A Scottish adventure, a dream fulfilled. Do you dream?
Glengorm Castle
I write from Lochgilphead, then I’m off to Oban, after that Tobermory on the Isle of Mull which becomes the new home of found us. You may have already seen island photos populating this website.
My wife is Scottish and we are outdoor types, always have been, and we’ve loved the wilds of the Highlands and Islands. Claire landing a teaching role at Tobermory High School became the catalyst for the move, the sale of the house near Saddleworth, and the physical and mental de-cluttering of our lives.
Dreams, Goals, Plans
I want to write about dreams we had and have, and of how in business speak we take the fookin’ fun out of dreams by calling and turning them into goals. In fact we cause internal conflict which leads to stasis or “ground hog day” with plans to follow that we never execute. For me the terms “goals” and “plans” are mere business speak. Business jargon that eviserates the essence of a dream we had or long for.
I’ve always had a love of books, and in this blog post I can only but recall Orwell’s Doublethink from 1984. This is where the individual is sold two conflicting ideas as reality. In the case of 1984 the indoctrination occurs via “Big Brother” within the dystopian society that our protagonist Winston finds himself in.
People dream; we still have that child within us. And dreams are important. Yet when we get a job, a career, we change.
We focus on business goals.
We forget self and life outside of employment, career, life.
We use the word “goals”, letting go of dreams.
This business term “goal” sanitises the dreamers, and all of us dream.
What is a dream?
It is a want, a desire. A wish driven by emotion and our very self. It is an achievement of ours and not another.
And this is a crucial distinction. We have become vehicles fulfilling other’s dreams via the language of goals. This post is about our own personal dreams; of how to recognise, reach them.
This is the conflict, the Doublethinking Orwell warns us of.
We feel we need to create goals and plans but do not realise these are subject to or driven by others goals and plans. So we believe in our goals, but also in achieving the other’s goals seeing them as part of our goals and planning. This is the contradictory position I realised we can find ourselves in. This is society. Believing we can achieve our goals and another’s, when both are mutually exclusive. In real terms this is dressed up as job, career, success, achievement. But we are failing to fulfil our dreams.
Have you ever had a flashback to those childhood days of dreaming?
Dreams and Goals
I prefer to talk about Dreams and Action versus Goals and Plans.
Here’s why.
Dreams are unique and centred in the very soul of the person.
Action is a doing word and avoids our being bogged down in pure plans. Many people plan but can fail to act or are distracted.
I discovered plans are irrelevant because when a dream, it is always with us and we will act on the spot to fulfil a dream and not be limited to plans that may take the very life out of intuition and risk taking.
This aligns with the concept of living in the moment, acting in each moment to create tomorrow’s moment, yet to arrive.
If you must talk Goals
There is a huge wealth of material on goal setting and creating plans to match and meet these goals.
I myself would first recommend reading a famous book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written original by Stephen Covey. Have a look at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People
Whilst written a while ago and updated, the book is a valuable insight into how you work as a person, and of how not to work, and of goals and planning in a traditional and business sense.
But we can reduce traditional goal setting (in a business or career context) to the following.
Set a goal. You can use the SMART acronym to do so.
I suggest you also look at a SWOT analysis of self.
Then you create the plan(s) to do materialise goal. I personally prefer looking at Q1-4, and H1/2. You can then break a quarter or half year into individual months, then weeks.
Look at year 1. Then 2-3 years and what you wish to achieve, then 5+ years.
What I am trying to distinguish is my preferring to dream as against thinking of goals. It may seem like semantics, but I use the term dream since this takes me out of work, career, other people, and taps into what is important for me. What in fact “floats my boat.”
We commonly lose our dreams to the job or career or way of life we think we should embrace.
Here’s a good example.
Claire, my wife, and I are outdoor types being fell runners, cyclists, and swimmers. Claire is Scottish and through her we have had many adventures in the Highlands and Islands of her native country. And we were married in Kingussie. We had a dream to move Scotland.
We discussed the dream together.
We made drawings of the house we’d like to live in.
We looked at timelines.
Claire took action by registering with the relevant teaching organisation and getting a new Scottish DBS.
I looked to run found us from Scotland.
The action Claire took was to look for teaching jobs. Hard to come by in the Highlands and Islands.
With it being dream, we were driven, faith and hope created.
Claire eventually spotted a biology teacher role at Tobermory High School which she went for as her dream and won it.
This became the catalyst for us both to take the leap of faith by selling the house and moving to Tobermory.
The dream drove the action.
We did not really lay plans down. We just acted.
You’ll note I use action and not the word plan.
Action delivers and plans do not. If you have a dream and no plans you are likely to act each and every moment you live in.
And this is what I prefer to do now. And it works.
Trust That Good Will Come
It was a slow, boring January day at the Blue Sky Lodge. We had just moved in. The house was a mess. Construction hadn’t begun yet. All we had was a plan, and a dream. It was too cold and rainy to skydive or even be outdoors. There wasn’t any furniture yet. We were lying around on the floor.
I don’t know who got the idea first, him or me. But we both picked up Magic Markers about the same time. Then we started drawing on the wall.
“What do you want to happen in your life?” I asked. He drew pictures of seaplanes, and mountains, and boats leaving the shore. One picture was a video-camera man, jumping out of a plane. “I want adventure,” he said.
I drew pictures of a woman tromping around the world. She went to war-torn countries, then sat on a fence and watched. She visited the mountains and the oceans and many exciting places. Then I drew a heart around the entire picture, and she sat there in the middle of all the experiences on a big stack of books.
“I want stories,” I said, “ones with a lot of heart.”
Across the entire picture, in big letters, he wrote the word “Woohoo.”
As an afterthought, I drew a woman skydiver who had just jumped out of the plane. She was frightened and grimacing. Next to her I wrote the words “Just relax.”
On the bottom of the wall I wrote, “The future is only limited by what we can see now.” He grabbed a marker, crossed out “only,” and changed it to “never.”
“There,” he said, “it’s done.”
Eventually, the house got cleaned up and the construction finished. Furniture arrived. And yellow paint covered the pictures on the wall. We didn’t think much about that wall until months later. Sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, and sometimes in ways we’d least expect, each of the pictures we’d drawn on that wall began to materialize and manifest.
“It’s a magic wall,” I said.
Even if you can’t imagine what’s coming next, relax. The good pictures are still there. The wall will soon become covered with the story of your life. Thank God, the future is never limited by what we can see right now.
The wall isn’t magic.
The magic is in us and what we believe.
Before we start speaking the language of letting go, we need to understand what a powerful behavior letting go and letting God really is.
God, help me do my part. Then help me let go, and let you do yours.
Activity
Meditate for a moment on the year ahead. Make a list of things you’d like to see happen, attributes you’d like to gain, things you’d like to get and do, changes you’d like to occur. You don’t have to limit the list to this year. What do you want to happen in your life? Make a list of places you’d like to visit and things you’d like to see. Leave room for the unexpected, the unintended. But make room for the possibility of what you’d like too—your intentions, wishes, dreams, hopes, and goals. Also, list what you’re ready to let go of too—things, people, attitudes, and behaviors you’d like to release. If anything were possible, anything at all, what are the possibilities you’d like to experience and see?
More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations
Lochgilphead… where’s that?
I type on my iPhone, and my first ever blog post via mobile, and the outcome to be see as I juggle photos and text via the Squarespace CMS.
