to break the rules, you gotta know the rules
TRANSCRIPT
WOLF & WILHELMINE
TO BREAK THE RULES YOU GOTTA KNOW THE RULESStockholm APG
WOLF & WILHELMINEMAY 2015
WOLF & WILHELMINE2
Everyone has a story…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
FOUR YEARS AGO…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
FOUR YEARS AGO… BBH BIG ACCOUNTS BIG CREATIVE MANIC CRAZY SEXY FUN LIFE PLANES, HOTELS AND DIET COKE TWITTER/BLOGS/INSTAGRAM/4SQUARE/ETC MEETINGS UPON MEETINGS NEVER SAY NO GO GO GO
WOLF & WILHELMINE
FOUR YEARS AGO… BBH BIG ACCOUNTS BIG CREATIVE MANIC CRAZY SEXY FUN LIFE PLANES, HOTELS AND DIET COKE TWITTER/BLOGS/INSTAGRAM/4SQUARE/ETC MEETINGS UPON MEETINGS NEVER SAY NO GO GO GO AND THEN…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
THE UNIVERSE SMACKED ME
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE13
The core question of the experiment that is Wolf & Wilhelmine:
Can we do the work we love without killing ourselves?
WOLF & WILHELMINE14
A core belief of the experiment that is Wolf & Wilhelmine:
The lives and the work are inextricably linked. To take care
of one, you must take care of the other.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
TO HONOR CREATIVITY… FREEDOM-LOVIN' FREELANCER-LOVIN’ MISFIT-LOVIN’ PROJECTS ONLY DEFINED DELIVERABLES DEFINED TIMELINES BESPOKE, FLEXING TEAMS BREAKS & NAPS NO SHINY OFFICES (IE GOLDEN HANDCUFF JAILS) 7/SATURDAY RULE WE SAY NO HOT WASH TO BE BETTER UNAPOLOGETICALLY DRIVEN BY LOVE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
SO FAR… CLIENTS WE GENUINELY LIKE PROJECTS THAT ARE GENUINELY RAD OUTPUT THAT IS THE BEST OF MY CAREER REGULAR SHUT DOWNS A LOT OF POPCORN, CHOCOLATE AND WINE ONLY ONE ALL-NIGHTER IN 1.5 YEARS USUALLY OUT BY SIX HEALTH INTACT A LOYAL WOLF PACK A SECRET DEN (& A BIT OF SNIFFING AROUND ABOUT WHAT WE’RE UP TO)
WOLF & WILHELMINE
SUCH A *MAGICAL* STORY
WOLF & WILHELMINE
BULLSHIT.
WOLF & WILHELMINE19
Here’s the problem: the last four years of my story are the ones that get the most
attention. But those four years would have never, ever, ever happened without the
eleven years that came before it.
The story really started in 2003…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
net net NOVELTY IS ONLY POSSIBLE
THROUGH TAPPING INTO TRADITION
T.S. Eliot: Tradition and the Individual Talent
WOLF & WILHELMINE
IN OTHER WORDS… TO BREAK THE RULES YOU GOTTA KNOW THE RULES
WOLF & WILHELMINE
[four years] [year and a half] [three years]
THE LINEAR YEARS OF LEARNING RULES
WOLF & WILHELMINE
[two years]
THE FREELANCE YEARS OF LEARNING RULES
WOLF & WILHELMINE
I HAD… GOOD TEACHERS
GOOD INFLUENCES GOOD INVESTMENT
I BROUGHT… OPEN EYES
SELF-AWARENESS HUSTLE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
OVER MANY YEARS, I BUILT A FOUNDATION OF EXPERTISE
WOLF & WILHELMINE26
EXPERTISE = FREEDOM
WOLF & WILHELMINE
EXPERTISE = FREEDOM
FREEDOM TO GO ON THE ROAD FREEDOM TO FREELANCE
FREEDOM TO BE TRUTHFUL WITH CLIENTS FREEDOM TO BE TRUTHFUL WITH MYSELF
FREEDOM TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW
WOLF & WILHELMINE
EXPERTISE IS EVERYTHINGPlanning is a craft. Expertise of this craft is vital.
Whatever your own professional journey through planning,
WOLF & WILHELMINE
VALIDITY ENERGY
INNOVATION
Expertise drives our discipline’s…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
VALIDITYWhen we’re good,
we belong in the room.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
ENERGYProfessional confidence is sexy shit. It feeds a team, driving everyone towards
better work.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
INNOVATIONTo create something new, it’s
essential to have building blocks to play with.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WE’RE IN THE MIDST OF AN EXPERTISE CRISIS
There’s just not a lot of well-trained planners/strats out there
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WE DON’T HAVE A CULTURE OF TEACHING
My hunch why?
WOLF & WILHELMINE35
You can’t Google strategy.
