Tag: strategy

The power of patterns

The brain is a pattern-mad supposing machine.

Diane Ackerman, NY Times

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how brands actually work. What actually are they? And how to they actually make money? And how do we design and build them successfully?

I know, I know, an awful lot has been written about this. I’m not trying to come up with the answer myself here, I’m just trying to consume media that will help me gain a better understanding of these questions, and apply them to the brands that I work on. To make informed decisions and advise clients.

And, well, I’ve gone down a bit of a pattern matching rabbit hole. Care to join me?

The history of human pattern matching

So, there’s no revelation in saying that pattern matching was life and death back when we were being hunted by sabre tooth tigers and other deadly prey. Our brains are belief engines: as we go around in the world spotting patterns we create narratives and beliefs around them. That swish of grass is the wind, and that swish of grass is an animal stalking us.

An example given by Ackerman is that being able to recognise a single lion, only helps you be prepared for that very same lion. Whereas pattern matching helps you prepare for other similar lions, and build a network of patterns that help you prepare for other predators.

We are the ancestors of those most successful at finding patterns.

Michael Shermer, Scientific American

And our ability to predict and understand patterns comes from our powerful imagination, which has the ability to fill in the banks: “Given just a little stimuli, it divines the probable. When information abounds, it recognizes familiar patterns and acts with conviction. If there’s not much for the senses to report, the brain imagines the rest.”

This incredible feature of the human brain meant that we could dry run or test the outcomes of likely scenarios without having to put ourselves in any danger. We simply imagine what might happen if we run off the edge of that cliff based on what we know about jumping, falling, what happens when there’s no earth beneath our feet, painful falls, what we’ve seen happen to other people who jump or fall, or other objects the go over the edge of that cliff, and so on. Without actually having to find out in real life.

And that’s what Ackerman meant when she said the brain is a “pattern-mad supposing machine”. Connect the dots, and fill in the “what ifs”.

As a note of caution, all of the studies I’ve read on this subject agree that this leads to us, well, jumping to conclusions. Shermer calls this patternicity – “the tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise”. Some authors talk of how this leads us to continue to gamble on a losing streak; some authors talk of how this leads us to believe conspiracy theories or miracles.

This feels a little contradictory – yes we’re amazing pattern matchers, but we often get it wrong. Shermer puts this juxtaposition down to the fact that from an evolutionary perspective, we only needed to see patterns that stopped us from dying. If we go back to wind in the grass example, if we saw several patterns of movement in the grass as predators, but a couple of them were actually just the wind – never mind, we still live. But if we saw one pattern movement in the grass as wind, that was actually a predator – game over. No learning experience here.

But if we didn’t let imagination fill in the blanks, we’d be unable to survive all the novel predicaments and landscapes we encounter.

Diane Ackerman, NY Times

So, we’ve evolved over thousands of years to be the very best of the best at spotting and understanding patterns. Most of the time.

How does pattern matching help us now?

The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning by Cambridge neuroscientist Daniel Bor states that “our penchant for pattern-recognition is essential to consciousness and our entire experience of life”, and that “our capacity for pattern-recognition is the very source of human creativity”.

According to a study by Ohio State University, detecting patterns is a big part of how we make decisions, we detect patterns in our environment all the time to help make decisions quicker and easier. We combine our pattern searching with probabilistic learning – how likely something is to happen. “It isn’t just about predicting what is coming next. It is looking for rules to help predict better and faster“.

The bit that fascinates me is that if your brain expects something to happen, it makes that information (and other related information) quicker and easier to access.

The neocortex is not just recognizing the world. It is always attempting to predict what will happen next, moment by moment. If it expects something strongly enough, the recognition threshold may be so low that it fires even when the full pattern is not present.

Tiago Forte

John Kaufman, author of one of my favourite business books the Personal MBA, refers to pattern matching as “one of the foundational capabilities of our mind and how it works”. Kaufman says that we optimise our brains to search out and store new patterns, and the more patterns we can recall, the better problem solvers we are.

When we go into a supermarket, we’re confronted with roughly 40,000 items, and we can go in and buy a few of them in a few minutes.

Byron Sharp, Hacking the Unconscious episode six

This is pattern matching as a shortcut, a decision making tool. A way of interpreting the ever more complex world around us. It’s how we filter the useless from the useful.

