You might know I work for Poke. You might also know who Iain is and that he’s leaving.
Iain just posted about his imminent move from Poke to W+K in his familiar, contagious style: honest, straightforward and insightful. It goes without saying that his move is a significant one for him, as well as for Poke, for W+K – and if you’re immersed in the marketing world – for the industry as a whole.
And it’s also significant for me. I imagine it is for everyone here, but we’re probably not all going to gush about it on our blogs. I’ve learned a lot from Iain – and from Poke – and blogging about it feels timely. I’m willing to take the inevitable stick at work ;)
As a final homage to Mr Tait, I’m going to share what I’ve learned in list-form too. It’s a testament to both Iain and to Poke that some of these learnings are hard to attach exclusively to one or the other. Right, what I’ve learned from Iain (and Poke):
1. keep calm
In the two years I’ve worked with Iain I’ve never once seen him lose his temper or even look vaguely annoyed with anyone. This is something I’m trying (unsuccessfully) to emulate. Poke’s culture is very special. People like each other and respect each other and this culture comes from the top. The result is that people here want to work hard for their employers without being told to. You can’t say a bad word about Iain, because he’s never said a bad word about anyone. And despite his seniority, remains one of the most patient people I’ve met.
2. embrace your inner adolescent
Iain has a frightening intellect. But he is also has the sense of humour of a 14 year-old. A genius 14 year-old, of course, which is even more frightening. He’s able to bypass the robust logic that his brain is very capable of constructing and blurt out ideas so twisted your ears want to retreat inside your skull. It’s this cocktail of sharpness and oddness that enable Iain to sit so comfortably across strategic and creative fields. He’s like Viz meets the Economist. Again, these same qualities seep from other corners of Poke – not least from Nik Roope – and all of which have inspired me to dust off my own neglected childhood neurons.
3. get your hands dirty
Poke is full of multi-talented, smart, hands-on people. Designers can code, Coders are photographers, strategists can animate and creatives do electronics. And Iain’s no exception. The fact that he gets his hands dirty with code, or copy writing or anything else, sets a tone for everyone. If he’s willing – and able – to do it, we should be too.
4. have freaky powers
Mr Crackunit’s finest management skill is his ability to make people realise things for themselves. When something’s wrong, he won’t always tell the person why. Instead he’ll ask a question. And the answer to the question (offered by the person in the wrong) will reveal the idea’s weakness. Anyone in management will know how much more positively staff react with a method like this compared to being shot down.
5. think biblical
You may be getting the message that Iain’s a clever sod. He’s also good at thinking BIG, like seeing the internet as a ‘thing’ people might want to race balloons across. Ideas like Ballonacy affect the culture of idea generation at an agency and make us regularly ask ourselves: How could this be bigger or more significant? How much does it cost to build an Ark, anyway?
So that’s my five. I’m sure there are more, but I don’t want to make the man squirm any more than I have already. I wish him well in his new role and I look forward to seeing his impact on their work. Of course, no one will fill Iain’s shoes here at Poke. But that’s not really how things work is it. New people are arriving, with new ideas and different personalities. And things will change and evolve as they always do. It’s all very exciting for everyone.
