Heleana Blackwell is a London planner who recently discovered herself doing stand-up comedy. Her brain told her to do it because it would make her better at her job. But Heleana was also looking for new ways to express herself and to experience the world. As she simultaneously moves deeper into comedy and planning, how do the worlds work together? Which skills and techniques transfer? And which don't? You can find Heleana here https://twitter.com/h_a_blackwell For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 7,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co The Kickstarter for "Strategy Is Your Words" launches November 5th.

We don’t easily discuss how we feel and what to do when we lose a job. In the Sweathead Facebook group, tens of people answered a question about this last week. We discuss the topic and four people phone in their answers (Brian, Giovanna, Ben, Gustavo). I also talk therapy, dealing with strategy bosses, and I read about Fog from my upcoming book “Strategy Is Your Words.” http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Stan Johnson is a creative director. After years in agencies, he spent half a decade running an in-house team. When he started, he thought people never came back from that kind of move. Yet he made the move. And now he’s back. And this is what we discuss. You can find Stan here: http://www.twitter.com/branddna For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

There's something pure and powerful about pitches - largely because the thinking rarely reaches the public and the time pressures force fast decisions, but they can be wrought with bad behavior. How do you deal with the bad behavior? Do you just have to put up with it? Tim Dunn is an English Executive Strategy Director in Canada. He loves pitches. He has a way with them. And, in this interview, we discuss how he has his way with them.  You can find Tim here https://www.linkedin.com/in/timdunn/ and here https://twitter.com/timmcdunn For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Jon Wilkins has big titles. Yes, two of them. After co-founding and running the agency wunderkind Naked, he's moved into the roles of Executive Chairman of Karmarama and MD and Creative Lead at Accenture Interactive. Actually, perhaps that's three titles. In this episode of Sweathead, we discuss how creative minds are fitting in at management consultancies, what management consultancies can offer these brains and their clients, and what Jon does in his many roles.  You can hear Jon talk about Naked, communications planning, and agency culture on Sweathead here: https://anchor.fm/sweathead-with-mark-pollard/episodes/Strategic-Integrity---Jon-Wilkins--Cofounder-of-Naked-e4vqb3 You can find Jon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilkinsjon For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

In which I read from my book “Strategy Is Your Words” and focus on why I think practicing and publishing are important ideas for strategists. We also talk about which skills are useful for someone in business intelligence to learn to make the leap into planning, seeing patterns, and an insight I think is amazing. Ask questions here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

