NORTHERN PLANNER

If there is a national meal in the UK these days, it’s a good curry. And believe me, no one likes it more than I, indeed when we go out with friends for an Indian, I’ll make sure I’m sat next to the person that eats like a bird so I can pinch some of theirs.

But I’ve always wondered why someone doesn’t make more of the true culture around food from the subcontinent, as opposed to the British, and largely unauthentic way it’s made, served and portayed here.

You can’t blame those first restaurant owners back in the 1970’s if course. They couldn’t get the right ingredients then, and they had to find something to accomodate the virgin British palate. And foodie culture didn’t really exist. It’s a bit different now.

These days you can’t move for chefs’ cookbooks. More and more people cook with chilli and every other spice you can think of. Not to mention the sheer complication of it all – be healthy, be natural, be organic, be ethical. And authenticity really matters. Some people I know would die of shame if they were found to have balsamic vinegar that wasn’t from Modena (dear oh dear). And somehow you have to fit all this into your ever busy life.

And actually, proper Indian cooking fits, since there’s no such thing. It’s too rich for that.

There is no such thing as real Indian cooking, it’s too complex, too geographical. What you eat depends on caste and region. And it’s steeped in a rich history. It was mostly vegetarian before invasions from Persia, The Mughul Empire and others introduced meat. And the recipes have constantly evolved.

Some things that have remained constant are the way food has always been integral with the culture. Apart from the festivals, the family meal is usually a three course affair, attended by all. Recipes are handed down the generations, learned by osmosis. They are rarely written down. One the main ingredients of a samosa is laughter. You can taste the love and joy in every single bite of the proper stuff.

And it’s light and healthy too. The restaurants have to use lots of oil to keep the vats of sauce relatively fresh over a long night. When it’s done properly, it’s light on the stomach, the spices are subtly put ‘under’ the taste, as opposed to throwing them in at the last minute. And traditions matter, you don’t mess with the old ways. And in the end, it’s always been about quality ingredients first and foremost. And Mum knows best.

Even ready meals are nothing new. Back in Bombay, the Tiffin Wallahs do an early morning round and pick up the food the women have been lovingly preparing. They put them in ‘Tiffin boxes’ and bike them all over the city so the men have proper food for lunch. And for every six million that get collected, only one meal fails to get delivered.

I’m going on, but it’s just that all these threads ad up to something that should fit very well with a food culture that’s increasingly looking for authenticity, health and aching to tap into rich, authentic traditions. Food with a proper story.

And it tastes amazing too. I don’t know where to go this, just thinking out loud.

There was another incident today. Only inhuman reflexes, the same that took a a set off Tim Henman, enabled Stuart to avoid a gout of boiling hot coffee scalding his genitals. No chance of suing me though, I’ve a watertight defense…….

It wasn’t my fault. As I plunged my caffetiere with abandon, a hairline crack in the glass gave way and it shattered – the force of the plunge sending the entire contents flying at Stu’s man bits. Proof that I’m not clumsy, I’m unlucky.

I’ve been pondering the unlucky core of my fecklessness before. Now I know it IS a curse. Stuart is obviously blessed though. His reactions were worthy of Neo and Morpheus.

So I’m changing jobs. After four and a half years I’m leaving here and joining here. There will be a bit more commuting, but they make tea really well …..and I think it means I’ll be a Disruptor, which makes it sound like my job is being a Star Trek weapon.

I know for sure I’ll be in the same network as Fred. He’s changing jobs too and has written a thoughtful post on the subject here.

While I’ve been here :

I Worked with Elton John’s less famous brother.

Convinced Stuart he was in House of Pain

Met the muscliest creative director in the world.

(He really knew how to party back in the day)

I went a bit loopy in London.

I Won an argument.

I Got back into swimming again.

Found I still can’t play  football.

Wrote odd corporate blog posts about milk.

Talked about the value of short shins.

Won a pitch after walking into mirror.

Began to pass on what I’ve learned.

Stayed in Liverpool’s first themed hotel.

Taught everyone to make tea properly.

And started blogging, which led to meeting a lots of great people, and ‘virtually meeting’ even more.

And I also worked with great bunch who let me fail enough times to become reasonable at this planning lark, and allowed me to be myself.

A bunch of people whom you will never mock in my presence if you know what’s good for you.

So then………

Mark’s running a free breakfast seminar.

It’s tomorrow (forgot to do this earlier, sorry Mark). I can’t go thanks to living Up North but you should if you can.

In his own words:

Hi Andrew,

Hope you’re well. This is a bit of a long shot bearing in mind the distance and the ungodly hour, but I thought you might conceivably be interested in the following – would be great to see you if you can make it.

Winning pitches with personality types – 22 November

I’ll be discussing the Enneagram system of personality types, with Rebecca Caroe who specialises in new business development for agencies. We’ll be looking specifically at the application of the Enneagram to pitches – but I’m hoping that the implications for communication, collaboration, managing and developing people will also become clear.

Further details are attached (Download winningpitches.pdf ) Please feel free to pass this on to any colleagues or contacts who you think would find it of interest.

If you would like to know more about the Enneagram  of personality types,  you can download my free e-book ‘An Introduction to the Enneagram’ here.

best,
Mark

If you haven’t read Mark Earl’s Herd yet, you should. It’s about time someone wrote a planning-ish book that argued for a new approach that was more than a long creds document.

 

And being a geek, I found the first bit fascinating. He uses science to argue that humans are social creatures buy nature, individualism is just another smokescreen. We con ourselves (in the west that is) into thinking we’re more different than we really are. Of course this has implications for marketers, but I want to talk about how it makes us useless at learning from others.

Human beings are doomed to repeat the mistakes they, and other people, have made time and time again. We never learn from our own folly, thanks to our memory being too selective – and this sense of ‘I’ rather than ‘We’.

Our memories do not tell us the truth.  And other people’s recollection is just as post-rationalised. There’s only one option.

This applies to research as well…….You only get a reliable account from people GOING THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE – but guess what? We won’t listen to that advice. We’re so sure we must be different to everyone else, we can’t bring ourselves to believe our experience will be the same as theirs.

It’s true to say that everyone is an original of the species. Everyone’s DNA is about 0.1% unique. But that also means we’re 99.9% alike. However much you try and convince yourself, you’re really not that special!

The fact of my feckless, clumsy, absent minded tomfoolery will come as no surprise to people who pop here now and again. From locking keys in cars to spilling hot tea on my privates, it all happens to me. Frequently.

But sometimes I think most of comes down to bad luck. Like this weekend, cycling to the butchers.

4 miles there, mostly downhill to pick up some of the best sausages in the universe. So far so good.

But there was a problem coming back – the seat had come loose and suddenly shot down to it’s lowest point, I lost my balance and fell off in a passable impression of Colt Seavers in the Fall Guy.

This meant cycling all the way back standing up, mostly uphill, with two pounds of meat in my rucksack. My legs haven’t recovered yet.

This kind of thing happens to me all the time. Maybe I’m cursed……

You should wantch this presentation from nine year old James. It’s from a special edition of Dragon’s Den for Children in Need, where young people pitch their idea to the hardbitten suits.

His idea is to encourage children to look out for lonely kids and befriend them – and offer prizes in return. It may have been done before, but that’s not really the point.

This very young man is tapdancer, and understands how being different can stop you making friends. Look at how he delivers it, think about how being all nice at that age can mean other kids will shun you,admire his bravery and I challenge you not to feel a lump in your throat.