Top 10 I Wish I Had Written This

This is the fourth edition. You can read the earlier editions here, here and here.‘I like them and my gut says so’ is the only criteria for the selection of the posts mentioned below. They are not in any order of priority. Hope you like them as much as I did. More importantly, I request you to continue to direct me to such awesome posts.

• The Joy of Less by Pico Iyer

Not only I wish I had written this but also wish I could live like Iyer, Zen like. Awesome.

• Social Media is not ‘sexy’ by Gavin Heaton

Companies are not only discovering that social media is not ‘sexy’ and also that they have to do the ‘heavy lifting’ themselves. Unlike advertising, there are no shortcuts as bluntly told in this post.

• The Un-Agency – A cure for what ails you, brands? by Buzz Canuck

The author has dissected all forms of relation between the client and agency and come up with the “un-agency”- a co-op of equal partners. It resonates well with what I am trying to do.

• Calling bullshit on social media by Scott Berkun

No nonsense post about social media that led to a wonderful debate between the author and Joshua Michele Ross - In defense of social media (at least some of it) Read both the posts to get a well-rounded view.

• I was just on the radio by John Hodgman

Hodgman describes Jockish vs Nerdish approach to issues, especially Middle East. He feels that dissemination of ideas with ‘nerd’ power is far more powerful than ‘jock’ power.

• Control life, don’t let it control you....by Rob Campbell

Rob Campbell has understood Asians and our obsessions with ‘educational degree’ very well. It is an honest and thought provoking post about our biases.

• Change management and mistaking green for gold by Johnnie Moore

He questions whether behaviour can be quantified and how foolish we are to continue believing that way. He easily navigates between the corporate world and the world of advertising to make his point.

• David Ogilvy, ten years on by George Parker

Written on David Ogilvy’s tenth death anniversary, he talks about the two encounters with the great man. On both the occasions D.O’s only advice was ‘advertising is about selling’. Is anybody hearing?

• Managing Werewolves by Michael Lopp

This is a ‘management game’ that is also a powerful tool to understand inter-personal relationships and dynamics.

• A year’s summary of personal reflections III by Susan Scrupski

‘The currency of an Enterprise is currency’ and therefore Susan urges all those who are keen on implementing 2.0 tools to have an ‘old fashioned or 1.0’ approach.

(Image courtesy:John Ong)