Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Age, Agency Culture, Apathy, Aspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Delusion, Distinction, Diversity, Emotion, Inclusion, Love, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Mum & Dad, Planners, Politics, Prejudice, Provocative, Relevance, Reputation, Resonance, Respect
I can’t believe next week we enter the final month of 2024.
How the hell did that happen?
My god, it’s been a whirlwind and while I’ll write my annual ‘wrap-up’ post in a few weeks, I have to say – bar three truly tragic events for me – a pretty good year.
I don’t take any of that for granted.
I know it could all fall apart in an instant.
Which may explain why I follow certain theories/behaviours/beliefs that – despite knowing they’re likely utter nonsense – help me feel I’m doing things that encourage ‘good stuff’ to happen for me and my family.
Or should I say, ‘extend’ the good stuff that my family get to enjoy.
That’s right, I’m talking about certain superstitions that I follow.
I won’t go into them in detail for fear of the men in the white suits popping around to put me in a jacket with no sleeves, but on top of working hard, doing what I promise and staying interested and open to stuff … they heavily influence and drive my actions and behaviours in equal measure.
Now I should point out the driving force of this is less about maintaining an income [though that is there, of course] and more about satisfying my curiosity and hunger.
You see, despite being 54, I’m still fiercely ambitious and hungry to do new, exciting and good things. In fact – given the stuff I’ve been fortunate to do over the past few years with moving countries and working with artists in the music, fashion and gaming industries – even more ambitious and hungry than I’ve ever been.
Of course I appreciate I’ve done a bunch of stuff but as I’ve written before, the more I do … the more I discover things I want to do. The problem is, the older you get, the more you know you won’t be able to do everything and so you want to try and ensure your time is spent on the stuff that fulfils you rather than drains you.
I get some people may read this and think I’m a fucking idiot. And I get it … because the basic narrative that is pushed out is the older you get, the less passion you have.
Hell, companies have used that as an excuse to get rid of experience for decades.
Worse, for a long time I believed that view too …
But what I’ve learned is that in many cases, it’s not the passion that gets tired, but the tolerance for bullshit.
The politics.
The processes.
The procedures.
The shiny-new-things.
The hang-on-to-the-old-things.
Corporate bullshit is endless.
And while I’m not suggesting people actively enjoy subjecting you to it – nor am I claiming all of it is pointless – I understand why so many people choose to walk away from it.
Which is all my way of saying how fortunate I consider myself …
Because while I have faced a bunch of bullshit in my time, the vast majority of my career has been working for – or with – people/companies and brands who value the work more than the politics. Who choose creativity over complicity. Who value what you do rather than devalue how old you are.
And that means at 54, the bullshit hasn’t won.
It may one day, but it hasn’t yet.
And that means I don’t just get to keep working with talent regardless of age, heritage, geography or discipline. Nor just get to learn, collaborate and create with people from all walks of life and from all fields of creativity – united by our desire to make something really fucking good, rather than something ‘good enough’. It means I get to keep enjoying it … being inspired by it and bringing my own energy and creativity to it.
So while there’ll be people out there who’ll make more money, have more things, possess bigger job titles or career positions than I’ll ever have … and while there may well come a time where the possibilities I see will be possibilities someone else has to realise … I can feel I beat the bullshit.
And while many won’t understand that.
Or even agree with that.
For a kid whose parents instilled in him the importance of living a life of fulfilment rather than contentment, it means that should I ever get to meet Mum and Dad again, I can thank them for teaching me stubbornness isn’t a fault, when done right, it’s an enduring gift.
Filed under: Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Context, Culture, Politics, UK
Following on from yesterday’s post about the UK election …
The campaigning has stopped.
The Tory lies has been told.
The votes are cast.
And now we wait.
We wait for the hopeful demonstration of judgement.
Of their lies.
Of their corruption.
Of their hypocrisy and shame.
Of their wilful disregard of care.
Of their viscous attacks on the young, the poor and the NHS.
But most of all, we wait – I hope – for the people’s revenge.
And yet there are those that will still vote for them.
Who spout lines such as, “taxes will be higher under a labour government” … and then quoting the 1970’s, while conveniently ignoring the destruction of a country and it’s people’s in the present day. A present day that has been presided over by the government they still see as positive despite the last 14 years.
