me.
Then I came to my senses.
Society has an incredible knack of trying to lift themselves up by putting others down.
Obviously racism is the work example of this, but we do it everyday in lots of little ways.
From blanket attitudes such as …
“People from the North are backwards”.
To city affirmations such as …
“Manchester is the musical capital of England”.
To hierarchy comparison such as …
“I may be from Nottingham but at least I’m not from Derby”.
It’s not only bollocks, it’s also often stated by people who have never gone anywhere near the cities/countries they are negatively judging. Now I know people will say it’s all a bit of a joke – and I appreciate between mates, it can be – but there’s a lot of perceived truth in those sorts of statements, which has been exploited by all manner of organisations, especially politics.
When I lived in China, I was shocked how hard it was to recruit people from outside of Asia to come and work at Wieden+Kennedy.
OK, it may have been because they didn’t want to work with me … but even then, the amount of people who started off claiming to be interested and then said ‘it wasn’t for them’, was incredible. [Though maybe you will still find it understandable. Bastards. Ha]
There was a time where I almost gave up wanting to hire people from outside the region due to it being so much hassle. But the reality was I always felt it important to have a real mix in the gang. Sure, the vast majority of them had to be from the country/region – but by incorporating people from outside of it, I felt it created a tension that led to better and more provocative thinking. In addition, it could also help stop the blind and blinkered views we kept seeing and hearing from the West … because the more Westerners we got to experience the crazy, infectious magic of the nation, the more positive voices we would infect the rest of the world with.
But many people we talked to weren’t interested in changing their blinkered opinion.
So many didn’t even bother to investigate more about China, they were just happy to keep making their false judgements.
Oh they were all very happy to work for Wieden+Kennedy, they just didn’t want it to be in China and would often say, “but if you could connect me to people in London/Portland/NY/Amsterdam” etc.
And if they were really interesting and had a valid reason to not leave their country, I would.
Didn’t happen often.
I find it amazing that people – especially planners – don’t want to explore the World.
Planners go on about curiosity but what they mean is they are curious under certain conditions of personal comfort.
Behind a desk.
Surrounded by people and things they know.
Never venturing outside of the bubble they’ve created.
Of course not everyone is like this, but there’s a lot who are. Viewing the world and passing judgement on it via Twitter rather than experience.
In the case of China – as with anywhere I’ve lived – if the issue became about the country we were in, it probably wasn’t going to work. Of course it was OK to have concerns and questions, but if I sensed you saw it as a hardship rather than an opportunity or you thought you knew everything when you would have to relearn everything, you were not going to be someone I wanted on the team.
I was, and still am, eternally grateful to everyone I’ve had the honour to work with – and I’ve been incredibly fortunate with the incredible and diverse talent I’ve inherited and nurtured – however those in China will always have a unique place in my heart.
Because whether they were from China, Asia or further afield, all of them knew what they were taking on with the job. Not just in terms of the standards and expectations of Wieden+Kennedy, but the inherent perceptions, prejudices and lies that existed in society – and the ad industry as a whole – towards China and Asia.
And it’s for this reason that I fucking loved seeing them do work others could only dream about, especially when the industries perception was ‘China doesn’t do great work’ or ‘there’s no good planning in Asia’ … often muttered by people who have neither been to China or done great work.
But even that doesn’t make me as happy as seeing where they have all ended up …
Not just in terms of the level they’re at – from running departments, big pieces of business or companies – but the actual organisations they work with or have worked with.
Nike. Ideo. Tik-Tok. Wieden. Mother. 72. Anomoly. Supreme. Playstation. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Facebook. Google. Net-A-Porter. Instagram.
Not just in China but in countries that include America, Taiwan, Holland, UK, Singapore and Australia. Not forgetting the mob who decided to start their own thing and are now working on a bunch of fascinating projects from gaming to research.
I’m not just proud of them, I’m excited for them … because I truly believe they will do stuff that is interesting, intriguing and valuable for the rest of us.
And while most of their achievements are down to their talent and graft, another part is because of what China gave them.
Unique knowledge, experience and understanding of people and situations.
Some will never understand that.
Some will never value that.
But for those who were there – and the companies who hired them – they absolutely do.
Because while some make choices based on not wanting to leave things behind, this group of wonderful fools made their decisions based on what they could gain … and they didn’t need a rain comparison chart to convince them.
Thank you to all of them.
Thank you to anyone who runs towards the challenge not the comfortable.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Australia, Authenticity, China, Confidence, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Experience, Insight, LaLaLand, London, Management, Nike, Paula, Perspective, Planners, Purpose, Relationships, Relevance, Resonance, Shanghai, The Kennedys Shanghai, Wieden+Kennedy
I recently read an amazing interview with the actor Ethan Hawke.
There’s many reasons he’s a fascinating person, but one of the main ones is that despite being hyped up to be as big as Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, he didn’t get there.
However this is not because he failed or came off the rails … it was because he made an active choice not to go down that path.
There are many reasons for this.
One is because his Mum pushed him “towards a British understanding of acting as a craft and away from American ideas of celebrity” and the other is seeing what happened to his friend, River Phoenix.
And while many would deviate from their resolution the moment they saw the benefits available to them, Hawke has been steadfast in his resolve.
One of the ways this manifested itself was him never moving to LA.
Having lived there, I get it.
On face value, it’s a spectacular town.
A stunningly beautiful place where dreams can literally come true.
And there’s a bunch of truth in that. Kinda.
Because while it makes you feel more welcome than almost any place in the World, it comes at a price. And once it feels it has gotten its value out of you … or had all its fun with you … or simply got all the benefits out from you, then it will spit you out, forget you were there and move on to the next in the blink of an eye.
