In Defense of Google Wave's Real Time Typing

When I show Google Wave to people for the first time, the first thing they respond to is the fact that you can see people editing their text in real time as they type. Many are irked by this but I love this feature for reasons that go beyond just the novelty or function of it. I love it because its part of a broader movement that the internet era has been championing for some time. That movement, as most of you know, is one away from the classic formalism of traditional publishing, towards a transparent and collaborate sharing ethos where the crowd is less of an audience and more of a teammate.

I know most of you know all this, but for fun, let's take a closer look at this evolution. In print publishing you have always needed a proofreader, because once something is printed the ink stands still. Email has a casual flair but you review it carefully before you send, because once it leaves your outlook you loose control. Blog posts are a bit different because you can post and edit later, so that takes away some of the formalism. Twitter is founded on spontaneity, and it moves so fast that if you try to formalize it you will find yourself laging behind fearless tweeters. (Plus how formal can you get with so few characters)

But, I love Google wave because it goes a step further. People see everything you type and that means that they actually become a part of your editing and rewriting process. This completely alters the classic sequence of PREPARE, REVIEW, APPROVE/GET APPROVAL, and then SUBMIT. It now becomes SUBMIT, TYPE, REMOVE FEAR you may have of people judging how you edit/think, and hit DONE. With practice it's open collaboration without fear of judgment.

You've invited your audience back stage and you're having a drink. And they forgive you when you misspell a word. Cheers.

Download the ARF 2009 David Ogilvy Award winning case studies

The ARF 2009 David Ogilvy Awards Winners
In March 2009, ARF announced the 2009 Winners of The ARF David Ogilvy Awards sponsored by Microsoft Advertising.

You can download all of the case studies here:
http://www.thearf.org/assets/ogilvy-09

Kenji Summer has created --> Planners who Wave!

For all of you with Google Wave accounts, Kenji Summer (http://www.kenjisummers.com) has created a great Wave just for planners! Join up HERE.
Thanks Kenji!

For those that don't have invites yet, I'll help people out as soon as I get some!

Case Study Ninja - A quick lesson in case study design

The Royal Society Of Account Planning Presents - Case Study Ninja - a quick lesson in case study design

New Study Guides! Archetypes and Campell's Monomyth

You are going to love this! A new study guide for Joseph Campbell's 17 stages of the monomyth, a revised version of Mark and Pearson's 12 branding Archetypes, and an easy to share version of Andrew Haley's amazingly comprehensive archetype branding system. Enjoy!

JOSEPH CAMPBELL'S 17 STAGES OF THE MONOMYTH

Joseph Campbell's MONOMYTH - The Seventeen Stages - presented by the Royal Society of Account Planning

MARK AND PEARSON'S 12 BRANDING ARCHETYPES

Royal Society of Account Planning presents Mark and Pearson's 12 Branding Archetypes

ANDREW HALEY WRIGHT'S COMPREHENSIVE ARCHETYPE BRANDING SYSTEM - MINDMARKS

Handout of Andrew Haleys Mindmarks Archetypes - Royal Society of Account Planning

Heather LeFevre's Yearly Planning Survey - 2009 Results!

Planner  Survey  Results 2009

View more documents from Heather LeFevre.

The secret of being promoted - A sneak peek at part 1 of Heather's World Famous Account Planning Survey!

If you don't know her already, you should. Heather is an international strategist at DDB and the author of the loved planning blog "buy me and i'll change your life."

But, every year she does something that can only be described as epic.

She interviews the entire planning world.

Why is that so important? For most of the year, the voice of Account Planning is the voice of it's leaders, public speakers, and the plannersphere. Their wisdom guides us and inspires us, but the voice of planning as a whole is silent.

But, once a year, planning grows a central nervous system and comes close to feeling its whole body all at once. And when that happens we get a glimpse of who we really are and what we really stand for.

That is why the annual account planning survey is so important for all of us. It's a mirror into the very soul of our industry.

This year the survey was the best yet. Participation has been through the roof, and Heather is busy distilling 100 pages of raw answers into 40 pages of premium planning wisdom. Cheers to Heather and all her hard work! Bravo!

But, we must wait for that. For now, we just get a sneak peak.

Heather has given us the raw answers to one subject. What makes a planner ready for a promotion? This was asked to Planning Directors only and covers all levels from assistant planner up to group planning director.

To quote Heather..."let the games begin…"

Moving On Up

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

4 years of Account Planning Survey's from Heather Lefevre!

2008

Planner Survey Results 2008

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

2007

Planner Survey Results 2007

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

2006

Planner Survey Results 2006

View more documents from Heather Lefevre.

2005

Planner Survey Results 2005

View more presentations from Heather Lefevre.

FAST COMPANY ARTICLE: Design Is a Point of View: Seven Truths in Designing

Here's a great article by Brett Lovelady, for Fast Company. Brett is the founder and driving force at ASTRO Studios of San Francisco, a company he launched in 1994. Within a short time, ASTRO has become an international design powerhouse by designing industry leading products and brands for companies like Nike, Microsoft, HP, Alienware, Herman Miller, Xbox, Virgin and many more. In the past decade, ASTRO has won numerous design and industry awards, including 2 prestigious BusinessWeek/IDSA Design of the Decade Awards, for both NIKE Triax Sportwatches and Kensington Smartsockets and was featured as one of Fast Company's Fast 50 in 2003.

