This week, we used plenty of plaid to lure and poach the planning pro in patterned shirts, Julian Cole.

Strategy consultant to leading brands like Uber, Apple, Facebook and ex-Head of Comms Planning at BBDO and BBH, Julian noticed the void of proper education for the role and started the Strategy Finishing School. Putting an end to impostor syndrome, he’s now whipping up world class strategists by the bucket load.

We talk delivering prescriptions, loving maps, horse racing, gambling, why going straight into strategy was a curse, learning (and now teaching) the fundamentals of strategy, imposter syndrome, spotting an untrained vs strategist, how to actually use AI in a helpful way, Giles’s Thermomix, hallways not boardrooms, nemawashi, his definition of an insight, where he gets his shirts from, and loads more.

Sink your houndstooth in wherever you get your podcasts.

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You can find Julian on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
Check out the Strategy Finishing School
This episode is proudly dedicated to Richard Huntington
And if you like Julian’s crazy shirts, have a gander at Lazy Oaf

Timestamps
(02:00) - Quick fire questions
(02:56) - His first job delivering prescriptions by bike, loving maps, and what led him down the path of strategy
(05:05) - The similarities between strategy and gambling
(09:45) - Why going straight into strategy was a curse, being a lone ranger, impostor syndrome, and deck monkeys
(18:07) - The positive side to impostor syndrome and how to overcome it
(22:27) - Spotting a trained vs untrained strategist
(28:08) - Using AI for strategy like you’d use salt in cooking
(31:30) - How he actually uses AI as a strategist
(35:13) - Diplomacy, hallways not boardrooms, and nemawashi
(40:38) - Listener questions
(51:42) - 4 pertinent posers

Julian’s book recommendations are:
Strategy is Your Words by Mark Pollard
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday

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