VAL-ISM
WOLF & WILHELMINE
NO TEACHING CULTURE BECAUSE… PLANNING ISN’T A CRAFT TO BEGIN WITH MARGINS ARE TOO THIN PEOPLE ARE SPREAD TOO THIN CAN’T INVEST IN EDUCATIONAL TOOLS CAN’T INVEST OUR TIME THE WORLD MOVES TOO FAST DATA IS MORE IMPORTANT ANYWAY EVERYONE IS A PLANNER/STRATEGIST/NINJA MILLENNIALS ARE JUST GOING TO LEAVE ANYWAY BAPTISM BY FIRE WORKS IT GOES ON…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
Irony? Clients want us more than ever.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
Sad truth? We should be in the
golden age of strategy.
WOLF & WILHELMINE40
You can’t present a problem without ideas about a solution.
HEIDI-ISM
WOLF & WILHELMINE
GET MAD. DEMAND TRAINING.
THE SOLUTION?
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WOLF & WILHELMINE
Your training is up to you. No one’s going to do it for you.
You get out of it what you put into it.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
BRAINS&HEARTYou are always simultaneously developing
WOLF & WILHELMINE
BRAINS&HEARTAlways work on your craft so you can be a kick-ass practitioner.
You are always simultaneously developing
WOLF & WILHELMINE
BRAINS&HEARTDevelop as a person.
Understand the authentic role you play on a team and
eventually as a manager.
You are always simultaneously developing
WOLF & WILHELMINE
BUILD YOUR T-SHAPED CAREER
OPPORTUNITY/SCARINESS Planning is a sprawling discipline with many ways to be a planner.
OPEN YOUR EYES Figure out what you love about planning
and the complementary brain&heart skills that you’ll need to rock it out.
[This will evolve with you. That’s okay.]
WOLF & WILHELMINE
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
WOLF & WILHELMINE
KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOWYou’ll learn faster if you have a self-awareness and
humility about what you still need to learn. It will get your spidey-sense up and looking for those that can teach you that. And don’t be afraid of “looking dumb” and asking questions. Looking dumb shows tremendous character.
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
WOLF & WILHELMINE
THERE IS SOMETHING TO BE LEARNED FROM ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE & EVERYTHING
We all want to learn from Yoda, but sometimes we get Vader. Remember, sometimes the biggest lessons are to learned from those that suck the most. Look at challenging situations as
ways to learn how NOT do things.
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
WOLF & WILHELMINE
FIND TEACHERSYou need them. Take jobs because of them, not because of some
hot-shot campaign that was done last year. When you find teachers, honor and use them. But always meet them at least
halfway - people like helping people who help themselves. And say thank you dammit.
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
WOLF & WILHELMINE
PUSH YOUR FRIENDSWant to learn to present better? Write better? Don’t wait for
permission or funding: team up with people at roughly your level, figure out what success looks like and then coach one another.
You’ll be amazed at what you intuitively know.
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
WOLF & WILHELMINE
SHUT UP AND WATCH (THEN DO)Clock people that do things well that you want to learn. Observe
them. Figure out what it is you like about their vibe. Imagine what they would do and then trying doing it in your next
meeting (but in a you-way, not a Single White Female way).
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
WOLF & WILHELMINE
Set up post-mortem meetings after projects are done to honestly assess what went wrong and what went right. Make it a moment of learning and building, not pointing fingers. Then optimize…
you included.
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
HOT WASH
WOLF & WILHELMINE
The process of giving a talk or setting aside teaching moments pushes your own beliefs and approaches. You don’t have to fly to another continent to do this. Cancel one stupid meeting a week
and use the time to teach a young’un something instead.
LEARNING UP LEARNING SIDEWAYS LEARNING FROM THE TOP
TEACH
WOLF & WILHELMINE
ONE LAST THING… I’M HERE BECAUSE I WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT
HOW WE HAVE A LOST GENERATION OF PLANNING TALENT, HOW MILLENNIALS HOP AGENCIES SO MUCH BECAUSE WE DON’T INVEST IN THEM.
THEY’RE SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT, STUNTING THEIR CAREERS. WE’RE SHOOTING THE DISCIPLINE IN THE FOOT, NOT STRENGTHENING IT FOR THE FUTURE. SO SOME LAST WORDS TO THE
MILLENNIALS AND BOSSES OUT THERE…
WOLF & WILHELMINE
FOR THE MILLENNIALS
WOLF & WILHELMINE
CALM DOWNStop thinking about leaving every six months. Map out the long game. Show that you’re invested and that you really want to learn. Be self-
aware about the journey of your career. And remember, your bosses are super busy - think about how you can work with them, help them,
guide them so that you can get the training you need.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
FOR THE BOSSES
WOLF & WILHELMINE
WAKE UPOkay, it’s true - Millennials bring expectations to the table about work that no one has ever brought before. But, they are essential and also
our future. Ultimately, they want to feel valued and invested in - we’re not doing a great job of showing them that in our industry, so they
hop. But a little effort and thought can actually go a long way.
WOLF & WILHELMINE
THANK YOU