/// 100 QUESTIONS /// to gain clarity via Alex Morris: Why are we doing this?  Ask that of yourself and the team with regularity. What’s the simplest  explanation?  What reaction should all the creative achieve?  What’s your most controversial opinion?  What little frictions exist that might bleed out the work if allowed to compound? Are you solving a symptom or a cause? What’s the most ad hoc way you might solve this? What does your gut say? Who told you this was the right problem to solve? Everyone has access to the same consumers.  What does the brand have access to that nobody else does? “when was the last time you were wrong?”  Ask this of yourself. Ask it of others.  Where has there been compromise? What are the consequences? “does your agency make money from the process or the output?” Do you have a point of view? If not, don’t start the slides.  What’s the weirdest thing you noticed today? What’s the stupidest question you don’t know the answer to? Ask it.  How are you limited by the tools at your disposal?  How are the tools dictating the process?  Are you being ruthlessly clear on what needs to be done? Did you write it ugly before you wrote it nice?  What is the most enlightening thing you could do that might land you in jail?  Have you talked about it with anyone outside the industry? What mood are they in when they buy?  Post review, ignore what they said – Why did they say it? Of the 2,000 ads we see a day, 11% are actually remembered. 4% are remembered favorably. Will this route survive those odds? What table are we playing at? Did we choose it? When was the last time you casually browsed the things you have saved for future reference? Is your research questioning the established authority? how might this look from someone else’s perspective? Who do you care for? Who cares for you? If we do everything right, what changes? What are the arteries of the idea?  What allows the problem to occur? Brand share or market growth? Current or new users? Brand or product start point? How much sleep do you get? When was the last time you were treated like the expert in the room? What was it you were the expert on? What would have 
to be true? “If _____ were true, we could… Whats the most relevant thing that is 100% offline? What would genuinely shock the audience? Are you having fun? How often do you find yourself surprised? What’s the second most absurd thing you could do? Who is the highest profile expert on the subject? Write them for a quote. You never know.  What would cause the most chaos? Are you getting the time you need? Demand it.  How does telling people what you do for work make you feel? What would happen if you went AWOL for a day? What is currently bringing you hope? In your free time, do you do activities or passivities?  What changes if you write it as a letter? What are your hobbies? What is your vision for the future What choices are yours alone? Imagine you’re an investigative journalist. How would you do your research?  What is the role of advertising? What are the wild cards? Which senior person do you plan to disappoint by not including because they're not good at this? What did you decide to leave behind?  Where’s the controversy?  Would a 12 year old understand it? What concerns you? [in meetings] what do you do? Why are you here? Like right now? What was the last thing you learned about yourself? Who are we not selling to? What are the relevant words / phrases? Gather them and translate to a variety of languages and then translate back to english.  When was the last time you and your CD had a heart to heart?  What will people walk out of the briefing having learned?  What has most surprised you? Have you gone for a walk today? What’s holding you back? What lesson do you refuse to learn? What are the bigger social implications? How could this do less harm? What has been the most persistent thought? When was the last time you experienced something for the first time? What can you do that would challenge social media behavior rather than adhere to it? How do you steal time back from your job?  What are you holding onto because you like it, but does not actually add value? What are you a student of? What are you rebelling against? What is your drug of choice? What’s the bare minimum?  What do you need? So what? What do you mean by that? How could you make this more playful? What will you do to make it uniquely yours? What question haven’t you asked?  What path haven’t you considered? What can you do today that you couldn't do a year ago? What are you certain of? What are you only pretending to be interested in? What impact are you having?  What are you taking seriously? Stop it.  What would be the most deviant thing to do? When do you lose track of time? Are there people on your team who would back you up, even at their own expense? When are you at your best?  Who are you without your job? Now what?