In the article below, Brett outlines ASTRO's Design Theory.

Quoted from: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/brett-lovelady/astro-design/design-point-view-seven-truths-designin

1. DESIGN is a point of view.
Many people believe design equals the visual object or result of the presentation skills a creative person creates; pictures, models, sketches, photos. I believe that design happens prior to these results and is actually about taking an original idea and applying a point of view by translating it into presentable, tangible elements for ease of sharing with others. Good designers happen to have talents or skills that allow them to make their point of view tangible, but that's not enough. Designers should be engaged due to their ability to create and support a strong point of view first, followed quickly by their ability to produce the goods.

2. PEOPLE are our ultimate clients.
As designers, we collaborate with a lot of other disciplines to bring our designs alive. We often come up with the vision for a program, develop the details and then spend a lot of time protecting the original design intent through production. But after these efforts are complete, they matter little. The end results are all people see, experience or remember. No one typically cares how you got to the result--the battles, the compromises, the inspirations--they only know the final product. Because of this, I believe that as the other disciplines cover their specialties, designers should be the end-user advocates through the entire program, reminding the team that people are our ultimate clients.

3. EMPOWER individual creativity.
We've all heard the term "design by committee" or possibly the old maxim that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. And I strongly agree. It's very difficult to create groupthink around multiple points of view. It's great to voice them, collect them and prioritize them, but to avoid camels, I recommend empowering one ultimate individual you trust to become the director and keeper of the vision. Empowering individual creativity also ensures a higher level of passion, focus, commitment and ownership for the results.

4. PROACTIVE over reactive.
You can wait to be told what to do when someone else takes the lead and imposes their directives. Or you can identify opportunities, then take things into your own hands and provide options, ideas and leadership. A favorite mantra at ASTRO is "I'd rather get a speeding ticket, than a parking ticket." Of course, approval for certain levels of involvement are necessary, but I believe designers are leaders, and should be proactive over reactive. 5. DESIGN is not a democracy. Democracies are fine, mainly for collecting diverse input. But they can kill design. Often too many opinions water down the clarity of the design intent. I've had many clients where there are way too many brilliant people involved in programs. They find it their duty to provide all the alternative solutions or insights to every program--always broadening the thinking--instead of focusing on decision-making. If not for the benevolent dictatorship of the program director in these programs, they would never reach the goal. Design requires focused leadership, not democratic consensus.


6. CULTURE is the key to soulful work.
Designers are kinda like plants (I know, I know...but it's a good visual). They really need an environment that supports their needs. I believe they need sunlight, nutrients, good weather, conversation, or music, maybe a hug, pruning, cleaning and sometimes transplanting. On top of all of that, they need space to express themselves individually, even while being part of a greater identity. Burying designers in cubicle-land, away from other creatives or off in isolation can be effective for those who have strong wills to survive, but for more relevant, beautiful, inspiring results, designers need a culture of design stimulus. They need environments that feed their visions and help them reflect and generate more soulful work.

7. CHALLENGE anything.
I like to tell the designers I work with to simply ask questions: There are no bad ones except the ones you don't ask. And to not take everything at face value, especially if your gut tells you otherwise. It's always good to immerse yourself in data, but it's best to digest it like fuel for the process, not take it as absolute gospel. Notice I said challenge 'anything' and not 'everything.' The idea is to think about what you're creating, but not overthink it. Learn to trust your instincts and intuition, especially once you've digested all the information. I believe the magic of design can really occur when you challenge convention with confidence, then apply design talent and skills to make everything look super sweet.

We have just learned our "Anatomy of The Ideal Account Planner" has been translated into Portuguese by Brazilian Planners!

A big thank you to Carlos Henrique Vilela over at CHMKT for establishing our Brazilian Embassy. A royal salute!

http://www.chmkt.com.br/2009/07/anatomia-de-um-planner-ideal.html

WHAT'S THE BEST SOURCE FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES? PHYSORG.COM!

This site always seems to get access to the latest scientific research before anyone else. Use it to stay up to date on the latest academic studies.

http://www.physorg.com/science-news/social-sciences/

Here's a recent study of interest: the fall of an item’s popularity mirrors its rise to popularity

PLANNING'S 1ST PRINCIPLE: THE LAW OF WORK CONSERVATION

HI-RES VERSION

A speech this morning, at breakfast, by a rather jolly and animated member of our society!

Toasting the group he said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, look around. All of us seated in this great hall, we agree on one thing. We agree, that work, should never be wasted. When, do you ask, is work wasted? It is wasted, when work works... in the wrong direction! If a captain sails to England and ends up in Greenland, all of the heroic efforts of his crew, slaving against wave and thunder and pounding rain, was worthless. Direction is fundamental. Fundamental to efficiency, fundamental to the conservation of Work. In this sense we are true conservationists. The conservationists of nothing less than our own blood sweat and tears.