How does understanding pattern matching help build successful brands?

Understanding how we interpret patterns in the world around us unlocks key information on how we use brands as decision making shortcuts.

Let’s jump to a bit of Binet just here. The relevant part of Binet’s How advertising works is the make brands easy to think of.

Les Binet

Pattern pleases us, rewards a mind seduced and yet exhausted by complexity. We crave pattern, and find it all around us, in petals, sand dunes, pine cones, contrails. Our buildings, our symphonies, our clothing, our societies — all declare patterns. Even our actions: habits, rules, codes of honor, sports, traditions — we have many names for patterns of conduct. They reassure us that life is orderly.

Diane Ackerman, NY Times

So, what does that mean for us in the world of building brands?

Our brains are in love with searching out patterns. We love it when our expectation of what’s about to happen… happens.

So for brand strategists, designers, managers, the conclusion is quite clear. Help consumers use brands as decision making shortcuts:

  • Set a clear expectation of what the brand is/stands for.
  • Create distinctive brand assets that communicate the brand.
  • Use them clearly, constantly and regularly.

As you’re going about your life over the next few days, have a think about what patterns you’re seeing; how that’s helping you filter; how that’s helping you make decisions. I’d be interested to hear your experiences and thoughts on the subject.

Also, if you’re in the world of branding and have consciously and successfully used pattern matching for a campaign or brand – I’d love to hear about that too!

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Strategy for beginners

Empathy marketing

Empathy marketing was always going to be a trend for 2020. The green shoots of this has been building for a few years, before I’d ever heard the words coronavirus or COVID-19. We had no idea what the new Roaring Twenties would bring us, and I’m sure very few would have expected a global pandemic leading to global lockdown. 

But here we are.

Do you remember when all you heard about was how entitled and self-obsessed millennials are? Well fortunately, over the past few years their image has done a total 360, and they are now viewed as much more collectivist than their individualist generational predecessors.

What was once seen as arrogance is now being viewed as an unwillingness to put up with that they see as wrong, unfair or unjust. One might call them principled. And not afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

This shift in perception, and a recognition that millennials now account for a third of the population, created a boom in brand purpose. A solid product and a “cool” brand was no longer enough. They needed to stand for something.

The phrase “experiences over possessions” is now a nearly cliched target audience insight, but it remains no less true, according to Experian, especially for the millennial population.

We’re in a landscape of increasing community values, we’ve all spent a year rallying behind Greta, we want to save the planet, mental health awareness is on the up and up. This all already paints a picture of a gentler, fairer society. And so naturally, brands must fall in line with this global cultural shift in order to stay relevant.

Marketing in 2020

So, enter stage left… 2020 and all that it has brought… so far.

After an initial total panic and meltdown, leading to mass stockpiling and shortages of essential items, supermarkets had to enforce limitations on how many packets of certain items people could buy.

This display of selfishness and chaos was like the start of every apocalypse movie, leading to a widespread fear that this may actually be the end of days.

However, as the days and weeks rolled on, we was mass displays of love, kindness, support and community spirit. From the rainbows in windows, and weekly clapping for the NHS, to companies, crafters and individuals creating PPE supplies.

Vast amounts of content being live streamed, from PE classes to bake alongs to huge broadway musical hits.

Grassroots hubs sprouted across the country offering supplies and help to those who needed it, well before the Government suggested creating such a network. People were shielding the most vulnerable well before the Government decreed it so.

To the small acts of checking in on neighbours, people routinely signing off emails “Stay safe” instead of the usual “Kind regards”.

And brands are responding. They are now “here for us”. They are playing up heritage, community, their efforts for the greater good. People over profits. People first. Bringing people together. 

But how sustainable is that? And how true and authentic is that? How are brands going to build on these messages for years to come? And are they going to be able to put their money where their mouth is.

My sense is that we’re in a place where brands are totally over promising, and going to spend the next few years backpedaling. But perhaps that’s just the cynic in me.

What I see is people waking up to the power of companies. For the force for good that they can be, should they wish to. We’ve seen companies, huge companies, pivot their business in a matter of days. We’ve seen overhauls of complex systems to allow working from home. We’ve seen companies do the impossible, and the improbable. 

