STRATSCRAPS VOL 26

ARGUING WITH IDOLS WHERE THEY CAN'T HEAR ME

Apr 02, 2021

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“Trying to predict the future helps us notice what’s happening now, but more importantly what’s not.”

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Bit of a different format this week. Using the newsletter as a platform to work out some twitter beef / disagree with a couple  personal Planning heroes.

BUT FIRST… PIRATE(D) READINGS

Super Thinking

Just started this one. It’s kind of like “The Choice Factory” + “The Long and short of it” + “Nudge” all rolled up into one and dived by topic.

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Creative Problem Solving: The Instructors Workbook

I link to too many books and not enough booklets/short form. This is a 21 page doc on how to run a creative problem solving workshop.

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Creative Children, Imaginative Teaching:

I haven’t read this yet, but as a new parent it seemed worth the download. I also imagine that there will be nuggets in here that are helpful not just for children.

TWITTER DRAMA

I’m going to unpack a twitter conversation I was tagged in. I was a little too intimidated to jump in as it unfolded. Plus, twitter is not conducive to nuance or diplomacy.

I couldn’t even tell you where/when I originally shared the photo, but I appreciate the shout.

Praveen is one of the most prolific Strategy thinkers out there.

Pretty immediately I got notifications that I’d been mentioned by both Eaon Pritchard Rob Campbell. I look up to both of them and can definitely say they have had influence on my work/career.

Immediately I was reminded of the quote from Weigel’s recent post that I shared last week:

“Round and round we go. Oh how we like to talk about what an insight it. And is not. Round and round and round.”

And round and round it went. I fell asleep trying to figure out if two of the brains I most respect had simultaneously decided to be needlessly pedantic, or if I was missing something. I’ve certainly never worked with Dan Wieden. I just have quotes of his taped to my wall.

But in the round and round that followed, a few points came up that I felt like I had to push back on or question.

To start, you take the picture out of this, and there is not really anything about it that could be argued. It is essentially the "two opposing truths” Georg Hegel way of thinking.

“There is no such thing as a human truth without cultural context”
I disagree. What about the need to be accepted/belong? A trait hardwired into our brains from hundreds of thousands of years where being kicked out of the group meant death? There will always be current societal/cultural contexts layered on top of that need, but it is still a truth about being a human.
“Some of those promote the sort of shit that has held people back not lifted them up”
Maybe. But does that make them not true? Or not useful? Just because there is a harmful cultural truth, doesn’t mean we have to perpetuate it. But you cant ignore it. (I don’t know enough about the cultures referenced to say one way or the other in this specific case, but the point is that ugly truths should not be ignored).
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so you don’t need to scroll up, the Nike Soccer human truth was “I want to be a hero (human truth) but showing off is not cool (confucian truth)” 
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Maybe the language here isn’t as nuanced as it could be, but laughable? Debatable maybe. And even that would likely be an issue of semantics.
America’s suicide epidemic has pretty directly been correlated to our deep sense of individualism. We are heroes in our own story– and when we realize we’re not as in control as we’d like, it shakes us to the core.
No we don’t all want to be thrown a parade or wear a cape, but we are all the heroes to our own story… And we want to do well (what “well” means is where that “cultural context” that Rob mentioned comes in).
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Side note: (Can’t recommend Will Storr’s “Selfie” enough. Shitty name, great book).  
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Re; the Confucius bit– yes, sure it could have said “cultural truth” instead. But I wouldn’t agree that, when discussing cultural forces in China, mentioning Confucius immediately signals bollocks.
In the US, sure, completely agree.
Cmon dog. It was just last week you tweeted “Fortune favors the vague” – don’t get pedantic now and punish the man for a detail that wasn’t even a part of the original point.

Anyway, I’m not sure what this accomplished, but it was nice to write it all out. Hopefully it wasn’t a total waste of time to read.

Let’s just all agree to never use the word “insight” again.

Eaon / Rob, in the off chance you read this, the following applies to you both:

Hi. I’m a huge fans of yours. I’ve certainly stolen plenty of material from you both for this newsletter. If you’re down, I’d love to chat about all the above. Non of that clubhouse bullshit, just a long distance pint and good natured Planner talk.

STRAT_SCRAPS

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