As I said to someone yesterday, if you can still see the good in them, then you’re either very rich or very evil.
And it got worse …
I’ve seen some ad agencies putting out [obviously self-funded] ‘ads’ that tell people what policy they should vote for. Except they show no political affiliation and the cause they’re ‘standing for’ is rather ambiguous … mainly because it’s pretty obvious their real motivation is to try and hijack the moment to gain some PR for their ego.
It’s embarrassing.
Actually it’s more than that, it’s insulting – given the poverty and depravation millions are trying to deal with.
If you want to take a stand, say it.
If you want to make a difference, try harder.
But if you have nothing to say, shut the fuck up.
But there was a bright point …
A clip that beautifully and systematically surmised and destroyed the incompetence of a Tory Government who forgot their job was to lead the country, rather than serve themselves.
And within this clip was a line, that is possibly the best bit of writing since Arsène Wenger said, “Kevin Keegan thinks tactics are a small mint” … and I include all of Succession’s viscous tongue masterpieces in this declaration as well.
It was this:
[ex-Minister of culture] “Nadine Dorries. A woman so stupid, she thinks Channel 4 is a brand of perfume”.
How good is that?
What a reminder of the power of words. The art and craft of them.
How tragic so many brands think they’re just for decoration around a product shot or a Getty Image pic.
But that aside, check out the clip.
I should warn you it’s NSFW. However it is very appropriate to describe 14 years of Conservative lies and destruction.
So click on it as we wait.
And hope sanity finally prevails.
So today is the 4th July.
As I’ve written many times, the day America celebrates its freedom is not really the day it should be celebrated.
As the old adage goes, no one is free until everyone is free.
And right now – right across the world – there’s a lot of people who aren’t free.
Held down by unfair policies, lack of investment and institutionalised racism and prejudice within organisations and governments.
Immigration is currently the favourite punchbag for so many politicians. And while I understand there has to be some sort of policy around this issue – blindly blaming people who are desperately trying to escape an increasingly desperate situation is disgraceful. Even more so when it is the foreign policies of these politicians that has contributed to the terrible situation these people face in the first place. But you know what’s even sicker? That more and more people seem to think voting for more and more extreme politicians is a good thing. Conveniently choosing to ignore the facts, the issues and the implications of their self-interested, fear-driven, ‘blinkered and blame’ thinking.
WHAT THE FUCK?!
The deliberate ignorance is out of control. Everywhere.
Trump claiming anything that doesn’t go his way is corrupt.
Germany and France increasingly turning to Far Right parties and policies.
And the Tory Government …
Oh my god, don’t get me started with those fucktards.
Nope … too late, especially as today is election day in the UK.
Because despite the Tories best attempts to gaslight us into believing they haven’t been in power for the last 14 years … that they are not the ‘powerful elite’ they keep blaming for scuppering their plans … that they didn’t give jobs and billions of tax payers money to their friends … that they didn’t lie and cheat during covid … that Brexit has been good for Britain … that the NHS is still really important to them … that they’re absolutely not racist despite wanting to ship out immigrants to RWANDA … not to mention also claiming the UK is still a relevant and powerful force in the world, they’ve failed.
Just like they’ve failed every man, woman and child [who isn’t a millionaire or gives donations to the party]. Not just for the last 14 years, but for the generations who will follow such is the damage their vindictive, vicious and thoughtless egotistical bullshit has caused.
And while common sense should destroy them, I still fear that at the ballot box, many will vote them to stay … a final act of selfishness to a nation of millions who have suffered at their hands. Another demonstration that while democracy is a precious right, we are now voting for our own needs more than those for everyone around us.
So after what is possibly the most political post I’ve written in 20 years of this blog, I say this …
Destroy the Tories. Destroy Reform. Vote Labour.
Fuck … vote for Basil Brush if you have to, just don’t let those right wing fucktards anywhere near any sort of influence ever again.
Which is why I ask my country to do one thing …
Be Great, Britain.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Complicity, Corporate Evil, Corporate Gaslighting, Diversity, Inclusion, Management, Politics
I’m old. So I’ve heard companies talk about their ‘culture’ a billion times.
And in all but 3 cases, what they actually meant was company complicity.
