Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Education
So I am rubbish at word games.
Crosswords.
Scrabble.
Countdown.
Never liked them … never won any of them.
Which is why Wordle was a bit of a revelation … because I not only could do it, I enjoyed it.
Sure, it’s more a game of deduction than vocabulary, but it’s fun.
And then I found Wordiply on the Guardian website.
It’s a game where they give you a few letters and your job is to make the longest word you can that incorporates those letters … exactly as they appear on the website.
Now you’d think I’d be shit at this.
And often I am … but on two occasions, I’ve achieved this:
That’s right assholes … I’ve got the longest word not once, but TWICE.
Is this worthy of celebration?
To normal people, no … but for me, this is like getting the degree I never got.
Happy Monday.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Cannes, Comment, Consultants, Craft, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Differentiation, Martin Weigel, Paula, Planners, Planners Making A Complete Tit Of Themselves And Bless, Planning, Point Of View, Pretentious Rubbish, Relevance, Research, Resonance, Respect
There are a lot of quotes out on social media that explains how to make great creative work. Hell, a bunch of them are probably mine.
But putting aside the fact many of the quotes originate from people who, arguably, haven’t done much work that is deserving of that description – all of them, in their own way, are right.
And that’s great, because the survival of this industry is down to making work that is great and achieves great things for those it’s for.
But the problem with those quotes is they often reflect an unrealistic World.
One where time … or budget … or client mandatories don’t matter.
Which is why this quote from Leonard Bernstein is so good.
Because it captures how to get to great in the real World.
We need more of this.
I think people want more of this.
Because not only is there a distinct lack of training in our industry at the moment – and what is there is often from the same outsourced ‘gurus’ everyone else is outsourcing to – but Fergus, from OnStrategy, told Paula, Martin and I how so many young planners outside of the ‘big cities’ end up thinking they have no chance to make something even good, as they lack the tools, processes and infrastructure to do what the people on his show said they did.
It’s why we ensured in our Cannes talk we put 3 practical pieces of advice that anyone could use … because if we want to change the standards, we need everyone to have the ability to do that, not just the privileged big city types.
Which is why I leave you with this.
Because as much as time can help craft, a lack of it can force audacious leaps.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Bank Ads, Brand, Business, Comment, Complicity, Confidence, Corporate Evil, Finance
I’ve been a customer with Natwest Bank since 1987.
It was the first bank I ever had a salary put into and continues to be a bank account I use regularly, despite no longer living in the UK.
On top of this, since 1995 I’ve had the privilege of never needing to use the overdraft facility they gave me.
It’s only ever been 500 pounds, but I’ve never once needed it.
Anyway, due to some stuff we’re doing, I’ve withdrawn all but a few hundred pounds from the account over the past few days.
It is only temporary as this is the account where a bunch of different things get money paid into them … but it’s telling that on the 4 days there has been the least amount of money in it for almost 30 years [because I definitely used my overdraft when I was younger, on a monthly basis] I get this.
So despite never once going overdrawn …
Despite never once being late for a payment …
Despite never once asking them for help …
Natwest decided NOW is the time to lower my overdraft.
On one level, I shouldn’t care – I don’t use it and I’m in the incredibly fortunate position of not needing it – but there’s 2 things that bug me.
One.
It feels they’ve chosen this time because they’ve seen my balance basically disappear and fear I may be in financial hardship.
Two.
Like NIKE – who said they were always looking for ways to benefit their customers, before announcing they were pulling out of NZ – Natwest are trying to say this is for my own good.
That they’re doing ‘what’s right for me’.
What’s right for me?
More like what’s right for themselves.
Because for all their talk of wanting to be there for their customers.
… for all their claims of being there if anyone is facing financial hardship.
… for all their proclamations of wanting to be a financial partner to their customers.
You can’t help but feel they’re making sure they reduce any exposure to customer debt as is physically possible.
Not that they are in debt. Or face any risk of it.
Last year they made almost 5 billion in profit pre-tax … up a third on the previous year.
And let’s not forget the taxpayer bailed them out to the tune of 45 billion pounds in 2008.
As I said. I’m in the incredibly fortunate position of no longer needing to use my overdraft … but I know there’s lots of people who do. And if they will do this to someone who has been in credit for almost 30 years, what are they doing to those who haven’t?
The reality is, I’m fine with them reducing my overdraft limit … what I’m not fine with is their attempt to claim they’re doing ‘what’s best’ for me, when it’s painfully obvious they don’t give a toss about me.
They could have said, ‘you’ve never used your overdraft so we’re getting rid of it’.
Or ‘you’re not using it so we’re reducing it so we can provide more help to those who need it’.
Hell, they could have just kept everything the same because nothing has changed, even if my recent bank balance has.
But they didn’t do any of those things …
Instead they chose to basically bullshit so they could feed their ego and pretend they’re saviours all while making a decision designed to protect themselves from a financial situation, that they – in part – encouraged because of decisions and actions over the past few years.
Banks have an important role in society.
They could be seen in favourable terms by society.
But time and time again, their actions defy their advertising claims.
And yet they wonder why they find it hard to build trust and value with customers.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Apathy, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Comment, Complicity, Corporate Evil, Egovertising, Fake Attitude, Grifting, Innovation, Management, Technology
Warning. This post is topical.
In fact, it may be the most topical post I’ve ever written on here for 20 years.
Please read, while sitting down in case shock overwhelms you.
This is the end of this public service announcement.