So you find me in Lochgilphead right by the sea loch, Loch Gilp, and the entrance to the Crinan Canal. Find Oban and go South and you’ll find me.
Why am I here? Well in a roundabout way this is part of my journey to Tobermory and the Isle of Mull, and a new chapter in the annals of found us and for that matter myself and my wife Claire.
Some of you more observant ones will have noticed photos on the found us website of Scottish scenes; well most are in fact from Mull.
I and the business (well me) move here to follow Claire my wife’s work, and our dream. That dream was to live in the wilds of Scotland. Claire who is Scottish landed the head of biology teaching job at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull at the High School. We sold our house on the edge of Saddleworth, and Lochgilphead marks an epoch in the move.
What will it bring for found us? Will the consultancy business survive and thrive, or will it pass as many others have? Who knows, suffice to say I’m happy with the 10 years I’ve put in. And excited for change, which I want and so need. You see I’ve always embraced change, even when it creates darkness.
What next? Who knows? Who cares!
Feel free to comment.
Teamwork in its purest form
Sunday 7th July 2024, end of our Wansfell Category race, 24th out of 92 teams overall, 8th Vets out of 40 teams, and 11th out of 48 mixed teams.
So my wife Claire and I completed the 2024 Saunders Mountain Marathon over the weekend just gone, and when thinking about a found us blog post to write realised it is a good example of what is teamwork in what is a stressful environment, not to mention the weather.
Erm. What is a Mountain Marathon?
You may know what fell running is, it is the English for mountain running. It comes from The Lake District where it originated from, hence to term fell. The word fell comes from the old Norse for mountain.
Fell running is therefore running and racing on mountains. Note, we don’t really have mountains in England so it is more about running up and down hills, and it is not exclusively in the Lake District any longer. Funnily enough the sport originated out of gambling, when the Victorian rich and aristocrats would travel via the new train system to the Lakes and their Estates, gambling on the prowess of their boys who worked their land racing up and down hills in competition against other lads working the land from other estates. In effect Victorian upper class types gambling against each other, with the lads able to win sizeable life changing purses of money versus herding sheep.
Orienteering is where you run in a competition against others navigating off a map via checkpoints. And you need to be good at navigation!
The Mountain Marathon combines the two and is unique to fell running and orienteering in the British Isles. You have a weekend and run with a partner across a course in the Lakes carrying all you gear including tent and cooking kit to a half way camp, and on the following day do the same. It is about fell running, navigation, and of choosing your route, yes your route, to pick up checkpoints whilst trying to find the best navigational lines, and completing each day at the fastest pace. It is jolly good fun, challenging, and team work is vital. And weather can take an event in the Lakes and turn it completely on its head…
Team work - a definition.
Teamwork in my words is about one or more people working together to do something. It is that simple and does not need dressing up, but for the purists here is the Collins Dictionary definition.
teamwork
(tiːmwɜːʳk )
uncountable noun
Teamwork is the ability a group of people have to work well together.
Today's complex buildings require close teamwork between the architect and the builders.
Synonyms: cooperation, collaboration, unity, concert More Synonyms of teamwork
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
So there we have the definition. The official dictionary one, yet all of us know what teamwork is. We a a species are not that daft.
Using the Saunders MM, what is my take on teamwork?
Teamwork with a fell race as the medium
Teamwork means you have to work together to achieve something. As you cannot or choose not to do it alone. Sometimes you have choice of fellow team mate, sometimes you do not.
And teamwork is not purely I now realise the sole preserve of business; it happens in all spheres of life. With the wife, the children, on a holiday trip, having dinner, blah, blah, blah. Teamwork encompasses us as people as human beings very rarely function in isolation, and that applies for a lot of the animal world as well.
Some observations and tips.
Pick your team mate if you can, but not always the case. You see I am married to Claire and she is my Soulmate and understands how I tick in the physical and spiritual planes. Sounds funky, but is important. Humans are creatures of emotion and spirituality and that is how they work together, apart from the obvious physical task.
Chose your team mate if you can (even if nuts.)
So you need to be attuned to emotions, a person’s spirituality, and baggage. You have to make an emotional and spiritual connection for teamwork to serve its purpose. So in our case, Claire and I needed to follow a course on a map as fast as possible and with minimal navigational snafus. This is the task and pretty obvious, yet driving the task are people - Claire and I. And we function differently. And this is not simply about gender. Claire compared to me looks at the world differently and has different worldly objectives and dreams as driven by self, as moulded by her life experiences.
I want to win and become frustrated at being slow. I can thus shortcut. My emotional electricity drives me to run, to win, to achieve as I have past baggage of not being good enough.
Claire wants to enjoy and be careful with navigation, and within the world of orienteering fell running this is vital. She sees the beauty of the Lakeland fells and not just the race. It is an experience for her. She also wants to enjoy, and this does not mean she won’t push herself. She wants to be certain of where she has been, is, will go. Her emotional baggage is to be safe, secure, placed, in control.
Now if you cross compare we have two competing interests that won’t lead to two people reading a map correctly, agreeing on route, or running together at a directional unified pace. Yikes.
But we as a couple have to understand each others emotional and spiritual electricity, of how we see the world, of our place in the world, and how we interpret and filter it. The task is obvious, what is not is figuring out how we connect.
In practice we leverage my drive, sense of winning, myopic focus. With Claire we can leverage her ability to see the bigger picture, see outside of the narrow channel of my vision. I provide uncertainty and risk, taking navigational decisions where all information is not available. Claire provides the caution. Steadies my vigour. She understands my emotional and spiritual drives, but explains them to me with logic and emotion.
I leverage and utilise Claire’s sense of caution, or seeing beyond the singular route and thought process I have to hand. She reminds me of the team, the joint effort, of looking at where we are together - the beauty of it all.
I have to accept Claire, she has to accept me - emotionally, spiritually, baggage and all, for us to function as a unit. And this is the key to team work, and human relations.
Get Spiritual.
And then there is environment
Environment can be a benefit or pain in the bum depending on where you are, and let us not forget time and need.
In our case, we had the possibilty of rain hanging over us for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, especially Sunday from 11am. And this makes for hard running on the fells; difficult and what can be treacherous navigation.
The sun was out and it was humid, and climbing hills, running, bog and tussock hoping meant the sweat dripped off us, and led to occasional frayed tempers. 95% me, 5% Claire.
Something I have to work on is how I choose to let environment and its people affect me. It is a defect of mine. We were obviously under time pressure and objective achievement. And this does not have to be up a hill near Hawswater, it can be on the way to the airport, pulling a business pitch together, managing the kids at a footie match and so on.
Don’t be Pete, be like Claire - at one with what’s about you.
One has to remember we have choice and control over our actions, but not those of the place we find ourselves in and its people - always remember the phrase people, places, things. Let go and focus on you and how you filter or interpret what I have just mentioned. Consider your relationship with that which is outside of you, utilising empathy and understanding to ensure a goal, dream, objective is achieved.
So you can let (in my case) sweat, a steep hill, the sun, the humidity, your rucksack and the list goes on, affect you and thus your team mate. Don’t. They are merely objects if you like in their own right.
Teamwork comes from not just working with team mate, from the people, places, things. It comes from how we chose to interact with them.
Don’t forget we have to work with place (environment), people (covered this), time (but we can make our time), the objective (goal, dream, desire), things.