Where the expectation was never to challenge or question.
That doing that – even with the best of intentions – would result in you being labelled ‘a bad fit’ where you would then be sidelined or undermined. Destroying people’s potential and confidence while spouting contrived statements such as “our people are our greatest asset”.
What’s worse is that this behaviour often makes victim – and they are a victim – feel compelled to stay in a bid to prove they are worthy.
In essence, taking endless amounts of abuse to try and win over the very people trying to destroy them.
And what makes it even worse is that if they succeed, they’ve ultimately lost because they’ve had to deny who they are to be who they aren’t.
There’s loads of stories about this on Corporate Gaslighting … with many talking about how they felt paralysed to leave their toxic job because on top of everything else, they feared if they made a sideways move, they’d look like they’d failed to others in their community and profession. [Which is why I loved the picture at the top of this post]
That’s how messed up a lot of ‘company culture’ really is.
Which is why the older I get, the more some words my Dad once told me ring true.
“A company with a positive culture is one where their beliefs are expressed by their people in a million different ways. It’s never rules where everyone expresses them in exactly the same way”.
You may be asking how a Human Rights lawyer would have such insight about company culture. Well it was simple, a lot of his success came from working with the people who were once labelled the ‘bad fit’.
Culture is a salad never a smoothie – as someone I can’t remember once told me.
Filed under: America, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Brand Suicide, Comment, Confidence, Corporate Evil, Culture, Cunning, Daily Mail, Egovertising, England, Fear, Government, Honesty, Imposter Syndrome, Marketing, Marketing Fail, Politics, Professionalism, Relationships, Relevance, Research, Resonance, Social Divide, Trust, Truth
Recently I was reading an article on Brexit when I came across a comment that stopped me in my tracks.
The reason for it is that in a few words – literally a few – it not only highlighted the issue with many of the shortsighted fools who voted for leaving the European Union – and likely voted for the election of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – but also could be used to explain the decline of so many companies, institutions and individuals.
This is it …
What a perfectly constructed sentence.
A devastating set of words that places you perfectly in a corner you can’t get out of.
It’s almost a Hollywood movie line it’s so crafted in its underlying viciousness.
But of course, the people it challenges won’t accept it.
They will continue to refuse to acknowledge their complicity in the situation millions now face.
Because as I’ve written before, people has difficulty understanding something when their credibility and reputation depends on them not understanding something.
It’s why they will continue to cast blame on everyone else.
Why they will continue to claim the opposition are more dangerous than the government they voted in … the government that has brought an entire nation to its knees.
But let’s be honest, the reason for their attitude is even uglier than not wanting to own up to what they contributed to. Because for all their claims of wanting a ‘better Britain’ … the real reason behind their choice was to create a barrier between them and people they think are beneath them.
A way to feel socially, morally, professionally superior to those around them, while conveniently choosing to ignore they were either given great advantage from birth over the vast majority of people or seek to mitigate their situation by blaming everyone else for what they have not achieved, despite starting from greater advantage.
I get it. It’s kind-of human nature. It’s also the unspoken truth of democracy – where the reality is we tend to vote for what works for you rather than what’s right for the nation.
Of course the unspoken truth is still better than the alternative … however given the way politics and business are increasingly allowing spin, vitriol and lies, it seems we’re seeing ‘post truth’ as an accepted and embraced business strategy.
And that’s why the independent voice has never been so important.
Not just in the public domain, but within organisations, governments and individual groups.
Not to attack, destroy or dethrone – as is the current trend – but to protect.
To ensure the people making decisions – or the people asking to decide on the options – are aware of the range of possibilities and outcomes that could occur rather than just blindly following a blinkered promise of what will happen.
Not delivered with hyperbole or exaggeration, but with quiet, informed context and facts … delivered by an individual or organisation without political affiliation and respected for their independence.
It doesn’t mean it will stop things like Brexit happening, but it will ensure people who knowingly bend the truths to suit their own agenda or were deliberately ignorant to the choices they made are held to account. Because without that, we carry on down this sorry path where governments, organisations or individuals can choose to ignore previous choices they made, ignore the passing of time that changes the context of everything and ignore the realities others may have caught up and left us behind.
I am under no illusion that the truth hurts, but delusion damages us forever.