Strategy Is Your Words

“Strategy Is Your Words” (available from the Sweathead website) is for people who like to think but probably think too much, people who are capable of empathy and introspection, and people who can handle absurdism.

They work in advertising, digital, PR, media, research, and in-house agencies. They also work in marketing. And they know they aren’t fully formed. They are under pressure to write creative briefs, to run workshops, and to create strategy presentations unlike any generation before them.

These people say the book is the first book they’ve read that sees them, that sees the daily struggles and thrills of what it is to think for a living in companies that don’t always understand them. They talk about hugging the hardcover version, of highlighting it and scribbling in it, and of using its techniques to win pitches and feel sane in their dayjobs.

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“Strategy Is Your Words” is split into two parts. The first half is absurdist and delves into words that strategists often use in their heads–”clarity”, “lone wolf”, “impostor syndrome”, and “patience”. It discusses the importance of feelings, the burden of empathy, and what kinds of words stick in our heads.

The second half of the book helps strategists understand how to do their work. It defines words like “idea” and “insight”, it outlines the sixteen types of ideas in advertising, and it talks about how the ideas of a strategist are different from the ideas of a creative department. Then it introduces The Four Points Framework, a simple way to ensure strategic rigor under pressure, and it shares practical techniques for the job:

- How to identify the problem you need to solve
- How to write a problem statement
- How to write an idea
- How to write an insight
- How to help a workshop write an insight
- How insights and ideas are similar but different
- How to use a benefit ladder
- How to write strategy statements
- How to write a strategy story–a one-page outline of a strategy
- How to articulate a brand on one page
- The different approaches to a communications plan, and much more.

It features over 20 techniques with tens of examples and drawings. You’ll be able to return to it on every project and find something new to apply.

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Please enjoy your time with the book and tell your friends about it. You can tag @markpollard if you share it.