JP Hanson is CEO of strategy consultancy Rouser where he works with executives to improve their marketing. He also contributes to Marketing Week. In this chat, we discuss what makes someone commercially minded, the CMO's struggle for credibility, and how JP approaches his writing.

You can find JP here https://twitter.com/rouserjp and Rouser here https://rouser.se/

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Rosie Yakob runs the nomadic strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. She moves around the world with her partner Faris doing strategy work and talks, and constantly contemplates their belief system and how to apply it to their lives outside of the New York agency world. We discuss their goals of working 20 hours per week, of not having an exit strategy, how they'd work on a project with very little time, the importance of creating space for yourself, and the value of patience.

You can find Rosie here https://twitter.com/rosieyakob and Genius Steals here http://geniussteals.co/

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

10+ questions from Instagram answered in Amsterdam, including: 

What would you say to an immigrant strategist trying to find work in a new country?

Why can’t strategists strategize their own lives?

Does anxiety and depression help you be a more creative thinker?

What did you learn from writing raps that makes its way into strategy work?

How can I grow in strategy without a boss or a good boss?

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

Toby Ryan runs security in a large casino-resort in Macau. It’s one of the biggest in the world. He’s worked in security for over two decades, having trained in martial arts and initially wanting to apply his skills for a living. In this chat, we discuss what he’s learned about people in his job - as a “simple guy”, then a manager, and now as someone running one of the largest casino-resort security operations in the world.

 

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Rachita Vasan is a strategist at Leo Burnett in Chicago. Recently, she presented thoughts about being less racist and less shitty in the workplace. A friend filmed it. I saw it. We invited Rachita to present it at The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass in Chicago. And, now, she’s here sharing it into your ears. This episode features Rachita’s talk and then an interview.

You can find Rachita here https://www.instagram.com/rachitavasan/

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Tim Levinson is a rapper, songwriter, label manager, and artist manager. He’s been in the public eye for two decades as Urthboy and as part of the Elefant Traks record label (Hermitude are one of the groups representing the label around the world). We discuss how Tim thinks about his art and touch on many ideas a strategist would do well to absorb into their lives.

You can find Tim here https://twitter.com/urthboy

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Lauren Joyce is the National Strategy Director at the Australian Radio Network, a company that reaches millions of Australians every week. She's also worked in media agencies (Universal McCann), branded content, and in another publisher (Mamamia, a publisher that reaches 4 million Australians each month). We discuss how strategy is different in each of these types of companies, how to deal with short timelines, and how being a parent can shape your strategy life.

You can find Lauren here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lscassar/

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Alasdair Lloyd-Jones is a strategist-turned-CSO-turned-President-turned-COO-turned-CEO. Most recently, he led SET Creative, an agency that recently sold. I caught Alasdair as he was contemplating what to do next - should he create his own agency, go client-side, or join another agency with deep experience design expertise? This feels like a rare conversation - someone who's lived in multiple countries and who's had many different roles and who still loves what he does having an open chat about how he's thinking through what to do next. 

You can find Alasdair here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-lloyd-jones

 

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

How does it feel to be a strategist and have people invite you into strategy projects but not to do strategy? Instead, sometimes you're invited to "represent your people," a solo focus group on behalf of an entire population. How does it feel to be a lead strategist and have people invite you to meetings but treat you like you're not a lead strategist? These things have happened to Melle. And Melle wanted to discuss them.

You can find Melle here http://www.twitter.com/mellehnyc

Art Noir, her art collective, is here http://www.artnoir.co

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Trine Keller-Andreason is a planner at Forsman & Bodenfors. She's worked in Denmark and New York, but now lives in Sweden. Just over a week ago, her team won the inaugural Creative Strategy Grand Prix at The Cannes International Festival of Creativity. The project took Volvo's history and focus on safety somewhere it hadn't been before. This will come as no surprise because Forsman & Bodenfors is an agency many haven't seen before. They espouse a certain humanity and equality in how they work with each other - there isn't much formal hierarchy, there aren't many big titles, and people have to agree before projects can move ahead. Recently, the agency name arrived in New York through osmosis with KBS. But consensus, flat hierarchy, and small titles, can that even work in New York? You can find Trine here: https://twitter.com/trineka 

For more strategy talk:

1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/

2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 

3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard

4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.