Strands of Genius: Why You Are Always Late, Creme Eggs, Year in Review
plus: our thoughts on diets, healthy food at supermarkets, and where the word shampoo comes from
WRITING FROM | Charlotte, NC & Greenville, SC
WORKING ON | article, NPD, contracts & proposals for 2020
LOOKING AHEAD
Jan 1-Feb 3: Greenville, SC
Jan 18-20: Charlotte, NC (Rosie)
Feb 3-17: Nashville, TN
Feb 17-28: Beersheba Springs, TN
Feb 29-March 15: Nashville, TN (Rosie)
March 1-15: London, UK (Faris)
March 4-6: London, UK | Big TV Festival
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Oh hello again! Remember how on Monday we were collaborating remotely? We thought we had everything all figured out, and then somehow our edits ended up as two separate newsletters, and you got something that wasn’t what we wanted to send you! Sorry about that. One of the cool things about Substack is that you can edit your public post after you send. Now unfortunately it doesn’t update in your inbox (that would be truly magic, though, right?!), but if you click on the top “Strands of Stolen Genius” banner, you’ll be taken to the web version over at geniussteals.substack.com. You can also read our edited thoughts on diets below :)
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Campowerment friends, Rachel&Mike&Chase&Stella, hover-boards, Bindu yoga, spaghetti squash, Oscar’s doctors on call, slippers & sweats, fruit & nut energy balls, Larabars, pork roll inna bowl, various other delicious Whole 30 Compliant meals, Substack (which seems easy to use and clean to look at - what do you guys think of the new format?), Nimbly, who have returned to sponsor Strands of Genius because so many of you reached out to collaborate with them, and of course, YOU!
:: THE LINKS ::
ICYMI: GENIUS STEALS YEAR IN REVIEW: HINDSIGHT IS 2020
Genius Steals is 7 years old this year! Wow. We haven’t done an annual-report—medium-open-letter for years but felt the decade was a good punctuation point to take stock of our lives and business, share what we’ve been up to, and a few things we have learned. And yeah, we’re working on a little something special which we’ve teased in ‘What’s Next’ - but don’t you worry. As subscribers here, you’ll be the first to know when we have more to share. (Medium)
HUNTING CREME EGG EFFECTIVENESS
Faris’ column this month considers the unusual Cadbury Creme Egg and its new communication strategy, dropping broadcast TV in favor of chasing streamers. A new channel strategy like this is risky but will provide Mondelez with some interesting data for their portfolio - if only they can learn the right lessons. (Warc Admap)
THE SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGY OF LATENESS
Being late is a canonical example where the Fundamental Attribution Error can be demonstrated. In essence, we assume malice, irresponsibility or negligence when someone comes to a meeting late, but understand there are mitigating circumstances when we are late. That said, some people are habitually five or ten minutes late - why? Oscar Wilde said he always was because “punctuality is the thief of time” but a psychologist explores the reasons that people are always late, which highlights that the same behavior can be rooted in very different insights. (The Guardian)
This edition is sponsored by Nimbly, the most daring insights agency in the world.
Our friends Nimbly are back again to share the message, Nimbly = Daring. It’s what truly makes them different — that they are not afraid to dare.It’s in the Nimbly DNA to think faster - to experiment with wild methodologies - to report differently - to reimagine every single aspect of research. They aspire to have the most interesting projects in the world, and promise the most interesting experience in return. (What more could you ask for, really?!)
Whether you’re in the calm before the storm, or already in the thick of it, they’re ready to hear what you’re up to. They’re not aggressive in their sales, and genuinely interested in what you’re working on, the challenges you’re facing, or hearing about the cool things your teams have done. (And did we mention that the people at Nimbly are nice? Like, really nice!) Go on and get in touch, tell ‘em we sent you, and give Evan a virtual high-five for us.
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: DIETS, DIETS & DIETS ::
Are diets good? NOPE. We know that. Lots of research shows that diets are bad for your body and mind, and are only as effective as yo-yoing when it comes to weight loss, which, if we’re being body positive, shouldn’t be your goal anyway.
Although morbid obesity is definitely bad for your health, fat shaming definitely doesn’t help. Also, isn’t morbid such a strange word in that context? You can have a ‘morbid fascination with death’ and also a “morbid waistline.” How does that work? Are you abnormally interested in your obesity? What’s that? Language is inherently ambiguous, and the medical term means indicative of disease? Fine. Whatever.
So, diets are bad, but *your diet*, in its noun form, is incredibly important. We’re learning more about the importance of gut health now — but people have been fond of saying “food is medicine,” since Hippocrates (apparently) came up with it. We’re sure food is a very good prophylactic ‘medicine’ …but probably less good for quickly clearing up a bout of malaria, let’s say.
In this case, etymology helps [when doesn’t it, asks Faris]. Diet comes via Latin from Greek diaita ‘a way of life’ [or also a day’s wages]. Short term diets are bad, but building healthy habits is good.
So why are we doing Whole 30? Because rules make games fun. We could just ‘drink less and exercise more and eat better,’ but that’s significantly harder. We often assume when we make decisions like that, we will then constantly monitor our own behavior: adjusting against our own normative states… but then when did you ever intend to eat and drink too much?
This is our first real go at this, because we had an appropriate times slot and location and partners. And it’s been fascinating to observe the cultural echoes of January. For the first three weeks of the year every yoga class and gym is full, every ad is for Weight Watchers, invitations out to drinks are few and far between. Supermarkets re-arrange things to make it easier for you to be healthy. (Why don’t they always do that? We suspect if supermarkets could get rid of fresh food, many of them would since it’s a massive pain in the logistics. Ask Dollar General.) “Diet” to marketers means taking out calories or selling new products like frozen cauliflower rice or reminding you how you’re not enough. But you know you ARE enough, right? (Repeat after us, “I am enough.” In your head, or aloud.) Because you totally are. You’re more than enough.)
Anyway, we are now halfway through. We feel pretty good at this point, which, considering today is supposed to be Blue Monday, is pretty good. Apparently the last week is full on tiger blood. We’ll let you know. In the meantime, stay positive, you’ve got this.
Update: Rosie’s cousin, Dorsey, who is a doctor clued us in to let us know that morbid obesity within the medical world is being changed to ‘severe obesity’ - which, as she pointed out (and we agree) is more accurate and less about shaming. Thanks, Dorsey!
:: AND NOW… SHOPPING IS HARD, MAKE IT EASIER ::
Supermarket shopping is hard, especially when eating healthy, there are too many choices asnd 70% of packaged products have added sugar. Decision assistance helps people at shelf. People search for products for specific things, contexts, needs, solutions…or don’t want to have to look through all the brands and variants for every thing they buy. Especially if they aren’t super interested in that category, when the clearer the packaging or signal can be is key. Thus this shampoo:
PS. The word ‘shampoo’ is derived from the Hindi chāmpo (चाँपो [tʃãːpoː]), itself derived from the Sanskrit root chapati (चपति), which means to press, knead, soothe, and is thus also the modern name of a staple flat bread in India.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Getting to meet like-minded folks is one of the best parts of living nomadically, so please let us know if you see if we'll be in a city near you :)
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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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 :)
SPEAKING
We're currently booking speaking gigs for the year.
Check out full descriptions and key learnings from our talks on here:
http://bit.ly/TalkDescriptions2019