Issue 36: A bulletin for big ideas and better business.

Autumn breeze 🍂

Fresh air and fresh ideas. We look ahead to Paris Fashion Week, take in the Turner Prize, and tune in for some creative diplomacy in New York. Plus: why Nike is about to get a brand boost. But first, Sir John Hegarty has three ways you can fight the interrupters.

OPINION/ CREATIVITY 

Pitch, please: repelling stupidity in meetings

💬 Sir John Hegarty

Creative entrepreneurs know the feeling. You’re assembled with a group of decision-makers in a boardroom. They could be potential clients, investors, or members of your own management. But whoever they are, the onus is on you to deliver a pitch that lands them on your side of the argument – and secure their buy in. It seems to be going well. Your address is gathering momentum. There’s eye-contact, affirmative mumblings and – yes – even a bit of nodding going on. Then, as you are about to make your thematic crescendo, an idiotic (and uninvited) question ruins your rhythm.

It doesn’t matter what the question is, the purpose of it is always the same. The person the query originates from has taken an aversion to your plan – or more likely, to you. They mean to unseat your idea with a canny observation, which they’ve – cleverly, they think – posed as a question. I faced this scenario so frequently in the course of my advertising career, that I developed a quick method of repelling such incursions. It has three steps. And it’s easy to remember because each step is more or less the same.

The person the query originates from has taken an aversion to your plan – or more likely, to you.

Step one: ask your assailant to repeat their objection.

Step two: say – politely – that you still don’t quite understand their point. Could they have another go?

Step three: apologise and explain that you really don’t know what they mean. Might they try a final time?

The effect of this is as follows: Each time your adversary repeats their grievance, they will shorten its phrasing. Most foolish statements at work are hidden within jargon and excess words. Strip these out, and you’re left with condensed idiocy. When this happens, it’s impossible for anyone around the table to concur with them. At this juncture they usually realise how daft they’ve been in the first place. Then they agree with your initial idea.

THE AGENDA

✏️ Pencil it in: your agenda for the coming week

1.
Paris Fashion Week arrives in the French capital. With such a high churn rate for creative directors, there’s usually a debut or two. For this instalment all eyes will be on Alessandro Michele’s (formerly of Gucci) first collection for Valentino.
25th September – 1st October

2.
The Turner Prize exhibition opens at the Tate Britain in London. It’s the 40th anniversary of the competition. A panel of judges will select the winner in December.
25th September – 16 February (2025)

3.
Anticipation for the fourth edition of the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial (TAB) is building. Its oxymoronic title ‘Correct Mistakes’ is intended to focus in on the relationship between people and natural resources.
28th September – 19th October

4.
Brand Licensing Europe comes to ExCel in London. It’s a bonanza for anyone in the business of intellectual property. And a reminder of the importance of brands in the public psyche.
24th – 26th September

5.
If you only attend one boat event, let it be the Monaco Yacht Show. Innovation and sustainability are emerging as key themes in the industry – in addition to extreme opulence.
25th – 28th September

Enjoying The Business of Creativity?

Click here to share.

Subscribe

GLOBAL / DIPLOMACY

Globalist outlook: Joe Biden
Contributor: Enrique Shore / Alamy Stock Photo

UN-believable challenges

World leaders will take the lectern in New York today at the General Assembly of the United Nations. The UN secretary general António Guterres will open proceedings, followed by a tranche of other global figures, including leaders from Brazil (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) Argentina (Javier Milei) and the US (Joe Biden, for the time being). The addresses follow on from representatives adopting a ‘Pact for the Future’ on Sunday, an accord to use diplomacy and multilateralism to fight new challenges – like climate change and artificial intelligence – as well as old ones – like poverty and conflicts. After some quibbling from the Russian contingent, the motion – and its 56 actions – were passed, according to Associated Press. Will its principles translate to the real world? No-one can say. But when facing a near-impossible task, a solid brief is a good start.

APE On…

Our latest course, a.p.e. – Advertising Principles Explained, began yesterday. But we don’t penalise late-comers. There’s still time to book your place. Come and join the next creative revolution.

BEAVERTON / BUSINESS

Nike’s brand reset

Nike is accustomed to being the frontrunner when it comes to brand-building. But its appointment of CEO John Donahoe in 2020 marked a departure from its commitment to elements like sports culture, music and the retail experience. In the last four years, the company pursued cost-saving exercises while side-lining the creativity that elevated it to the pinnacle of its category in the first place. This caused the business to suffer, and in June its share price dropped to its lowest level ever as a publicly traded company. Last week, the sportswear giant announced the appointment of a new boss, Elliot Hill, a lifer who started out as an intern at the company in 1988. Fans will be hoping for a return to the creatively led Nike of old. It is expected to announce its first quarter 2025 earnings soon. Don’t expect a sudden recovery – managing a brand is more of a marathon than it is a sprint.

ACCRA / CULTURE

Burden of knowledge: Will Smith in Enemy of the State (1998).
Contributor: Maximum Film / Alamy Stock Photo

If you know, you know

Societies fare best when those in power have few secrets. Rules that decree the public have a right to the information that matters are a universally good thing. Unesco marks the International Day for Universal Access to Information this Saturday (yes, we think it needs a catchier name too) with an event called Mainstreaming Access to Information and Participation in the Public Sector (again, could do better) which will be held in the Ghanaian capital at the start of October. Freedom to know how you are being governed is vital, and businesses that practice transparency with employees garner more trust from them. Beyond this, it reminds us of a greater story to do with creativity – that truth underpins everything.

Grammar is a piano I play by ear. All I know about grammar is its power.

/Joan Didion