#3 _Becoming a cultural strategist

Titles, T-shaped skills and tasks unfinished

Businesses should always be evolving. When that stops happening, they have probably commenced dying. Or, at the very least, have gotten so boring that someone should commence killing them off. 

Nothing very controversial there - but it also means that when you leave one you started, you won't necessarily have completed everything intended. It remains work in progress, whether you are there or not.

Case in point for me: still on my to-do list when closing out my days at Crowd DNA was shaping up a definition of what it means to be a cultural strategist. From there, furthering the evidence of the actual - not just nice-to-have - value that those who work with culture are providing. A start was definitely made, but an end was certainly not reached (not that it would, obviously, with the ever-evolving business in mind).

We'd got as far as switching to cultural strategist as the primary title for our roles (this was no snap decision; it had been discussed on and off for ages). Next, it was all about breathing lots of life into that title. Also, with some degree of bravado, embarking on a mission to own that title. To stake a claim that we were the place to learn how to become one, and thereafter to get ever-better at being one.

I can now revisit this topic with less of the founder/owner/CEO mindset of needing to stake a claim to anything. But still with a belief that making more of what it means to be a cultural strategist would qualify as solid progress for this comparatively small, if often debated (some thoughts from me from a couple of years ago ), corner of insight/marketing/comms/innovation.

Also to revisit it with an emphasis on what changes will help it become more visible, more accessible. In doing so, shaping something that’s motivating and empowering for a more diverse next generation of cultural strategists - and that leads on showing them a way in, not blocking up the walkways with language, codes and formalities that suit some more than others.

The trail so far... The highly referenced Cultural Strategy book of course sets much of the scene - even if it doesn't refer to the cultural strategist as a role, per se. In terms of use of the title, it mainly seems to be adopted by those who are freelance/self-employed. And sometimes - as far I can tell - it surfaces as an outlier or stand-alone title bestowed on one person in bigger, more generalist agencies.

All good, but an individual calling themselves a cultural strategist is quite different to baking it in as a modus operandi, as part of the system, within a company. And some might reasonably argue that there are enough variations on the strategist title out there confusing the world - well, mainly strategists - as it is*. Or that 'researchers' aren't even allowed to call themselves 'strategists'.

More negatives? What's in a name anyway? You could argue it's a mere cosmetic change. Clients aren’t exactly going to behave any differently towards us overnight just because we’ve switched out our job titles to cultural strategist.

But words, they really can matter. Bringing new meaning to what it is to be a cultural strategist can also bring new energy to how people think about and talk about their jobs. Crucially, it can open the doors to new people, with new perspectives, being attracted to this sort of work. And even if it doesn't happen overnight, it can start to evolve relationships with clients - the nature of the partnership.

It also speaks to an enthusiasm for T-shaped skills (or V-shaped, or Pi-shaped, or whatever). The notion that, whether you're a semiotician, an ethnographer, a quant researcher, an unstructured data specialist, or a trends expert (and ideally you are some kind of shifting, mutating combination of several of these things), what you're mainly interested in doing is working at the intersection of brands and culture. Experimenting with new ways of doing this, becoming ever more confident at becoming the trusted partner to clients in this joyfully chaotic realm.

So where did I get to in my old role with defining something? For me, the cultural strategist is someone who is comfortable with the messiness of culture - curious and involved. Someone who over-indexes in understanding that humans (and, yes, culture) are important in business. Someone who encourages brands to look beyond the confines of category/competitors/customers for opportunities. Someone oriented to the outputs (stories, strategic recommendation), not just the research inputs. Someone who allows as much room for creativity as rigour. Someone who knows those aforementioned T-shaped skills are best and that the overall cause here counts for more than gate-kept fields of specialism.

This perhaps all feels a little obvious - but I'm sure it's much less so for those outside of this small and rarified world. I’m also sure there’s more structure and context that can be brought to each area - though ideally without turning any of it into what feels like an exam you need to pass. And more definition can probably be found via exploring case studies of success stories and in effectiveness data, tuning into the impact of the cultural strategist.

Articulating the role of the cultural strategist in terms other than just being a cool thing to tell others that you do, or locked in academia, or purposely opaque in form, feels a job worth doing. Because while there is something quite charming about the number of people who seem to have (the default) 'stumbled' into doing this type of work, a future where being a cultural strategist is a thing you actually set out to become - and a thing that lets more people in - that sounds more charming still.

* A while back, I was going to write an article about defining the cultural strategist role. Never happened, but I did get to have some really good conversations with a bunch of smart people working in and around this space. In having these chats it did feel that, collectively, we were struggling to take the definition further. One of the most interesting things raised (and big apologies, I cannot remember who said it) is that there’s a double whammy challenge with ‘cultural strategist’: no-one really knows what culture is and no-one really knows what a strategist is. Ouch.

** There's a whole side topic here about what agencies even mean by culture. Feels to me that there are two camps: those who work predominantly in the space of ‘fast culture’ - lots of talk of ‘cultural relevance’ and, whether they’re direct about this or not, still a heavy leaning to notions of early adopters. And, more ambitiously, those grappling with culture defined as shared meaning; a more expansive - if harder to pin down - space and opportunity.

Democratising forces

The gaps in convention that let people through

Notwithstanding wishing I could think of a better name for them, I like the idea of democratising forces - the gaps in convention that let new people have a say and stake their claim. Democratising forces wherein the old rules start to look a bit creaky, and instituted ideas of what it means to be an expert fall by the wayside.