It is how we govern our spiritual and emotional relationship to them, and not the people, places, things themselves that truly matters.
So with teamwork
Yes do focus on the task at hand. And -
Know your emotional, spiritual attributes, and baggage. And don’t view them as positive or negative. View them as they are, and harness them.
Try to understand your team mate’s emotional, spiritual attributes, and baggage. Harness them.
With understanding and playing to your own and another’s way of ticking you make a connection and two or more become one unit. And the task can then come into play.
A taste of honey. (disposed, disruptive, dysfunctional.)
The dysfunctional, the dispossessed, the disruptors will always have hope.
A Taste of Honey - Rita Tushingham and Paul Danquah in the 1961 film.
I was studying English A Level at All Hallows RC High School (now All Hallows Catholic College) when I discovered Sheila Delaney’s A Taste of Honey. The late and great Gerry Campbell, an influential Teacher was Cousin to Sheila Delaney, and I was also lucky to be taught by Anne Goddard, a marvellous English Teacher.
It is an important play for me and my education as it was one of the many stimuli that kick started a process of thinking and challenge, think and challenge those social givens and of how we can all be sheep, but don’t have to accept societal stereotypes. I was to lose myself many years later, gradually, painfully, and without awareness; but thankfully I can and do remember so much from my past, which in coming back to me reminds me of my loner individual self, and of challenging social mores and beliefs. And there is nowt wrong with that.
What an earth do I mean by this? Jo, the lead character in the play leaves behind social norms at the time by openly not observing them, by doing what is right for her.
Arguably she is forced into action by circumstance and is thus not a disruptor, to use a more modern term. But a disruptor she is by her not conforming to norm, to being that solo operator. In her dysfunctional environment she has to be dysfunctional herself, part of and necessary for everything to function as it is. Yet also for change to occur. Whether by voluntary or involuntary cognition. Sometimes though it is the Universe that plays the role of disruptor and we are merely swept along.
This was all something that I latched onto. My childhood background was broken, disfunction, chaotic, destructive; and with time, recovery, help, and education I came to see that like all in life it is both a positive and negative, a yin and yang, a good and a bad. And that I was swept along to where I am now; ultimately guided by the Universe and what its plans are for me.
I now see that disfunction about me led to my disfunction in society and personally. Now this was not necessarily all good as it caused a lot of chaos and hurt over the years. And I suspect this the case for a lot of people I know, especially in addiction and advertising and maybe all of us. Addiction and Advertising - where does one start and the other stop?
But disfunction is a synonym for disruption, and now realise that my disruption created change and development, though the journey painful.
The case for disfunction.
I think now that I am still disruptive and have learnt to harness this. You see, there is an opposite for all in life, and the bad that came with my being disruptive, is now turned to good.
I look back and now see that all those disruptive people were and are able to see the gaps in the artifice that is normality, or what people present as normal, given, or societal norms. And they are able to open those gaps up, split apart the veneer of artifice, in fact shatter it and replace it with something new. Sadly this is where disruptors fall down, as one commonality is failure to deliver on what they disrupt or to follow through on what they start. This is something I had to learn about.
I think my advertising career and for a lot of achievers in life and business is disjointed, disruptive, leading to great results, but also great failure. But we can change the defects, the faults, learn from the mistakes. We are disruption and thus we are change, and we can change self, environment, the current balance and status quo, and this can be the artifice I talk of.
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek - President Barack Obama
I think now my mentoring, career advice, and help of other can focus on these disruptors, to harness the positive element and assuage the negative which is something that you can never really remove. To receive help from others, emboldens one to give back what was freely given to you. And that is what I must do. You see these disruptors who are also dispossessed of much (normally emotional, spiritual succour) make change in life and drive development, and I honestly believe that these flawed people who look so hard for that “something” can and should be engines of change, for their and the common good.)
It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it - Albert Einstein
I seek to harness my learned disruption to bring about change, where the Universe needs and compels it. And help others do the same. In a business and personal life.
Advertising disruptors I welcome you. I wish to meet and help more of you in your careers and your lives, because you don’t need to go through what I went through. All of us who are older, and maybe wiser, have a duty to pass down what we have learnt.
As I said with this picture which I love, earlier in the piece, a still from the 1961 film, “The dysfunctional, the dispossessed, the disruptors will always have hope.” And I strongly believe this. Hope for themselves and others. They in their broken way seek self-attainment (see Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and similar.)
Imagine! All these wonderful people who can see and wiggle through the gaps present in the norms of society, the bore of society, the status quo, the life we may all be trapped in, and make news things, ways of being, living, thinking, behaving. Making wonderful things.
As night draws to a close, dawn arises and we can each of us start a new day. And each of us can chose to be a change for good.
Recognise and embrace you are a disruptor.
Do you have baggage or trauma within your life? Do you drive yourself in all areas, and have you really asked why? Is your driven behaviour, breaking and making things a means of distraction from your history, what you think on?
Does your disruption cause change, but can this vacillate between good and bad? Have you built as much as you have torn down, or has fallen down?
Is this all cyclical?
Do you want change, but don’t know how to?
Is it a case of knowing how to harness your skills in the right direction, and to then fulfil on what you have started? You light the fire but fail to put it out, or stoke it.
Feel free to contact me, have a chat, a sit down, a Zoom. Whatever. I’ve been there and know how to talk about it, and make change. It is not easy. Not at all. But it can be done.
To live is to fight, David Rutley MP, and Arnold Rimmer.
Left: David Rutley. Right: Arnold Rimmer
To live is to fight / vivere militare est
The quote is attributed to Seneca the Younger and very apt for a lot of people in today's GB, and countless other locations. I suppose when born we automatically have to go into fight mode to survive, or do we have to?
And I suppose there are a lot of Tories fighting to live as I type this, especially what appears to be the tone deaf, clueless, Cockwomble of Macclesfield, the Rt Hon David Rutley, its local MP.
Orinoco the Womble, distant relative of MP for Macclesfield. The prefix “Cock” used to differentiate Genus, as is the fact one picks rubbish up, the other sends it into the sea via the sewage system.
Species / Genus
Forget the sewage laden term Tory, and look to the man. 14 years of what could be seen to be sheer self interest revolving around career, voting with government, Ministerial role, being a Whip, yet besmirching the good constituent MPs of all parties that are out there doing something and delivering local results. Not only have I seen more adept things floating on their backs in a pond, but I've seen Politicos with more balls canvassing those they represent than someone behaving as this ineffectual weakling, who has yet to be seen in all areas of Macclesfield for example.
The reason I am angry?
I am Macclesfield born and bred and whilst I left the town properly in 2013 am still attached. There are not many places I've not touched or been touched by in the town from having grown up, played, and lived in a famous town centre pub with two well known historical publicans. I'd play like a Bash Street Kid in the Indoor Market, West Park, South Park, everywhere, have fallen in the river Bollin countless times, and learnt to read and write through St Albans and All Hallows.
I've also been a Trustee of Macclesfield Round Table.
So more than most I've been very much intertwined in the town's heartbeat over the years.
Over time and wIth sadness I've seen the centre of the town decline. I landed in the town in 1978.
There are many macro factors out of any Politicians hands. There are changes to shopping habits of the consumer. People have been skint for a while.
But this does not excuse in any way shape or form the crass claim of David Rutley to have supported retail growth in the town. (Or other local centric activities to enhance economic growth.)
