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BE BRAVE. GO LONG.

Feb 20, 2019
2 min

BE BRAVE. GO LONG.

We're announcing the new Long-Term Thinking Award: A new category, for 2019 APG Creative Strategy Awards. As our world is increasingly filled with the mediocre, there has never been a more important time to celebrate the role that truly creative strategic thinking can play in stimulating more inventive creative ideas. Jim Carroll, Chair of Judging for the 2019 APG Creative Strategy Awards will be focussing on the very essence of creative planning and “looking for the purest,

APG Noisy Thinking | The Art of Persuasion – how do you get your idea over the line?

Feb 20, 2018
8 min

APG Noisy Thinking | The Art of Persuasion – how do you get your idea over the line?

This question certainly seemed to touch a nerve as over 200 planners and strategists showed up to listen, and the red wine ran out within 15 minutes. It was one of themes that I lifted directly from the feedback you kindly give after these events so it’s good to know that the feedback loop is working as intended. We chose our speakers carefully to represent different potential approaches to the question and it was interesting that although they all had different points of vie

Leadership and the Amplified Self

Oct 27, 2017
3 min

Leadership and the Amplified Self

It is perhaps appropriate that we end this series on ‘How To Get On’ with a few thoughts on leadership. I should say that great strategists do not necessarily make great leaders. While we may all aspire to being in charge, it’s not a path that I would encourage everyone to take! In the twilight of my Agency career I was asked to articulate my personal understanding of leadership. When I applied myself to the task I realized that, although I’d worked with many compelling CEOs,

A Suit’s Perspective

Oct 18, 2017
4 min

A Suit’s Perspective

This is part of a series of posts selected by Jim Carroll, our APG Guest Editor during October 2017, surrounding the theme of 'How To Get On: Advice on how to manage a strategist’s career in a creative business' Read more posts here My credentials for commenting on this topic are as follows: First - I know Jim. Second, I started at one company, BBH, as a graduate trainee and left that same company some time later as Global CEO. This could lead one to conclude that a fairly

The Unchanging Appraisal: Learning to Accentuate the Positives and Disregard the Negatives

Oct 16, 2017
2 min

The Unchanging Appraisal: Learning to Accentuate the Positives and Disregard the Negatives

This is just a simple lesson in how to handle appraisals. It took me some years of frustration to arrive at this conclusion. Do you have the same appraisal every year? I did. Do you get the same set of gently positive observations about your core strengths, skills and achievements; the same slightly irritating list of shortcomings, flaws and failings; the same sense of disappointment that another year has passed and seemingly little or no progress has been made? I did. Do you

Not Doctors, But Psychoanalysts

Oct 6, 2017
3 min

Not Doctors, But Psychoanalysts

I wrote this piece a while ago. This broad approach to Client engagement has served me well over the years. Most Clients nowadays don’t want outsiders to march in and tell them all the answers to their problems. Rather they’re looking for people to help them articulate and express their vision and opinions. It is a melancholy truth that the more expert I have become, the less my expertise is valued. I recognise that this may be because my dusty tales of Levi’s watchpockets, s

10 Characteristics of a Planner

May 3, 2017
2 min

10 Characteristics of a Planner

On 20th April 2017, 60 lucky APG Young Planners spent an evening with Jim Carroll, the former Chairman and Planning Director of BBH London, as he reflected on his 30 years in advertising. He also shared with us 10 characteristics he thinks a Planner has and a few top tips to follow. I have also included some links to Jim's blog where you can find more examples and articles focusing on each of these characteristics. 1. The outsider Outsiders look harder, see more and, have a b

What is an Idea?

Apr 24, 2013
6 min

What is an Idea?

Proverbial life is full of little admonishments. Never volunteer. Never explain. Well at the APG we couldn’t survive without the mildly coercive culture of volunteering – it keeps the show on the road. Explanation? Opinion and the elegant unrolling of an argument are what Noisy Thinking’s all about. But never ask a question. That’s the Planner’s stock in trade isn’t it? Richard Storey, Global CSO of Saatchi and Saatchi was surely ruing the day he pinioned Craig Mawdsley

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