Opinion / E D I T O R ’ S L E T T E R
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INSPIR ATION VERSUS P ERSPIR ATION Big ideas need space to breathe, and fresh perspectives
do love a lightly mangled quote. Politicians to painters alike love to throw out the occasional homily, and “80% preparation, 20% perspiration” is one of the more popular examples. That “80%” is a bit of Pareto’s law gone wrong, with Thomas Edison’s “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” thrown in. But both refer to the idealised process of getting stuck in to get a project moving. The 80-20 rule presumes that you have to put in the hard yards before you get going. Edison’s one-to-99 version gives the impression that a big idea is just a grain of sand, and that it takes a whole lot more toil to turn it into a pearl. These are indeed both true. But both also imply that the value is in the slog, and that the big idea just … happens. We all know there is more to it than that. For example, what about just thinking? Neither inspiration nor perspiration, but an essential part of each new idea. Take when genius hits from out of the blue: KFC’s ‘FCK’ ad when it ran out of chicken or Oreo’s ‘You can still dunk in the dark’ tweet, sent during a power outage in the 2013 Super Bowl. We agonise over how to find something similar. In this issue, we look at a number of ways that marketers can start doing things
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differently, taking the path less trodden and putting themselves in a place where inspiration and opportunity are more likely to strike. Take Twitter’s EMEA vice-president, Bruce Daisley, for example, interviewed on page 22. He argues that we aren’t giving big ideas the space to breathe. We are squashing even that tiny one per cent of inspiration with unnecessary ‘busyness’. The more we schedule meetings and teleconferences, not only do we actually end up doing less productive work, but we are stifling any opportunity to simply think. By failing to find ourselves in moments he
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calls “daydreamy”, those magical ideas just will not come. But we are also not going to find groundbreaking ideas if we look for them in all the same places. In ‘Thinking Differently’ (p52), Direct Line Group’s marketing director, Mark Evans, champions neurodiversity. He says that we need to access insights from people on the autistic spectrum or with dyslexia, who are able to offer fresh perspectives. That means we have to rethink the way we hire, as current recruitment processes are incompatible with bringing these people to the fore. In this quarter’s ‘Big Conversation’ (p26), a panel of experts explores the power of the ‘nudge’ – how to find new ways of influencing customer behaviour in a way that benefits both brand and consumer. Interestingly, while we have been trying to smooth every possible hurdle in the consumer’s path to purchase, it turns out the odd barrier can be a very helpful thing. As always, this issue is packed with insight and opinion from a wide range of sectors, disciplines and geographies. CIM non-members looking to access locked content can join today for under £13 a month. Regular inspiration for a bargain price, plus techniques to help you have your own ‘daydreamy’ moment. Morag Cuddeford-Jones is editor of Catalyst
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