David Rutley - SMEG Head - Arnold Rimmer - Your MP for Macclesfield
My back is up and I’ve decided to write as I am genuinely stunned as some of the video sound bites Arnold Rimmer aka David Rutley MP has been posting as his contribution to Macclesfield town and its environs. And we thought the Hitler Diaries were the greatest work of fiction this side of the Royal Family not being German by using the nomenclature Windsor.
Yet I am maddened especially by one of his latest soundbites, stood on Church Street, back to St Michael’s. Right royally pissed off at this brass neck claim to support local business.
Man realises Macclesfield is dying on its arse (after 14 years, mostly abroad feting and being feted by dodgy, corrupt governments with questionable human rights records in Central and South America, whilst dressed as Alan Partridge in the Wilderness Years.
I suspect he helped hamstring Cheshire East and other Councils with his voting negatively with Party to cut local government funding, and do check his voting record. It makes for salutary reading:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24820/david_rutley/macclesfield/votes
His voting record makes for SHOCKING reading. For the simple fact it flies in the face of the videos he uses for his re-election campaign.
I suspect he would not work with Cheshire East as it is Labour run (can I just point out I’m more liberal in view than Labour, and am certainly no fan of Stan Laurel Starmer.)
I suspect he’s tone deaf as to local business having come from big business, and theoretical academic business background.
I suspect he’s spent that much time out of the county in his Ministerial role, that this sound bite is a last ditch attempt to alter the reality. He has simply not been here, instead abroad, in London.
As an ex-Whip and consistent Party voter I question his moral ethics. “Yes” as a word has an opposite and that is “no”. Nick Winterton (whilst no complete fan) had the courage to vote against party when morally correct. Rutley would vote that the sky is green if told to.
David Cameron. Jesus, where do I start? Rutley was parachuted into a safe seat by a PM (who visited him recently) whom I had the inordinate displeasure of working with at Carlton TV (contact me for comments and fruity language.)
I don’t give a shite about religion. And I’m Catholic. But how this man can observe a very moral form of Christianity, and have not questioned how he conducted himself morally and engagement wise, with a people and town that is genuinely struggling, makes me think the Mormon Church on Priory Land may soon be on the receiving end of a thunderbolt.
I suspect he has suspended his LinkedIn credentials. If he be God’s gift to business (soz God) then where is a LinkedIn profile, versus prose about senior roles in businesses such as Asda or PepsiCo? No detail. Name dropping, Arnold Rimmer would let lose a tear with lump in throat in respect of this positioning of self.
Let us cry Smeg Head aloud. In unison.
The Social Media activity that Rutley undertakes is locked down on Facebook, but he is unable to do so with the different beast that is Twitter. I would strongly suggest reading (with pinch of salt obviously) people’s comments on Twitter. I understand that Facebook lockdown stops abuse, but for God’s sake you are an MP and comment, criticism goes with the job, and has been around way before Gladstone and Disraeli were yelling at each other across the Commons.
It just vexes me that this Marketing campaign is one way, not transparent, and does not allow for comment. It is so frustrating, but that’s politics.
Seneca the Younger and Democracy
Democracy is more cruel than wars or tyrants
Let me think in the hot sun of a day out in Manchester. To live is to fight. Hmmm. I suppose that David Rutley is doing what we all may have to do, fight to keep what we have.
But like us all, he has choices and volition. He could maybe reflect on his 14 years and be honest about what he’s delivered and next steps. If I were still in Macc’ and could vote I’d consider him as we all make mistakes and can rectify them.
The people with have their say. Please vote wisely. And if you kick him into touch, he won’t starve, and think of all the poor fuckers the Tories have let down.
Manchester in the sun. Nuff said.
Mental Health, Paediatric, and Emmergency First Aid at Work.
A short blog post to say thanks to the team at Millie’s Trust who took me through 3 excellent first aid courses, and one of which Mental Health First Aid will greatly assist me with my voluntary work, and now makes me a member of MHFA England.
The charity was set up in 2014 by Joanne and Dan Thompson to provide sensibly priced but comprehensive first aid courses for non-professionals such as you and I.
This all resulted out of the tragic choking death of their daughter Millie. With Dan and Joanne recognising a need for adequate first aid training.
The charity has trained over 40,000 people in first aid and will have undoubtably have saved lives. And I think it so important that we take the opportunity to learn about saving lives in the time it takes for the professional people to arrive on the scene of an emergency.
Did you know for example that a first aider with CPR knowledge and armed with an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) can increase the success rate when dealing with a cardiac arrest up to 75%? That’s someone’s life - a son, a daughter, a wife, a husband, maybe even you?
Have a look at a video I took of Dan Thompson showing a group how to use an AED.
Where’s Wally?
Well…. Not exactly true, but it amused me indeed to think of the analogy. Suffice to say that Wally is in fact the eminent Tom Cheesewright, Applied Futurist, and long standing contact.
We caught up today in cavernous Foundation on Whitworth Street. A Metrolink tram from Ashton into the bowels of Piccadilly and then a walk to the coffee shop. Passing the beautiful old buildings that line the route, and including what were the old UMIST buildings. Which makes me think of my age.
Tom was, and is always on good form and a cheerful wind blowing into my somewhat vacant mind. Especially when food comes into play, and it was lunchtime. Always a distraction. That said I ended up having a coffee and instead ate on returning home.
It has been a while since we caught up and it was good to chat as to market and economic trends. We both tried to figure out when we might see an upturn in economic conditions, different to sentiment. Labour will get into power we agreed, and with this we will see a rise in positive sentiment amongst the population and those that consume. But this won’t manifest itself properly as an upturn for business, taking aside Christmas, until Q3 of 2025; so quite a while away.
Tom is perfectly fine, strongly supported with his speaking, consulting as a pre-eminent Futurist for leading brands, and also representing other notable public speakers.
I’ve always felt he deserved to do well because not only does he have what it takes, he took the plunge and followed his dream to success and reputation when no one knew what the heck a Futurist is. I’d always recommend him.
Please do make sure that you read up on what TC gets up to in his life; it makes for great reading. And I was quite fascinated when he mentioned he is producing and delivering a Podcast for the BBC.
Tom also runs Pomona Partners, representing a number of leading speakers. A highly recommended look for those needing expert speakers.
Tom like me enjoys reading and is an avid consumer of educational books, and recommended the following by Peter Etchells. I’m interested in a book (having read Irresistible) that talks about having a positive relationship with tech, social media, and mobiles. I’ve used one of my Audible credits for it.
The Amazon precis reads, “Professor Pete Etchells studies the way we use screens, and how they can affect us. In UNLOCKED, he delves into the real science behind the panic about our alleged device addiction and withering attention spans. Armed with the latest research, he reveals how little we have to fear, and the great deal we have to gain, by establishing a more positive relationship with our screens. That begins with asking ourselves some essential questions about how we use them.
Instead of clamouring for us to ditch our devices (before guiltily returning to the same old habits), UNLOCKED is a sustainable, realistic and vital guide to transforming our connection with technology.”
Jones and Kershaw.
It is Sunday 28th April as I type, and I think back to Wednesday of this week when I caught up with two old and treasured contacts.
The first coffee in Haunt on Peter Street was with Simon Jones who I have known for a number of years. Simon Jones heads up Wavemaker Studio and has made a massive impact to the business with the set up and growth of this area, especially where media budgets are showing contraints as are margins for agencies.
