Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Dad, Empathy, Management, Mum & Dad
One of the best pieces of advice I was taught was ‘always earn your right to be trusted’.
By that, they meant …
+ Lead by example.
+ Open doors for others to walk through.
+ Be fierce with maintaining standards.
+ Always protect, defend and grow your team.
+ Be transparent in your actions and interactions.
+ Encourage debate and independent thinking.
+ Create the conditions for everyones success.
+ Recognise the individual, not just the group.
That seems a lot of things doesn’t it, but that’s what real leadership is.
Or what I was taught it is.
Now whether I’m good at any of that is open to debate, but it definitely shaped my approach to things – even when I get it terribly wrong.
But my worry is a lot of people entering management today don’t get any advice whatsoever.
They’re plucked from being good in their job and told they now lead a team. Which basically sends out the message ‘do whatever it takes for the company to succeed, regardless of the cost’.
We’ve read the damage of this attitude in Corporate Gaslighting and yet it doesn’t have to be that way.
Of course a manager/leaders job is to do things for the benefit of the company they work for. But if they create an environment where the individual and the team can also succeed – not just financially, but in terms of growth, opportunity and possibility – it’s amazing how much everyone benefits.
But to do that well requires more that authority, but trust.
Trust you will lead them to somewhere better.
Trust you will look out for them not just yourself.
Trust in their opinion, not just your own.
The older I get, the less I see of this.
Instead of trust, companies put in hierarchy.
Where the expectation is to blindly follow what the more senior person demands.
I saw that when I lived in America … the most hierarchal place I’ve ever worked.
And while it may appear to work, it doesn’t really.
It either creates an echo-chamber of blinkered opinion – which is reframed as ‘company culture’ – or it relies on people who are in the terrible position of not having the choice to get out of where they are, with ease.
Which is why the other piece of advice I got – from my Dad – compliments what I said at the top of this post. Because if the goal of a manager or leader is to always earn trust from their team … then the role of the team is to “only respect authority that has been earned over time … not given, bought or provided by privilege or misinformation”.
It’s a lovely thought …
Proof not expectation.
Earned not just given.
Consistent not occasional.
It also explains why I must have been an absolute nightmare to the bosses I had who expected my loyalty rather than earned it. There weren’t many – thank god – but there were a few. And while I’m sure they were good people [probably], they definitely made the fatal error of thinking their job title demanded trustworthiness, when literally the opposite is true.
And with that, I’ll sign off with a link to an article I wrote for Little Black Book that sums this all up. It was – and remains so – one of the most valuable lessons and mistakes, I’ve ever had.
Filed under: Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand, Consultants, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Management, Marketing
I’ve written a ton on brand purpose.
How it’s become meaningless and is just another tool for marketing mediocrity.
[This was the latest rant]
Well, recently I found an example of purpose that is undeniably true.
No, not Patagonia …
Mainly because this is not about a powerfully good purpose, more a purpose that is simply true to them.
Or should I say, to both of them.
Because it’s for KPMG – and, bizarrely, PWC.
Fuelling/Building Prosperity … I mean, come on.
Financial organisations who exist to generate riches … no fucking shit, Sherlock.
Of course, the cynic in me thinks what they’re actually trying to say is their purpose is to find ways to generate riches for themselves. Regardless of the cost.
Maybe if they had written it in a way that included WHY or HOW they fuelled/built prosperity, I’d be less of a bastard towards it… but because they didn’t, I now think they left it out on purpose so they can exploit financial opportunities for themselves and then say, “we never said we’d do it for you”.
Is this what purpose has now become?
Where you badly explain what you do and think that’s a higher order.
The lack of self-awareness is so bad that I almost want to advice them to go and spout some of the meaningless bollocks most other brands out there, shout.
That said, I kind of respect them for it.
Because as we’ve seen countless times before, what companies say about themselves and what they do are so far apart, it’s almost refreshing to have someone own their truth.
Even if it’s a truth that has the potential to repulse more than attract.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Age, Attitude & Aptitude, Brilliant Marketing Ideas In History, Context, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Cunning, Environment, Media, Mischief, Sport
A few weeks ago I saw something on twitter that has deeply conflicted me.
It was this …
That’s right, they’re lawn bowl mats … sponsored by Co-op Funerals.
Now I don’t know much about bowls.
I know they attract a much broader age of ‘player’ these days, but I’m still pretty sure the majority still are of the more elderly variety.
And given I’m 52, we’re talking proper old.
I could be wrong.
But given someone thought it was a good idea for Co-op funerals to sponsor the mat, it seems I may not be. And this is what has had me conflicted for weeks.
On one hand, it’s just fucking genius isn’t it.
Old people.
Funerals.
Chance to make arrangements before someone else has to.
But it’s also just a bit evil, isn’t it?
Old people.
Out enjoying themselves.
Message to remind them of their impending demise.
If I allowed comments, this is the sort of post where I know they would come into their own. But I don’t … which means I’ll be getting extra emails of commentary and abuse from the same people who used to do that on here.
And I don’t mind admitting I’m quite excited about that, And quite interested in what they’ll say.
Because I have the sneaky suspicion they may think it’s clever.
And that old people may find it both slightly amusing and kinda useful.
And that by doing something like this, it becomes a social media campaign by fact of it being infinitely shareable.
Or … they may say no one will give a shit because all it will be to them is a free mat so they can rest their knee as they try to destroy that prick from up the road who always seems to win.
But to whoever did this, I admire both your smarts and your mischief … because I haven’t seen something so perfect since [I think] Naked got their client – cheap meat in a can maker – Fray Bentos to sponsor some local Darts Players.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Campaign Magazine, Chris Jaques, Colenso, Communication Strategy, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Planning, R/GA, Wieden+Kennedy
I have always found it rather amusing that occasionally the industry press has shown an interest in what I’m doing – or done.
Even now, my first reaction is, “don’t you mean the other Rob Campbell, who started RKCR Y&R?”
And while occasionally the answer is, “yes, we do mean him” … I have approached any interaction with my tongue, generally in my cheek.
Hence I’ve said if I was a Star Wars character, I’d be Darth Vader.
I’ve felt fine writing sarcastic responses to discipline assassination.
And I showed no shame saying the word ‘wank’ in response to a new business win.
To be fair, Campaign Magazine – where a lot of this madness took part – played their part in the relationship by running pieces questioning if my wife was real and if I was having an affair with a reindeer.
I say all this because a friend sent me something he had just found in an old edition of Campaign in Asia …
Apart from the fact that I was at Y&R Asia 16 years ago, so I’m wondering why on earth anyone would keep a copy of Campaign that long … it did make me smile.
Yes, I used to use the word ‘toptastic’ a lot.
A. LOT.
And yes, I can absolutely see myself saying that, even though I LOVED Mediaworks and would do it again in a heartbeat.
But more than that – and I appreciate how egotistical this makes me sound – it was nice to see a bit of humour in an industry that is quickly going up its own arse.
Yes, what we do is important.
Yes, we need companies to recognise we care about their longterm wellbeing.
But for an industry that is supposed to understand how to connect commerce to culture … this overly serious, overly complex, overly monotone approach to all we do isn’t helping.
I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t take what we do seriously, but maybe if we stopped taking ourselves so seriously – so we can resonate with culture rather than patronise them – we may end up with better work and better results.
And by god, could we do with that.
Though I appreciate this may simply be my attempt to reframe my industry ridiculousness as professional, so should Otis ever see it, he won’t think his Dad was a total lunatic.
Maybe.
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National holiday on Monday, so see you Tuesday. That is if anyone reads this blog anymore – I have no idea. [Which is probably a very good thing, ha]
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.