I know it’s not much, but my ‘B’ grade in ‘A’ level economics is one of the things I’m most proud off. That’s because two thirds of the course was done without a teacher. Thankfully I was interested enough in it to read, read and read. I still am, so on with the geekery. Most…

You may have seen that Russell handed over the APSOTW recently. (for those not from the UK and aged under 25, this is Mr Bronson, the nasty teacher from children’s TV classic Grange Hill, the same actor played Admiral Ozzel in the Empire Strikes Back, along with Hitler in Indiana Jones and Last Crusade)  …

Don’t fall asleep! This is the bit of the planning basics when we start to talk about quant. It’s something you can’t avoid as planner, but as far as I’m concerned, if you treat numbers right, they can be you’re friend. This is not a quant masterclass by the way, it’s some useful starts. No…

Right second post. Niku Banaie from Naked is up to talk about how understanding basic human needs can keep your customers and employees happy and fresh. Since this is something I think is fundamentally missing from loads of thinking at the moment, I know I’m going to like this, and I do. (Incidentally, I spent…

So, I was lucky enough to go to the PSFK conference. In return for a free ticket, they asked me to blog about about it, so I am. I reckon you should look at Will and Charles’ reports too. First off, the venue was great. This is Will’s picture (hope he doesn’t mind), I’ll post…

So it’s getting on for 9pm and I’m waiting patiently for talk to someone about tomorrow morning’s pitch. The chinese takeaway is on the way, which helps the situation. So joy of joy’s I’ve got time to start the next planning basics post. And it’s on strategy. As with the other stuff, big chunks of…

The next bit of planning basics will be about how to go about formulating strategy, but in the meantime, here’s two things I’ve been thinking about recently. First off, have a go at Rob’s Account Planning School of the Web project, it’s quite, quite brilliant. Russell’s chosen well. I’m slightly nervous about my stint next…

Right, back to some planning basics stuff. Last time it was on what planning was for, now it’s on brands. Or how and why a company need to be unique in it’s market, not just through what it sells, but how it behaves. This is the bones of a talk Malcom White did on the…

The thing about promising to do stuff online means you have to do it. So here’s the first bit of commonsensical advice for people who are thinking of going into planning: Why have planners at all, and why they’re more important than ever? It was the first session in The APG Networking course, and as…

It seems that the reaction to my recipe wheeze has gone to my head. I’m going to try to be useful again. But it won’t be for many. Let me explain. While I dearly love the fact I’m part of global subculture thing, like the name says, I am a Northern Planner. I plan Up…