This is a short rant and appeal to all those who participate at conferences. Take a breath. Or two. Relax. Look up. Compose your thoughts. And let others build on your genius. Speaking all by yourself is a lonely task. One times zero is zero. One times any other number is more. Lawyers call these folk Gunners. So, let others in, let others have fun too, let others share in your glory. Don’t be a Gunner. And then, perhaps, we’ll all stay awake and enjoy our time together just that little bit more.

Throughout our career as marketers we search for diamonds, those elusive
gems of creativity, insight or data that can transform the way we think, the way
our companies do business or even popular culture.

Which is why so many of us attend conferences, searching for those rare
diamonds, but often come away feeling like all we’ve seen are an array of duds.
The sad reality is that marketing diamonds are rarer than the real things. But why
is that? Why are so many conferences devoid of real value? I’d argue that it’s
because most presenters don’t think like Challengers.

The problem with path dependency though is that it is, always, ripe for disruption. Sometimes that disruption comes from within the industry, sometimes from a completely unexpected quarter, sometimes through external factors. In this case the disruption was quick, brutal, and absolute. Government funding dried up. For Devon, in southwest England, this created an immediate and spectacular problem. Or, using Challenger terminology, a very significant constraint: no money.

However, when there’s a significant constraint that is matched with an equally bold ambition, then you have the makings of a ‘propelling question’. And propelling questions, in the right hands, generate disruptive new solutions.