🍣 Thinking is like the sun
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Hey friend – Rob here. I spotted this last week at Droga5's offices. And you know what, it's great advice. Especially for the over-thinkers out there (HI!). Those of us who show up with a rattlebag of:
(Latest for me is "category entry points".) And yet, there is a danger of being so good at thinking. We over-think things. And as a result overload others that work with us. Not a very good place to be. We don't get the results we want or need from others either. We confuse them instead of clarifying them. We've all done it. We leave the meeting feeling that was a hell of a good performance. And inevitably the team email you two days later asking what the focus of the brief was again. A great source of wisdom here has actually been the best creative directors i've ever worked with. The ones who can discuss strategy with me. But also who can clarify the logic flow of a strategic argument in non-strategist words. Another way i like to think about this: being book smart vs being street smart. In the past, i've bonded with fellow strategists precisely because we didn't share the typical academic credentials. In short, we were less interesting in sounding smart, and more in being smart. Street smart strategy is probably a good definition of that ambition. It's learning as much from Tony Soprano as we do from Tom Peters. It's absorbing as much from Oswald Cobb (watch The Penguin) as we do from Ogilvy. It's appreciating that Margaret Heffernan has tons to offer our minds, but so does Marty McFly. Thinking, in that sense, is like the sun. Don't do enough of it, we don't generate heat. But get too close to it, and we might get burnt along the way. Or at least burn others out with our desire to be clever, when the job is to always be clear. "I need time to think about it" is almost always the correct answer to complex problems. But maybe put a timer on how much time is enough to get going. Keep swimming, Rob
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Salmon Theory
Helping strategists grow with compassion, clarity and creativity.
Hey friend – Rob here. So the first Salmon Theory panel (featuring Salmon Crew members) was a wild ride. And by wild ride, i mostly mean pretty successful, with tons of positive feedback along the way. Thanks again to Pollyanna, Alexi (subscribe to Idle Gaze!), Sheeza, Jaskaran (subscribe to The Social Juice!) and Berk for helping make this the epic vibe session it was. The aim of the session was simple: To look at five under-discussed brands (Wealthsimple, Curry's, Flex, Starface, immi) To...
Hey friend – Rob here. So, two quick things about our recent Contagious partnership: We now have a winner – Iona Ratcliffe, you're going to Most Contagious London! (Check your inbox.) I also secured a mega discount code for anyone else who wants to buy a ticket. (Keep reading for it.) Plus, some practical things i've learned over the past 15+ years on how to collaborate with creative teams. But first, the discount code. The Contagious crew are among the readers of this newsletter, so we...
Hey friend – Rob here. "Shit, i'm losing control again." This has always been my reaction whenever i get emotional in an argument. And i hate that feeling, thank you very much. Of course, i've been getting better at handling it, through a fun little process called emotional self-regulation. Part of it comes from reframing what an argument is really about. Old me: "arguments are two people who hate each other." New me: "arguments are two people shaping each other." Especially if said argument...