I think we’ll see consumers voting with their money. Making a stand. And not falling for the company line when questioned.

During the past month (how has it only been a month?!) we’ve seen a huge amount of advice and guidance on how brand should be navigating these choppy (and what feels like shark infested) waters. From celebrating their worked for carrying on working (safely), to jumping on the NHS-cheering bandwagon, to pivoting manufacturing to keep up supplies, to the “we’re here for you” cliche, and many, many more. 

My counsel to brands is now is the time to stop and take stock.

Stand and stare

In 1911 a poet from near my hometown in Gloucestershire wrote a poem warning that the hectic pace fo modern life has a detrimental effect on the human spirit.

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

W.H. Davies

More than a hundred years later, we are yet to heed this warning. I’m sure we’ve all felt the world hurtling forward; a societal Moore’s Law.

And now, today, the world has had the brake well and truly put on. So let’s all take advantage of this fact.

The question that has been running through my mind is: Will we come out of this collective experience as a more gentle and empathetic society, or will we inevitably spring back to the individualistic society that has been in a boom and bust cycle for over a century?

I may have given away my feelings on the subject in the phrasing of the question, but I would love for that not to be the case.

Empathetic endeavours

This goes broader than marketing and deeper than brands. This is about the importance that we put on people and planet.

Making money is all good and well, but at what cost?

So how can we create this Brave New World?

  1. More brave leaders. If you’re looking to lead a group of people, a company, a team, a Cub Scout pack; read Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead. These are the people that we want in charge. Be one of them.
  2. More brave brand leaders. Brené’s book is aimed at people, but the learnings for brands come through loud and clear.
    1. Strong back. Soft front. Wild heart.
    2. Integrity is choosing courage over comfort.
    3. Clear is kind.
    4. Brené even provides a list of values.
  3. Vote with your wallet. Companies can’t make money if consumers won’t give it to them. Don’t agree with Dyson’s stance on Brexit? Pick a Shark next time. Feel sad about all the plastic in the ocean? Get your shampoo in a plastic free bar form from Lush. Don’t like the employee care standards in Amazon warehouses? You get my point.
  4. Vote with your heart. If you want to protect the NHS and save lives, get out on polling day and vote with your heart. You know what I’m saying.
  5. Be excellent to each other. We hear things like “How would you feel if that was your sister/mother/father/brother?” We don’t really need to have a familial connection to another person to empathise and do the right thing by them. We just need to practice. Let’s all just practice.

How are you counselling your clients to be brave and play in a more empathetic space? Do you think the world will spring back? Or do you think we’ll see a permanent shift towards kindness?

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Notes on strategy from people who know a helluva lot more than me

I’m a bit of an obsessive collector. If I grew up pre-screen-era then I would definitely be big into scrapbooking. Instead I’ve got rafts of links on Notes on my phone. I’ve got Pinterest boards. I’ve got WeCollect boards. I squirrel away information like there’s an internet ice-age coming. Here’s some of my favourite strategy moments from the last few months.

7 tips from self confessed adman Omer Azeem

The Almighty JWT Planning Handbook

Bow down and read the beautifully wonky typewritten text.

20 ways to become a better strategist from Doug Kleeman at Preacher

Read all about it here.

  1. Archive your media consumption
  2. Write your own textbook
  3. Go to a bar by yourself
  4. Meditate
  5. Set yourself back 40 years
  6. Make writing a practice
  7. Study shareholder reports
  8. Debunk your own opinions
  9. Follow creative visionaries like you follow sports teams, Beyonce or Game of Thrones
  10. Go for a walk
  11. Start an observation journal
  12. Get tactile
  13. Master the interview
  14. Write poetry
  15. Channel your inner comic
  16. Analyze the anatomy of stories
  17. Maintain logs
  18. Bourdain yourself
  19. Teach others
  20. Check-Out

Heed Dave Trott’s words. Always.

He says your briefs suck. And he’s not talking about your underwear. Probably. Some snippets from his article (but you should read the full thing):

  • The job of the brief is to change, to reframe, the problem.
  • Creativity is about solving a problem in a new way.
  • The origin of planning was to get upstream of the existing problem.
  • If we don’t have a problem we can’t be creative.
  • As Einstein said “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about the solution.
  • Because if he got the problem right the solution would be easy, but if he got the problem wrong there would be no solution.