It was a good chat as to life, family, and business. And it is tough times for a lot of people in and outside of our business. Heading in to meet Si, I felt Manchester busy for mid-week, but not as busy nor vibrant as I would expect. But good old Wavemaker Manchester under the steady and capable hands of Emma Slater is doing well, and also in new Quay Street offices.
Amusingly after Haunt we headed to Greggs on St Peter’s Square for a pizza slice for Si, sausage roll and ring donut with sprinkly things for me, and kindly paid for by Si. Off he went, and I kept myself busy before seeing Jon Kershaw at Ditto Coffe on Oxford Street.
Forgot to photo snap Jon at Ditto Coffee, so apologies Mr Kershaw I used LinkedIn instead.
Where do I start with Jon Kershaw? Someone I have known for a number of years and highly respect. An example of being able to get to a senior role in this game and retain being a nice chap, someone who cares, and runs a good business.
Jon heads up PHD in Manchester, and the agency has a roster of good clients, staff, and is widely respected. Jon is a strategist and thinker at heart and we enjoyed a good chat and vague attempts at forecasting the marketplace and when it would pick up. We think, and I use this loosely, that improvement or even stability probably won’t be seen until at least Q3 next year. There is a lot going on globally, and there is also a concern of a potential shift of advertising clients to London, and their not recognising the strength of the North. We may pitch against each other, but if one agency loses a client to London, then we all lose.
And as I have said before London looks after London.
I suspect people and businesses in the advertising industry (all emcompassing term that covers all disciplines and the offline/online split) are treading water some gracefully as a summer swan, others a fresh unsure and rain drenched Cygnet. But better to float than sink in my opinion, and I always believe that in times of uncertainty we have opportunity, as change can breathe afresh in turned soil. Sometimes we need re-ploughing, when we risk growing in the same vein.
Ancoats Coffee, Guy Levine, Ditto Coffee, Craig Johnson.
A nice day was had yesterday in Manchester. A tram from Ashton for an afternoon coffee with Guy Levine, and a second with Craig Johnson.
It was a pleasant day indeed and a nice walk from New Islington Metrolink stop between Ashton to Rochdale Canals for Ancoats Coffee and Guy Levine.
I have known Guy for many years and we both enjoy our chats as to life and all that entails. Guy is an entrepreneur behind Return.co and Abe & Co. Let me tell you more.
Return is digital marketing agency that focuses on customer journey and how to achieve that. A business I have worked with for years.
Abe & Co is a speciality coffee roaster set up by Guy, that my wife and I buy coffee from. It is quality, unique, hard to find and beautiful coffee. And that reminds me that I need to get some coffee on order for Dukinfield.
I’ve caught up with Guy over the years chatting as to all sorts and sharing a love of cycling and Zwift (the male advertising mid-life crisis go to), plus Guy’s family and beliefs something he is so passionate about and to be admired for. Through thick and thin I have been able to stand on the shoulders of a giant, and I thank him for his support.
Next meeting involved a 15-20 minute walk through Ancoats into Piccadilly Gardens and down Portland Street to meet Craig Johnson outside Ditto Coffee on Oxford Street.
Craig is someone I again have known for a number of years and like Guy a good hearted, caring, confidential, and professional person. He always considers his staff and clients and looks after them. We have caught up many times over the years and have become friends, with the coffee catch up at Ditto a natter as to business, family, life and the rest. Highly enjoyable.
Another person I admire. A family man who cares for his wife and boys, and driven in business but proof that you don’t need to be horrible or an arse to achieve in this game.
Speaking of which Craig is currently CEO of Ultimedia in Manchester, and his knowledge of eCommerce and digital marketing is second to none.
I said a fond goodbye to Craig and made my way via Whitworth Street to Piccadilly for the Metrolink tram back to Ashton.
Finishing off with Big Trouble in Little China
Great Easter Sunday with a mixture of stuff, the house to myself and writing this post to a long overdue viewing of a classic film. Youngsters watch it. Watch it now! (And Escape from New York.)
This blog entry is light hearted and nothing to do with work, advertising, and consultancy. More designed for those bored enough to read what I get up to on an Easter Sunday when not yabbering on about found us.
So the day started well early, 5am I think and that was taking into account the clocks going forward an hour. Between then and 9am I got a heck of a lot done sorting things for Claire coming down tomorrow from Scotland. Then back to bed as shattered and still suffering from a cough for which I’m on antibiotics. Meanwhile as I slept Claire made her way from Mull to Oban.
I awoke and climbed out of bed.
Plan was to head to Denton to repair one of the shared bikes at ANEW, then transport Claire’s road bike back ready for heading to Scotland. The bike has been down here a while. All ready to go and the washed out feeling hit me again from the aftermath of the cold and the cough. Back to bed for what must have been a couple of hours. Mind you I did listen on Audible timer to 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a highly recommended read and one that fits in with my belief system.
Got up and checked where Claire was on the campervan tracker. She was heading to Hamilton via the scenic route through Callander avoiding Easter Sunday traffic in the Trossachs and the Loch Lomond route.
Me? It was getting into Denton part 2, and this time I was ready. Whilst heading for the bus I listened to an absolute banger on Spotify - Sugar is Sweeter by CJ Bolland.
Got to Denton and said hello to the lads, made a brew, and proceeded to fix a punctured tyre with a new inner tube. Which proved to be hard as the tyre was very tight on the rim.
Task accomplished only to realise the front of said bike has a flat and needs new front brakes…. Claire’s bike had the front wheel removed and it was placed into a bike bag. Now, you are not allowed bikes on Stagecoach buses even in bags but I strode to the bus stop bike bag on shoulder and the kindly bus drivers let me on; important as I was pushed for time needing to get back for a kind lift from Mark to a meeting. On getting back I realised Claire’s bike had a puncture on the front tyre on the seam of the inner tube, so effectively knackered.
On arrival at the meeting and set up, the weather had dropped in temperature making it a tad nippy with a wind. But we had a good meeting nonetheless despite being thin on the ground over the Easter weekend. I took three photos of Christ Church in Ashton with its wonderful organ that was built 6 years before the death of Queen Victoria. And I received a lovely present in the form of a book of walks for Mull and Iona from my friend Debbie.
Returned home to home made stew and the delight of being able to watch Big Trouble in Little China. Legendary. And also replaced the inner tube on the front wheel of Claire’s bike. Oh, and have munched away on Lotus Biscoff chocolate biscuits. Ah……
Smile, because we can.
Smile because you can, and Varley and I did in order to goad the excellent David Edmundson-Bird. Why? Because he refuses to smile despite an excellent write up on ChatGPT.
Today involved a good couple of hours with a fav’ person in a fav’ convenient haunt. I travelled in today to Carluccio’s in Manchester Piccadilly for a personal and business chat with Mr Mark Varley, and useful it proved indeed. Carluccio’s is buried deep in my memory of meetings. Never too busy, good coffee, good food, friendly staff, and great when you cannot be arsed walking into the NQ, especially when it’s pissing it down.
It was a good meeting chatting as to consultancy, speaking events at Lancaster University, the industry, family, across to the elections in the UK and US. Connection is something that is so important to me. From a business perspective; yes, we all get that. But we also benefit spiritually and emotionally from meeting peers.
