Sweathead, A Strategy Podcast

Jerrold McGrath helps artists and creators solve big problems and work out how to make a living from their art. He spent a decade consulting with companies and leaders at the amazing Bannf Centre in Calgary and now advises Artscape Daniels Launchpad, a program that takes places in a 30,000 square-foot space in Toronto. We discuss: - How to have a creative practice - Understanding the systems in which you operate - Creativity and saving the world - Hiding from your own creative practice in a job You can find Tom here: https://twitter.com/JerroldMcGrath   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.

Tom is 20+ years into strategy work and now runs brand strategy at Re in Sydney, Australia. He's worked in the UK, NYC, and Sydney.  We discuss: - The blindspots of different types of agencies doing brand strategy - How complexity has earned many companies money - The return to simplicity in strategy You can find Tom here: https://twitter.com/thepunkrockshop   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.

Mel McShane has spent well over a decade at renowned design agency Wolff Olins and consults with executives around the world on their brand strategies.  One question up-coming strategists are sometime curious about is which type of agency actually does brand strategy because... so many agencies say they do everything but when you're in them you realize it isn't always true. We discuss: - Where brand strategy happens - How Mel approaches brand strategy - Interviewing people vs running people through questionnaires You can find Mel here: http://linkedin.com/in/melanie-mcshane   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.

Simon Smiles is the Chief Investment Officer for the Ultra-High Net Worth investors of UBS in Switzerland. He spends his days with people who have over $50M in investments with UBS. UBS banks with half of the world's billionaires. Simon has a PhD, he is a regular attendee of the World Economic Forum and the Milken Institute events, he speaks with hundreds of the world's business, government, philanthropy, and NGO leaders every year. He has a thing for impact investment - investments that earn money for the investor while also helping the planet. And he thinks there are better and more urgent ways to create a different future for the world. We discuss: - How the wealthy think about their investments - The UN’s Sustainability Development Goals - The World Economic Forum - Profit, sustainability, and greenwashing - How to speak to business people about doing good You can find the UBS white-paper on the United Nation's Sustainability Development Goals that we discuss at http://ubs.com/wef2019   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.

Jonathan Colmenares and Matt Butler established Open Strategy at the start of 2015. They assembled strategy presentations and tools into a website. Then they launched a Slack channel which housed thousands of strategists. Then events and an email newsletter. Then they both left the full-time agency world, reduced how much time they spend online and they now spend less time talking about strategy. But Open Strategy taught them about their love for community, teaching, and doing.  We discuss: - The needs of full-time agency folk - What Jon and Matt learned from running open Strategy - What life after full-time agency life is like You can find Matt at https://twitter.com/MattButler07 and Jon at https://twitter.com/mrjonath   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.

Imagine if you could put your strategy skills to work for some kind of good. All that brainpower, that empathy, and that creative lust... surely you could change the world. Well, in some places it might be possible. Harsha Prag is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, a country of 50 million people with 11 official languages and a lot of social problems that need help. Having run account planning at JWT, Harsha now works with companies to create products and communications that help more than pollute and hurt. We discuss: - Empathy - what is it and what isn't it? - Advertising in post-apartheid South Africa - How some brands put money into potholes and traffic lights - Advice to heads of planning You can find Harsha at https://twitter.com/Harsha_Prag   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.

Tom Morton is co-CSO of R/GA in the USA. It's a new role, so new it was announced this week. Tom shares the role with Jess Greenwood. With over 60 strategists in 7 US offices while working with large and fast tech companies but not just tech companies, what does strategy do at R/GA and how is strategy different between the USA and England, the other place both Tom and Jess have worked? We discuss: - Doing strategy in the USA - Doing strategy fast and under pressure - Problems and insights - What a CSO does You can find Tom at https://twitter.com/tommorton   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.

Samanta Judez is Managing Director of DDB Barcelona. Before this, she was the agency's CSO. She isn't alone as a planner-turned-agency-leader but the convention is to reserve the role for someone from account management. So, what can a planner bring to agency leadership? We discuss: - What an MD does - How to know if this path is for you - Planning in Spain - Barcelona's long history of creativity  You can find Sam at https://twitter.com/samjudez13   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.

How would you feel the day you found out you had cancer? How would you feel the afternoon after your first chemotherapy session? How would you feel the sleep before spinal surgery? Would you seek out and do more strategy work or less? Would you know how to speak about any of this with your family and friends? What would you say?  Murray Calder is strategy director at Mediacom in Edinburgh. He also spent a couple years as chairman of the IPA, Scotland. Hearing quietly about what he was going through, I decided to hassle him for some volume. YO, MURRAY! WHAT'S ALL OF THIS LIKE? We discuss: - What it felt like to get his cancer diagnosis - What he's learned from his illness - What makes good strategy - and we use his spine as a metaphor Thanks for the brave chat, Murray. To any of you going through similar things, we're here. You can find Murray at http://www.twitter.com/ScotStratGuy   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.

Sudeep Gohil has worked in Sydney, London, Portland, LA, Mumbai, and Tokyo. He's run a Droga5 office, led strategy at Wieden and Kennedy, helped 72andsunny develop plans for Asia, and now runs brand strategy at KPMG.    We discuss: - How moving around helps you connect more dots - Working in a growing market like India - Taking a break from agencies - The move from strategist to CEO - How it feels when your agency closes - Taking business personally - Building the case for planning - with insight into W+K You can find Sudeep here http://www.twitter.com/sudeepgohil   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.