Interviews with Co-op's Jo Whitfield and ITV's Dame Carolyn McCall; Darren Chuckry, Wendy McEwan and Tom Roy tell us leaders in life they love and UK agency leaders talk change in Think with Google UK's new video series
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Co-op's CEO talks to us about a diverse workforce, the bravest thing she's ever done and the origins of setting up the Grocery Girls network (5 MINS)
Carolyn shared her best advice, what motivates her and brave brands she admires, including Nike and The Guardian (3 MINS)
Society Hong Kong Chair, Darren Chuckry, Knight Frank's Wendy McEwan and MCN's Tom Roy tell us leaders in life they love (2 MINS)
In Think With Google UK's new series Publicis Groupe's Annette King explores data and creativity and Brainlabs' Dan Gilbert talks old rules (10 MINS)
I think it’s vital that we reflect the customer we want to serve with the people we employ at the Co-op. For us also, it’s important that we have all of the best talent. Not only is being an inclusive and diverse organisation the right thing to do it’s actually really good for business as well. And I think it’s been proven that diverse and inclusive businesses are actually six times more innovative than those that are not. And they’re twice as likely to deliver their financial targets and results. So not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s the smart thing to do if you want to grow and be a healthy business.
For us it’s important that we’re inclusive. It’s part of our culture and values. We believe that we need to show we care about our colleagues. We want them to come to work as individuals and bring their best selves, and we want everyone to be able to bring their talents to bear and really contribute and have their opinions and their experience embedded into all the things we choose to do.
It’s a bit of a funny one. It was quite recently. I was asked to go on BBC breakfast to talk about retail crime. I’d not done it before. I watch the breakfast show most mornings and was a bit terrified if I’m honest, but it’s such an important issue and I really want our colleagues to be safe, so I said yes. I worried about it and did loads of research but the thing that worried me most was that when I arrived, I’d have to sit on a stool and I was very likely to fall off on national TV. The thing that it made me reflect on was that there are always times you feel terrified but it’s right to stretch yourself and do it. Having overcome my fear I recognised it was the right thing to do.
It was amazing to win the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year, it was a real shock, a beautiful surprise. I felt really honoured. For me, the reason why I am so passionate about advocating women in business is because I’ve been lucky to have the support of some really inspiring women on my journey. And I recognise when I think about who I was when I was 14 years old, that I would never have imagined that the opportunities I’ve had would come along and be there. So recognising that I’ve had great support has really ensured that I’m clear that I have to give great support, and women develop other women. Though we have to support each other and we have to be generous about sponsorship and support. And it’s clear that women add great value in businesses. Diverse and inclusive board really do outperform boards that are not. It’s smart, as well as being the right thing to do.
I founded Grocery Girls because there is an issue in our industry and only 8 per cent of senior leadership roles are held by women today and we need to change that. I founded the network so that we can bring women right the way across grocery together, be they food retailers or manufacturers or logistics businesses – that we could put great women in touch with other great women and they could talk honestly and openly about their career experiences, encourage and inspire each other, and also forge networks and relationships that would enable them to be coached and developed and hopefully business grows as a result of these contacts and opportunities.
To really love or enjoy what you do and to show that you enjoy it, because it’s very motivating to other people - senior or junior – to work with people who genuinely like what they do.
To make a difference. I feel I’ve wanted to do that all of my working life, because I think, as you get more responsibility you can really make a difference to society and the people that work with you and for you.
And that’s a really powerful driver for me.
When you ask about brave brands Nike (below) comes to mind almost immediately. They’ve done this for a very long time and they’ve always put creativity and courage at the core of what they do.
They push boundaries – their most recent, Colin Kaepernick (right), the way they used it, the way they backed it. It’s very brave and I think it worked really well.
The Guardian is also a very brave brand and has done that over 30 years. It started with points of view and showing the skinhead in the ad which is now used in schools to show multiple perspectives today. They challenged people to think differently about the brand.
We asked three marketers in our network round the world which leaders in life they love and why. Here's what they had to say.
Mark Cuban: Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is. Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world. Love what you do or don't do it. You have to be confident about what you are good at and have an enormous self-belief that you can better any other person in such activity. You don't delve into your weak zone rather you develop your area of strength and dominate in that field.
Sharon Solomon: For creating a space for children to learn differently and for advocating for the rights of all children to grow up with respect and self-esteem, no matter their circumstances. Sharon is a passionate educator who trailblazes innovation in education and learning, despite all the challenges society places in her path. A third-generation Singaporean, Sharon is an inspiration to many in the arts and business in Asia.
Tank Man: (also known as the Tiananmen Square Protestor) is the unidentified Chinese man who stood in front of a column of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, the morning after the Chinese military had suppressed the protests by force. He stood alone. He stood resolute and unwavering. He stood brave. One of the most iconic images of our time.
Data shouldn’t stifle creativity. Instead, it should be used to inspire new ways of thinking, working and creating. That’s the opinion of Annette King, CEO of Publicis Groupe UK, in the first episode of Out of Office - a short series about big change from Google.
Exploring the many challenges faced by today’s marketers, the series provides some much needed clarity and answers from the most respected leaders in the industry (talking in places you might not expect). We will be sharing these conversations with Society members on a weekly basis.
Up first is Annette King on creativity, who — along with overseeing 32 agencies and 5,000-plus staff — was recently appointed chair of the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board, covering 17 creative sectors for UK government. Watch now to hear how one of advertising’s top minds is balancing the relationship between data and creativity, and why she believes the big ideas will always come from people.
This short film is part of a full episode in which Annette shares her views on how to address mental health in the workplace and on building a productive agency culture. Watch the 10-minute film on Think with Google here.
Dan Gilbert is better placed than most to comment on the fast-changing rules of advertising. In the seven years since founding biddable media agency Brainlabs, the company’s data-led approach to marketing has done its bit to tear up and rewrite the rulebook.
“What we’re finding out now is if the old rules were ever true in the first place," says Dan, in the latest episode of Out of Office – a short series about big change from Google.
The eight films, featuring eight agency leaders (in places you might not expect), explore the biggest challenges faced by today’s marketers and the businesses they work in. We will be sharing these conversations with a new episode every week. Watch now to hear how Dan and his team of scientists, mathematicians and marketers are letting consumers be the judge of what makes an effective creative.
This short film is part of a 10-minute episode in which Dan expands on the impact of biddable media, how to focus on what matters and how to find a work-life balance. Watch it now on Think with Google.