David Edmundson-Bird
There was connection. I shall explain. I noticed Mr E-B had written a cracker of an article on ChatGPT and of worthy reading. Prescient, knowledgeable, and explains the bleeding obvious impact on your SEO amongst other things. However I felt he ought to smile. He pointed out that smiling was weakness and the conversation deteriorated into black humoured banter thereof. So Mark and I thought we’d smile for him (and wind him up.)
Do read E-B’s article because it makes important points as to the conflict of AI, brand integrity, useability, and honesty.
Manchester, NQ, Peeps, Metrolink Ticket Collectors, The Rozzers, Ashton.
The always ever cheerful Richard Gregory
A good day was had in unexpected cold and the slight rain of the NQ in Manchester where I met three people I had not met in a while. Only one gets a photo mention as I forgot to snap the other two. But never mind. The journey home was livened up by people being nicked off trams at Piccadilly for ticket evasion. Life is never dull in Madchester. (Oh, and I had an enjoyable few minutes perusing Fred Aldous in the NQ for gift ideas; one of which were mugs covered in hand drawn willies or boobs - depending on today’s preference.)
Anyway I refrained from purchasing the porcelain of naughtiness and made my way back to Piccadilly for a tram to Ashton and more on that.
First meeting of the day was a well overdue and colourful bitch and stitch session with Danielle Bromley who I have known for a while and someone I rate on a par as a sales and commercially led person in the business. Not to mention she’s sane, which says a lot in this game. I would like to publically mention that her offspring, in my humble opinion, have the best Mum ever. Mind you she was rolling eyeballs at needing to take a phone call from school on behalf of a sick youngster that belongs to her. Danielle dealt admirably in the moment by saying she was in Manchester, could do nothing, and if she could not contact her mother then said child was the property of school for a few hours. Proper Mothering if you ask my opinion. No Snowflakes in that family!
Joining us for the second meeting was and is the lovely, serene Mick Style avec bobble hat and I wish I had taken a photo since I can confess to never having seen Mick in a bobble hat in town and it threw Danielle and myself if honest. We had a really good natter as to his cycling recently in Spain which certainly wet my whistle and also caught up on some interesting business ideas and contacts. It was good to see him looking so well. I am glad he is thriving outside of the big network agency scene.
Last but not least was lunch with Richard Gregory at Yard & Coop on Edge Street in the NQ. Clearly home of anything as long as it is chicken.
Mind you the food was very nice as was the long overdue chat with Richard. Business and personal stuff was discussed and I also talked Richard through my moving to the Isle of Mull in a few months, whilst he told me of NY bound plans for his 50th in two weeks, of which I was jealous. He was good, is a good guy, and was on good form.
On the way back I did take some random photos around Stephenson Square and Tariff Street; it has changed, a bit.
Metrolink Ticket Collectors and The Rozzers
I am not sure if it was a slow news day on the ticket collector enforcement front for the girls and boys of Metrolink, but by heck they were mob handed with the Police at Piccadilly this lunchtime, apprehending any poor soul failing to have bought a ticket. Identified, straight to the Police, novelty hand bracelets attached, then frog marched off in full public view. It was a somewhat dystopian moment, especially as I was listening to Fahrenheit 451 on Audible on my headphones. But suppose paying the fare is only fair? (Geddit?)
I now finish off this post in Ashton’s Costa Coffee in my best bib and tucker including a rather nice Bee shirt before I head home to relax, maybe have a nap - Richard welcome to the 50’s.
2 pictures and 2 different found us
It is a funny old world in my life at found us in terms of locations. I currently type from Costa Coffee in Ashton under Lyne, and Claire was on a walk in Tobermory earlier and sent a photo of the bay. I’ll be there for the Easter hols. Just thought it funny in terms of locations and the juxtaposition of the two images (Tosser use of big word alert.) It is funny how location can alter the business mentality I have, its reception, and how I approach things. For example, Tobermory and Mull lend themselves to calm, thoughtfulness, and a considered approach to life and business and a distinct lack of not chasing money.
Sunday 24th March 2024
Been tidying up the website and discovering some wobbly internal links (D- and must do better as official web master) and thought I’d write a brief entry.
Ashton town centre has been nice today and not crowded, in fact positively civilised. I suspect people are out enjoying the nice weather. Blue sky with fluffy clouds which make me smile as I think of the song Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb. A legendary song by a legendary duo, and I groan as I now realise it was released in November 1990. Christ on a Bike that was 30 years ago and I was three months into my first year at the University of Lancaster.
I’ll have to head back to the house in Dukinfield for the simple reason I am starving and have food that will otherwise go to waste. But may grab another coffee en route, from Starbucks.
Slow day today in my being sedentary but have already got a lot done on the laptop.
Biz meetings and new business
Am out in Manchester next week if you fancy a catch up and am on the hunt for new business in the form of senior head hunting briefs and consultancy work. But not desperate. Quality not quantity and in the words of Basil Fawlty, no riff raff please.
“ Master the topic, the message, and the delivery.” — Steve Jobs, Co-Founder, Apple.
I deliberately dug this quote out of the bag, well that is a lie, I used Google to search for a good quote on writing content and chose this one out of three from the search results. One of the other quotes is below. Why content? Me being a smart ass? No. Because I am re-reading Fahrenheit 451. Well, listening on Audible if honest. I am lazy and that’s okay. And it is 4.27am on Saturday 23rd of March and I cannot sleep.
And what is Fahrenheit 451? It the temperature at which books burn.
For anyone who relishes or for that matter writes, consumes, uses, or has content play a part in their life this is a must read book. A testimony to the power of content and of how it can be controlled by the unscrupulous or more frighteningly the lost.
Job’s quote is double edged. I shall explain.
Good writing is important for conveying something that is important to you. That’s the substance of your content. Know you topic. What is it that burns you up? That’s important because it is the passion. Next, how do you say what you want to say? What’s your Prose? How is this consumed or interpreted by readers? Yet delivery in this day and age is vital and Job’s was a master of the last two elements. Topic? Computers and stuff. Bit dull if you ask me. He mastered the message and delivery.
Job’s quote can be viewed as sinister. If one thinks of content as this three step process then we have a very simple way in which content can be consumed to nefarious means. Set topic, message to to the masses, deliver en masse. Sound like Populism? You bet ya!
Books and what they contain have been outlawed and are burnt by Firemen
The crux of the novel (sans spoilers) is that books and thus content is outlawed to the masses and instead the Parlour or interactive technology as Bradbury describes it delivers defined content. Does this sound familiar? Society and its characters become devoid of emotion, of life itself.
This is my worry with books, and content, and all the SHIT that now appears on the Web and is so easily consumed via Jobs second and third elements from his quote; ease of message and delivery. I allude to social media, Apps etc. and it is worrying. The advertising community is helping dictate content via the search engines hence the term Search Engine Optimisation.
Here is another quote to elaborate on what I think.
Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.– Leo Burnett.
It is the simplicity with which people can be convinced that have been leveraged by the advertising and of course Politicos. Simple (“They, Our”) media is messaging that is delivered via an easy to use and access channel(s). The message of a brand across to that of a political party and it’s theme. Hence the term “Their, Our” Media - the media of organisations or brands, and people can be brands. This is mass media in its purest form. You will and do consume what “We, They” have to say.
Hang on a minute you cry… You are writing for your blog and Pot, Kettle, Black. So WTF are you doing?
Peter Cobley’s thoughts
Neatly summed up via a paragraph from Wikipedia that summarises how Bradbury felt and I certainly feel.
