Strands of Genius: Fooling Yourself, Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, Seatguru

Guest curated by Samuel Scott

Aug 12, 2021

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, SAMUEL SCOTT ::

LOCATION: Tel Aviv
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: The Drum

Hello! I'm Samuel Scott, a global keynote marketing speaker and The Promotion Fix columnist for The Drum. I first met Rosie and Faris at an event in Amsterdam in 2018. At the moment, I'm staying inside and eating lots of ice cream because of a 35C - 37C degree heat wave (thank you, climate change). But I'm looking forward to conferences returning later this year. I will be in France in October.

Editor’s Note (Rosie & Faris): We got to know Sam from his incisive and thorough column and on the internets in general, but were delighted to meet him in Amsterdam and hang out in Mumbai. He has been consistently charming, smart and considerate and we look forward to crossing paths again somewhere out there soon! t

:: THE LINKS ::

FOOLING YOURSELF — TOMMY SHAW AND THE CONTEMPORARY YOUTH ORCHESTRA

Styx has always received a lot of hate. But if you ever need a smile these days, watch this video. Tommy Shaw and high school kids in Cleveland, Ohio, are performing the classic hit "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" a few years ago. Shaw is having the time of his life, and the children are in awe to be working with a master of his craft. (YouTube)

PLAYING TO WIN: HOW STRATEGY REALLY WORKS

In the marketing industry, people talk about "digital strategy" and "Facebook strategy" and whatnot. But those are not strategies. In 2013, A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin published one of the best books on strategy. Here is a summary. (Bonus: I also recommend "Good Strategy / Bad Strategy" by Richard Rumelt.) (Shane Parrish)

SEATGURU — DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT

Now that air travel is returning, I wanted to share one of my favorite tools. You can check SeatGuru to learn all about the individual plane -- whether it has audio entertainment, infant beds, food service, AC power for computers, and video platforms. Most importantly, it will show you the location and tell you the condition of each seat. (SeatGuru)

Looking for more from Samuel Scott? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from him in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Civilization. It's currently Civilization VI, but I think V was the best release so far.

:: City :: Boston. I lived there for nine years when I studied journalism at Boston University and worked as a journalist. I still drop my Rs sometimes.

:: Book :: "Exodus" by Leon Uris

:: Album :: Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours."

:: A 60 SECOND INTRODUCTION ::

A 60 second introduction to me.

Want to learn more about Samuel Scott? You can visit his speaking page here and read his columns for The Drum here.

Samuel Scott

sam@samueljscott.com

twitter | linkedin

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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

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