Tag Archive for: Ted Talk

The Algebra of Happiness

Jun 30, 2021/in Advice, Books, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Motivation, Presentations, Video/by Jeph

Alchemy: A New Marketing Strategy Textbook by Rory Sutherland

Nov 5, 2019/in Advertising/by Jeph

you don't have to win awards to be fricken amazing

You Don’t Need To Win Awards To Be Fricken’ Amazing

Mar 10, 2017/in Blogging, Innovation, Marketing/by Jeph

One day in the StratLab office Eddy says,
“eh, chew guys ever see Aaron Draplin’s Ted talk?!”
Me: “What did you just say?!?”
Eddy: “Just watch this….”

Meet Aaron Draplin. A crazy hat wearing, beard grooming, design denim god. He’s what we strive to be one day. Just happy to be able to wake up and create art every day. That’s something to get excited about.

He’s genuine (I mean he wore a hat and swore in a Ted talk, haha!).
He does not care about awards (they just inflate ego).
He’s incredibly excited to be able to do his art every day.

1. He’s genuine

He cares. He cares so much about his audience he wants to show them how to be original. When someone swears in front of your it’s a sign of respect, they’re comfortable enough to be themselves. When Aaron takes to the stage you instantly realize this isn’t going to be your regular speech. His outfit makes him look comfortable as well, jean jacket, trucker hat? He’s making it okay to be yourself.

2. He does not care about awards

In the marketing/advertising world it’s hard to get very far without finding out about “an award you could win!” or better yet “you should apply for this award!”. Apply for an award?!? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?!? Yet it happens all the time. Agencies attach “awards” they’ve won to proposals not knowing that clients want to hire them to create value for their organization, not simply win awards.

Winning awards can send you down a dangerous path. Always striving for the next award. What there is no more? You can’t control that outcome hence why this author thinks it’s very silly to focus on winning awards.

Finally Aaron doesn’t need an award to make him feel good, he just needs to look at the team he works with and the amazing volume of work they’ve created, and smile.

Awards are a false idol you’re seeking. Their poisonous, they change people, once you are an “award winner” you’re never the same. Stay hungry, stay thirsty.

3. He’s incredibly excited to able to do his Art every day

When I met Hugh MacLeod for the first time I asked which of his cards he created was his favourite. He said he had a lot he really liked but one always came to mind.

“If you have your health and you can make a decent living doing what you love, then you have little reason to envy other people.” -Hugh MacLeod

The way Aaron looks when he talks about being “able” to do his art every day. That’s incredible. That’s what I want to become.

If Vacuum Cleaner Sales People No Longer Exist How The Hell Do They Sell Vacuums?

Jan 11, 2017/in Advertising, Advice, Consumer Behaviour, Leadership, Marketing, Motivation, Stories/by Jeph

How Education Will Change [Presentation]

May 24, 2014/in Books, Innovation, Leadership, Regina, Research/by Jeph

How Education Will Change from Jeph Maystruck

1. Be prepared for Non-Linear learning. Students don’t just learn the grade 6 curriculum and enter grade 7 with a predictable knowledge base anymore. Kids can learn about what ever they want thanks to services like The Khan Academy, iTunes U and other Massive Open Online Courses (mooc’s). The teacher may not be the smartest person in the room anymore (arguably never was) on certain topics. We need to be prepared for this.

2. We need to change curriculums faster. We need to help students learn as fast as the world is changing. Reviewing your curriculum is going to have to happen more often than once every five years (which is the default many institutions get stuck in). Our world changes at an incredible rate. If you think what you’re teaching to students isn’t that relevant anymore I bet they think it’s even worse. Determine the learning outcomes that you’re trying to achieve but leave it up to the professor to build the plan to achieve those outcomes. Stop micromanaging the classroom.

I love this video by Cameron Herold. He’s brilliant and he talks about some of the learning outcomes he’s focusing on as a parent, skills that are applicable in the real world (selling, dealing with failure, negotiations, teamwork, leading, serving).

3. Teach less and they will learn more. Why do we try to cover everything under sun in our curriculums? Do you think students remember everything that’s listen in the curriculum? Do you think they’re retaining the knowledge they are getting in each class? We forget 90% of what we learn in the classroom immediately after the class anyway. So why don’t we flip this around. What if every class had to find the 10% most important stuff on the topic at hand and developed a class around helping students retain that entire 10%?

Inspire them to learn more on a topic instead of trying to bore them to death on a subject that doesn’t interest them.

4. Stop using the text book. It’s to make money. We get it, that’s not going to fly in the future. No one learns from texts books once out of school, so why are we focusing on learning from textbooks while in school? I believe that all teachers should sign a hypocratic outh so this can’t happen any more. In the presentation I compare the textbook I’m supposed to use for my class and I compare three marketing books I want to use. The marketing books have many positive reviews while the textbook has a lone one. I think we need to take a serious look at this.

5. We don’t need teachers, we need leaders. I like to talk about my friend Jordan McFarlen who teaches Entrepreneurship at Campbell here in Regina. In the class the students have to start a company, create a product or service and go to market, all in the matter of months. With the tradition structure of a business, the students learn how to (and sometimes more so how not to) run a business. You don’t learn major lesson in life without trying and failing. I believe this is what school can and should help with.

Unleashing Your Creative Genius: Touch The Snake

Feb 11, 2014/in Advice, Innovation, Research/by Jeph

They Can’t Be More Passionate Than You

Aug 2, 2013/in Advice, Innovation, Research/by Jeph

How To Make Yourself Happy

Mar 7, 2013/in Advice, Research/by Jeph

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Tag Archive for: Ted Talk

He’s genuine (I mean he wore a hat and swore in a Ted talk, haha!).

He does not care about awards (they just inflate ego).

He’s incredibly excited to be able to do his art every day.

1. He’s genuine

2. He does not care about awards

3. He’s incredibly excited to able to do his Art every day

You don’t sell by selling anymore, you sell by doing something different.

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