avin narasimhan

Once in a while something comes along that really moves you, not necessarily because it is entirely new but sometimes because it is a reminder of something very old- and something very true. The Charter for Compassion is one such piece of inspiration. The origins of the charter started last year during an impassioned acceptance speech for the TED Prize: "On February 28, 2008 Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize and made a wish: for help creating, launching and propagating a Charter for Compassion. Since that day, thousands of people have contributed to the process so that on November 12, 2009 the Charter was unveiled to the world."

The result of the collective efforts from some great thinkers and icons in our global culture is captured in this 2 minute video of the Charter:

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I wanted to walk in on my first day back in the office after Planning-ness and start implementing some of the things we spent the weekend talking about.

So how do we best do this? How do we balance the insanity of the daily needs of our industry while still trying to implement new tools, new processes, new ideals, new ideas, and new thinking? By no means easy, but necessary. And as I started thinking about it more, I wonder if the best way isn't to bring (force) clients into the early process as well.

Not easy, and sometimes not pleasant. But after all, no one benefits if we spend 3 weeks coming up with an evolved model for brand frameworks or a new way of thinking about the archaic 'purchase funnel' only to have clients shoot it down in a 1 hour meeting. Why not put some of the accountability and responsibility back on them? We're partners, right? I know it's naive to think every client will come along for the ride with us, but let's imagine that this is the moment we try to convince them.

Here are a few ways I think that we could do that:

Invite smart clients into the discovery phase- early.
Perhaps this is blasphemy for some. Inviting clients into the creative process? But at Planning-ness I got to participate in a fantastic session put on by the smart folks at (aptly named) SmartDesign, during which they talked to us about the fact that every research project and every discovery phase incorporates every party involved- including client, strategist, designer, etc. Bringing everyone in, and letting everyone feel some sense of ownership over the process, in my opinion, could make our whole industry process feel more collaborative, more informal, and in general just help it to work better.

Create the new brand framework (which doesn't need to be just one model) with your clients, arm in arm.
I know agency folks get incredibly protective and territorial (even internally) when it comes to our precious creations, but it feels like it may be time to rid ourselves of that nonsense. We don't create priceless pieces of art-- we are trying to build our clients' business. Whether that's through sparking talk value or direct calls to action, the end is the same. If we don't move the business needle, we failed ourselves, and we failed our clients. So it only makes sense we're all in agreement on and working towards the same goal. If we can build the new brand model together, it can only make for a better and more collaborative relationship and experience.

Find the one client representative who will champion the idea of failing hard- then learning.
I've been blessed enough to work with a few individual clients (individuals, not just the brand itself) who were willing to come along with me on collective ideas and sell through things we both knew could fail despite best intentions. But through all of our work together, and desire to succeed, they put themselves out there on behalf of us and helped sell things through, and in the end we were able to make inroads into the client org that would've otherwise been impossible.

Have the hard conversations early, and often.
It's not exactly easy to tell your $100 million dollar client that many of the things they've been doing (much of which your agency may have been telling them to do, or is currently telling them to do) is broken, but it's necessary for change. We talk often about wanting to be business partners to our clients, and not just viewed as vendors who make ads. But if that is to be the case, then I think we need to truly act as business partners, which to me means making difficult decisions, having uncomfortable conversations, and taking tough actions. To me the earlier the hard conversations happen, the earlier we can weed out the clients who are not ready to work with us (or who we're not ready to work with).

Stop trying to sell ideas that only work on old theories of needing massive $$$ to work
Fallon (my alma mater) built itself on the idea of 'outsmart vs outspend'. And that was in the day when TV and print were the two biggest and really only options. So it is shocking to me that years later, when we have so many more options with which to provide value to people beyond spending a ton of money shouting more and more loudly, many agenices are still choosing to do the latter. Let's actually try living the idea of doing lots of little things that build up to a bigger point of view. Let's finally stop with the BS.

I have no delusions about things changing overnight, or even next month, or even in the next 6 months. But I think we can all agree, planners or not, that things are not working in anyone's definition as of this moment. What I do hope is that next year at this time, whether we're all gathered again at Planning-ness or at that other planning conference, that we can all point to clear pieces of evidence that show what we did on that weekend in October 2009 planted the seeds of change for an industry.

I hope that we all can look back at the year behind us and feel like we, at least in some way, were successful at making some new things happen.

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For those who weren't able to attend Planning-ness in San Francisco last weekend, Adrian has posted a great recap (complete with decks and videos of our presentations) from the session he and Rob organized around creating planning's new tools (from the brief, to research, to awards). After Adrian and Rob tee'd things up, they broke us out into small groups to come up with one new tool. Lots of smart thinking, smart people, and overall one of the most energetic and exciting sessions of the conference.