And finally… it’s all just about human relationships really, isn’t it?

Big shoutout to Olivia de Recat for visualising this beauty.

What have you done recently to get better at what you do? Or to become who you want to be? Or to be who you want to be? I wrote this blog, that’s what I did.

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Tapping into the tribe: are you in or out?

Have you ever been to someone else’s family gathering and 90% of what’s said goes totally over your head? Surrounded by people in fits of laughter, whilst you giggle nervously sipping your prosecco? Yeah, you’re absolutely not in. In fact, I’ve been thinking about in jokes a lot. We absolutely love jokes where the less information you get the better. Because its context, history, kinship. It shows you absolutely are in. You’re one of us.

A few months ago I was at an IPA Eff Fest event where Jennie Roper, Head of Insight, Kinetic UK, did a fantastic, Lionel Ritchie inspired talk on evidence-based decision making. Jennie had been working on a OOH campaign for Subway, testing different creative in similar towns. They would change one thing at a time and test the results: the advertised sandwich, the copy, the colour of the background, and, interestingly, whether it mentioned the geography that it was based in.

A local place, for local people

People want to “get it”, right away, Jennie said, whether that’s a joke, a rhyme, or a puzzle. That’s why tapping into the tribe works. Because the brand is essentially signifying it’s one of us. Just like a football supporter only wears his own team’s strip.

So you have to understand the identity of the place, otherwise you start sounding like an outsider. Or one of them. The example Jennie used that whilst using “Hello Yorkshire” might work in Sheffield, “Hello Lothian” wouldn’t work in Edinburgh”. Which is why (apart from the neat use of fairy lights) this eBay advert on a bus in Edinburgh caught my eye.

If it’s happening in Caledonia this Christmas, it’s happening on eBay

ebay OOH advert on a bus attempting geolocation.
Excuse the terrible camera work. 

SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Ok, firstly why is the logo ebay, but the copy is eBay? Surely the weird capital B only works if its from the logo? Secondly, Caledonia?? Have you ever heard anyone from Edinburgh (or anywhere else for that matter) refer to themselves as being from Caledonia? 

A quick Google on that one tells you all you need to know about the word:

Its modern usage is as a romantic or poetic name for Scotland as a whole, comparable with Hibernia for Ireland and Cambria for Wales.

Trusty Wikipedia

I’m not Scottish, so I may be way out of line on that. Perhaps there’s a fond, tribal affiliation to being Caledonian that I have no idea about because I’m on the outside looking in. But I suspect not. I think the campaign may have come out of the US, so is a good lesson to anyone doing location based marketing outside of their own geography (but one all should have learnt a long time ago, right?).

According to Jennie, using a region’s name in the creative is less about locality and more about tribe, personalisation and novelty. Caledonia wasn’t technically incorrect, it just wasn’t tapping into the tribe. The use of Caledonia (and the fairy lights!) was definitely novel, so perhaps they’re hitting a nail on the head somewhere. It just feels sloppy and disrespectful. Did they think so little about the people they’re targeting in this region that they didn’t even Google the name?

They’re most definitely out.

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Strategy banner.

Ideas are threats

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

I’ve always been a bit of nerd. I’m naturally curious, and am known to be a bit of a know it all. It’s taken a long time to come to terms with the teacher’s pet in me, but it’s finally something I’m not only learning to love, but nurturing. I honestly don’t know why more people aren’t more in touch with their inner nerd. It’s so much fun!

Today I totally nerded out on strategy. I went to an IPA talk by the formidable thinker Mark Pollard, and had my conscious well and truly stuffed. It was great! As someone looking to get into a more strategic role, it was a solid introduction to strategy and insight. Mark has been a strategist for TribalDDB, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett (AUS & NY), McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, Edelman and now his very own Mighty Jungle. Phew!

Mark Pollard - strategist - TribalDDB, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett (AUS & NY), McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, Edelman

Choose your words

There are a number of things that I can start putting into practice right away. The first is how to choose words. Mark talked about words a lot. He talked about steering clear of jargon and business speak. He urged us to use natural language and plain speak. 

