citizenbay

OFFICIAL: You can have fun, make new friends AND do business at the same time: mLove

There I was a couple of weeks ago, sharing the background and philosophy of my little event curious01 to Jonathan MacDonald. A collective thinktank for the marketing industry. Then, Jonathan asked "have you heard of mLove?"

He described it as a mix between a mobile conference and Burning Man festival. Within two hours I had my ticket confirmed, my flight booked and my room secured.

I was off to some beaten up old castle somewhere in the eastern part of Germany.

Two trains, one plane and a car ride later, I arrived at the castle at one in the morning and entered the world of mLove.

A world where people came up to you with a smile and an openness rarely found at most business conferences. 

An environment where people talked to share inspiration and ideas first, then discussed their businesses.

A place where people enjoyed each others company for WHO they are, NOT for what position they have or the company they work for.

An event where the inspirational speakers included people such as Kazi Islam, head of GrameenPhone IT, and inspirational speaker and writer Alan Moore, NOT someone from a big brand in the hope that they might help sell tickets.

An environment that encouraged collective thinking and community action, NOT showcasing of how clever one person is.

So far, you might think that this was some throwback to Woodstock or Ibiza, with everyone smoking something herbal. Well, for all you naysayers, think about this.

Business ideas were created by speakers and attendees in the OPEN SPACE and FUTURE CUBES sessions. These ideas are already being developed further away from the event.

Here is Jonathan MacDonald at the door to the Future Cubes. He has posted up more on the OPEN SPACE and FUTURE CUBES concept here

Business connections were also made in a way that would be impossible to find at typical marketing/business conferences. Some made in the coffee breaks, some in the collective sessions, and some around the bonfire.

And friendships were forged too. In a previous post, I raised my concerns about the marketing industry failing to focus enough on rebuilding TRUST. Over at my MondayMediaChat sessions with Bernhard Glock (ex P&G Global Media Director), I have also touched on the issue of Trust between Agency and Client.

More people who try to construct conferences and gatherings with the same spirit as mLove would be doing the marketing industry a big favour. It might start to rebuild trust.

My little attempt is curious01. I hope people will like it.

curious01 : a new event for the marketing industry

Imagine a conference that has no speakers, no sponsor's pitch and no dull hotel room to sit in all day...

Imagine instead a small group of smart people, driven by intense curiosity, collaborating on some of the hot issues facing the marketing industry.

Well, I thought I would have a go and create an event a little like that.

I call it curious01. Note my optimism already that there will be a curious02!

It takes place on Thursday 1st July at an inspiring building in London, the Laban Contemporary Dance Centre in Greenwich.

The event aims to draw in the guardians of the new marketing and communications models, from planners in agencies to content owners through to brand folk and start ups.

There will be three strands to the day, each requiring the attendees to debate, discuss and then shape a response to the questions posed...

 

Ideas - Where are companies sourcing their inspiration and how do they adapt to the abundance of ideas available to them?

The Brand Team - Intense debate is occurring right now within brand teams on what the shape of the team will be in the future. The attendees will take this one on too.

5 Point Agenda - Five things the attendees feel the industry could do to be better equipped for the challenges ahead.

During the day, four provocateurs will join the debates and stimulate discussions with their own take.

I am very lucky that four fantastic people Mel Exon, (Partner of BBH Labs), Neil Perkin (onlydeadfish),John Grant (author Co-Opportunity and others) and Jon Bains (Founder Lateral, founder www.jonbains.com) have kindly signed up as provocateurs...

Plus a couple of surprises through the day to help fire up the curiosity levels.

So, if you think this is for you and fancy coming along, contact either myself or the wonderful Belinda Barker (BSB Media) who is helping me so much to make this happen.

Even if you cannot come along, your support in spreading the word would be appreciated. Also, I am looking to run curious02 in another city, so any suggestions welcome.

Brainstorms: 55 minutes of wasted time or fuel to the ideas fire?

The Brainstorm.

The theory is nice. A collective whirlwind of ideas rushing around our heads...so many that we have to be quick and vigilant to catch them all. A torrent of innovation amongst a small group of energised and inspired folk that will help transform business.

Yeah right.

There are two classic cliches used we often hear in brainstorms.

1 There are no bad ideas.

2 All the best ideas appear in the first five minutes

So if you turn this into a simple equation the answer to this should be:

NBI (No Bad Ideas) + F5M (All The Best Ideas Happen in the First Five Minutes) +55 (Wasted Minutes) = 60 (minutes).

Given that brainstorms go on for at least one hour, have we been wasting each others time for years? The other 55 minutes could have been used for getting stuff done.

However, IF the statements are not true, then why do we use such phrases so often? Is it out of political correctness to not hurt someone’s feelings ("sorry Fred, but that idea was utterly rubbish") or because we cannot be bothered to go through a process to find fresh ideas?

Some ideas come when we are in the shower, or about to reach that moment in your sleep pattern. Sometimes they are triggered by memories or by unconnected moments in time.

However, ideas also grow from collaboration so some form of collective idea sharing is a fantastic way of generating powerful ideas and concepts.

So let’s be clear. There is such a thing as a BAD IDEA. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. What they really should say is that every idea can be the spur for another idea…fuel to the idea fire.

Perfect time for a brainstorm?

There is no equation, but my view is nothing is achieved from people being forced to generate ideas against the clock. If you really want to brainstorm, prepare the ground carefully.

Open Minds first and foremost. Clear heads and readiness to think the unthinkable. A walk in the park, game playing...anything to help fresh thoughts flow.

Open Structures next. Don't keep chasing the solution for your business problem during the brainstorm. Have moments where you contemplate other things. Free the mind then focus on the problem at hand again. All sorts of techniques exist to help at this stage. Some use walking on fire or yoga techniques. Others use 'team building exercises'. I always think that nothing beats a walk in a nearby park to clear the mind. 

Which brings me to the last tip for a successful brainstorm. Find the right environment. Nothing inspiring comes from sitting in a white box with no natural light, yet many brainstorms take place in such sterile environments. This is not a 'blank canvas' for our imagination, as some would like us to believe, but merely laziness in the planning for the brainstorm.

In fact, whilst on that walk in the park, why not have the brainstorm there - weather permitting

citizenbay helping out a few SMEs in the UK with T-Mobile and Daily Telegraph

Well, some nice people at T-Mobile and the Daily Telegraph asked me to help them out with a really interesting project.

The Daily Telegraph does it's bit to champion the cause of Small and Medium size Enterprises, while T-Mobile, like the other mobile phone companies, are keen to showcase their value to SMEs.

They came up with a nice little concept. They find 5 SMEs who would like to draw upon the services of a consultant from HR, Finance or Marketing, then send in the consultants for free...

I was kindly asked to help out as the marketing consultant. A little feature appeared in the Daily Telegraph...

Here is the bit where I get quoted.

Am really looking forward to this. Hopefully I will be able to help in some small way...