James Bond and Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid Love) are two very similar characters. Similar in the sense that they both represent (nearly) every man’s dream. They are so charming they could have any woman they want. They are both devilishly handsome They have great fashion sense and clearly wear very expensive suits. … Continue reading James Bond v Jacob Palmer →

“That sentence is too casual. It’s not emotional enough” Now you have a direction. Be less casual and be more emotive. You don’t have that with a blank page. You can’t critique a blank page. As long as the page is blank you can’t go anywhere. As soon as it’s on the page, you can … Continue reading That pesky blank page →

I heard a story once of the English Rugby team going on a bonding session to an army base. Within this army base the staff set the rugby players challenges and targets to aim for. Nice and simple. Then midway through the activity, just when the rugby team was making some progress the army officials … Continue reading Moving goalposts →

When it comes to creative everyone will have a different opinion. What Terry likes is not necessarily what Amy likes. So if you’re looking to work productively the key question is... Who’s approval do we need to get this finished? Because that person’s opinion is the only one that really matters. It would be a … Continue reading Who’s approval →

Today I would like to talk about problem solving, specifically the benefits of two qualities. Persistence and other humans. Shying away from a problem because it requires a lot of effort never solves it. All you need is progress, slowly but surely applying more pressure until you crack that nut. With each night's sleep you … Continue reading Persistence & Others knowledge →

You've come to an impasse. They're asking for more commitment then you are prepared to give. Do you have the courage to take a stand? I say courage because taking a stand is uncomfortable, it runs the risk of confrontation, of offending and upsetting the status quo. So yeah, will you be brave? Will you … Continue reading Commitment Impasse →

Mind reading would make working with others so much easier. Especially for creative work, because that requires expressing taste.   Two people could walk away from a meeting thinking that they're on the same page and it could take weeks before they find out they're not. The biggest time consumer is in discussing opinions and … Continue reading Creative mind reading →

Joeb hasn’t done it yet. He has been riddled with a problem. A problem that has caused him quite a bit of stress. He identified a very good solution that may well solve his problem. And yet he hasn’t done it. The problem still exists and causes Joeb daily stress but he hasn’t done anything … Continue reading Joeb hasn’t done it yet →

“How the hell am I going to justify this to my boss?” “What excuse can I give for not doing the homework?” “Oh god, what am I going to tell mum?” Nobody likes getting in trouble, whatever stage of life they’re at. But I think the odd one out is the work situation. If you … Continue reading Stress rolls down →

When you're in a rush and the only thing occupying your head is your own problem it's very easy to let empathy go out the window. The man who delays your flight because he's violently ill isn't doing it to spite you. The security officer taking extra caution inspecting each bag isn't out to get … Continue reading Rushes squash empathy →