Please note, this is just my summary, not the presentation that was used. Getting through a crisis with a cool head. Bringing people with you when they’re not on your side. Changing your mind because it’s the right thing to do – and persuading others you’re right too. Standing up against the crowd with a new idea and pushing that idea through. It’s all about having a strategy and making a plan. It’s what Planners have to do. But sitting at your desk in front of a screen limits your thinking and your options. So the APG brings you our second Words Collide strategy event where exceptional people from quite different worlds come together to give their unique perspective on developing strategy – this time to deal with situations where all the odds seem to be stacked against you and you need a way through. ‘How do you win against all the odds?’ Answering the question on the 13th May will be speakers from the worlds of politics, creativity, the church, and the police force: Michael Portillo - the politician brave enough to change his mind and his world view following his political downfall at the hands of the electorate in 1997 ‘It was a very useful experience in my life. I had to dig into my own resources. I can truly say it forced me to expand my horizons, which was obviously necessary.” Sir John Hegarty – the knighted, non-conformist creative, ‘You have to be fearless. Fearlessness is fundamentally important to creativity because hopefully you’re putting ideas in front of people that they haven’t seen before.’ Rev Dr Giles Fraser – the rebellious cleric who stood up to the Church when the peace protesters occupied St Paul’s, who says of himself ‘I’ve spent my life on the naughty step’ Karyn McKlusky who got the Glasgow gangs to put down their knives, fundamentally changed the culture at her station, and is now joint head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit ‘If you ask people what they think of me they’ll say I’m relentless, I can’t sit down’. Our Chair is Brilliant Thinker and Strategist, and Planning entertainer par excellence, Malcolm White, founder at Krow.

1. A PG MIND ALTER ING STRATEGY
HOW DO YOU WIN AG AINST ALL T HE ODDS?
13/05

2. FRASER
GILES KARYN
MC CLU SKEY
SIR J O H N
HEGARTY
RT. HON. MICHAE L
P O RT IL L O

3. FRASER
GILES
Who?
The rebellious cleric who stood up to the Church
when the peace protesters occupied St Paul’s, who
says of himself ‘I’ve spent my life on the naughty
step’.
In summary, what?
- Giles talked about how to make sure that in
moments where decisions need to be made quickly,
you make the right decisions
- Make decisions based on who you are
- You can become the person you want to be. Just
‘fake it till you make it”

4. Commentary
How do you do the right thing on a battlefield?
How can you make quick and major moral decisions?
In philosophy there are two main theories of ethics:
1. Consequentialism (holding that the consequences
of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any
judgment about the rightness of that conduct)
2. Deontology (rule based ethics)
Obviously, neither of these work on a battlefield.
They tried to make rule-based ethics work on the
battlefield and gave soldiers a rulebook of what to do
and when. The problem is, there are infinite scenarios,
and a rulebook cannot be infinite.

5. In the split second that a decision of ‘shoot or run’
needs to be made, you can’t reflect on rule 76 in sub-
section 7.4.1
An instinctive reaction needs to be the right reaction
There was one occasion when a man was about to
be shot. He said four words. And the man who was
about to shoot him changed his mind. What did he
say and why did he change his mind?
“Marines don’t do that.”
Why did it work?
Because the word ‘marine’ had come to mean
something to him. Pride. Identification.
Who you are is more important than what you do

6. Virtue ethics = being a ‘good’ person and making
decisions based on that
Make decisions based on who you are and it will
always be the right decision
The big question is...can you teach a character?
Ideally, in order for soldiers to make the ‘right
decision’ we need to shift training from
Train. Rehearse. And ‘fake it till you make it’.
Train yourself to be the person you want to be.
if you know you are or who you want to be then you’ll
always make the right decision
Teach people Develop people

7. KARYN
M CC LUSKEY
Who?
The woman who got the Glasgow gangs to put down
their knives, fundamentally changed the culture at her
station, and is now joint head of the Scottish Violence
Reduction Unit ‘If you ask people what they think of
me they’ll say I’m relentless, I can’t sit down’.
In summary, what?
- You either lead, follow, or get out the way
- To change behaviour, you have to reach out at
‘teachable moments’
- Vital to concentrate on: outcomes, not processes
and assets not deficits.
- The importance of hope and opportunity

8. “Truth springs from arguments amongst friends” -
Hume
I had to face up to a big problem that was being
ignored: We had a huge issue with violence and I had
to do something about it
You either lead, follow, or get out the way (and you
have to know who is worth leading)
So how did we fix the problem of violence in
Glasgow?
Shifted the way we viewed violence
Ask Q’s like: when do we intervene? Is it contagious?
Crime Disease

9. The WHO’s plan for stopping epidemics:
1. Interrupt transmission
2. Change behaviour
3. Change norms
We had to apply this to violence
Where do you interrupt? At teachable moments.
Vulnerable moments.
- Parenting
- When assulted
- When arrested
- When convicted
We also engaged those that were indirectly
associated: e.g. vets (pets are often abused alongside
domestic abuse) and dentists
But what did we actually do?

