Process can be learned, but knowledge and experience need to be accumulated.

Okay, before all the process twonks start getting all revved up I’m in complete agreement with the David Ogilvy maxim that “if you can’t repeat what you’re doing you run the risk of treading the slippery slope of irrelevant brilliance”.

That said I’ve been somewhat stunned, since transitioning to corporate life in 2018, how many procurement executives think that process and consolidation are pretty much everything when creating a marketing ecosystem.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked to comment on ‘Project - Change The Universe’ with their amazing 100 page Powerpoint decks and 100 column spreadsheets. Only to discover that they lack any real-world experience and are based on industry facts that are at best generalist. Worse, the reasoning for giving the idea any oxygen in the first place is because everybody else is doing it.?

Whilst the BBH tag line ‘when everybody else zigs, then zag’ isn’t a panacea for improvement it certainly has its merits. I was fortunate enough to be part of the founding fathers for production de-coupling in the early 90’s, and whilst the initial thinking has become more mainstream that level of boldness and challenge seems to have deserted both client and supply side of the marketing industry.

So, what’s my point?

No, Steve Parish wasn’t an Accenture Vice President, he started life as a lithographic film planner and then educated himself on every aspect of the business over a sustained period. When given the chance he turned The Adplates Group (TAG) into the UK’s most successful production company.

As smart as Steve is there are an army of people like him out there and from all walks of marketing life, and who are still capable of delivering vital insight to help clients avoid the pitfalls when they are trying to ‘zag’.

Here’s the good news, most have no desire to climb the greasy pole of corporate life anymore and are genuinely happy to see colleagues progress in front of them. There’s a catch though, they’re considerably older than the workforce they want to help.

Right, I’m off to referee the Old Elthamians RFC U16’s versus Warlingham RFC U16’s, have a nice Sunday all.