How comfortable are you with putting your personal details into the world? Do you think they'll hurt you or help you? Last time Nayantara Dutta appeared on Sweathead, I interviewed her about identity - and growing up in different places around the world. This time, we have more of a conversation - and less of an interview - about telling the stories, perhaps secrets, that make us who we are. Nayantara also talks about her impromptu interview of M. Night Shyamalan at the recent Adcolor Conference in Los Angeles. You can find Nayantara here: https://www.nayantaradutta.com For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Tom Crichtlow is an independent consultant who helps start-ups with digital strategy. Based in Brooklyn, Tom originally moved from London to New York to help establish a US presence for his brother's agency Distilled in 2007. His work in SEO, content, and digital marketing then took him to the Google Creative Lab but, after two years of bouncing around and not quite hitting his stride, he struck out by himself. He's currently writing a book - much of it in public - about going and staying independent. And this is what we discuss. You can find Tom's writing here https://tomcritchlow.com/ and his Tweets here https://twitter.com/tomcritchlow For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Another episode of Live Action Strategy with Julian Cole. We chat The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass, the 4 Live Action Strategy decks that are now online (lamps, tacos, vegetarian burgers, and crocs), and we riff a strategy live for getting people like Julian to go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to renew their licenses.  The Megaclass details are here: http://www.strategymegaclass.com (NYC, October 4, 2019 is next) JC is here: https://twitter.com/juliancole The Live Action Strategy decks - from brief to comms plan - are here: Lamps: http://bit.ly/LiveStrategyLamps Dos Toros: http://bit.ly/LiveStrategyDosToros Beyond Burger: http://bit.ly/LiveStrategyBurger Crocs: http://bit.ly/LiveStrategyCrocs For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Today we chat about how to make a point and why so much advertising talk and writing seems to lack one. You can ask questions here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Praveen Vaidyanathan has worked around the world but currently calls Copenhagen home. He's a strategy director at VIRTUE/VICE Nordics, and, as he's traveled around, he's contemplated the agencies in which he'd like to work and how they talk about themselves. He's contemplated them so much that he compiled a list of 700 agency philosophies. In this interview, we discuss what an agency philosophy is, the categories of philosophy that Praveen sees, and Praveen's favorite philosophies.  You can find Praveen here https://twitter.com/v_praveen and his list of 700 agency philosophies here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ad-agency-philosophies-taglines-global-700-praveen-vaidyanathan-1c/ For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Vicky Chen is Head of Strategy at VIRTUE Nordic (part of Vice) in Copenhagen. She arrived in strategy via psychology and writing. She's worked in New York, Amsterdam, and San Francisco at agencies such as Naked, Sid Lee, and AKQA. She reached strategy in an indirect way, much like many of us. And this is what we discuss. How do you get into strategy? What are the pros and cons of advertising schools? And why people from different backgrounds make for better strategy departments. You can find Vicky here http://linkedin.com/in/vtchen For more strategy talk: 1. Newsletter: http://www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Drawings: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Facebook - join 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Ben Shaw is Head of Strategy at BBH London. As an eleven-year veteran of one of the world's best agencies and one of the world's favorite homes to agency strategists, Ben believes that strategy is a creative role and that strategy departments need to contain more people from different backgrounds to be as creative as possible. We discuss both topics, including BBH's year-and-a-half mission to open itself up to people who wouldn't normally get access to an advertising career in London.      You can find Ben here https://twitter.com/benshaw  BBH's Homegrown program is here https://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/careers/internship-homegrown  Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Scenario - Eighty people work in your Mumbai headquarters and you have new teams emerging in London and New York. You want to keep improving the quality of your work and you want the business to keep growing. What do you do?  After eight years in the American corporate world at GE and AIG, Libby Swan moved to India to create a new life. There she co-founded PRDXN, a creative and technology company, in 2006. We discuss the tools Libby uses for perspective, and how she and her team are thinking about growing their company. They don't think of themselves as an "agency," but I used it in the title because you're probably in one. You can find PRDXN here http://www.prdxn.com and Libby here https://twitter.com/libswan 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Nick Williams is a strategist in Colorado. He's listened to nearly all the episodes of Sweathead. As a form of study. So I wanted to ask him what he's learned from having hours of strategy folk in his head, how he's thinking about where to take his career, and we talk through a hypothetical strategy. I rambled a bit too much in this one. Sorry, Nick! You can find Nick here:  https://nicholasawilliams.com 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.

Rob Schwartz is CEO of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY New York. A big agency brand name, TBWA in New York was a shining star then it faded. When Rob arrived, the culture had been decimated and clients were either leaving or very unhappy.  In this interview, we discuss the turn-around story. Rob shares with us the business plan he shared with global CEO Troy Ruhanen and he discusses what they discussed before he took the role. He also describes what he focused on in his first few months.  It's a very candid interview - although I can tell Rob is comfortable in candor.  You can find TBWA NY here https://tbwachiatdayny.com Rob is here: https://twitter.com/Schwartzie14    Sweathead strategy classes are in session: http://courses.sweathead.co