I know for certain that I benefitted from two of these forces (important to mention: full acknowledgement that being white, male and from London made them more democratising for me than for others). One was acid house, or so-called rave culture. It happened so quickly, and defied so much of what was established, that all sorts of people who otherwise wouldn't have dreamt they could find a way in were darting through the cracks and launching headfirst into running clubs, or making records, or DJing, or designing flyers and T-shirts, or setting up market stalls and radio stations, or writing about it all.

It nurtured a leaning to resourcefulness and an appreciation of creativity that has stayed with so many of these people thereafter, regardless of the path life has taken them down. In my case, there's absolutely no way on earth I'd have had the opportunity, or the confidence, to go on to do the kind of rewarding things I've been lucky enough to do since without this gap in convention opening up.

The second for me was the initial dotcom boom. There were experts in the sense of coders, developers etc, but there weren't any proper ones in terms of how to use digital to engage with regular people; or how to create content for these new spaces. No one could tell you what to do, or what the ‘right’ way of doing something was. Okay, admittedly most of those dotcoms went spectacularly bust, including the one I worked on (interesting promo vid here... ). But wow, did we learn a lot in a short time - including, in my case, plenty about how to shape agency propositions and join dots between brands and culture.

Do these democratising forces still exist? I'll resist going too heavy on the 'not as much as in my day' slant, as they've probably surfaced via other music culture breakthroughs since. At various stages in the evolution of social media, too. Generative AI - perhaps it's about to bring a whole new kind of democratisation to creativity, and to the entrepreneurial opportunities that orbit around it (or destroy us all).

Whatever form they take, I hope these forces continue to surface. They probably won't look anything like the ones that I benefitted from, but they’re always worth recognising and celebrating.

Ideas outside of silos

And admiration for those currently planning to give it a go

With the sudden expansion of time and space I've had since leaving my CEO role, there's been lots of new things to think about and to get involved in. To date, I've been having fun with a publishing project, collaborating on documentary ideas, working with a museum to explore new strategies, and looking at different models for how member's clubs can operate and be funded in the future. Drop in some mentoring, plus contributing to podcasts and panels, and it's definitely felt lively.

I've had lots of time to simply chat with loads of people, too. Both people from my past and newly made acquaintances. Among the things chatted about, it's been great to speak to those who are closing in on starting their own business. Learning why they feel now is the right time. Or for some, why now isn't quite the right time (hint: there'll never truly be a right time).

I love hearing the business ideas that have a true proposition at the heart of them. A point of view and something going on that sounds more human and emotive than just, 'we're a bunch of really senior and experienced practitioners who know how to do this'; or 'we've got a framework that will change everything' (except it won't).

The best ideas all seem to be ones that don't start out too overly obsessed with which industry silo they'll need to live in - insight vs creative vs PR vs design vs innovation etc. Instead building out from something, at least for now, less constrained than that and - stuck record time - with a propensity for cultural cognisance high in the mix.

This is not really going anywhere other than I have total admiration for anyone who's trying to get a business idea together - and that to the power of ten for anyone who's coming at it with some proper imagination and/or without much safety net to speak of. I'm not sure if it's harder now than in the past, but it's never easy, and there will always be circumstances and people (including quite likely yourself) telling you not to. Mainly, I feel lucky to have got to hear from these people about their proto-businesses, and can't wait to see some of them setting new agendas in times ahead.

A few more things to check out

• Where southern hip-hop and the Cadillac collide . From the depression era to the modern day, stopping off at Blaxploitation, slab culture, Outkast and Killer Mike along the way - nice wormhole to spend some time in.
• AI to rebuild the middle classes . Optimistic view on artificial intelligence's potential to amplify the value of human expertise for a larger set of workers. 'Amid a deluge of press reports on the impending AI robocalypse, the question is not whether we will have jobs — we will — but whether these will be the jobs we want.'
• How metaphors shape our reality (and why we need a bit less war involved) . Cancer as a journey. Not a fight. Arguing as a dance. Also not a fight. The pandemic as a fire. Not a fight either. And the endless metaphors used in business that borrow from the military. War chests, boot camps, battle plans, hearts and minds to be won, and obviously a whole lot of hills worth/not worth dying on. Perhaps more dancing and journeying could come in here, too. Feels like there's so much more to say about writing in the commercial space and how to make it better.
• The Memphis Movement . I was reading about the branding ideals behind the launch of MTV, and got to this deep, deep dive into the design movement that's variously described as “radical, funny, and outrageous” and “a shotgun wedding between Bauhaus and Fisher-Price.”
• London's Black gay scene as community, family and lifeline . And, to add, such an influence on so much around it. A segment from the fantastic-sounding Revolutionary Acts: Love & Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain.
• Ted Philipakos . Lovely interview with the guy who put Venezia FC on the cultural map, and who's now creative director at Athens Kallithea FC. "I’ve fielded countless calls from Premier League clubs, Serie A clubs, Bundesliga clubs, an F1 team… And they want insight into how we’ve developed and positioned our brands. I’m just like, ‘Look, the starting point is not ‘How do we design a nice jersey?’ It’s about ‘Who are we?’" So worth a read!

Thanks for reading. If you'd like to chat about anything covered here (bigger stuff, trivial stuff) do get in touch.