NORTHERN PLANNER

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  • Just because it feels good, it doesn’t make it right.

    I had a mini epiphany after some sessions with a physio. Two actually. To begin at the beginning, I’ve had a sore shoulder for months, it started when I was swimming and, if I was a rational human being, I would have stopped and got it looked at, but oh no, I raged at my…

  • Think Less, Sell More (or learn from the 1950s)

    The problem with paying people to think about brands is all they do it think about brands. It’s why I’ve always been nervous about brand consultants, they’ve been asked to look at every nook and cranny of something few people in the real world understand or care about. If you’ve ever had to execute a…

  • Social is the same. Social is different.

    I’ve been a competitive swimmer. I’ve competed in a pool and in open water and I can tell you, getting it right in a lake or the sea is very different to a pool, and yet, and yet, it’s pretty much the same. The fundamentals of stroke, energy management and breathing are not that far…

  • The things they never tell you number1: case studies

    If you’ve read any of my rubbish, you’ll know I used to be a competive swimmer. What I didn’t say was that I was conned into it. My Mum took me to a training session on a Wednesday, to see if I liked it and I took to it like a duck to water (if…

  • Memories are made of moments

    I have never worn a pair of Adidas; I always choose Nike (but don’t worry, this isn’t another uninformed take on what made Nike successful). I’m a Leeds United fan (football or soccer depending on where you are from); nothing will change this, even though I don’t watch football very often and couldn’t tell who…

  • Don’t Fear the Imposter

    I’m sure you’re aware the Dunning Kruger effect, or if you like, the arrogance of ignorance. It’s been written about elsewhere of course, but worth just dwelling on it for a second, as the echo chamber if LinkedIn is perhaps making it worse then ever. That point when folks have just a little knowledge or…

  • The Northern Planner lives here now

    Hello again

  • Forget youth as a guarantee of originality, rely on variety and progress

    If you haven't read Originals you probably should. It's not a strategy book, it's how to survive /how to become an original thinker..which is actually what the job is about, so maybe it is a work book after all.  There's lots in here, from a winning pitch by admitting what's wrong with, it to the…

  • A Quiet Place, The Return

    Hello how are you? If you're reading this, you're part of an even smaller minority than when blogs by planner types was a thing.  If was a lovely time that felt like a little community of oddballs, which is pretty much what it feels like to be in a planning department when you think of…

  • Still here

    We all look back at things we did and said when we were young a cringe with embarrassment.  I remember talking to my Dad about the cool agency I was interviewing with (I was 24) crowing to him, "There's no one there over thirty".  He went very quiet and said, "And you really think that's…