Flipping failure It’s good to be back in the hot seat after a couple of weeks on holiday (and see that no-one had filled my drawers with balloons… it happens here). One of the trip highlights was a 3-day hike through the Atlas Mountains with the saucepan lids. You see, walking is about 498th on the …

Intellectual mischief Alex Morris has released his Strategy and Planning Field Guide. There are enough gems in there to sink a ship. I simply can’t list them all. So here are my top 5: Page 28: Ways to start doing research differently Pages 34 – 35: The danger of aggregates and averages Page 37: A guide …

This is just the beginning The BBC has published a list of 101 people, ideas and things that are changing the way we work today.  The potential for a competitive e-residency market is intriguing, and ‘JOMO’ is utterly brilliant. Willy Wonka is a postman On the topic of workplaces, these trivia and pictures from Roald Dahl’s …

The search for the substantial Big data, big responsibility. And this bang-on-the-money article from Alex Murrell is a useful health warning when it comes to using it. Murrell discusses 5 question marks around big data (of collection, claims, completeness, correlation and comprehension) and shows how we need to look at big data with a more …

The 7 basic plots I’ve read mixed feedback on this year’s Cannes Lions Festival. Some have been gushing, whilst others appear exasperated. My favourite pieces to come from the 5 days? Oh alright then… The Marketoonist’s depiction of events, Murray Cadler’s home truths, and Adweek’s breakdown of how Cannes winners used the 7 basic plots of storytelling. Purpose matters. …

You can’t solve a problem that you don’t understand If it’s just going to be the one thing you watch this week, take 10 mins and make it Mark Ritson dissecting P&G’s Febreze marketing strategy. He absolutely nails it. Key takeaways: Diagnose first: understand the problem before constructing your strategy. The importance of using qual …

Learning from the best Pixar tell stories like nobody else can. No matter the film, no matter the audience. They always make us feel something. (Why does a bit of dust always get in my eye during the opening scene of Up?) They really are the masters of storytelling and here are their 22 rules …

All of this …is ? Emmet O’Briain gives us a well-thought-out piece on the dehumanisation of research. It’s a must-read for anyone in research. Or in marketing. Or in a job, for that matter. My favourite quote came from Richard Huntington (of Saatchi and Saatchi stock): A lack of genuine connection with people’s lives. A …

Game, set, match At first, I thought it sounded ridiculous, but I’ve become more and more convinced after reading Farnam Street’s explanation on how avoiding stupidity provides more of an advantage than seeking brilliance. In professional tennis about 80% of the points are won. However, in amateur tennis, about 80% of the points are lost. …

Learning from the master I’m old enough to remember the great BT It’s good to talk ads. But regardless of age, watching David Abbott – an advertising legend if ever there was one – pitch the idea to BT is a timeless pleasure. We all have to sell or pitch things, but if you want …