#5 – What you could read, what skills you could aim for, and how you could avoid thinking (and creating) like everyone else
Good morning!
I woke up today to a Twitter conversation kicked of by Paul Bailey about the best books for aspiring strategists. The full conversation is here. The responses are so full of good recommendations that today’s Six Links of Inspiration just had to feature two links to lists shared in the responses. And, since we’re on the topic, the other links are about (professional) growth and improving our craft, too: how to take matters into your own hand when it comes to training, what skills you need as a strategist across different levels, how to avoid thinking like everybody else, and how to make sure we’re getting comfortable with the uncomfortable side of research.
Enjoy.
A strategist's guide to books on writing. Mark Pollard believes that the best books on strategy are books on writing. So he’s created a list with his five favourites. And you should probably check out his book, too. (It’s called, surprise, “Strategy is your words.”)
Strategy Books. David J Carr provides a long list of books in different categories ranging from *sharpen brain* to *business strategy books* to *comms/brand/marketing strategy books*
Free speech, nuance, and accurate reporting. Matt from Meet the 85% writes a great newsletter about, well, meeting the 85% of the population who are not really frequently represented in marketing land. This one is about dealing with the discomfort that can be triggered by finding out people’s true views – and how to be responsible about that.
Steven Lacey on the dangers of fishbowl thinking. In a similar vein, this episode of On Strategy Showcase (in general a podcast worth subscribing to) talks to the importance of bringing the outside in to avoid what Steven Lacey calls 'fishbowl thinking’.
What skills do you need as a strategy director? Julian Cole lists five resources in his LinkedIn post that each break down the skills needed for the different levels of seniority, both from a US and a UK perspective.
Waiting for training? Three ways you can develop yourself instead. Potentially a bit on the obvious side of things, but often the obvious places are good places to venture from.
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