10. We knew all these gangs. So we invited them to meet
us. All of them. In the court room.
We got doctors to talk to them about the problems
they were causing with filling the hospitals. We got a
mum who’s son had died from gang violence to talk
to them.
There were tears in the court room.
And then we offered them an alternative. A number to
call and advice on how they can change their lives.
We gave them hope. An opportunity.
and we have now achieved a 54% reduction in
violence.

11. Vital to concentrate on:
Outcomes not processes
Assets not deficits
You need to have the stomach for conflict, ambiguity
and uncertainty
We’re in a psychological recession
Resilience is key
Aspire to build a cathedral, not a garden shed

12. SIR JOHN
HEGARTY
Who?
the knighted, non-conformist creative, ‘You have to
be fearless. Fearlessness is fundamentally important
to creativity because hopefully you’re putting ideas in
front of people that they haven’t seen before.’
In summary, what?
- Creativity is an expression of self. Be interesting and
your work will be interesting.
- Work in advertising, don’t live in advertising.
- As an agency, be a brand.
- Your job is to satisfy client needs, not yours.
- You’re selling the future, make it exciting.

13. It doesn’t matter where you are on a pitch list. There
is no correlation with winning.
Creativity is an expression of self. If you are
interesting, your work will be interesting.
Work in advertising, don’t live in advertising
As an agency, be a brand. And in doing so, know that
you cannot appeal to everyone.
Have some beliefs.
Create a difference.
You cannot be all things to all people.
Relationships are based on truth. trust. love. And they
are the core of your company.

14. Your job is to satisfy your client’s needs. Not your
needs. Always put them first
Learn the language of the person you are selling to.
For example, in the US, I haven’t found the word
‘creative’ to be a positive attribute
You’re selling the future. Make it exciting
You have to be great at everything
Serve the best coffee

15. RT. HON. MICHAEL
PORTILLO
Who?
The politician brave enough to change his mind and
his world view following his political downfall at the
hands of the electorate in 1997 ‘It was a very useful
experience in my life. I had to dig into my own
resources. I can truly say it forced me to expand my
horizons, which was obviously necessary.”
In summary, what?
- ‘the odds’ against you aren’t necessarily as big as
you think they are
- Strong opposing forces are needed to create
change
- Do you have to ask yourself ‘what do I think?’

16. Are the odds always as great as you think they are?
If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind
would be no more justified in silencing that one person
than he, if he had the power, would be justified in
silencing mankind.
John Stuart Mill
UK is great because we are liberal. We are willing to
accept that 1 person in 1,000,000 may be the only
person who is right.
This is how the media manages a celebrity or politician
time
sentiment

17. They take something you have said to create a pigeon
hole. Over time, everything you say that fits that pigeon
hole, they publicize. And naturally anything you say that
doesn’t fit that pigeon hole doesn’t get publicity
So they continuously reinforce a very narrow minded
world view
How does change happen? When Margaret Thatcher
came to power, no one could imagine a world where
Trade Unions did not have all the power and where
governments didn’t control income and prices
Sometimes you need strong opposing forces to make
a change
Margaret Thatcher, remarkably, always knew what she
thought...

18. ...she never had to ask herself ‘what do I think about
that?’
You have to know where you’re going. Talk.
Compromise.
In an organisation, everyone should know what you’re
about
In big corporations, when you’re at the top it’s easy to
forget that the rest of the business is made of real
people

19. Some notes from the question time
GF: There are some brands that are so strong that when you’re
associated with them they distort the way that people perceive and
behaviour towards you.
The clerical collar, for instance, is such a strong visual cue .
Can be opportunity and constraint.
Weighing up of stress and job satisfaction.
Do you really learn from mistakes?
Is it worth reflecting on mistakes or does it just make us dwell on
negativity and stifle us from achieving in the future?
Does it depend on the context of what you’ve made a mistake in?
Maybe it’s not applicable to creativity but could be true for processes?

20. KM: You always have to be aware of what you’re sacrificing. Are you
really aware of the size of the opportunity costs. For example, when I
had to choose between work and raising my child I didn’t think about
the true costs of my decision.
JH: Advertising is about the freedom to have an idea and tell it to the
public. That’s an amazing ting.
To wound,To save. In relation to the Church and Advertising.
Connecting the dots - Steve Jobs
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them
looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow
connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will
connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart
even when it leads you off the well worn path; and that will make all the
difference.”

21. MADE BY @CHARLOTTECRAMER
& BIG THANKS TO OUR MC, MALCOLM WHITE