In 2023, I wrote what I wished I’d known about facilitating workshops. But it’s such a big topic, and something I’ve done so much of, that I had to leave a lot out. So, a little belatedly, here’s part two. Consider a pre-task Is there something that relates to the problem at hand you can … Continue reading Part 2: Facilitating Workshops – what I wish I’d known
Like many people, I’ve been thinking a lot about AI recently. And experimenting with new ways of using it, because pretending it doesn’t exist is not a solid career plan. I’ve written before about how AI has picked up a lot of the entry-level work that Junior Strategists used to learn on the job by … Continue reading 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜?
An agency head once called me the Nanny McPhee of Strategy and swore it was a compliment. I think he meant that I might ask challenging questions and poke around in awkward corners, but by the end of the project the clients wouldn’t want me to go. A Head of Strategy later said that I … Continue reading Are you leaving your strategy clients with needle and thread?
What problem are we actually trying to solve here? Think about it, the ultimate role of marketing is to attempt to persuade people to Think, Feel or Do something as a result of our communications (in which I include branding). With the ultimate outcome being that people’s Thinking, Feeling, or Doing has a positive impact … Continue reading The one thing every client needs to share with their strategist
The Strategist-Creative relationship can be make or break for a creative project. Without mutual respect and excellent baton passing, followed by constructive feedback and supportive client sell-in, the resulting work is never going to be as good. And the client will wonder why they paid for strategy when they can’t see it in the final … Continue reading What I wish I’d known…about working with Creatives
So, you’re starting a new project, possibly even with a new client, and an email lands in your inbox marked ‘Kick Off meeting agenda’. Which is a bit of a surprise, seeing as half that meeting is supposed to be strategy-focused and led by you. Find out who booked the kick off meeting and extract … Continue reading What I wish I’d known…about kick off meetings
There are strategic brand or comms projects where you’re given weeks and a generous budget to find the insight you need, but let’s be honest, for many strategists they can be few and far between. Whether it’s a pitch with tight timings, a low-budget bodge, or a time-sensitive response to something affecting the brand, an … Continue reading Thinking Scrappy: Finding Strategic Gold on a Shoestring
I’ve been having a few conversations recently about the future of agencies, especially the small to mid-sized ones. For a number of reasons, including the rise of AI, the complexity of doing full service without serious scale and the decline in fee-based client contracts, the good old days for agency founders of starting up an … Continue reading Small and agile is beautiful – and necessary
The more experienced you get as a strategist, the more, well, strategic your projects tend to be and therefore the more senior your clients and other stakeholders get. I’ve worked with all sorts of big noises, from ex-FTSE 100 CEOs to venture capitalists, silicon valley tech bros and Global Heads of Everything and it doesn’t … Continue reading Working with really senior clients – what I wish I’d known
I’ve done an awful load of road trips for work over the years, whether that was for qual research, client meetings, pitches or site visits. During covid WFH, I got really itchy feet for those road trips and I realised that it wasn’t the destinations or work interactions I was missing, it was the serendipitous … Continue reading Why you need to build serendipity into work trips
