An Artist Specializing in Content Creation, Digital Campaigns, Photography, Business Development & Operational Management.
Good Morning / Good Mourning
Worship / Warship
Patient / Pay cent
Board Meeting / Bored Meeting
Listen / List In
Prophets / Profits
Intelligent / In Tell A Gent
Wheat / We Eat
Cousins / Cause Sins
Costume / Cost Tomb
Religious / Real Id Just
Entities / And Tities
Groceries / Grow Series
Good Night / Good Knight
Focus / Foe Cuss
Routine / Root Teen
Protein / Pro Teen
Kash’s philosophy about “remaining stupid” is meaningful in a world where everyone calls themselves experts. He says “If you go into a situation knowing the answers. There's a very good chance - like a 100% chance, that you won't come up with a new solution.”
It’s important to grow and to continue being curious in your field of business. That’s how I established a relationship with Kash in the first place. My curiosity for connecting with creatives in the advertising field lead me to develop a strong relationship with him. It’s amazing how interconnected we are through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and email.
By connecting with others, the paradigms shift in your world. You begin to open up a whole new potential of possibilities. Never in a hundred years could I imagine myself & a Creative Director speeding down a Connecticut highway in a Nissan Skyline GTR. It was like a movie while Kash spoke to me about the importance of creative thinking, and the work that’s revolved around it.
Hidden agendas are something that most people don’t usually talk about but Kash says “It’s important to think about. Look at Twitter or editorials. Digital agencies saying TV is dead. Look who gains from that… That's right digital agencies.”
Big Agencies talking about global perspectives. Who gains from that? Big agencies.
He continued saying people say big agencies can’t keep up with marketing trends but you can bet someone from a small agency said that. Everyone is trying to one-up each other in the most “helpful” way possible.
Then I wonder how could agencies create better work & get noticed. Kash emphasized that “They need to be brave again and take risks. They need to understand what ideas are. They need to know that technology is not an idea and it doesn’t build brands.” He couldn’t be more right about this. Crispin would give their clients ideas after ideas and they would be new little breakthroughs in technology. This is not how to build a long-term sustainable platform for brands. It’s a tiny new way to do things but doesn’t help brands BUILD MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PUBLIC.
Creatives have to produce this sustainable voice that allows a story to be told.
Some digital agencies are better at broaching this than others and it’s usually one’s where they have strong design leads. People like Rei Inamoto and Nick Law are the people who are doing better at this.
Senior creatives deal with constant struggle to stay fresh and current everyday for their clients. So I asked Kash what guidance could you give them? He replied “Many people believe they have the answers already. But if they remain stupid they will come up with something new.” He explained that creatives who come in to present ideas and get shut down because it can’t be done is absolutely stupid. They have to believe in themselves and push the limits. They don’t know it can’t be done and that’s the thing. Remain stupid and keep that childlike playful mind in heart. Don’t become realized because that’s when you become old. He says “Stay stupid and that stops your brain from becoming old.” Because you’re always learning when you’re stupid. You don’t know.
Junior creatives deal with different struggles. Kash suggests that “These days they lack the real experience of creating. And touching things. They lack art. They’ve become curators and instead of creators.” He stated that drawing on paper and writing notes with your hand changes the way the brain works. “I miss the days of people getting their hands dirty and trying to make shit.”
Now there’s only so much you can tell a creative on their journey of becoming creative. So I wanted to know what creatives need to hear today in order to become better at their jobs. Kash stressed the fact that you need to “Get away from your fucking computers.” Go out and experience life with actual people and things. It’s vital to do this as you learn to talk to people and tell something touching, and be touched.
He then started discussing a writer’s workshop he did with Chuck Palahniuk. He said they were writing short stories, and some girl was writing a piece about drinking vinegar to take marijuana out of your blood system. Chuck asked her if she had actually drunk vinegar before she wrote her piece. She said “No.” and he added “It shows.”
Kash then blurted out on the phone “So DO IT! Go out there and do real things and it changes how you see the world and it changes the way you tell stories because you’re not impersonating - you’re talking from experience.”
