Friends,
I hope all is well with you and yours.
Over the past seven days, my head has been void of much thought of relevance for this newsletter [obvious opportunity to insert heckle of personal preference here]. The reason is not particularly noteworthy; I have, for the first time in over two years and half years, been ill. Not with Covid, I am fortunate to report, but a bog standard, heavy duty, knock you on your ass, really, really, really bad cold.
It is only today – or yesterday, by the time you are receiving this – that I have really been able to do anything other than the very least possible. Consequently, the Cynefin series will be postponed for one week. I apologize.
Instead, I thought that I would share a few interviews, speeches, and podcasts of particular note that I have listened to while under the weather. Hopefully, you will find as much value in them as I did.
Starting out, we have ad industry legend and general bonhomie Rory Sutherland discussing the magic of original thinking. I admit that I may be seen as biased given that Rory is a friend, but I think one would be very hard pressed indeed to find someone who can make complex matters more easily understandable to audiences of all backgrounds. Not only is the talk both highly interesting and highly entertaining, it also contains a nugget of important information for operations in economic headwinds: psychological ‘hacks’ are often extremely cost effective to trial in small, parallel, safe-to-fail experiments.
Speaking of which, my second recommendation is my co-author Steve McCrone breaking down strategy in uncertainty and, among other things, precisely such experimentation. In this video, he provides a brilliant insight into what adaptive strategy truly is while demonstrating, beyond any reasonable doubt, who has the really big brains in our partnership (spoiler alert: it ain’t me). A must-watch for strategists, especially given that the repetition of a single bet, even if favorable, will inevitably lead to financial ruin over time (as explained by Nassim Nicholas Taleb here).
Next, we have a couple of shorts on a similar, important theme: emergence. Chris Fields provides an excellent introduction to the topic, explaining in simple-to-follow terms what it is. Stuart Kauffman then provides a world-altering insight into its practical manifestations (for those who want to go deeper still, I recommend this KLI lecture by Kauffman).
And lastly, just because I think it is on the nose and rather funny, Youtuber and voice over artist SungWon “ProZD” Cho provides a tone perfect illustration of the difference between the average and the niche, separated by the means of Reddit.
On the podcast front, I must, of course, take the opportunity to promote the Uncensored CMO episode from a couple of weeks ago featuring yours truly and James Hankins. If you missed our talk in Cannes, it sums it up rather well.
If you too happen to be obsessed with retail, the Remarkable Retail podcast with Michael LeBlanc and Steve Dennis is your one-stop-shop. Both are decades-long veterans of the trade and, well, one can tell.
For those looking for something a bit more casual, perhaps to zone out to during travel as vacations kick in, Tim Harford’s Cautionary Tales are, provided one takes them for what they are, sublime. Harford is a master storyteller, able to weave narratives that both entertain and educate. Just stay well clear of any episode involving Malcolm Gladwell.
Next week, business as usual will resume. Until then, have the loveliest of weekends.
Onwards and upwards,
JP
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