Tag Archives: postaweek2011

August’s awesome tunes

As with every month, here are the delicious sounds I’m listening to this month.

If you want any of these song, simply copy the youtube link onto fullrip.net and you can then get the MP3 of it. FYI, some of these will include some swearing, so discretion is advised if you are a particularly sensitive soul.  

Enjoy!

  • Wugazi – Sleep Rules Everything Around Me (Fugazi & Wu-Tang Clan Mashup)


  • Cults - Go Outside


  • Bon Iver – I can’t make you love me


  • TV on the Radio – Province


  • Matisyahu – One Day


  • Manic Street Preachers – Let Robeson Sing


  • Friendly Fires – Hawaiian air

  • Counting Crows – Mr Jones


Now’s the time to get going

So the first six months of the year are gone.  How have I fared with my resolutions from the start of the year.

  • Blog once a week (at least) – July has been an embarrassing month for me… say no more
  • Tweet once a day (at least) – This one is coming along nicely.
  • Become more patient with the kids (if they let me) – Doing pretty well here – kids are behaving better, being less demanding and playing better with each other so this is happening with little effort from me
  • Make a concerted effort to reduce on the swearing – I think I’m doing pretty well
  • Film more family memories – I’ve been filming a lot more and taking photos of stuff we do so the 2011 family album should be decent
  • Get eldest riding a bike without stabilisers –he has refused to get on it since I took out the stabilisers so not sure how this is going to go
  • Go camping at least twice (now once) – done and such a success I may try to do it again and achieve my original target
  • Organise a reunion with friends from Portugal who I have not seen for 20 years -Managed to do this in May 
  • Become mayor of somewhere on Foursquare (my own home or workplace not included) – I’m currently Mayor of 25 non-home/work related places.  These include cafes, supermarkets, shops and a beach
  • Get to Wii Fit age of 37 – last measurement was 41 but this was taken in April!!! Not good enough really
  • De-clutter the house – House de-cluttering is done.  Conversely, the garage is cluttering nicely.
  • Sell something at a car boot sale – Actually did 3 to get rid of all the stuff
  • Move house – house on the market, just waiting for the right buyer
  • Get on a Segway (easy one as a ride on one was a Xmas present, but still valid I think) – Done in February
  • (NEW) Take kids swimming on a regular basis – Need to start this up again.  We did try martial arts in July but that was a huge fail
  • (NEW) Read a book a month – I’m just finishing a book by  Derek Sivers  and then I aim to move to a marketing/advertising related book – though I’m not sure which.  And that’s my main problem, too much choice on the book front
  • (NEW) – Limit myself to a maximum of two coffees per day – I’m achieving this, apart from when my mum comes over when my consumption rises.

Do you brief or direct?

As I see it there are two ways of overseeing a project.  You either brief the direction to the people under you or you direct the project.

Personally I’m a believer for direction (or vision, some people might prefer).  It is then up to whoever is delivering it to find the best way to get there.

The reason I prefer this is that it means I’m not blinkered by my own expectations, and it allows them to think for themselves, showcase their creativity and thought process and (in the process) increase their confidence, experience and understanding of how to create plans and strategies.

Now, I may not agree with what is developed, but that is the perfect opportunity for me to play devil’s advocate and ensure that the plan developed is the most robust possible.

If I wanted to direct how it should be done, I would leave no room for questioning even if it resulted in oversights.  And I understand that sometimes life dictates that projects be run this way.

However, IMHO, I think the former leads to better campaigns/strategies, better creative and also a more motivated workforce.

So next time you are briefing a colleague or an agency, think about how much freedom you are prepared to allow them?  You’re paying them for their ability to think as much as do, but by directing them,  you’re only allowing them to do.