Nadia Piet is a freelance experience and service designer in Amsterdam. We discuss service design and trying to design a career with a focus on the power and risks in personal narratives, utopian and dystopian ideas in artificial intelligence narratives, designing a career that involves feeling like an outsider and moving around a lot. You can find Nadia here http://nadiapiet.com/ and here https://www.instagram.com/nadiapiet/ 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Saturday afternoon in São Paulo, how good is this? Come for a walk from Pinheiros to Livraria Cultura for some chat about Brazil and strategy. Ask questions here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Iuren Ramiro is a planner in São Paulo, Brazil. He helps run Planners BR, a Facebook group with thousands of Brazilian planners, as well as the podcast PlannersCast. As a fellow planner who likes to bring other planners together, I was curious to talk to Iuren about the state of strategy in Brazil - how planners feel about their industry right now, the important topics they're discussing, and how they use Planners BR.  You can find Iuren here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iuren/en and Planners BR on Facebook. 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Vibeke Skov is a Danish psychologist with a focus on creativity. She's published six books and has a keen interest in Carl Jung, art therapy, mythology, and dreams. We discuss the power of using myths and stories as roadmaps for life, dealing with shame, depression, and feeling the wrong person in life. I know this is an episode I'll be sending to many people over the coming years. I know you'll get a lot out of it. Listen to it before you need it (also when you need it). You can find Vibeke here http://www.vibekeskov.com/ and The Institute for Art Therapy here: https://en.kunstterapi.dk 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Anant Rangaswami watches advertising. Having launched Campaign Magazine in India, worked for CNBC and First Post, and, now working as the editor of MELT on WION, Anant gets around a lot of conversations happening in advertising agencies and in marketing. He believes that creativity is disappearing due to a combination of short-term thinking, too many numbers, and several other dynamics. And this is what we discuss. You can find Anant here: https://twitter.com/AnantRangaswami and some of his interviews here: https://readytomelt.com 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Today, we look at a scenario where junior strategists are the only strategists in the agency but the bosses don’t seem to want it to work. What do you do? Also, moving to a new city, charging for strategy (Jake Fagan - my accent is Australian like Keith Urban, your hero), San Francisco, and I tell you something I’ve never told people about my work. You can ask questions here: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Tom Trenta runs the research and strategy agency Positive in Chicago. Previously, he was Chief Strategist at EggStrategy and a VP of Account Planning at Leo Burnett. The point of the CV is he's been working strategy since the 1990s and he sells it every day. So, how do people buy strategy? How has selling strategy changed? What makes selling strategy difficult? And if you sell strategy for 20 years, what are realistic expectations about the career and the likelihood of your thinking being able to affect any given project? You can find Tom and Positive here: http://www.we-are-positive.com     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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Laura Bambach is D&AD President, co-founder of SheSays, and Chief Creative Officer of Mr President in London. In this episode, we discuss the work of a Chief Creative Officer. What does a CCO do? How do they look at the work? What's the best way for them to spend time? Laura compares her experiences working in leading roles in large agencies to her time at Mr President. She also discusses her work with SheSays and the conversations we need to have more of when it comes to women working in advertising.  You can find Laura here: https://twitter.com/laurajaybee      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.

Jon Wilkins was a cofounder of Naked, a prolific agency that burst into the world in the year 2000 then rampaged into some of the toughest advertising markets to establish itself as a much admired creative force. The agency attracted brilliant misfits and championed the idea of communications planning (using media in novel ways and in ways that magnified or played with the campaign ideas - as opposed to just stuffing them into a generic media plan). After Naked, Jon was hired as Executive Chairman of Karmarama and he is now Global Managing Director of the Creative Council at Accenture Interactive. Yes, he's had a big career.  In this first part of a two-part chat, we discuss Naked - how and why it started, how it thought, whether it could start again now and what would have to be different for it to succeed now.  You can find Jon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilkinsjon 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.

Farrah Bostic runs The Difference Engine where she does brand strategy and qualitative research. In this chat, we discuss the latter and Farrah shares very clearheaded and astute observations about where research is at and is able to do so through the mind of a strategist - as in, someone who has to also use the research. We discuss the challenges research is facing, what data is, what a data-driven insight is, and much more. You can find Farrah here https://twitter.com/farrahbostic and here https://www.thedifferenceengine.co.  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.

Politics, ego, and extroverts - how do you deal with them? In this episode, we answer 20-plus questions about working with other people - why it’s difficult, whether it needs to be difficult, and how to make it less difficult. Stream-of-consciousness. Someone gave the podcast a 1-star rating. If you’ve gotten something out of the 135 episodes, could you drop a 5 star rating in iTunes, please? I’m fragile. http://www.instagram.com/markpollard (PS The recording cut off a few minutes so I added a second section - hopefully the sound is just good enough)

Olivia Poglianich is a freelance brand strategist from New York. She studied at Cornell and interned at BBDO. She was a finalist in BBH's Griffin Farley's Beautiful Minds strategy bootcamp, she volunteered for the 4A's StratFest, she studied some more and then she thought... "What have I signed up for? Maybe there's another way to live." So, now, she does strategy and marketing work while moving around the world - working out how to earn enough to live a good life without giving her life to a corporation. And this is what we talk about. You can find Olivia here: https://www.instagram.com/lostwithliv 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 6,000+ strategists: http://www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Art direction is a beautiful thing - to reach for an idea that says one thing clearly and clearer than the other visual ideas it competes with and to do so in a way that makes unique sense for a brand. But does art direction still exist? Or, does it exist like it could? With the rise of social media, rapid turnarounds, cheap stock image options, mood boards and social media calendars, multivariate testing, and a whole chunk of the industry just banging out work to stay alive, are we doing a good enough job with the ideas people see?  Meet Cathy Heng, an art director recognized by D&AD, Cannes, the British Arrows, and the IPA Effectiveness Awards. She even featured in Campaign’s ‘Top 100’ Hall of Fame for her work on BMW.  We discuss what art direction is, how it happens, good examples, and how to do it better. You can find Cathy here: https://www.cathyheng.com 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.