But Mark also chose his words carefully. He used poignant language. Strong words with strong meanings. In my work, I will review my writing carefully and look for ways to use language better, to tighten and simplify sentences and use bolder words.

How to frame a problem

One of a planner’s key skills is working out what the problem is, framing it and explaining the strategy to overcome the problem in such a way that it can be easily understood by the others in the room.

Below is Mark’s handy framework for getting from problem to strategy.

How to frame a problem; insight; advantage; strategy

Lateral thinking

The foundation of creativity, ideation and strategy: lateral thinking is at the centre of the planner’s role. And yet something that very few people in the industry can explain, Mark told the audience, in his chipper and mildly self deprecating way. So here we go (cheers Wikipedia):

Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious. It involves ideas that may not be obtainable using only traditional step-by-step logic.

Cool. Got it. Let’s go! Mark shared with us a number of different techniques for coming up with new ideas using lateral thinking. He asked us to draw two vertical lines, each with five dashes on them. One labelled Glasgow and one labelled Brownies. On each dash we had to write one thing that we associate with Glasgow and Brownies on their respective lines.

Lateral thinking; marketing strategy
In my defence, I know very little about Glasgow and these associations a very loose

This is linear thinking. It’s rational. Next is where the fun comes in. Take anything on the right, and anything on the left and smush them together (yes, that’s the technical term). And see where the wind takes you!

So for example taking spa and grandma I thought of Grandspa: a mobile spa for older people, bringing relaxation into their home. Or by combining subway and baking I thought about having retro trolly service on the underground, serving a range of homemade cakes called Metrobakes. And as ever, go back, revise, tighten the words, strengthen the name.

Coming up with ideas is an age old pre-occupation. And something our ancient survivalist brain sees as a threat in others (what if they work out how to steal our food?). Lateral thinking is not new either. De Bono coined the phrase 50 years ago, and he is still the most well known writer on the subject. You can read his introduction to lateral thinking on Google.

Insight, insight, insight, insight

Please can you quit saying insight? Unless you’re using it right and sparingly. Over using a word dilutes its meaning. And there isn’t really another one for insight, so use it wisely.

A true insight makes you so think “that’s so interesting, I’ve never thought about it like that before” (like that drunk girl at the bar listening to you give her home truths about her crappy boyfriend).

It reveals or inspires something about a person or the world. It’s lateral. It often hangs around just one word.

It can take the form (first observation) but (second observation) or (first observation) despite (second observation). It can take the form people believe X, but actually Y is true. It can include metaphors or similes. But it must challenge current thinking.

So what?

Learning the business of strategy and planning is fascinating. I love geeking out on different frameworks, different ways to attack problems. One of my favourite games to play is to try and figure out what was briefed in when I see an advert or a piece of communication. 

What deliberate practice do you do to improve your strategy skills? How to you improve your craft?

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Feel stupid, feed your conscious, grow empathy

David Ogilvy is a name that is synonymous with advertising, but someone that I know relatively little about. Hello Wikipedia!

Businessman; founder of Ogilvy & Mather; Father of Advertising. Screen Shot 2018-11-10 at 15.51.45

Tell me something I didn’t know.

Failed scholar; apprentice chef; wildly successful Aga salesmen.

Huh? Ok, so that’s interesting. So successful a salesman was he that in 1935 Aga asked him to write a manual on selling Agas for others to follow: The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA Cooker. It became the gold standard for selling, and not just Agas. In 1971, Fortune called it “probably the best sales manual ever written.”

Ogilvy’s lovely way with words convey such meaning, and so much of it still resonates today:

If you find yourself one fine day saying the same things to a bishop and a trapezist, you are done for.

I hope some day, I have the great fortune to speak to a Bishop and a trapezist in the same day. What an occasion that would be! Some of his words perhaps resonate less so today (and I will if I want to!):

Do not wear a bowler hat.

He also said this:

david ogilvy

Expand your horizons, grow empathy

When I was 16, I didn’t take A levels, as was the norm at the time and place. I decided not to specialise down to the three or four subjects allowed at that level, but to take the International Baccalaureate instead. This choice meant that I could continue to study a broader range of academic studies; you had to take English and maths, as well as a language, a humanity subject, a science and an additional subject.

