Steve
Written on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 by Steve and stored in Steve
Do agencies go to pieces when Account Directors go on a business trip? (more…)
I’m back! Away within a client business, snow and Christmas (was it really 8 weeks ago) have kept me out of Purple Frog during daylight hours for much of the last 4 months.
In that time I’ve obviously become comfortable with the pace of activity, peace and quiet in my temporary working environment because the vibrancy, speed of thought and action and sheer desire to do more that is the Purple Frog way, has been something of a shock to my returning system.
It’s not that my ‘home’ for the last 4 months has been slow or dull. Far from it. It’s just that the complexities of inter-dependent teams, workstreams, logs, programme meetings, ‘brown paper’ meetings and meetings about meetings all seem to conspire against any dynamic forward motion. Sure things get done. In some cases there have even been real ‘outcomes’ but everything runs at a pace that erodes the ability for keen minds to resolve, create, plan and deliver in a diligent, inspiring and efficient way – barriers are built not removed.
Now I’ve worked within corporate client businesses before – sometimes for 12 months or more – so I should have got used to this modus operandi. The trouble is, when you work in an agency like Purple Frog, it’s easy to be hood winked into believing that our working environment is the norm.
Some businesses have tried to address the inevitable inertia that gets created within cultural and operational systems that are essentially bureaucratic. Meetings without chairs, brainstorm/blue sky sessions etc. Others create brand values designed to motivate lean thinking and action but the real answer is to create environments where the people that want to speak up, move forward, create and inspire – even if this means rubbing the status quo up the wrong way – can flourish rather than becoming suppressed.
Somebody said to me recently that the trick in meetings is to avoid asking questions that require debate and answers. Better to keep quiet, let the agenda run its course and then everyone can leave on time and go about their business. This is the priority over defining purposeful direction and action or resolving issues.
As my Dad (who was a world beating business maverick) once said, “This is no way to run a railroad”.
Written on Monday, August 17th, 2009 by Steve and stored in Steve
A few years ago I stood on the corner of Parliament Square outside H.M. Treasury with 3 people in suits. I had put signs round each of their necks saying respectively, Lawyer, Accountant and Surveyor. I then invited willing members of the public to give me their perceptions about each of these professional people while the whole exercise was being filmed. (more…)
Written on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 by Steve and stored in Steve
I read an article in Marketing Week recently
Advertising perceived as low on ROI
According to the latest Marketing Trends survey amongst 1,223 marketers, by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), advertising, excluding online, produces the worst return on investment for marketers. (more…)
Written on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 by Steve and stored in Steve
Agencies all over the world are asking the same questions – who are we? What do we offer our clients? None of the traditional tags seem to fit anymore – advertising… digital… design agency, brand… marketing consultancy. For sure these disciplines are all important but none of them really address the central issue for many clients – ‘how do we establish and sustain value in, and engagement with, our brands in a rapidly changing world?’ (more…)
Written on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 by Steve and stored in Steve
I can’t speculate on how long the purple frog has existed without much research, visits and debate. I’m assuming millions of years. Our Purple Frog has been around since 1999 and has been evolving ever since – probably at a much faster rate that our amphibian friend. (more…)
Written on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 by Steve and stored in Steve
Years ago, too many to think of it pains me to say, I went to the Tate Gallery to look at Ben Nicholson’s work. I wanted to study the paintings and reliefs with the fresh eyes of an art student rather than a schoolboy. (more…)
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