“Have you done your homework?” When it came to my homework nothing else mattered to my parents. They didn’t ask how well I had done it or what I had learnt. ‘Done’ was what we measured when it came to homework in my house growing up. We’ve all heard a variation of the phrases, what…
Category: business
School mathematics almost ruined my business
“The best thing about maths is that there is only one right answer. There’s no ambiguity. You are either right or you are wrong.” That’s my mother talking to me after I told her I loved maths back in 1982. My love for maths waned in my teens, but my mother’s insight stuck. I also…
3 pieces of advice from the only person I ever considered a mentor
The ad agency was in trouble. Morale was low, our creative product sucked, and our clients were bullying us into making some really crap ads. We just didn’t seem to be able to do anything right. It’s not like we didn’t have creative or strategic talent. We did. We lacked the leadership to stand up…
Businesses have forgotten how to win
I was in a fist fight once. I was fighting Greg. Greg was bigger than me. But I was tougher, at least, that’s what I thought. I was confident I’d win the fight. Greg and met in the common room of our boarding house. It was late, after lights out. It was winter. We circled…
Check for teeth before deciding not to throw the baby out with the bath water
I drive to work most days. I always take the same route. On my commute I listen to audio books and don’t concentrate much on the road or the traffic. I’m on autopilot for most of the way. Everything is muscle memory. My brain is so used to the drive that it has decided my…
How to think for yourself
I started my advertising career at Berry Bush BBDO, in Cape Town, a couple of weeks after Rory. Rory was in account management with me, and we serviced the same client. Thing is, Rory didn’t like me, and I can’t blame him as I wasn’t all the fond of myself at the time either. Rory…
Advertising works because we think it doesn’t
Why did the oil and gas industry spend $10 million on Facebook advertising in 2020 in the US? Because it works. This report lays out how the oil and gas industry use Facebook as a channel to promote their climate friendliness, using misleading content and information that doesn’t align with the science of climate change….
If you want my time, I’m probably going to ignore you
In a week I usually receive between 50 and 100 unsolicited pitch emails, LinkedIn messages, connection requests and letters. Every single one of these makes a request of my time. People want to ‘jump on a call’ for me to explain to them what our strategy and pain points are, or they want to ‘pick…
On the strangeness of work
The idea of work is strange. We spend eight hours of our day with people we don’t know very well, doing tasks for other people who pay us. We label these tasks ‘work’. And anything that isn’t work is ‘leisure’ time, or just ‘life’. Most of us make a clear and rigid distinction between the…
A successful life – an alternative definition
Many things divide us. Religion, politics, economics, race, even music can drive a wedge between people. However, when it comes to success we all seem to be violently in agreement. If you live in an OECD country you’ll probably agree that most of the names on this list belong to successful people; Steve Jobs, Elon…