Getting To Grips

And so begins week two in my new office. Already I've got a diary full of meetings to look forward to. After a few weeks of peace and quiet, it's nice to feel like I'm back where I belong. Somewhere busy. Always moving. I've spent the last few days learning the basics. Where things are and where they belong. Anything new and different can always be a bit of a trial. So imagine how your clients must feel. When pitch time rolls around and they have to think about appointing a new agency. Scary, right? All the archives of knowledge are gone in an instant. The relationships. The friendly voice who always used to be there to solve your problems. I realise now just what a daunting prospect that must be. So, think about that next time you're pitching. What are you going to do to help them feel more at home? Make the transition a little easier for them?

Apple For The Teacher

It's that time of year again when exams are looming on the horizon.
Not for me - I'm a little past all that.
But it's my kids.
One's doing GCSEs, the other is at AS Level.
I've been doing my best to motivate and inspire them.
OK, nagging them.
For the last couple of years I've been saying:
"You pass your exams in the class room, you turn up to collect your grades at the examination."
The same rules apply to us in the business world.
You win the pitch in the run-up, when you're doing the hard work.
By the time you're ready to present, you're turning up to collect your prize.
So if you rock up expecting to pull a rabbit out of the hat on the day, you're going to fail.
And this is one that you don't get to re-sit.

Pastures New

You've probably noticed from my changing profile and new email address that I'm embarking on a new phase in my career.
I've left Jack Morton and am joining George P Johnson.
But it would be remiss of me to move on without paying tribute to the incredible people at JMW.
Talented, knowledgable and incredible.
All of them.
I wrote a couple of years ago on this very blog that every internal meeting is full of people who make me want to raise my own game.
Although I'm an expert in many things, I learned something every day in the last four years.
As a result, I've loved every minute.
Even the not so good bits.
Of course, I'm hungry for the road ahead.
But I know I'll never forget the people and places I leave behind.
Thanks guys, for everything.

Standing Out

Yeah, yeah, I know.
A bit of time off work and I get sucked into a vortex of trash TV.
But learning is every where.
For instance, I've been enjoying Paddy McGuinness on Take Me Out for the last three weeks.
If anyone asks, I just tell them that the kids like it.
But watching it, week in week out, I noticed a distinct pattern emerging.
Let me bring you up to speed, just in case you have better things to do on a Saturday evening.
The show features 30 girls who stand behind an illuminated plinth.
A single guy enters the arena, and over the next three rounds, the girls switch off their lights if they're not interested in him.
As the host says, "No likey, no lighty".
It's highbrow stuff.
So, here's my point.
Once the girls have played, it's the boys' turn.
He gets to choose from any of the ladies with their lights still on.
During the previous part of the show, Paddy has picked a few girls at random for a bit of chat and banter.
Funnily enough, when the guy makes his final selection, it's always one of the people Paddy has already spoken to.
It just goes to show, even when you're faced with an army of competition, there's a way to stand out. Make sure that, when crunch time comes, you get picked.
And sometimes, it has nothing to do with the way you play the game.
So what are you gonna do to make sure the decision maker remembers you?

With Friends Like These...

Sometime around 400 BC, Chinese general Sun-tzu gave a piece of advice that people still repeat today.
He said “Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.”
Well, what do you expect from a military strategist - a group hug?
Time and time again, people trot out the same old epithet, assuming that it’s good advice.
As the saying goes, a billion Chinese people can’t be wrong.
But I think it’s a load of old dim sum.
The modern version?
Keep your friends close, and your good friends even closer.
OK, so it’s a little touchy-feely.
But in our hyper-connected world, we thrive on relationships and connections.
And we need to cherish them.
The closer the better.
Oh, and if you worry about what to do with your enemies, don’t.
If you have any enemies at all, you’re already doing something wrong.

The Vanessa Show Has Moved To The Afternoon

When you spend time at home, these things become important.
So anyway, I was watching the show the other day.
Mostly because Vanessa's co-host Ben is a old friend of mine.
Anywho, Shirley, from Pepsi and Shirley, was a guest (try Wikipedia).
She was on the show to plug their new comeback tour.
Listening to her talking about her time out of the spotlight,
I realised just how cyclical our world is.
The saying "what goes around, comes around" isn't just a threat.
It's a guarantee.
Everything revolves regularly.
We're just rotisserie chickens in the oven of life.
Take the 'modern' phenomenon of social media, for example.
The concept is nothing new.
We used to socialise based on geography.
Within our region, we still connected to a group with whom we had things in common.
We still seek out people who share the same interests.
It's just a bigger playing field.
Bog snorkelling. Spelunking. Judy Garland.
There are thousands of other people out there who feel the same.
We all want to belong.
That's why experience marketing is key to growing brands.
Unpacking the detail to give consumers something they can get involved in.
That's how you create a sense of belonging.
So I guess I'll be seeing you on the front row at Pepsi and Shirley then?

