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Planners Unmasked | James Lees

Aug 26, 2016
5 min

Planners Unmasked | James Lees

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR JOB TO A 7 YEAR OLD CHILD? The same way I try to describe it to drunk people at parties when they go “Creativestratawhaaa?” ... I usually pick up two bottles of beer from different brands and say, “I try to create the difference between this, and this, in your head, in order to make you want one more than the other.” (If I was describing it to a 7 year old I might use non-alcoholic props…) WHAT 3 SKILLS SHOULD EVERY GOOD PLANNER POSSESS? So

Planners Unmasked | Louise Windo

Aug 19, 2016
2 min

Planners Unmasked | Louise Windo

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR JOB TO A 7 YEAR OLD CHILD? I’ve been saying for a while now that I think we strategists could learn a lot about workshop design and facilitation from school teachers. So to keep this in a realm very familiar to a 7 year old and build on the work/school comparison I would explain that I spend a lot of time doing the following: Making sense of what the grown-ups are saying; encouraging people to talk and play nicely with each other; and attemptin

Planners Unmasked | Matt Box

Aug 12, 2016
2 min

Planners Unmasked | Matt Box

WHAT THREE SKILLS SHOULD EVERY GOOD PLANNER POSSESS? - Curiosity: Make the mundane fascinating. - Brevity: Turn the complicated into something concise & clear - Empathy: Put yourself in others shoes WHAT IS THE SKILL PEOPLE COMING INTO THE INDUSTRY MOST NEED (AND OFTEN DON'T HAVE)? The ability to drop the ego and ask the 'stupid questions'. We should all aim to understand our client's problems more, not show off how much we already know. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER HIGH

Drinking, chatting, fighting, smoking and bags of provocation

Aug 10, 2016
4 min

Drinking, chatting, fighting, smoking and bags of provocation

Well done to all those who entered our terrifyingly hard and devastatingly serious quiz. I know you’re a fearfully competitive bunch so you might like to know that only 7% of entrants got all the answers right. The question that tripped most people up is to be found here, courtesy of Christine Grey: ‘Planning at Thompsons was always regarded as the pinko lefty department. Miles Colebrook used to call it brown bread corner. We went to a seminar once and they served up a kin

Michelin-Starred Strategy

Aug 3, 2016
8 min

Michelin-Starred Strategy

If you’re sharpening your strategic smarts, here’s some food for thought As Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said, “True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” So, like anyone who’s passionate about their profession, I spend my working life trying to master it and move it forward – and help those around me do the same. My craft is strategic planning and, as well as practicing it day in, day out (and, occasionally, night in, night out),

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