As my time with Kash was coming to an end, I asked one last question during our phone interview. What advice would you give yourself or your closest friend in the creative field? He said “Just remember there’s a lot of money in the business and it’s important to not lose your soul. Because people will do things that they wouldn’t have done as children. They will stitch other people up, they will lie, and they will cheat.” He continues “Because there’s power involved. Don’t get into that, you still have a soul.” And added “There’s karma as well, it will come back. Be a part of what makes the industry better, not worse.”
I try to remember that we are apes talking to other apes. It transforms and reframes the moment for me. Imagine how difficult it is to fully crystallize a thought and express it to another ape. The nuances of your posture, tone of your voice, and the choice of your words (or design) gets interpreted by someone’s own inner belief system. The person you express and vocalize your words to may not even comprehend your message (FAIL).
A solution that works well is to ask a person whether or not they understand what you're saying to them. You could also get them to repeat back what you said. It’s really in your best interest to get your message across without any doubt or uncertainty.
Your business needs to work the same way. The messages you deliver to your audiences or co-workers have to touch them in a way they understand. That’s why targeting your message is such a key factor in marketing these days. You have to resonate with your peers. Astound and blow their minds with attention hungry words that cause them to consider you for even a minute or longer than it takes to munch a banana.
In the early hours of dawn there’ll be bakers clocking in for work at a Tim Hortons. They’ll arrive focused and with a sense of determination for their morning bake. They know on average they serve about 300 guests per hour in the morning rush.
I’ve done this multiple times at the Head office of Tim Hortons in Oakville and my own family store in Toronto. It’s an experience that pleasures my soul for being able to prepare and subsequently serve people their morning croissant or breakfast sandwich.
As I’ve not only baked but managed bakers I’ve known one constant characteristic in them. Their ability to consistently thrive and deal with pressure in an environment of donut frenzy breakfast hungry chaos. They are usually a one man team and if they slip the business sales for the day slip with them.
Consequently predicting the volume of guests that arrive in the store comes through intuitive experience. You understand that Mondays are less busier than Thursdays or Fridays. Simply using your intuition like this is what makes the difference between a great baker and an average one. It’s this ability to know what’s going to happen before it happens. That way you are prepared for the best and worst case scenarios.
Now, people in life generally hate having old things. That’s why freshness and quality are important. We don’t want something sitting around for a long time, it loses value. Baking in small batches instills freshness in products for guests. The truth is we want people to have a donut as soon as it gets out of the oven, that’s when a donut tastes the best. That’s when it melts in your mouth. That’s when you keep repeating in your head. “Damn, that’s a good donut.” Ask a baker at a Tim Hortons to bake you six fresh chocolate glazed donuts. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.
Things are fresh due to the principle of FIFO. First in and first out which pertains to using former products in the fridge before using newer ones. Organizing your fridge will always be a consistent theme in life. Priorities will follow suit. First things first.
After merchandising a hundred or so products, cleaning the kitchen and regularly checking in with their supervisor the day is done. During the last hours of the bakers shift a sense of accomplishment will overcome them. They will go home to their wife or family. Relax while playing with their kids or hit the gym to get a work out in. Then come back in the morning to do it all over again.
Ideas are metaphorically a magnet for businesses to attract people. Ideas are critical and constructive thoughts of action that propel a business forward. They have the capabilities of making millions and billions of dollars for you. They made McDonald’s happy meals for kids. An idea donated millions of dollars to ALS. They help you get around from point A to B on Google Maps. Ideas are the foundation of how to think creatively for business solutions.
There are so many business leaders and CEO’s that have not grasped what an idea can do for their business. Many of them are small business owners. They don’t have someone contemplating ways to improve their business. Who’s going to pay someone to do that? They’re still trying to make ends meet or find an accountant or IT junkie. They don’t understand the value of a critical and creative thinker for their business. There just isn’t enough in the budget to pay someone to sit around and think.
Sadly, Fortune 500 companies have always hired talented people to contemplate their business opportunities, solutions, and ideas. They even pay top dollar for it. Creative thinkers propel your business in directions you have not. That’s why companies spend so much and even allocate a budget specifically to advertisers. They take your business to another level.