Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

What happens when a creative career leads to a self-destructive life? Philip Slade went from Mac Operator at famed music magazine Smash Hits to art director at Saatchi & Saatchi then to creative director and planning director roles and, eventually, to managing partner of Crispin Porter + Bogusky London. But along the way he had to reckon with his relationship with drugs and alcohol and himself.  We discuss career mid-points, working in the London agency world in the 1980s, being adopted, and the difficult realities of decades spent making up stories. You can find Philip here: http://www.homeslade.com ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

What's it like to freelance? This episode is from a livestream in the Sweathead Facebook group. It features Tasha Prados, Lexie Perez, and Greg Donnelly. We discuss: - The mindset shift from being an employee to a freelancer - Working with agencies - Working with entrepreneurs - How jobs appear Tasha Prados is a multicultural strategist who's worked out of Washington, D.C. but was in Hanoi, Vietnam, during our chat. She has ten years of international project management, communications, and marketing experience with the world’s leading brands, publishers, and nonprofits https://www.linkedin.com/in/tashaprados/ Lexie Perez is a brand strategist in San Francisco and her credentials span across B2B and consumer tech, CPG, retail, and entertainment, fin tech - at both global and regional levels http://www.lexieperez.com/ Greg Donnelly is a brand strategist in New York with experience in product marketing and creative strategy at global brands including Altria, Airbnb, and Google https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-donnelly/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

How do you graduate from "doing social" to doing strategy? Blake is a digital strategist from New York who entered advertising after a brief flirtation with neuroscience.   In this episode, we discuss the  evolution made by many people who start out as social media workers. They go from trading on their youth and knowing the platforms because they use them to making recommendations not just because they get the platform but because they get people and business.    You can find Blake here https://www.instagram.com/not.blake.lively/ ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

How does the Strategic Planner of the Year think? Andy Nairn co-founded Lucky Generals in London seven years ago. The agency has grown to ninety people in London and now has twenty people in New York. Their work is consistently exceptional. Andy's contribution to it was acknowledged by Campaign when it named him Strategic Planner of the Year 2020. We discuss growing an agency from scratch, establishing a culture of effectiveness, seeking clients who are in search of dramatic change, and some of Andy's favorite work. You can find Andy here: http://www.twitter.com/andynairn ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

What does it feel like to take a stance about a difficult topic and to let it rip in public? Jenny Chang is a comet roaring through space–a comet that likes the wind in its face. That's how her prolific publishing feels. Only four years out of college, Jenny has dropped stances on the Cardi B and Mega Thee Stallion song "WAP", TikTok, and the stolen history of New York. She writes with a fire that might make you wonder, "Is advertising big enough for her?"   You can find Jenny and her writing here: http://www.jayemsey.com ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

What if account planners get paid for their confusion and clarity is fleeting but just a bonus?   Richard Huntington is Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi London. He's also a writer of many classic account planning articles that you can find on his blog Adliterate http://www.adliterate.com/  In this episode, we discuss the confusion and vagueness of the strategy career, the act of clarity, performing in front of people, being weird, and the intermittent value account planners provide.   You can find Richard on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/adliterate ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

How do you know you're ready to freelance and how do you make it work?  In this episode, we speak with Colleen Berg, Lani Dourado, and Willem van der Horst about what it means to freelance, the ups and downs, getting clients, and pricing.   Colleen Berg is based in Toronto and the Director of Strategic Insights in the Palmerston Group. She specializes as a human insight consultant and has over a decade of experience in the field. https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenberg/  Lani Dourado is a freelance brand strategist. She has worked with Virtue Worldwide, Supermachine and Alaffia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanadourado/  Willem van der Horst is a brand strategy consultant based in Paris. He's worked with clients such as SC Johnson, P&G, and Toyota. http://www.icecreamforeveryone.net Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

It’s been a minute but here’s a ramble from an Upper West Side bedroom about discovering yourself. PS My book just came out - http://www.sweathead.com

What if you know you have something to offer to the advertising industry but the advertising industry isn't set up for you?  Jennifer Ekeleme runs JennZen Co-Creation Studio. She is a brand and creative consultant as well as a diversity, equity, and inclusion facilitator.  In this episode, we discuss burn out in an early New York advertising career, depression, being a highly sensitive person, and jumping out of the industry so you can work out how to jump back in. You can find Jenn here https://www.instagram.com/_jennzen_/ ** Caveat: In this episode, we discuss depression. We try to make the point that everybody's experience with depression is personal and it is a complex condition with many strands. Please consult a professional if you're experiencing mental health challenges.    ** Find the book "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes at Sweathead here: http://www.sweathead.com

Megan and I had this chat in the middle of 2019. I'm republishing it along with other episodes that tackle difficult topics because 2020 seems to have woken up a lot of us. But there's still work to do.    Megan Averell runs The Insight Inn, a research and strategy consultancy. You can find her here https://theinsightinn.com "Strategy Is Your Words" and 100 strategy classes are now live at http://www.sweathead.com