Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

In this Sweathead episode, Ben Mburu takes us behind the scenes of several of his small businesses in Kenya. An account planner by profession, Ben believes that owning a small business helps him validate his ideas and gain insights he can use in his client work. He also shares his experiences of the ups and downs of being a small business owner during a global pandemic.  After 14 years in account management in the advertising business, Ben is now building a life selling ideas that solve marketing and communications problems for businesses in East Africa. You can connect with him at www.linkedin.com/in/benmburu or ben.mburu@gmail.com.  **  Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com  Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead  Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

How do you start a new job without showing your impostor syndrome? How can you grow into a strategy director at an agency? How can you work in another country without having to start from scratch? These questions and more. From you. Answered. Right here. Right now. *** Don't forget to sweat that Subscribe button and share this episode with your strategy friends. ** For information about the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, visit http://www.sweathead.com You can find me on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

In this episode, Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts talk about marketing to women–how it's historically been and how it's been changing. We discuss sexism in marketing, corporate feminism, fempowerment and femvertising, and the narratives of women in the marketing and advertising world. Jane and Philippa worked for many years in advertising agencies DDB and Ogilvy.  Fifteen years ago they left their big jobs to write their first book about marketing to women and have written two further books since. They have been researching female audiences ever since.  "Brandsplaining" is their latest book. It is a data-led analysis of marketing to women and how much it has progressed (or not). To connect with Jane and Phil, visit their website, http://www.plhresearch.com, or follow them on IG @plhresearch. ** Find out about our Strategy Accelerator at http://www.sweathead.com  Follow the fun on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sweathead Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dscjW5

A brief and gentle episode about the privileges of a strategy career.  If you'd like this episode as an Instagram post, it's here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU58pAbgQ-b/ *** If you enjoy these short monologues, let me know.  Don't forget to sweat that Subscribe button and share this episode with your strategy friends. ** For information about the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, visit http://www.sweathead.com You can find me on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Over on Instagram, we often do strategy together. I'll ask for suggestions of brands and audiences. Then we'll run through some simple exercises to arrive at a Four Points.  It's playful and it tries to shine a light on the messiness of our work. Sometimes, we get somewhere worth getting but, often, we don't. And that's okay. A few days ago, Minal Jadeja gave us the challenge of selling IKEA to architects. We assumed that this was an issue for IKEA. We didn't have research to work with. But, over 24 hours, we landed on a strategy–we thought we could reframe IKEA and its instructions as a trigger for architects to think bigger.  You can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUvWZ42pfOc/ Ana Škorić disagreed with some of our thinking. Ana is an architect who works in marketing. She believes the issues that architects have with IKEA are different from the ones we focussed on. So I invited Ana to do a workshop with me. Ana is based in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a Senior Consultant at The Right Street, an agency based in Brussels. You can find Ana here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaskoric/ If you'd like to play strategy with us some time, find me here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard ** Also, we've just launched the Sweathead Strategy Accelerator, a 7-week training program. Details are here: http://bit.ly/sweatheadaccelerator

In this Sweathead episode, Tatiana Peck voices what many of us have been experiencing in this pandemic—burnout, mourning the loss of self and identity, and being plunged into totally different routines. She shares with us how she has bounced back from these emotions and found joy in her work again. Tatiana also takes us through her journey from working in an agency to being a creative strategist at Facebook. Barcelona-born and transatlantic grown, Tatiana finds herself exploring the great digital frontier as the Strategy & Insights lead at Facebook’s Creative Shop, developing data-backed creative solutions at scale that sit at the intersection of people, culture, and technology.  Previously, Tatiana worked at small, independent ad agencies—most recently, as a Strategy Director at Big Spaceship, where she led a variety of new business pitches and client accounts, including Purina, Google Play, Chobani, and AOL, while establishing internal mentorship and collaboration best practices. You can find Tatiana playing pool in Brooklyn, enjoying the finest jamón, and loving on her dog Snacks. You can also connect with her on IG: @tatianapeck. ** Join Sweathead to access 100 strategy classes and pick up a copy of "Strategy Is Your Words" today.

Massive thanks for helping us reach one-million listens. Yes, it's just a number but it sounds good and you can say "one million" like the bad guy in Austin Powers. Thank you to everyone who's let me into their heads–guests and listeners. In this episode, I discuss how there's no such thing as a "right" way to do strategy and how frameworks like the 4Cs, Get/To/By, and the Four Points can work together or not. The onus is on the frameworker to use what works for them without being rigid or dogmatic. I share two examples that are...you know, okay. But definitely beatable. Hawaii–get remote workers to move there (when the world was locked down). Find it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLLAD0uhY5j/ And Freelancing–convince someone resistant to freelancing to try it. Find it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUc63mdFuhu/ We're looking to launch 1-2 more strategy training experiences this year. A 1- or 2-day masterclass as well as a 6-week program. Email us hello@sweathead.com if you're interested. Details are coming.  Happy 1 million to you! http://www.sweathead.com http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

What is your greatest fear? What is your most marked characteristic? Who are your heroes in real life? In this Sweathead episode with Parker Mason, we discuss the Proust Questionnaire and how Parker applies it to strategy projects. Parker has travelled the world doing strategy for big agencies. Now he's in Vancouver helping agencies win business and start-ups get their start. Find Parker on: Instagram Twitter ** Join Sweathead to access 100 strategy classes and pick up a copy of "Strategy Is Your Words" today.

Amanda Rue is a business consultant, facilitator, and the founder of The Shift Work Shop, a human resource consultancy offering consent-forward sexual harassment prevention and training. With over ten years in the advertising industry, including Vice Media, Anomaly (Ace Content) and Team One, Rue is a former brand strategy director turned founder and independent consultant with the mission of inviting more pleasure, purpose and passion into work and life. Her work with The Shift Work Shop has been featured in Forbes, The Rosie Report, Lifehacker and more with a focus on completely eradicating sexual harassment at work through an understanding of consent, power dynamics, and honest communication. You can find Amanda here: https://www.theshiftworkshop.com/about ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and strategy classes at Sweathead here: https://www.sweathead.com/

What role does linguistics play in strategy work and in everyday life? What exactly is a problem? Is there really a right or a wrong way to deal with a problem? We are discussing all these and more with Rodrigo Maroni, the Head of Strategy and Data at Crispin Porter + Bogusky Brazil. He currently serves as President of the Board at Grupo de Planejamento, the professional organization that represents strategy professionals in Brazil. Previously, he’s held strategy leadership positions at Wieden+Kennedy, BBH, JWT and DDB, in the US and Brazil, working for brands such as Nike, Budweiser, Heineken, Coca-Cola and Mondelez.  His projects have won a total of over 180 awards, including a Grand Prix at Cannes. ** Join Sweathead to access 100 strategy classes and pick up a copy of "Strategy Is Your Words" today at https://www.sweathead.com/