“In later years, he described the book as a commentary on how mass media reduces interest in reading literature.[8] In a 1994 interview, Bradbury cited political correctness as an allegory for the censorship in the book, calling it "the real enemy these days" and labelling it as "thought control and freedom of speech control."[9]”
We are all seeing a challenge to freedom of speech, but this is phrase that has been worn out and become misunderstood in popular vernacular.
I do embrace the dissemination of content that the Web has allowed for and created; shifting control of media from “They” Media of the traditional Press/Media Barons to “My” media as created by me and others. Unfortunately two things have happened that warrant concern and need redressing before the balance shifts too much into dystopia and we have to fight a rear guard action.
Under the cover of “My Media”, my ability to create content, the big boys of business, politics have snuck in under the guise of how great the Internet and Web is and of benefit to all to peddle their shite. See Citizen Kane. And remember the phrase, “ A wolf in Sheep’s clothing.”
“My Media” of the newly empowered individual has taken a nose dive with a vast quantity of further shite appearing across digital media. You could argue I do the same and stop reading what I write. People have been influenced by the type of message and it’s delivery (remember the Job’s quote) and are aping what the big boys and girls do rather than be authentic and real and true. All content thus blends into one, including audio visual and becomes a societal pastiche with no originality. A far cry from the heritage that literature evolved from - fiction, biography, social commentary, parody. Think of Shakespeare or Thackeray for example.
Note that Press Barons of old (Citizen Kane was allegedly based on Hurst) have now morphed to the likes of Google or Facebook (Messaging carriers) allowing a Pandora’s Box of shite to hit the airwaves. There is no POLICING of this, but…
The concern of a Governmental policing takes us down a slippery slope of who decides what is correct content. Yikes. Best left to people to decide what is content that needs consuming. Been going on for years since Adam was a lad. What government needs to do is batter and kick the content carriers who in my opinion are facilitating the shite. In old money we need more virtual printing presses and need to expose Zuckerberg across to Musk for what they are, Wolves in Sheep’s clothing. The base utilisation of content to generate money. Police them by all means but allow for more carriers.
The bloody frightening addiction of online and digital
This goes hand in hand with what I have just written previously. Topic, Messaging, Delivery are clouded and become further clouded as we sign up to non-stop drivel via addictive technology and this worries me. Have a read of the Fahrenheit 451 and of how Bradbury blends technology into the book in the 1950’s and you’ll see how prescient he actually was, or fooking hell very true to later life.
Again from Wikipedia as I am being lazy.
“In writing the short novel Fahrenheit 451, I thought I was describing a world that might evolve in four or five decades. But only a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills one night, a husband and wife passed me, walking their dog. I stood staring after them, absolutely stunned. The woman held in one hand a small cigarette-package-sized radio, its antenna quivering. From this sprang tiny copper wires which ended in a dainty cone plugged into her right ear. There she was, oblivious to man and dog, listening to far winds and whispers and soap-opera cries, sleep-walking, helped up and down curbs by a husband who might just as well not have been there. This was not fiction.[81]”
Where are we going as people, as society, as individuals?
This all worries me, as one who was almost lost himself.
We need to act before it is too late.
We need to read, to write, to read and write together, to stick two figures up at those who feel they can both dictate what is content and how it is delivered.
Do get out there and write or go and buy a ticket for an independent play or show.
Responsibilty
We all have a role to play in taking action and stopping this decline and decay into puerile content and more so those who peddle it, especially people like me who work in advertising. We do know better.
Consult, consult, consult. Erm, just help
Consulting can be a maze and all you can see is a wood and no trees. Trepidation, frustration, waste of money? A proverbial Gordian Knot. But brute force (graft) equates to action. Action slices through your knot whether client or consultant. Drop the BS Consultant. Client, what action is needed from outside source/stimulus?
Consult is a big work in big business and one that I use but also get fed up of. What is consulting? Snake oil? Pithy words easily sold? Pithy words easily taken and paid for? In fact a quick Buck?
Goyt Valley, Bredbury - March 2024
Sat here on a Thursday relaxing and thankfully getting rid of this dratted cold and cough. Stuff to do that includes volunteer work with OCD Action from 11am - 1pm. But I am allocating some time as to found us. Few e-mails to people and business contacts, rest as still drained, and some web work including this blog.
Consult, business “cuddle”, chat, or action?
I prefer action and always have done. To me I try not to dress up what I do when working with others, just deliver. If honest I was like others, the market, the advertising business as I would look to use big words and plans. I now call this polishing the turd and this is the proverbial advertising turd, and a turd that I no longer wish to polish.
With a bit of time, experience, personal illness, and getting more serene and tolerant with age I realise that my role is to act as one of a team, a pal, a friend, and someone who should look at speaking my truth, being honest, and focus more on the moment versus grandiose plans delivered as an armchair general.
This has had quite a huge impact in how I deal with clients and their businesses. The truth hurts is a very old adage but one I am now comfortable with.
So what is action?
Really straightforward and oft forgotten. It is about getting involved with detail way before applying anything, whether that be what you know or from a book, or a plan.
Money, money, money
I have always known that money and cashflow are the most immediate things that can scupper a business. And something that I look at daily with a business, just how much working cash do we have and what is the daily burn rate? I am not too bothered as to assets and liabilities as these are not per se immediate problems.
Looking at salary and rent are big ones. Salaries including expenses and rewards keeps people motivated and people work to live and not the other way around.
Paying suppliers is another huge one for me, morally and sensibly. There is nothing worse than waiting for a bill to be paid and this applies to our suppliers.
This gives me an immediate handle on cash and what we can do with it. Important in the service industry that is advertising.
(Assets and liabilities can be examined later, but one thing to note is that I always like a business with money aside for emergencies. Ideally I like a business to be able to trade for a quarter without issuing an invoice.)
Sales and Marketing
We then have selling the business, its people, and letting everyone know what you do and that they should engage with you. Simples?
We can be more simple.
WHATS - What are we selling, how do we make it, what area do we sell in, to whom do we sell it to, and what are out special features?
I always like to lift the bonnet and have a look at the engine. Is what we sell sellable? Is it what the market wants and needs, or are we flogging a dead horse? Questions that must tie into the “to whom” are we selling? Who are our clients, punters, people we like working with and what do they think of our service and product?
The rest of the acronym is self explanatory.
People, staff, colleagues
Always important to try to sit down with all members of staff, and that’s all staff and not just managerial. Information must flow from the ground up and not down. Takes time, but worth it. People and what they do are the bread and butter of the standard advertising firm. And how they do it is so damn important. It is all very well to say, “what’s the margin?” That’s a given. But are we honestly delivering good service, product, and value for money? Do our staff and clients have pleasure in what we do? Life is for living and seizing a moment. Past has gone, so don’t dwell on it or you are playing catch up in real time, and thus also jaundiced what is to come.
Plans, yawn, plans
Planning is important, very important, but don’t miss the wood for the trees. It is very easy to get wrapped up in planning and not to do anything.
My philosophy is to hit the ground running and figure it out afterwards. Information is important and its immediate acquisition allows for action, plans can sadly stifle this, and you need to be aware and this is why it is important to have communication with staff.
Oh and always keep your feet on the ground.
AND THAT ALSO MEANS ASKING FOR HELP. Giving advice means being humble enough to ask for help from staff and people you know. Some consultants can be aloof and arrogant. Don’t be, this is poor and leads to mistakes. No one person is infallible.
