The Overthinkers

Being able to provide direction is an essential skill for strategists. But it's at least as important to know when and how to let go - whether it's for other functions to take over, or while supervising someone else's work. In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss how they develop a more hands off approach to their work sometimes, even when it feels hard to let go.

This has been a difficult year for junior recruitment in agencies, and we know some will struggle to get their foot through the door. Regardless, if strategic planning is something you'd like to start your career with, there are many questions worth asking yourself, from whether it's right to start there to whether you're working in the right environment for you to enjoy it. In this episode, Rachel and Shann share their personal journeys, which neither actually started in strategy!

Today we are joined with the phenomenal Bennett D. Bennett, writer/strategist/principal at Aerialist and co-igniter of 600 And Rising. In this episode, we discuss the importance of having a sustainable media diet for brands, one that rewards those who bring depth and not just click hacks, a particularly important discussion at a time where context makes a big comeback on the media scene.

Creative testing has long been a thing a lot of ad folks love to hate. The practice has certainly made massive contributions to the industry, but as always, when a method becomes a dogma, it's bound to become a problem. This week, Rachel and Shann discuss not if but how creative testing get in the way of great ideas, all the while being a valuable and important part of our process?

Somehow, strategy has become a very fragmented practice, with digital strategists, brand planners, comms planners, social strategists etc. This week, we take a question we've seen on Fishbowl (yes...), and discussed whether it was a possible (maybe even natural) fit for a digital strategist to become a "strat planner".

Although we take it for granted, the separation of media and creativity is actually still a somewhat recent structure in the history of advertising. As we see the lines between the two getting very blurry again, is there value in reuniting the two? And should strategy in particular be more integrated?

We're delighted to welcome Alexandra Jamieson and Bob Gower to discuss a massive challenge most of us have to deal with on a daily basis. Alex and Bob bring their years of expertise in organizational design and executive coaching to explain some of the discoveries they've made to get the most out of organization. In this episode, we talk a lot about creating safe spaces, taking the time to understand each other's personal context and aspirations, and some of the toxic behaviors we have ourselves been guilty of in our careers. To know more about their approach, you can pre-order their book "Radical Alignment: How to Have Game-Changing Conversations That Will Transform Your Business and Your Life" coming August 11 on https://radicalalignmentbook.com.

Faris Yakob likes to remind us that the pursuit of strategy is to turn uncertainty into risk. In our efforts to manage risks, we can oftentimes get caught up in an endeavour to find the optimal solution and direction, as if there was one right way competing with a lot of sub-optimal - or even wrong - directions. The question often isn't wether it's achievable but whether this ambition can have perverse side effects.

Bonus episode this week, recorded a few months ago when Tom and Mark joined us around our little microphone. The occasion to talk about what happens when you feel like you're reached your peak in ad land, something many of us have to think about. For many, peaking is impossible, while for others it can be a blessing allowing them to pivot to other things.

Working in the service industry means you don't always get to choose who you work for - or at least who your business works for. Equally, we may feel unable to express things publicly in fear of response, or simple respect for the colleagues we work with. Sometimes, it can be a dilemma, one that has no doubt been felt even more strongly in the last few weeks for some. Are there ways to navigate this better? Does your outlook change with experience? And when it really is difficult, is it better to keep fighting another day or to move on with thunderous statements?