Our group took on the task of taking the idea behind the conference-- do vs talk-- and applying it to the way we do research. Our thought was to create a tool or system that makes research a more active, fluid, and dynamic process, rather than the slow moving dinosaur that it is now (weeks to write questionnaires and surveys, weeks to approve, weeks to field, weeks to report, $100's of thousands of dollars, for the same blah powerpoint decks). From conversation and sentiment tracking tools many of us are using for free online, to quantitative research, to qualitative-- finding a way to take it all and create one simple dynamic, fluid, fast system that addresses the many research needs we often have could lead to a very different way of working. Perhaps most importantly, we felt that this would have major impact on how and when we brief-- which lead to the idea of micro briefs, an ongoing, constantly changing and truly collaborative creative process.

We were up against the clock and had just a few minutes to slap some slides together to guide the argument, but here's where we got to:

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On my way back (and writing this thanks to @virginamerica wifi) from a great two days in always fantastic San Francisco for Planningness, organized and hosted by the amazingly gracious Mark Lewis. After the annual 4As conference was canceled, Mark did an amazing job pulling together a great group of speakers (Gareth, Adrian, Rob, Jason, Organizing For America, among many great others) and it resulted in a very successful two days. I think sometimes (or most times) conferences leave you with a feeling of 'yeah that's nice, I agree, guess I'll go home now' but without a clear sense of what you need to do next. Not this one.

Some things I took away from it.

We've spent the last couple years talking about the need for significant changes not just in planning but in agencies themselves, and I think by and large, this change has yet to happen. Probably the most revealing moment was during Rob + Adrian's session, when they asked everyone in attendance to start listing off tools that planners use that need to be changed. Everything from the broken creative brief, to research, to metrics we use to gauge effectiveness, brand models and positioning statements. In 5 minutes Rob filled up a white board of more than 40 things that we all collectively agree are broken. But, day to day, we all still use these same tools (or more accurately are forced into using them because we don't have clear alternatives), to our own disservice. Unlike most other conferences I have been to, I left Planningness with a clear sense of the things we all need to work on when we go back to our respective agencies. And I have to say, it left me feeling truly excited that we can change things if we all dedicate ourselves to the work that needs to be done.

Despite the recognition of the many problems our industry suffers from, however, another thing I really felt was an overwhelming sense of positive energy and optimism about where things are going, or more importantly how planners can help influence and guide where things are going. Despite much industry critics and armchair QBs bitching and moaning about the state of the industry when they don't actually do anything to change it themselves, everyone at the conference- speakers and participants alike- was fully on a positive tip, and determined to turn things around for an industry that has been locked in old ways of doing things for far too long. For everyone there- from the seasoned vets to those just getting into the business- it was a much needed dose of inspiration and energy, after a very long and brutal spring and summer. This alone made the trip extremely well worth it, and I know I'm not alone when I say I walked away re-energized in many ways.

Some of that positivity in action, during a session on designing a great game:

One of the other things I took away was a bit more personal- a realization that I've started to move into the space of 'mentor' (really?). It's a high compliment yet also a bit new to me given my own young career, but a challenge I'm extremely happy to take on. I've felt for some time that further success career wise will not only depend on my being able to further my skills as a planner, but also to further develop my skills and abilities as a manager as well. And in talking to the many ad school students who were able to attend the conference, listening to their situations and needs as they look to embark on their own careers, I felt fortunate to be able to give advice that they felt helped them and gave them some guidance. If I can do for any of them what the many great people I've been fortunate enough to work with have done for me (Aki, Murray, Gareth, Murph in particular), that would make me feel more proud and more successful than anything else I could do for myself. Not too long ago I was in the position of trying to wedge my way into this industry, and I will never forget how hard that can be. If I can give back, I'd like to in as many ways as possible.

Lastly, the urgency of shifting planning from a group of thinkers to a group of thinker + doers has never been more clear than it is now. I think we have an opportunity to guide the industry forward, help both clients and others at our agencies understand where things are going and how we need to adapt to be successful, and lead the charge towards a better future. I sat in rooms over the past two days with some of the smartest people I've worked with, all energetic and passionate, and ready to get our collective hands dirty and do stuff rather than just talk about it.

And, as I've said a few times already, it was amazingly inspiring. As Rob and Adrian said in some of their closing thoughts, I hope that we look back at this conference as a pivotal moment for planners, and a point where we all feel like we finally started to implement the changes we've been talking about over the past few months and years.

Thanks again to Mark and everyone who played a part in bringing Planningness together. Thanks to everyone who attended and made it the great event that it was. I hope that we get a chance to do it again soon, and rather than attend another conference where we all just get talked at for 4 days, we all choose to continue to attend the conference where we actually get to do stuff, and change the way our industry works.

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