Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

Art direction is a beautiful thing - to reach for an idea that says one thing clearly and clearer than the other visual ideas it competes with and to do so in a way that makes unique sense for a brand. But does art direction still exist? Or, does it exist like it could? With the rise of social media, rapid turnarounds, cheap stock image options, mood boards and social media calendars, multivariate testing, and a whole chunk of the industry just banging out work to stay alive, are we doing a good enough job with the ideas people see?  Meet Cathy Heng, an art director recognized by D&AD, Cannes, the British Arrows, and the IPA Effectiveness Awards. She even featured in Campaign’s ‘Top 100’ Hall of Fame for her work on BMW.  We discuss what art direction is, how it happens, good examples, and how to do it better. You can find Cathy here: https://www.cathyheng.com For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Bogdana Butnar is currently contracting as Digital Strategy Director at Accenture, London. She ran strategy at Poke, she once worked at Google, and she was MD of MRM in Romania. She's a ferocious learner, she loves product and service design, and, after an exceptional career in agencies, she is now playing her mind to a management consultancy.  We discuss the different shades of digital strategy, how the title can even confuse the people who do it, experience strategy and what is it?, working in silos, the programmatic mind, and building models. Oh, and baking and dating. You can find Bogdana here http://www.twitter.com/bogdana  For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Today, a chat about strategy job interviews, Europe, happiness, moving goal posts, problems, favorite projects, and more. Thanks for your questions: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Faris Yakob is a Cofounder of strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. A prolific thinker and writer, he has worked all over the world and is now six years into also living all over the world. But what we discuss in this interview is having a mind that sometimes won’t stop moving - how it feels, how Faris tries to deal with it, and why people find the topic so difficult to discuss. You can find Faris here: http://www.twitter.com/faris. Don’t forget to read his book “Paid Attention”. 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

What research is useful research? How can we deal with bias? What’s a good way to take notes? What are common pitfalls in research interviews? Does intuition matter? And more. http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

JP Hanson is CEO of strategy consultancy Rouser where he works with executives to improve their marketing. He also contributes to Marketing Week. In this chat, we discuss what makes someone commercially minded, the CMO's struggle for credibility, and how JP approaches his writing. You can find JP here https://twitter.com/rouserjp and Rouser here https://rouser.se/ For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Rosie Yakob runs the nomadic strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. She moves around the world with her partner Faris doing strategy work and talks, and constantly contemplates their belief system and how to apply it to their lives outside of the New York agency world. We discuss their goals of working 20 hours per week, of not having an exit strategy, how they'd work on a project with very little time, the importance of creating space for yourself, and the value of patience. You can find Rosie here https://twitter.com/rosieyakob and Genius Steals here http://geniussteals.co/ For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard  3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

10+ questions from Instagram answered in Amsterdam, including:  What would you say to an immigrant strategist trying to find work in a new country? Why can’t strategists strategize their own lives? Does anxiety and depression help you be a more creative thinker? What did you learn from writing raps that makes its way into strategy work? How can I grow in strategy without a boss or a good boss? For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co

Toby Ryan runs security in a large casino-resort in Macau. It’s one of the biggest in the world. He’s worked in security for over two decades, having trained in martial arts and initially wanting to apply his skills for a living. In this chat, we discuss what he’s learned about people in his job - as a “simple guy”, then a manager, and now as someone running one of the largest casino-resort security operations in the world.   For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Rachita Vasan is a strategist at Leo Burnett in Chicago. Recently, she presented thoughts about being less racist and less shitty in the workplace. A friend filmed it. I saw it. We invited Rachita to present it at The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass in Chicago. And, now, she’s here sharing it into your ears. This episode features Rachita’s talk and then an interview. You can find Rachita here https://www.instagram.com/rachitavasan/ For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.