Conversations with Jim Riswold (RIP)

I don’t even know where to start with this. Just read it. I love the open relationship. I love the staccato of it all. It feels inclusive, and warm, and sarcastic, and honest, and uplifting. It’s made me think about how many more greats we have? How many more we will lose? Will new ones replace? Does our industry offer the same freedom it once did? I’m not so sure. What I do know for certain, is that this is beautiful. >>>

If you don’t read Conversations with Jim Riswold (see above), watch this: Irreverence Justified

One of the world’s greatest creative directors at the iconic and revered Wieden & Kennedy agency, Jim was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2000. 11 years later he remained as irreverent and provocative as ever. Jim is hilarious and his journey is inspiring. And in amongst our obsession with AI, data and modelling, I love how he reminds me that there is great art - and artists, in advertising, too. >>>

New AI: Artificial Intimacy

I have a serious woman crush on Esther Perel and this session at SXSW with her and Brené Brown has taken that to an alarming level. AI: Artificial Intimacy. Modern loneliness masking as hyperconnectivity. Counterfeit connections. Suffering in the company of others. The devastating results of Individualism + Secularism + Capitalism. W-O-A-H. I’m blending this with diving deep into the current mental health crisis, the loneliness of a middle-aged English generation, lack of collective joy, and the backlash of social media. A conclusion yet unformed, but feels rude not to share. >>>

The cost of being dull

For those I have already referenced this to several times, I’m sorry but I just can’t help myself. This was podcast of the year for me and its impact radiates through brand, business and beyond. Dull is everywhere in marketing and business - as Adam Morgan says, “the big beige elephant in the room”. 90% of communications are DULL. Dull makes me angry. Dull should make you angry. Adam talks to fascinating people who excel at engaging their audience: Mazz Farrelly, Ross Buchanan, Norman Stiles, Addison Brown, Nick Reed, and more. TL:DR, can you afford to bore your audience? I’ll save you the trouble, the answer is: no, unless you have £15m to spare. >>>

How I Built This: Dutch Bros. Coffee

One of the best episodes-to-date from one of my (sadly?) favourite podcasts. Travis and Dane Boersma: ex-dairy farmers launch an extraordinary coffee company built on the back of human spirit, passion, sheer determination, and brilliant can-do attitude. Result: a blockbuster IPO that raised almost $500 million (that’s more than Nike, by the way). But the story isn’t just about business - the brothers go through highs and lows and even lower lows; and Travis remains so just damn likeable. >>>

Ask and you shall receive… maybe: guess vs ask culture.

You’re moving soon and you need help from friends. Do you reach out to asking if they’re available to help? Or do you feel asking for help may be rude or intrusive without knowing their circumstances? Welcome to guess vs ask culture and the generational, cultural and gender clashes it creates. Given communication is the backbone for our business and personal relationships, this article is well worth a read to better understand the unknowing context in which you may be asking. >>>

Bicycle Face

“Start pedalling. Feel the sun on your face. Feel the wind in your hair. Feed the joy. Feel the freedom Feel the love.”

Imposter syndrome - the Millennium’s Bike Face. Bicycle’s gave women mobility, a redefined vibe on femininity, sparked dress reform movements and supported the suffrage movement. No wonder the status quo felt challenged. In her speech to Smith College, Reshma Saujani brilliantly confronts just who benefits from our obsession with Imposter Syndrome. >>>

How trees talk to each other

Nature is generous - a virtue unassociated with our corporate world. Forests cooperatively pass knowledge and carbon for the success of all. Could we amend our supply chains and business practices to do the same? Competitors to cooperators to regenerative businesses. Learn about regeneration through the way trees talk to each other in Suzanne Simard’s, a forest ecology professor at UBC, stimulating TED talk. >>>

Marketing sustainability with a challenger brand mindset

“Every time we see a bold challenger, what we’re really seeing is the work of someone who took a risk and said “yes” to a bold idea.”

Mark Barden (eatbigfish) shares seven tips on how to ditch “green clichés: and making invisible stuff visible. In a world of greenwashing and jumping on purpose-led bandwagons, sustainability can genuinely be brand-led. We just need the kahoonas to do it right. >>>

Podcast: The Product That Keeps On Giving

It’s a brand new podcast and a little rusty, but worth hearing from four companies who have properly embedded a giveback element into their daily operations: Lemonade, Gorilla Conservation Coffee, Quartiermeister and Deed donate, support neighbourhoods and connect people to enact real change. >>>

The DO Lectures - Duke Stump | The Beauty of Not Knowing

“I learned the role of soul in business.”

20 minutes from the legendary and likable Duke Stump on making decisions based on things just feeling right. A journey that has taken him from Nike to Lululemon, staying true to heart vs the drive of data and revenue and how he was mentored by a girl’s football team. >>>

Who buys your stuff, and why?

“Before you can influence decisions, you need to understand what drives them.” This is a rare “business book” - authored by Richard Shotton and filled with concise and straight-to-the-point learnings. From priming to the pratfall effect, charm pricing to the curse of knowledge, the science of behavioural economics and addressing cognitive bias has never been easier to apply to marketing. >>>