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Tuesday

May042010

This week is your life

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 02:46PM

I've been thinking a lot about impermanance lately, and noticed something funny about the way most people (myself included) approach the week:

MONDAY The week is young. At first, we're reluctant to begin... the weekend in bed was so comfortable. Now we're thrust out into this harsh world and forced to work. But by the end of the day, we're getting into the work mindset.

TUESDAY We're getting our bearings on the week. We know what's ahead and we're preparing for it. We're getting caught up and doing meaningful work.

WEDNESDAY The halfway point. We've made it to the middle and we are in the groove. The week is unlikely to surprise us now. We feel productive. We feel a sense of mastery over the week.

THURSDAY The big push. We're going to get things done today so that tomorrow can be a softer transition into the weekend. We're checking in with our co-workers and employees. We're surveying. This has been a good week.

FRIDAY The end is in sight. We open the windows and let the breeze in. We take a long lunch. In the afternoon, we stop a little early and converse with our friends at work. We laugh. We take stock of the week behind and are worry-free about the week ahead, because we have a nice long weekend ahead of us.

SATURDAY Oh the freedom. We wake up late. We recuperate. We wander and explore. We watch movies and read magazines and ride bikes. We delight in our well-earned respite.

SUNDAY The end is near. We try to squeeze the hours out of the day. We savor them. As night approaches... the dread of the week ahead. How did the weekend go so fast?

What occured to me is that each week is like a little microcosm of your life. Reread the summary week above but imagine that each day is a decade of your life and that Sunday night is your last. Pretty spot on, right?

Which makes me think... perhaps each week is a "practice life" – a sort of rehearsal of the life stages we're all going to go through. How would you change the way you approach your week knowing that it's an analogous to your life story?

Doesn’t strategy drive you crazy?

Monday, May 3, 2010 at 09:25PM

I recently found myself at a group dinner that included several great minds on the subject of digital culture. Among them, I had a chance to catch up with Ben Palmer, a buddy of mine that is the mad scientist behind The Barbarian Group. Amidst our usual pleasantries, he asked me a pretty pointed question that went something like this (paraphrasing):

“You guys just do pure strategy, so it must drive you crazy that you think about stuff up in the clouds all day and then nothing gets done? Or if it does get done, it’s executed poorly?”

It’s a damn good question, and certainly not one that we’re foreign to hearing. But upon reflection I thought it deserved a more careful answer than what I was able to spit out at a dinner party, so here goes…

First off, I think there are people who are very hands-on, and people who are very minds-on. Hands-on people need to create, it’s not enough for them to imagine. Minds-on people need to explore/learn and are happy to go off to wonderland purely for the joy of using their noggin. The world needs both (think Einstein vs. Doc Brown), and sometimes, you’ll meet someone that can wear both hats. Those people are way fun and I count Ben among them.

But that got me thinking… Undercurrent is clearly a minds-on culture of consulting, and much of what we do, even when it is concrete (such as a digital measurement model, or a recommendation around a departmental re-org) is still pretty theoretical, unless (and even when) it’s actually set into motion. In that way our clients often have to change internally to put these things into practice.

And that’s the fundamental reason that I believe our people are not frustrated beyond belief to work in and around digital strategy all day, every day. Because while many interactive agencies (and agencies in general) are in business to make STUFF for their clients, I think we are in business to make CHANGE at our clients.

It’s really hard to spot it, especially if you’ve only been consulting with a brand for a few months, but the relentless presentation of sound strategy, good ideas that focus on every aspect of their business, and a digital worldview that offers them a chance to look at the world differently, can change a brand and its brand team forever.

So hey, if they don’t build our idea of the moment, that’s okay. I’m just hoping they buy our point of view for the decade ahead. You know?

Aaron Dignan |

Welcome to my new home

Monday, May 3, 2010 at 08:37PM

As part of my effort to get my house in order for my forthcoming book, I've upgraded aarondignan.com to something a little more robust. To properly break in the new site, I've reposted a couple of my favorite short entries from the past below. Enjoy.

Resistance

Had a fascinating dinner last night with a wide range of artists and scholars at the home of RedScout founder Jonah Disend. My biggest takeaway from the evening was everyone’s consensus that the key ingredient in creative success is resistance - resistance to the status quo, the beliefs of others, even one’s own limitations. It made me think, where am I most resistant? And where am I too quick to go along with the ways things “should” be done?

Imitation vs. Innovation

Been thinking of a new (to me) way of categorizing inventions lately. Basically, does the invention seek to recreate a natural phenomena in an unnatural place/condition, or is it a truly novel idea? Imitation examples: A/C = cold air, light bulb = sunlight, airplane = bird/flight, computer = brain, DVR = memory, perfume = floral frangrance. Innovation examples: the automobile. Others? You tell me.

Aaron Dignan |

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