Bogdana Butnar is currently contracting as Digital Strategy Director at Accenture, London. She ran strategy at Poke, she once worked at Google, and she was MD of MRM in Romania. She's a ferocious learner, she loves product and service design, and, after an exceptional career in agencies, she is now playing her mind to a management consultancy.  We discuss the different shades of digital strategy, how the title can even confuse the people who do it, experience strategy and what is it?, working in silos, the programmatic mind, and building models. Oh, and baking and dating. You can find Bogdana here http://www.twitter.com/bogdana  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.

Today, a chat about strategy job interviews, Europe, happiness, moving goal posts, problems, favorite projects, and more. Thanks for your questions: http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

Faris Yakob is a Cofounder of strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. A prolific thinker and writer, he has worked all over the world and is now six years into also living all over the world. But what we discuss in this interview is having a mind that sometimes won’t stop moving - how it feels, how Faris tries to deal with it, and why people find the topic so difficult to discuss. You can find Faris here: http://www.twitter.com/faris. Don’t forget to read his book “Paid Attention”. 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.

What research is useful research? How can we deal with bias? What’s a good way to take notes? What are common pitfalls in research interviews? Does intuition matter? And more. http://www.instagram.com/markpollard

JP Hanson is CEO of strategy consultancy Rouser where he works with executives to improve their marketing. He also contributes to Marketing Week. In this chat, we discuss what makes someone commercially minded, the CMO's struggle for credibility, and how JP approaches his writing. You can find JP here https://twitter.com/rouserjp and Rouser here https://rouser.se/ 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.

Rosie Yakob runs the nomadic strategy and innovation consultancy Genius Steals. She moves around the world with her partner Faris doing strategy work and talks, and constantly contemplates their belief system and how to apply it to their lives outside of the New York agency world. We discuss their goals of working 20 hours per week, of not having an exit strategy, how they'd work on a project with very little time, the importance of creating space for yourself, and the value of patience. You can find Rosie here https://twitter.com/rosieyakob and Genius Steals here http://geniussteals.co/ 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.

10+ questions from Instagram answered in Amsterdam, including:  What would you say to an immigrant strategist trying to find work in a new country? Why can’t strategists strategize their own lives? Does anxiety and depression help you be a more creative thinker? What did you learn from writing raps that makes its way into strategy work? How can I grow in strategy without a boss or a good boss? 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

Toby Ryan runs security in a large casino-resort in Macau. It’s one of the biggest in the world. He’s worked in security for over two decades, having trained in martial arts and initially wanting to apply his skills for a living. In this chat, we discuss what he’s learned about people in his job - as a “simple guy”, then a manager, and now as someone running one of the largest casino-resort security operations in the world.   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.

Rachita Vasan is a strategist at Leo Burnett in Chicago. Recently, she presented thoughts about being less racist and less shitty in the workplace. A friend filmed it. I saw it. We invited Rachita to present it at The Strategy Super Sizer Megaclass in Chicago. And, now, she’s here sharing it into your ears. This episode features Rachita’s talk and then an interview. You can find Rachita here https://www.instagram.com/rachitavasan/ 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.

Tim Levinson is a rapper, songwriter, label manager, and artist manager. He’s been in the public eye for two decades as Urthboy and as part of the Elefant Traks record label (Hermitude are one of the groups representing the label around the world). We discuss how Tim thinks about his art and touch on many ideas a strategist would do well to absorb into their lives. You can find Tim here https://twitter.com/urthboy 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.

Lauren Joyce is the National Strategy Director at the Australian Radio Network, a company that reaches millions of Australians every week. She's also worked in media agencies (Universal McCann), branded content, and in another publisher (Mamamia, a publisher that reaches 4 million Australians each month). We discuss how strategy is different in each of these types of companies, how to deal with short timelines, and how being a parent can shape your strategy life. You can find Lauren here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lscassar/ 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.

Alasdair Lloyd-Jones is a strategist-turned-CSO-turned-President-turned-COO-turned-CEO. Most recently, he led SET Creative, an agency that recently sold. I caught Alasdair as he was contemplating what to do next - should he create his own agency, go client-side, or join another agency with deep experience design expertise? This feels like a rare conversation - someone who's lived in multiple countries and who's had many different roles and who still loves what he does having an open chat about how he's thinking through what to do next.  You can find Alasdair here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-lloyd-jones   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 does it feel to be a strategist and have people invite you into strategy projects but not to do strategy? Instead, sometimes you're invited to "represent your people," a solo focus group on behalf of an entire population. How does it feel to be a lead strategist and have people invite you to meetings but treat you like you're not a lead strategist? These things have happened to Melle. And Melle wanted to discuss them. You can find Melle here http://www.twitter.com/mellehnyc Art Noir, her art collective, is here http://www.artnoir.co 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.

