The fact is, Substack is already too valuable an ecosystem for brands to play no part in whatsoever. It’s where the real conversations are happening.
One of the mandates of Hill’s Nike tenure is for the brand to do more showing than telling about why it is still the best in the business.
Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
“Minimalism is dead,” declared the City University of New York’s creative director, Alberto Maristany, who chose a custom serif font for the college’s latest recruitment ad campaign. “People want to see your character. People value expression.”
The goal might not be to find a way to only get positive applause, because your project may very well benefit from thoughtful feedback.
Doing good is its own reward. When you do good, people will question your motive, and any good you accomplish will soon be forgotten. Do good anyway.
When everyone agrees something would “never” work, that’s precisely when it will. Consensus kills innovation.
You must only do what matters, but you don’t know what matters, so do everything.
“Look for horses when you hear hoofbeats, not for zebras.”
Or ….
Dr. Seuss, “There’s no limit to how much you’ll know, depending on how far beyond zebra you go.”
Having a clear vision is critical, but the difference between success and failure is usually in getting a thousand unsexy details right.
It’s tempting to see problems as strategy problems when they’re really execution problems.