Filed under: Comment
Being the head of a department is an interesting job.
Part coach.
Part councillor.
Part cat-litter tray.
Part umpire/judge/hitman/shoulder-to-cry-on.
But of all the things the job entails, I’ve always believed the main objective of any ‘head of department’ is their job is to help ensure when their people leave – which they always will do – they’re going to a better job/position than they imagined they’d ever get.
Not just because it’s available, but because the company in question specifically wanted them.
I should point out this is not because you should – or want – to take any credit for their achievements, but because your job is literally to help them elevate the talent they already have inside of them.
And generally, that’s worked out to be the case and I bloody love that fact.
Except at Colenso. Because frankly, so few of the team have left.
God, that’s just tempted fate hasn’t it? Damnit.
And while we’ve added considerably to the team, the vast majority are the same lunatics that were there when I walked into the place 3+ years ago.
Which probably helps explain how the ‘unique’ character and identity of the mob has evolved and developed.
But today, we see the 3rd person leave us – someone special to the team and to Colenso as a whole – the one and only, Amy Pollok.
Amy has been at Colenso for a long time.
And in that time she has gone from junior account person to planning director … winning everything from Grand Effie’s to Cannes Grand Prix’s for her work for Skinny, to name but one.
But as brilliant as that is, she has also gracefully dealt with getting over a pretty serious bike accident, becoming a fantastic Mum and dealing with the mischievous bullshit of her colleagues and pals.
While the gang at Colenso is blessed with smart, talented, creative characters – Amy is definitely one of its pillars.
Intelligent. Considerate. Never short of an opinion or a challenge. Just how I like people.
But the time has come for her to go on an adventure …
See what she is capable of being and becoming.
And while that’s bitter sweet, we’re all very excited for her … no one more than me.
So I want to use this post to say thank you.
Thank you for who you are.
Thank you for all you’ve done.
Thank you for your incredible Effie paper writing skills.
Thank you for your support, commitment and friendship to colleagues, clients and Colenso.
Thank you for forgetting to delete the slightly dodgy photo of you on Google so I could use it for this post given you managed to avoid all my instagram terrorism attempts for 3 years.
Thank you for putting up with me … especially when I made your salary end in weird, odd numbers to test a theory [which was correct, even though it pissed the finance team off]
In all seriousness, your new colleagues and clients at FCB are very lucky to have you and while you are technically now ‘a competitor’, you’re always going to be our respected and revered friend, as demonstrated by the fact we’ve got you literally the most thoughtful and personal leaving gift I’ve ever seen in 30 odd years of working in this industry.
And I’m not even being sarcastic. Who the fuck am I?
So go be brilliant Amy and have a shitload of fun.
See who you are and more importantly, who you can be.
You deserve it all.
Filed under: Comment
Today is a month since Rosie passed.
And the pain remains.
We miss her.
Every little thing.
I find myself still saying, “Come on Rosie” as we walk downstairs to bed … remembering how you would jump down from whatever seat you were on and toddle after us, occasionally stopping to scratch the stairs carpet to sharpen your nails, like the cheeky Diva you were.
It seems inconceivable you’re not here.
It feels a little emptier without you.
I am dreading summer knowing I won’t see you walk up to our glass doors, waiting – or screaming – at us to open them up so you can get on your footstool on the deck and lie on it for 13 hours straight … basking in the sun, looking at the trees, watching the birds fly by and just living your best life.
I’m so glad you got to experience that here.
I’m so happy this home was your final place.
Even if it still feels too big without you.
We bloody love you Rosie.
Forever.
While I appreciate it is not September 11 in America as I post this … and that I was not in America on that terrible day back in 2001 … I do have friends and colleagues who were and who were severely impacted by the events of that day.
And while I don’t allow comments on this blog anymore, I do know the people this post relates to, keep reading it, which is why I post this. To let them know I love them, am thinking of them, am thinking of how that day went down for you all and how I hope I get to see you all soon.
However, rather than write something new, I saw something I wrote back in 2012 and – with the US election in full swing and a World seemingly intent on tearing itself apart through the manipulation of certain fucked-up individuals – I thought the best thing I could do is repost it.