For me, you go to Las Vegas to gamble with your money to make it big.
But in LA – at least to a certain degree – you go there to gamble with your life.
I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true.
What’s more, it’s all there in plain sight. The issue is people – especially those chasing the Hollywood dream – like to ignore it because, let’s be honest, people like feeling special or lucky or smart enough to not let that shit happen to you.
And that’s why the way Ethan Hawke sums up LA is – as much as I enjoyed my life there – pretty damn perfect.
People think getting what you want will make you happy, but a sense of self, purpose and love don’t come from the outside. You can’t get distracted by this culture that celebrates things that sometimes aren’t what they seem”.
So why am I saying all this.
Well, contrary to how I’ve made it sound, it has nothing to do with my respect for Ethan Hawke. Or my cynicism to Los Angeles. It’s because recently, someone sent me this and said it reminded them of me.
I have to say, when I read it, I felt a bit overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed because it really did capture how I think about things.
Overwhelmed because it meant someone got me, rather than believed I was just a nosy prick.
OK … so there’s a selfish element to why I’m like this.
You see, if my colleagues or team mates have issues or worries, then it means they’re not able to perform as brilliantly as they usually do. Which means the work they do won’t be as brilliant as I want, need and expect from them. So wanting to give them an environment where they can feel safe to be open and vulnerable while also actively wanting to help, listen and change situations for them, has as much to do with my needs as there’s.
I know, what a selfish prick eh?!
But it’s not all for self-serving reasons.
Because ultimately I am a big believer people should be able to express how they feel.
That we all have good and bad days and you should never feel bad for how you are.
I was incredibly fortunate to be brought up in a house that followed this belief and I will continually advocate it.
Even when people think I am being a nosy prick.
But it does have benefits beyond just personal, emotional wellbeing.
It means you can connect better to others.
It means you can be open and honest rather than political and wary.
It means you can disagree in ways that never become personal or destructive.
It creates something special.
A bond where deep trust is formed.
It doesn’t happen every time.
It doesn’t always happen in the same way.
But if you’re lucky, you will meet some people on your professional journey who this approach will end up having a profound affect on both of you.
Not just in terms of how well you click. Or work together. But a deep understanding and acceptance of who you are without criticism or ridicule.
They will make you better and be someone you want to be better for.
United by a deep respect and belief in what each other brings to the table while still allowing you to argue, debate and challenge without it ever being personal or destructive.
When that happens, what you can create together – either in collaboration or just through each others support – is amazing.
You feel a real honour to know them, work with them and understand them.
I’m very fortunate I’ve had a few people in my life, but one of them is the brilliant Paula Bloodworth … who I first had the privilege of working with at Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai.
And that’s why receiving that quote from her was so, so special to me.
I hope you all have a Paula in your life.
Someone you deeply connect with and yet disagree with all at the same time.
Because not only does it make your work better, it makes you a better person.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Paula, Planners, Planning
A while back I ran a planner training session in Amsterdam with the brilliant Paula Bloodworth.
Well, the course organizers – the wonderful Hoala – decided to release a photo from that night.
This is what they put out …
Yep, of all the photos they could have taken, they decided to take one featuring an image of my frying pan penis.
For clarity, when I say “my” frying pan penis, I mean it in the ‘slide image’ sense of the word not some sort of personal descriptor … though if you look at what my hands are doing in the photo, you might suspect otherwise.
Thank you Hoala, thank you very much. [Though I applaud your evil genius]
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Colenso, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Equality, Jill, Paula, Planning, Point Of View, Shanghai, Wieden+Kennedy
Once upon a time I worked with a male creative who was one of the most sexist pricks I’ve ever met. He was condescending, patronising and – even worse – did all they could to stand in the way of female talent.
There was one situation where he actively tried to stop me from hiring one of the best planners in the World simply because she was a woman … knew more about sport than him and was much better at it as well.
He tried so hard to find fault with her, when all the time he was revealing his fragile ego.
And while I dealt with him – resulting in us hiring this brilliant planner who has gone on to have the sort of career most people could only ever dream of having – the fact is, her career could have been severely undermined if he had got his way.
What makes it worse is he is a loving father of daughters.
If anyone should be treating female talent with respect and encouragement – surely it should be someone with 2 daughters of their own. But then I remembered watching the ex-Prime Minister of Iceland – Vigdís Finnbogadottir – in Michael Moore’s documentary, ‘Where To Invade Next’ who explained things perfectly.
“While men would never want another man standing in the way of their daughters career potential, that attitude only extends to their daughter … not women in general”.
Of course she’s right.
That’s what’s so fucked up. Especially about men.
As is the vernacular they use to describe female colleagues.
Calling them emotional.
Fragile.
Weak.
And while I would rather work with an emotional, sensitive and compassionate person any day of the weak, the fact is women are way stronger than the vast majority of men I know.
Fuck, my wife has shown more courage than I could ever hope to muster.
From saying yes to moving countries with a man she had only known for 6 weeks to carrying our kid for 9 months and then PUSHING HIM OUT to just embracing every challenge that has been put in her way … everything about her is stronger than Superman and more inspiring than any Nike spot. [Sorry Swoosh, you know I still love you]
Then there’s the fact the vast majority of female leaders [of which there’s still too few] actively bring their whole team along with them versus a lot of men, who just want to take themselves forward.
And yet, despite all this, women continually face gender devaluation by many men – specifically white men – which is why I bloody love the poster at the top of this post designed by the brilliant Kat at Colenso designed from this amazing quote by Rahul Singh Rathour.
Which is why I hope women embrace being fragile like a bomb … because it means those around them will fear them rather than them having to fear those around them.