So over the years, at Wieden and R/GA, I had a few dealings with WeWork.
And while I admit at the very beginning I thought it was a genius idea – specifically the way they were creating a business that dramatically profited from sub-letting space that was designed to appeal to a particular audience who felt they deserved to work in a particular kind of environment – after I met them, I started thinking something didn’t quite add up.
Please don’t think I am trying to suggest I had any idea of the level of craziness that was going on because I didn’t … I just couldn’t understand why they kept talking about themselves as a tech company and experts in work environments and culture when they were just a new generation of business space renting organisation.
But billions were poured into them and they were the darling of so many – especially those investor/companies who love to talk about ‘disrupting categories’, despite the fact most are about as conservative as you can get.
But over time – as numerous books, documentaries and news reports have documented – WeWork was proven to be a case of Emperor’s New Clothes.
And founder ego and delusion.
Specifically one founder … because on the few occasions I met him, Miguel seemed decent and grounded, whereas Adam most certainly didn’t.
Zoom forward to today and the company has filed for bankruptcy protection.
All that money and they still fucked it.
Worse, the delusional, ego-maniac that is Adam Neumann – who took a good idea and killed it with his God complex – got to walk away with a level of wealth that will last a thousand lifetimes.
Multiple billions.
BILLIONS!
But this isn’t a post about unfairness or WeWork’s craziness – I’ve written loads about that – this is about the challenge to encourage new thinking while not being blinded by it.
We live in divisive times.
Everything seemingly turns into a war.
Those who believe and those who don’t … and that extends to new ideas.
The amount of time I’ve seen people immediately dismiss new concepts or thinking simply because they are not as perfect as something established that has had years to work through issues and train people to conform.
But by the same token, I’ve also seem people blindly back a new concept or thinking because they seemingly want to associate themselves with the topical.
We saw this last one on a grand scale with so many people on Linkedin suddenly announcing themselves as AI experts, in a desperate bid to exploit the market interest and the market lack of knowledge.
Which gets to the heart of this post which is the importance of independent, critical thinking.
Where you are supportive of new ideas and thinking but know it is OK to ask questions about actions and decisions. Not to tear things down, but to better understand what is being done.
Starting from a position of ‘they could be right’ rather than ‘they’re obviously wrong’.
Focusing on the business not the hype … which, as Lee Hill once told me … is often as simply as acknowledging ‘profit is sanity, turnover is vanity’.
Critical, independent thinking isn’t celebrated enough.
Oh we may think it is, but what often we’re seeing is blinkered ego thinking.
Not enough understanding.
Not enough knowledge.
Not enough homework.
Not enough questions.
Not enough patience.
WeWork has cost millions of people billions of dollars … and yet you can’t help but think it didn’t have to be that way.
Their original business idea was a good one.
But the promise of trillions seduced people to lose their ability to think.
Critically and independently.
I wrote about this years ago with a lesson from the master conman, Bernie Madoff:
“I succeeded because when you offer people a deal that’s too good to be true, they never want to look too hard into the facts. They say it’s because of trust. I say it’s because of greed.”
We need to encourage positive pessimism.
The ability to champion new ideas without blindly being seduced by them.
To want to help people succeed without falling into being an accomplice for any delusion or slight of hand.
It’s not hard … but the more we promote blinkered ‘framework and eco-system’ thinking, the more we lose the value of independent thinking and then everyone loses in every way possible.
Especially those who have exciting new ideas that just need our encouragement and time.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, China, Chinese Culture, Comment, Hotels, Luxury, Management, Marketing, Marketing Fail
So I recently went back to China.
If that wasn’t wonderful enough, I was put up at the Waldorf Astoria.
If I’m being honest, I still get a thrill at staying in hotels. As a kid, we NEVER stayed in one – in fact the closest was a B&B in York – so every time I step in one, I feel excited.
But this was something else.
Something I didn’t deserve or – if truth be told – felt comfortable with.
It was sooooooooo over-the-top because the Waldorf Astoria x China makes for the most ostentatious experience you could ever imagine.
They were so nice to me, even though I imagine that every time they saw me in my shitty jeans and t-shirt, they wondered how the hell I was there.
But there was something before my trip that showed that even those at the very top of their game, can make mistakes.
It was this …
What the fuck?
Put aside the fact they called me Robert. Put aside the fact they talk about cleaning/disinfectant brands. Put aside the fact that by mentioning they are part of the Hilton group, they immediately diminish the prestige of the Waldorf. But why in gods name would anyone talk about ‘hygiene’ in a top hotel when that is the minimum expectation and now you’re left wondering what the fuck may have happened.
Worse, why would anyone talk about hygiene and use the name of brands you pick up in the Supermarket as examples of their exemplary cleaning practices. Not that I have anything against Lysol or Dettol, but I don’t think of them as the best in industrial cleaning, more like the stuff you use every now and then.
Yes … I appreciate Covid is still recent.
And it is something that originated in China.
And the country is still in its early days of opening up to the World.
But why, oh why would they raise an issue than you would never have considered an issue?
Of course when it came to the actual stay, it was brilliant. The people were amazing. And being back in China was wonderful – because of all the special places I’ve lived, China is the most special to me.
However of all the great memories that trip gave me – including the utterly bizarre experience of being interviewed by Fashion TV [I know, I fucking know!!!] – there’s one that should serve as a very important lesson for anyone who ever feels intimidated to talk/deal with people they perceive as being more successful than them.
Being rich, doesn’t mean you’re clever.