Trine Keller-Andreason is a planner at Forsman & Bodenfors. She's worked in Denmark and New York, but now lives in Sweden. Just over a week ago, her team won the inaugural Creative Strategy Grand Prix at The Cannes International Festival of Creativity. The project took Volvo's history and focus on safety somewhere it hadn't been before. This will come as no surprise because Forsman & Bodenfors is an agency many haven't seen before. They espouse a certain humanity and equality in how they work with each other - there isn't much formal hierarchy, there aren't many big titles, and people have to agree before projects can move ahead. Recently, the agency name arrived in New York through osmosis with KBS. But consensus, flat hierarchy, and small titles, can that even work in New York? You can find Trine here: https://twitter.com/trineka  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.

Today - a quick word to strategists who work in pre-sales for tech platforms and publishers, as well as for agencies that are new to strategy and mostly use it in pitches. Plus questions about doing strategy without much time, finding out things without being able to talk to people, and what planners need from Heads of Planning.  For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/   2. Strategy drawings: www.instagram.com/markpollard    3. Strategy Twitter: www.twitter.com/markpollard   4. Join 5,000+ strategists: www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Max Slonim is a senior strategist at Initiative in New York. He's attended the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity twice. The first time he attended was to compete as a Young Lion. He and his partner had 24 hours to come up with a campaign. This year, he attended the academy.  You can think what you want of the festival - good or bad. That's because you're an independent thinker. I have no vested interest in seeing the event in any particular way. Truth is, it's a private, profit-focused enterprise. It's not some universally ordained governing body or representation of what we do. It doesn't represent me. It's a business. It's its own thing. I spoke there once. I enjoyed it. But I didn't get carried away with the materialistic nature of it - the boats, the rosé, the awards. I didn't even drink. But so what? If you're into that, do you. And then know that people you didn't give pay-rises to this year because your holding company is 15 years into salary freezes are watching. Live with it. Max has also enjoyed his two tours of Cannes. And this is what we discuss.  You can find Max here: https://twitter.com/maxslonim For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: www.instagram.com/markpollard   3. Strategy Twitter: www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Your questions answered in the face like a dog with its head out the window of a car speeding down a freeway.  For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: www.instagram.com/markpollard   3. Strategy Twitter: www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

Zoe Scaman runs Bodacious, a strategy consultancy in London. After a good run through Droga5, Undercurrent, Naked, and Adidas (yeah yeah, this is your dream list), Zoe isn't exactly settling down because maybe that's not how she's made. In fact, after growing up bouncing around, getting expelled twice, living in America, West Sussex, and Sydney, and constantly seeking new experiences and new ideas, maybe she came to the realization she didn't fit in anywhere and then she had to work out how to create the thing in which she fitted. But now that this is written here, she'll probably defy it. So, whatever. We discuss: - How Zoe grew up - What makes a good strategist - The consulting life We touch on mental health, self-perception, self-worth, and a bunch of other ideas that I think a lot of people will relate to, and I appreciate Zoe's openness.  You can find Zoe here https://twitter.com/zoescaman and Bodacious here http://www.bodacious.be/ For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.

ECD Chapin Clark works at R/GA in New York. He has done so for a very long time, so long R/GA put its voice in his hands. It's not because he outlived his coworkers and R/GA had no choice, and it's not because Chapin got all Hunger Games at the office one long Winter's day. He just knows how to write things we wish we could say.  We discuss: - Moving from journalism into advertising - Why on Earth R/GA would trust Chapin with its Tweets - How Chapin thinks about writing - What gets in the way of brands doing Chapin to themselves (I call this "Chapining" - feel free to use it, especially if you work with Chapin) You can find Chapin here http://www.twitter.com/chapinc and R/GA's Tweets here http://www.twitter.com/rga May you enjoy his voice in your ear holes the way R/GA enjoys its voice in his hands. For more strategy talk: 1. Strategy newsletter: www.markpollard.net/email-newsletter/ 2. Strategy drawings: www.instagram.com/markpollard 3. Strategy Twitter: www.twitter.com/markpollard 4. Join 5,000+ strategists: www.sweathead.co New book "Strategy Is Your Words" out soon.