Not just because it’s [sadly] more appropriate now than maybe it was back then, but because I think Dave says things in ways I could never quite capture. Like the last line of his comment … because when I see how Trump, Musk and countless others are behaving, I can’t help but feel his view is not just on point, it’s a perspective that is spreading beyond the shores of America.
Anyway, with all that, here’s this …
Big hugs to you all.
I hope the memories of today are of the times before the pain.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Colenso, Comment, Emotion, Empathy, Internet, IT, Security
One of the things I love about Colenso is our multitude of owners tend to leave us alone.
Literally, alone.
And when I say multitude, I mean it, because we have more than a Cannes Grand Prix credit.
Now part of this is because we’re in NZ and they have more pressing things to deal with, part of this is because we only have one global ‘shared’ client and our work with them is arguably the best in the network [hello 2024 Cannes Grand Prix without thousands of names on the credit list] and part of this is because we’re very, very good to them – in terms of global creative reputation and business – so they’re smart enough to let us get on with things on our own terms and own devices.
That is, except for IT.
Where IT is concerned, we are bombarded with stuff.
Security stuff specifically.
A week hardly passes by without some sort of ‘training’ to adhere to.
I get it, it’s very important and we don’t take it for granted … which is why the situation that happened to me a few weeks ago just felt so weird.
So I was in NYC when I got a phone call from someone I had never spoken to before.
Or heard of.
They said they were a security partner of one of our ‘owners’ and – as one of my team had lost their password – I had to give them permission to send it again.
Now I knew this was true as the colleague in question had told me it was going to happen, so I said yes … except they then told me that wasn’t enough and they would email me a link where – having entered my credentials – I’d have access to a password that I could then send to my team mate so they could get back into the system.
To which I laughed and said no, that wasn’t going to happen.
And they asked why, to which I laughed some more before pointing out this was the exact ‘phishing’ scenario I had been bombarded with security videos about.
For 3+ years.
Now to be fair, they did acknowledge it did sound dodgy, but they reassured me it was just how their system worked and all was OK.
But as nice as the guy sounded – and he did, so I was careful not to be too rude – I told him that I was sorry, but this just was not going to happen.
So, then they tried to subtly guilt trip me into doing it by saying my colleague couldn’t work without my help.
To which I replied, “I’m their boss, so if anyone can tell them to be OK with not working, it’s me”.
I did ask what alternatives there were to solve this situation and at first they said there wasn’t any, then said I could tell them to contact my boss to get approval.
Maybe they thought that would scare me into agreeing to their request, but I went, “Oh that’s good, go for it and please send her my love”.
It was at this point they gave up and wished me a nice day.
Except while that individual had given up, the ‘company’ they worked for hadn’t and they started sending me messages.
They went through the same script and I went through the same responses.
And while this may all sound like I was being an asshole, it’s not as assholey as a system that needs you to break the very rules they’re there to supposedly protect.
A rule that is very limited in its scope and application.
I appreciate the company in question was trying to help. I appreciate this was a very specific situation – made more difficult by me being in another country. And I accept the company in question is one of the best in their specific field of operation.
However, not only do they need to change their protocol to ensure that – in certain circumstances – they don’t ask their clients employees to do the very opposite of what they are told to follow each and every day … they probably also need to teach their ‘customer service technicians’ how to talk with humans. Especially non-IT security expert humans.
Because not only is ‘practice what you preach’ the most basic of basic brand reputation rules, the best way to get people to do what you want, is to understand how they think and behave.
More evidence that you can be smart, but also be a bit daft – of which nothing proves this more than the interface of Microsoft Teams, but that’s a post for another day, but here’s a hint.
Filed under: Comment
… then sit back, read this and try not to piss yourself laughing.
It’s also a good reminder that the best stories are out there.
Waiting to be discovered.
All you have to do is put a little effort into it … something that your frameworks, ecosystems and optimisation processes can never come close to delivering.
See, suddenly Monday ain’t so bad.
You’re welcome.