Don't Be What They Want You To Be

One of my friends has a great way of calming down the control freaks in his business.
When he feels the pressure building, he sends people an email.
He explains the situation and tells them to be a little less "pendantic".
Guess what - they all write back and correct his spelling.
His reply?
"Thanks for making my point."
Wry smiles all round, and tension diffused.
When he told me about this, I wondered what it meant.
We all like to think of ourselves and independent creatures.
Capable of surprises at every turn.
And then someone sets a trap that we walk right into.
Because they've had the chance to observe how we behave.
The kind of traits that are hard to leave behind.
They know that we'll be difficult.
They know we'll be a pushover.
They know we'll spend most of our time complaining.
They know we'll sit on the fence.
They know we'll make a weak joke (OK, that one's me).
So it's up to us to get out of the river that we've made for ourselves.
The theory of consequential action posits that if we change one thing, everything else will follow.
Change the news feeds you read.
Change your breakfast cereal.
Break from the old routine.
Change it up.
Mix it up.
You won't believe the difference it makes.
Funny
I knew you'd say that.

The Other Side Of The Table

It's not often that I find myself with time on my hands.
But the last few days have been interesting for precisely that reason.
The other day, I found myself at the mercy (in a nice way) of four old friends.
They originally got together and set up their own company.
They're currently in the process of refreshing their agency credentials.
And I guess they see me as some kind of expert on the subject.
But, you know what they say about experts...
Anyway, the thing that struck me, as they talked through their creds, was how strange it felt to be seeing things from the clients' point-of-view.
I was reminded of something that Colin Lloyd at KLP told me a good fifteen years ago.
Make sure you have a beginning, a middle and an end.
More importantly, keep those three factors as close together as possible.
If you really must talk about yourself, then make sure you tell a story.
Explain you uniqueness, and your viewpoint, through the work you do.
And please, keep it under ten slides.
Otherwise, you might as well say, "Well, enough about me, let's talk about me some more."
Sure, they'll sit through your credentials.
But if they've taken the meeting, chances are, there's a bunch of other things they'd rather be talking about.

Once More Unto The Breach, Dear Friends, Once More;

What's the most important department in your agency?
Obviously account development's vital.
Sales and marketing has a particular relevance to me.
And I keep going on about the importance of creative - so those guys must be essential.
And yet, when faced with that question, no-one ever says HR.
Which is strange, since HR is the defining part of your business.
Of any business.
Ultimately, it's the people who work with, for and around you, who make the difference.
They're what drives you.
It doesn't matter what else you do, the people are your key to success.
Great looking PowerPoint won't win you the account.
A spreadsheet won't make you more innovative.
Success comes from inspiring the people around you.
No-one works for a company.
They work for a person.
So forget about those old 'carrot and stick' policies.
The world has moved on.
Today, people want inspiration.
And that can only come from knowing.
Knowing your people.
Knowing your clients.
Knowing your subject.

A Lifetime's Work

Greetings from my garden.
As I sit here surrounded by herbaceous borders, I'm realising how much I've let things slide over the last few years.
As a consequence, I'm finding that my time is being spent doing all the things I normally don't get the chance to focus on.
Getting the kids off to school.
Making everyone's packed lunches.
Helping out with homework.
And it's all been surprisingly rewarding.
I'm reminded of an old Japanese saying, that the man who spends his life contemplating the perfect cherry blossom will not have lived his life in vain.
My take-out from this, is that if you dedicate yourself to every task, no matter how mundane it may seem, you will be rewarded.
It's that age-old mantra - the more you put in, the more you'll get out.
And it really does work.
Try it for the rest of the week and see what happens.
And if you need any cuttings, just let me know.

Inspire Me

As you know, I often find inspiration in my children.
Fox was at an audition yesterday for a new stage role that could take him all over the world.
Although he's still only 15, he already knows what his future holds.
He's a performer, through and through.
How many people are fortunate enough to know what they want to do at 15?
Anyway, the audition was arranged about ten days ago.
They gave him a page of dialogue to learn and interpret.
Plus, a two minute performance to show off his skills.
Then there was talk of a series of workshop.
It's a lot to take in.
When his agent gave him all the details, he simply took the brief and got on with his preparation.
He didn't complain about needing more time.
He didn't focus on all the reasons why he might not get the part.
He didn't worry about anyone else having an advantage over him.
He just focused on doing the best he could.
And he nailed it.
We all work in a competitive environment.
The key to winning lies in focusing on our own strengths.
Not worrying about everyone else's.
Next time that pitch comes in, make sure you focus on the right things.
It's yours for the winning.