Meeting Peeps in the NQ and Ancoats
Today was a good day, despite having a horrid cold with hacking cough, as I ventured by tram from Ashton into central Manchester to catch up with three old advertising comrades for a natter over coffee. Very productive and well met with people I have known for years.
The first person was met at a prompt 9.30am, but in fact I was 10-15 minutes late due to underestimating the tram journey to see the very unique Mark Varley. We met at Foundation on Lever Street and it was interesting to see Manchester’s Northern Quarter still resembling a Costa Del Sol building site. The coffee was very strong, but nice, and drove some good nattering between a pair of individuals who started their careers together in London a few moons back.
In fact we are both so prehistoric that we can remember using dial up modems and the Mosaic Browser. And it was Mark who introduced me to a sh*t new search engine that had no content or advertising called Google.
It was interesting to hear that the advertising market is flat at the moment and will probably remain so until two elections happen. One here, one across the pond, and may the Lord have mercy on our souls.
Mark and I had a good chat over consulting, an area we work in and one we are looking to develop, both mulling over working together again. And we both are lucky to have straddled offline and online media and so can add a certain something when working with companies at senior level. And we’ve held a number of board positions previously and gained a lot of useful experience, not to mention having the privilege of working with some clever people.
Next was a quick walk into Ancoats to catch up with someone who can only be described as a character. This being Simon Wharton of PushON, the established eCommerce consultancy and a company I rate and well led by the front of house Simon. Interestingly it was good to catch up with him having recently referred a Shopify build from a large luxury car dealership brand.
It was nice of Simon when being photographed to pose with his legendary resting bitch face.
Simon kindly brought me up to speed with the eComm’ market including platforms such as Magento, and it was interesting to hear how PushOn does not just advise on eCommerce and tech, but has a razor sharp marketing team that specialises in eComm’ executions - certainly worth bearing in mind, and why I recommend PushOn.
We chatted as to family and friends in the beautiful Beehive Mill in Ancoats, before I moved onto the next meeting.
The next catch up was with the wonderful Heidi Kenyon-Smith at Another Heart to Feed on Hilton Street back in the Northern Quarter. I’ve known Heidi for a number of years and originally helped her move from client side to agency, and she has now moved back to client side as General Manager of the female brand Simply Be, where she excels.
We chatted family especially her two children, Betty and Ralph, and my heading up to the Isle of Mull to be with Claire later in the year. Heidi was clearly saddened at the number of redundancies at Dentsu where she worked previously; which in my opinion is so short sighted and will have extreme consequences for the UK business. Yet again, London always seems to know best about the regions when it comes to the advertising business and time will tell.
We only had an hour before I had to head to Piccadilly for a train for another meeting, spluttering with a cough as I went.
It was a good day. That’s it. A good day with nice genuine people.
What makes me happy? What are Dreams?
What makes me happy and what are dreams? I decided to write this Blog entry feeling that with all that's happened, is happening in this world, we all possess a golden opportunity to make and bring about change, and one’s own dreams (I prefer this to goals) and make the world a better place.
Tarmachan Ridge in the Scottish Highlands - fell running dreaming…
Part of this process is embracing happiness and from that follows the achievement of dreams.
I’m certainly embracing being happy, whilst continually making changes, and maybe this will give some people inspiration.
We all have a prime opportunity to change our happiness outlook, whilst initiating personal change, so pursuing dreams in times of flux, and in so doing help ourselves and others to a happy, productive, and meaningful life.
Traditionally we set goals (dreams), then plan behind them. Is this too formulaic and misses a key point. Namely, are we happy? Not always. I suspect goals are set around what we think makes us happy, from a peer and societal perspective. When “doing” that which does not actually make us happy we lose the all necessary motivation and direction - it all becomes a chore.
How about actually doing what makes you happy? From this all falls into place behind you. Rather than setting a goal or dream you think is what you want and expecting it all to fit neatly into place; it is happiness driving change.
Being happy in the moment, doing what makes you happy also avoids setting unrealistic dream, and over-planning, suffering defeat, and being miserable. Why not makeit up as you go along, letting the Universe guide you?
(We can also leverage the new technology we are all now familiar with in order to do this.)
Brexit, Covid, now Ukraine
The advertising industry and others have, and were hit hard. I don’t need to go into the exact details as we are all aware of how people were affected, including businesses, and countries.
I personally believe the advertising business has ticked along. I know that found us certainly did through Covid - there was business to be had but I must admit it was sparse. I do though count myself lucky in the circumstances.
That said, I am glad to be here today and working away - over 8 years since I started the business. And I still love working with people.
But I do not necessarily think the advertising industry is ramping up, I’d say more treading water. But there is hope, there has to be.
Ukraine is something that is a proverbial “wildcard” and emotionally has impacted myself and my wife, as we sit here helpless and watch utter and unnecessary carnage. Of course it will impact the advertising industry. Why? Uncertainty and it’s effect on consumers.
Being Happy - driving change
Is this a tricky one to address, and am I stating the obvious? Maybe not.
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be” Abraham Lincoln
This is an important concept. We all have choices, and one of those is to choose to be happy, positive, whatever you want to call it. I constantly remind myself of this in the current climate or I would spin downward like Icarus into the sea, the sea of sadness and lethargy. And I refuse to do that. I will only no change, no development, no growth; only stasis and ennui.
I strongly suggest reading this Forbes article called Bill Gates’ 5 Secrets To Happiness Are Surprisingly Affordable
1. Ditch your 20-year-old self and talk to your future self.
2. Follow through on your commitments.
3. Give to others.
4. Do more exercise.
5. Put love first.
It is about “doing” happy, because in being happy I honestly believe the dreams and goals, plus the money naturally follow. And please note that being happy does not mean chasing money.
What of found us?
I used the Covid et al down time to look at what makes me happy in business and work, and obviously my private life. I realise that I enjoy working with people but wanted to push more into consultancy and remove the emphasis on head hunting, whilst gearing up specifically for sales and marketing consultancy or commercial director roles, which is what I am good at and love; it involves working with people which I enjoy.
Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy senior headhunting and continue at this. In months past I’ve placed a senior marketing role across to working on a CEO role - both head hunting briefs with a twist, where I helped look at the business commercial needs, not just the brief. As of late I am about to act as a non-executive director for a couple of days a week for an up and coming agency, focusing specifically on commercial, sales, marketing. But sales initially. And I am excited, very excited.
Dreams (Goals), Change, and Businessballs
Advertising types do have a habit of over complicating things - business plans, meetings, blah, blah, blah. To be frank I do not miss it.
Keep it simple. A goal is a dream, and you plan for it. But you have to live in the moment, letting go of the past, and of what may come.
If you have struggled with Dreams (Goals), planning, or implementing change I suggest you have a look at a well established website called Businessballs.
Specifically look at:
You need to decide what you want out of your life - holistically. Don’t divide it into work and private life. Where do you want to be and when?
Planning. So you have a dream (goal)
What are plans? It is okay to plan but don’t over complicate, nor use software or other to project manage your life. You need to live in the moment as that is all that you have. And act. Don’t worry about setbacks or risk as they are part of growth. Don’t regret the past, nor close the door on it - learn from it, don’t live in it. Tomorrow is yet to come, and don’t waste time on it. A plan is simply a task with a time that you want to achieve to reach that dream - but read Businessballs for a more formulaic approach.