But the advantages of taking this course were so much more than that. It wasn’t just that you could continue to pursue a range of subjects. You also had to take a course called Theory of Knowledge, essentially a philosophy course. Students are also required to do extra curricular activities: something active, something creative and something service oriented – volunteering etc.

Furthermore, every subject had to have a cultural element, to expose students to a wider world. In English we studied texted from across the globe, both written in English and translated. In art, we were encouraged to look for inspiration from far flung places. In chemistry we learnt how different parts of the world contributed to our current understanding of the subject.

The point is, we were encouraged to look outside of ourselves, so much more than the regular academic courses. Our horizons were expanded. We were encouraged to look up from our own little lives, from our screens, and see what’s out there. And develop an empathy and understanding for the wider world.

Travel makes you feel stupid

Mark Pollard talks about how travel makes you feel stupid (Sweathead ep 07 11 2018). It challenges our assumptions. It reframes how you see your own life. Things you take for granted as being the norm, or just a natural fact of life turn out not to be the norm. Marks says travel helps you build empathy.

I love this.

You know the feeling. You’re on holiday. You’re in a different country. You’ve done your research, you know the culture, you’ve picked up some of the language. You know where you’re going, where to stay, where to eat, what to eat. You’ve totally got this.

And then something seemingly simple totally floors you. Like… there are no supermarkets. You have no idea where to get household essentials of your AirBnb. How you are you going to do the dishes.

Or, you head to someone’s house and they immediately ask you if you want a shower (as is the custom in much of Brazil). Or have a whole conversation about football only to realise you’re talking about entirely different sports.

You get my drift.

But this is actually a good thing. It means you’re getting out of your own head. You’re looking up out of your own life, and really seeing what’s out there. Seeing what some of the other seven billion people in the world see. You’re expanding your horizons. Yay for travel!

Feed your conscious

So what are you going to do today to “stuff your conscious”? Where are you go to places to brush up on art, culture, science, technology, maths, crafts, teaching methods? How are you going to reframe how you see the world?

Perhaps you will take a 10 day course on design thinking? Or maybe you’ll download the Curiosity app and get five new interesting things every day. Maybe you’ll check out some of the latest thinking from philosophy, culture and science published in digital magazine Aeon. Or maybe even learn something in five minutes.

Here’s what I’ve been reading this week:

  • How time is changing. I’m reasonably well read on quantum theory, and I’ve come across chaos theory, but this is a whole other kettle of fish. I can’t summarise this article, so you’re going to have to do it for yourself.
  • How weight is changing. When is a kilo not a kilo? Since the standardisation of measures, a hunk of metal outside of Paris has been our constant. But next year, that will change. We’re going to start using the Planck constant as the basis for our measures. A weight for all people, for all times.
  • AI is learning to dress itself. In way bigger news than China’s AI news anchor, AI cartoon characters are using machine learning to dress themselves, with inevitable hilarity.
  • The Edgist subculture. They sound like space hipsters.

And finally:

If you have any charm, ooze it.

David Ogilvy, The Theory & Practice of Selling the Aga Cooker

 

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Strategy for beginners

Hello world!

I’m putting it out there. I wannabe a strategist. And inspired by Alex Morris and his absolutely incredible strategy scrapbook (read it now, read it later, read it again next week, flip it to a random page and use it like tarot cards).

As a life long PR darling moving into a more generalised marketing role, I miss stretching my strategic grey matter. So I’ve started collecting little snippets that catch my eye. Graphics, quotes, strategies, ways to solve problems, ways to frame problems, human foibles that amuse me.

And I’ll collect them all here. Just for you. Enjoy!

Go to people and places

As a starter for 10, here are some places to go if you’re on the hunt for the latest thoughts from the industry’s greatest thinkers:

  1. Mark Pollard’s Twitter (and podcast, and pretty much everything he does)
  2. Tom Goodwin’s Twitter
  3. The Long and the Short of it Podcast
  4. Matt Muir’s Web Curios
  5. Faris Yakob’ Twitter
  6. Austin Kleon’s blog
  7. Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History
  8. APG podcast

Where do you go to have your mind stretched?

Be brave. Feel stupid.

Strategy for beginners