TSW #12: June 2019
Jon Wexler of Adidas on the art of hype creation, John Jay of Uniqlo on the art of hype creation, decoding Davis Epstein’s book ‘Range’, HBR study of more than 250 digital platforms, Rob Campbell & Martin Weigel on why strategy needs more chaos, APG Noisy Thinking talks on planning in a fast world, Jim Carroll on the art of persuasion, The School of Life on how not to be boring, how graffiti became gentrified, Marvel Comics 80th anniversary special
Jon Wexler of Adidas on the Art of Hype Creation
John C. Jay on the Art of Hype Creation
Decoding David Epstein’s ‘Range — Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World’
“We learn who we are in practice, not in theory.” — Herminia Ibarra
Further reading in Psychology Today:
While one needs to put in the time to learn the mechanics of any given field, one must branch out or “cross-train” to develop creative versatility in order to advance to the level of mastery. In summary, diverse knowledge and experiences are essential to creativity.
HBR Study of More Than 250 Platforms Reveals Why Most Fail
Cannes Lions 2019 WARC Session: Rob Campbell & Martin Weigel on Why Your Strategy Needs More Chaos (Limited Time Access)
Some phenomenally dangerous nuggets from two of my favourite planning practitioners:
We need to bring back DANGEROUS IDEAS because ‘Dangerous Ideas Define the Future’
‘Dangerous Ideas Are Bigger Than Advertising’
‘Dangerous Ideas Scare the Shit Out of the Establishment’
Best Practice means we all end up with the same parity products or output.
We’ve been suckered into believing that we don’t need to build memories anymore but just identify the precise moment a consumer needs something.
Predictability kills the value of creativity.
Marketing cannot be reduced to an engineering problem.
Repeatable methods produce predictable outputs.
Converting interest is not the same as building memories or building meaning, or exciting the indifferent, or creating primary demand, or supporting pricing.
We need chaos because more data cannot save us.
Dissent is our only protection against mindless herd behaviour.
Orthodoxy leads to me-too solutions.
Order is not interested in truth.
CHAOS requires rigour. CHAOS is kinetic energy. When you find it CHAOS is an energy capable of leaving the known far behind.
APG Noisy Thinking: Fast Planning — Dom Boyd, Lucy Jameson, Amelia Torode & Sera Miller
APG Noisy Thinking: Jim Carroll on The Art of Persuasion
“It’s not enough to be right. You have to persuade others you are right.”
“Brains are a penny. Smart people are all over the place. But persuasion is a precious skill.”
The 5 Powers of Persuasion
1. The Power of Empathy
2. The Power of Reduction
3. The Power of Visualisation
4. The Power of Theatre
5. The Power of Pessimism
