Strands of Genius: Strategy is a Language, Critically Navigating Bullshit, Looking Back for Something New
Guest curated by Paul Worthington
Each year we aim to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. This edition is guest curated by Paul Worthington, President @ Invencion, Inc.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, PAUL WORTHINGTON ::
LOCATION: NYC, NY
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: President @ Invencion, Inc.
Hi, I'm Paul. I'm originally from the Shetland Islands (where the ponies with short-horse syndrome come from). These days, I live in the US. I've gone grey working in the branding business with huge clients and tiny one's. I used to live the agency life, and for the past 12 years have worked for myself helping companies figure out who they want to be when they grow up. I love what I do, but have no time for the bullshit that surrounds it. Which is why I try to call it out weekly in my own newsletter, which led Faris to kindly ask me to do the same as a guest post here. I hope you like.
Editor’s Note (Faris): I first heard about Paul when he was head of strategy at Wolff Olins, another strat ex-pat in NYC, like me. He struck out on his own a few years before we did and it’s through his newsletter that I have got to know him and the way he writes and thinks, deeply and humorously, about brands and the industries wrapped around them. We’re delighted to have him guest curate today’s episode - and do check out his very good newsletter - Off Kilter - for sage and savage brand and marketing analysis.
:: THE LINKS ::
STRATEGY IS A LANGUAGE
At business school, I quickly learned two things. First, an MBA doesn’t create brilliant business leaders; it weaponizes terrible ones. Second, an MBA isn’t really a management qualification; it’s a languages degree. Every functional area – marketing, finance, sales, etc. – speaks its own distinct language. Move up to the C-suite, and the common language becomes business strategy. So, if you want to be taken seriously at the top, it isn’t enough to just call yourself a strategist; you must also become fluent in the language of strategy as the C-suite understands it. Of all the strategic thinkers out there, Roger Martin is one of the best, and his series of articles on Medium is a great place to start. And perhaps finish. (Medium)
CRITICALLY NAVIGATING BULLSHIT
This is a quick read from Helen Lee Bouyges on critical thinking. I used to think curiosity was the single most important character attribute anyone in this business needed to display; an openness to ideas and new insights and a drive to learn. However, I now realize critical thinking matters equally as we drown in a sea of marketing snake oil that’s crashing straight into a wall of “I’m right, you’re an idiot” dogma. As a result, we must develop the skills to question assumptions, adopt differing perspectives, and become comfortable with non-quantifiable ambiguity. Oh, and how to navigate the one-true-way bullshit on LinkedIn. (Harvard Business Review)
LOOKING BACK FOR SOMETHING NEW
Between 1900 and 1922, the world had already witnessed 11 distinct design movements, from Arts and Crafts to Art Deco to Bauhaus. So far this century, we've traded design movements for design systems, ossifying and commodifying our designed environment in the process. Design apologists frame this as progress. Claiming human-centered digital modernism as the one-true-way. But this is nonsense. What really happened is that our digital-driven world traded creativity for efficiency. Historical design movements arose in response to technology-driven change, not as an enabler of it. Today, I'd like to think we might be on the cusp of the same, with a response to digital minimalism that breaks the future free of the shackles of the past and on toward something new. (Widewalls)
Looking for more from Paul Worthington? 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 :: Any game I can cheat at to win is my favorite game.
:: City :: Brooklyn is the center of the known universe.
:: Book :: Snow Crash. The book Zuckerberg stole the term Metaverse from.
:: Podcast :: Pivot, because Kara Swisher is great and Scott Galloway is bringing a brand perspective to the mainstream.
:: Album :: Literally anything with a Motown label on it.
:: FAIRY TALES & HUMBUG ::
People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug. - Edmond de Goncourt, 1822 - 1896
If you've got this far, you might like to read more here. (OK, so I know that's a shameless plug. Sorry.)
Paul Worthington
paul@invencion.com
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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.
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