Life in the middle

My Gordon Brown video.

I've made a video about Gordon Brown using a tool called Speechbreaker.

I think it speaks for itself.

(Roll VT.)

Thank you, you're too kind.

Google Waves.

You've probably all heard about the Wave from Google. If not you can use Google's excellent search engine to find some information about it. I've been having a lot of fun with my copy (I've organised 12 barbecues already).

And I've also been helping some of the people around the office understand how it works. To do this I've been making excellent use of a pen and paper.

 

People seemed to have found it pretty helpful. The Witch riding an arrow is a really useful way of thinking about the flow of something or other.

That's pretty much all I have to say on the matter.

So I'll catch you all later.

Hi there.

Hair.

 

Cut.

 

And that, my friends, is that.

No answer at all.

I used to get asked fairly regularly why this blog is called 'Life in the middle', or what I mean to convey with the name. I used to get asked those kinds of questions a lot. But I haven't got an email like that for a long time now. A long long time. Personally I blame the economy, but arguably it's a content quality question. Who knows.

Anyway as I said, it's been a while, so you can imagine how shocked and humbled I was to get just such an email through to me today, from Tim in the US, asking if I could explain what I mean by Life in the middle. I've never really known what to say in answer, all I can do is what I've always tried to do, and offer a slice of middle pie, and see if the taste makes sense.

Okay Tim, here we go...

It's about knowing a good cat, one that likes to pose looking as hard as possible.

 

It's about popping your feet up once in a while and taking stock of the circus that surrounds you.

And I'm not going to lie, sometimes there are gatherings. Big ones. Where people are expecting contributions and good sense. Hope and direction.

 

But it's not all bad. There will be others you can turn to, ones you can rely on.

Reflection is important, and best done with your head and, of course, your feet held high. 

 

You'll need to be ready. Ready for old friends.

Far-flung friends.

And far-flung adventures.

It's knowing that there is no pattern. No frightening peaks. No startling troughs. And no plan.

 

But mostly it's just a blog that tries hard to be more but ends up being less.

Yakob and the Tankard.

Digital Ninja Faris Yakob has been looking after the Tankard in New York, showing her a good time no doubt, giving her a taste of the big time. He even took her to Toronto for a conference. (You can read all about it here.)

Once Faris had his fun he handed the noble cup over to Jason Oke in Canada.

 

Time will tell what stories Jason has to share, but undoubtedly they'll be full of laughter, surprise, adventure and drama.

Bring it on.

Good old stuff.

I can't remember why, but we were discussing great ads at work the other day, and someone reminded me of this, surely a contender for the crown.

10 seconds long. No branding.

Some of the things I do.

I sit in meetings where I look at stuff with other people. We wonder if it will be the kind of stuff that might help our clients do the things they want to do. You can never can be completely sure, that's why the utmost concentration is required from all parties, at all times.

 

As well as meetings, I like to sit at my desk. Tackling calls and emails as and when they come. The desk is messy, that's true, but my mind is kept sharp by a dedication to incredibly challenging jigsaw puzzles (you can see one just under that massive book on the right).

 

As well as meetings, calls, and emails, there is the odd business trip. This week it was Denmark. I attended the meeting with some of W+K's finest, and boy were they fired up for the meeting.

 

It's this kind of Zen like preparation that meant we were on top form. Stunning in our insights. Decisive in our assessments. And lethal in our recommendations.

The journey home was a time for reflection (and gormless smiling).

Denmark was cold, but the sunset we saw as we boarded the plane made it worth enduring.

Of course it's not all work work work. Sometimes I delegate really big strategic problems to Margot, my niece. She relishes seeing what she can solve with an iPhone and a bob haircut.

Yup - I let Margot do the strategic heavy lifting, while I sit back and watch gymnastics (especially if my other niece, Corey, is competing).

And then it's home to spend some time with Lionel, the cat who is currently boarding with me. He chases pretend animals, eats, sleeps, watches motor racing, and looks at me suspiciously.

 

We're getting on well.

So, that's some of the things I do, not all, but some.

Life in the middle

It was the APG awards on Thursday night. A chance for all the planners/strategists in advertising and the associated industries to see who thought up the smartest strategies and approaches to solving their clients business problems. Exciting stuff, huh? I had a paper entered with Doug E. Fresh, for a Nike Football campaign we'd worked on.

We won a silver.

We then ate some badly cooked chicken. Got slightly drunk. Fielded questions from the press. Tried to avoid eye contact with anyone who'd won a gold.. And then went and had a kebab. It's a crazy industry.

If you have a problem, if no one (who won a gold) can help, and if you can find us...

Gearing up for the future.

I don't write too much about work on here. To be honest it's not that interesting, and I have far more vital matters to explore. However, I would like to share a little about how we at W+K London are preparing for the future of communications.

We're using a table tennis table (to play table tennis on), and some mats (to do grappling and fighting on). So far the results aren't conclusive. But it's early days and we've still got a lot to learn.

The future's bright.

The way they should be.

George Moriarty is my kind of sportsman, and my kind of man. He was a baseball player in the early twentieth century, who went on to manage major league teams, and even umpire. But more importantly than that he thought very deeply about the game he played, how it should be approached, and what it meant to 'win'. He even wrote his thoughts down, forever. And those words are still there asking us all to think a little more than we might, and certainly a little more than the superstars of today do.

This is what he said.

THE ROAD AHEAD OR THE ROAD BEHIND

I think the fates must grin
as we denounce them and insist,
The only reason we can’t win
is the fates themselves have missed.

Yet, there lives on the ancient claim-
We win or lose within ourselves,
The shining trophies on our shelves can
Never win tomorrow’s game.

So you and I know deeper down
There is a chance to win the crown,
But when we fail to give our best,
We simply haven’t met the test

Of giving all and saving none
Until the game is really won.

Of showing what is meant by grit,
Of playing through not letting up,
It’s bearing down that wins the cup.

Of taking it and taking more
Until we gain the winning score

Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead,
Of hoping when our dreams are dead,
Of praying when our hopes have fled.

Yet, losing, not afraid to fall,
If bravely we have given all

For who can ask more of a man
Than giving all within his span.

That giving all, it seems to me,
Is not so far from VICTORY.

And so the fates are seldom wrong,
No matter how they twist and wind;
It’s you and I who make our fates,
We open up or close the gates

On the ROAD AHEAD or the ROAD BEHIND