Global warming, economic tornados, depressions, scattered showers, downturns and consumer whirl winds, which thanks to the rapidly changing digital landscape can appear as if from nowhere. There’s a lot of weather around these days.

This page is dedicated to the weather and some of the lessons that can be learned from those who would predict such a little understood and mercurial phenomena.

Michael Fish and his glass ball.

If any of the following articles pique your interest or if you have any weather observations that  you think might be of interest we’d love to hear from you.

In a recent interview with Andrew Marr I was surprised to hear General Sir David Richards refer to the British military as a ‘hugely strong’ ‘brand’. One that ‘despite cutbacks’ would continue to achieve its core objectives.

So is the British military a brand? If so presumably its premium status means that it is more desirable, for those countries who can afford it, than say the Afghan military who would not be able to command the same premium rate?

Our manufacturing base might not look too hot but here at least is something we do well – a world class brand. But what about the cutbacks? If we go along with the general’s notion of the military as a brand – one which is strong but cash strapped – then surely it would make sense to consider some strategic cross branding?

Brand ‘X’ is in need of the halo effect which brand ‘Y’, the British military, has in spades. In return brand ‘Y’ gets a much needed injection of cash. The question is who would make the perfect partner – Proctor and Gamble perhaps?

Unfortunately like most good ideas it looks like this one has already been done by a creative team based at The School of Communication Arts. Well done chaps!

I recently bought a book at a well known chain of bookstores in Manchester.  Handing it over the cashier asked if I had read any others by the author. “What a great read, wonderful writer” she beamed, enthused – almost.

A few weeks later and same thing happened again, the only difference the location, Chiswick, London. Surely nothing wrong with having staff who are friendly, share your passion for books and are interested to find out what you think? If it were true then  nothing at all. The problem was I didn’t believe it. On both occasions I had the uneasy feeling of having just stepped into an episode of the Stepford Wives.

Perhaps all the staff had been chipped. Programmed to respond according to, and in alignment with, the latest tranche of market research on how to make customers feel wanted, welcome, dare I say it; loved.

Intrigued I decided to do a bit of impromptu market research and hung out around the gift card section, next to the cash desk. Although hardly a reliable piece of research it did seem to confirm my worst fears. “John Grisham. He’s such a good read. Have you read…”  While the book and customer were interchangeable the dialogue remained much the same.

For most companies being ‘professional’ is all about presenting a consistent experience. According to conventional wisdom this should leave the customer feeling that the staff have been friendly, helpful and welcoming. Always wear a smile – I remember that one from my ‘Uni’ shelf-packing days at Safeway. Needless to say we always did wear a smile as soon as we got through the front door and headed for home.

The trouble with the professional approach is that it robs us of the one thing that can make a brand really sticky – people. According to this school of branding not only does the burger you eat need to be consistent from one store and one town to the next the staff who serve it need to be equally consistent.

This ‘prescriptive approach’ to customer service which is an integral part of the brand comes from a desire to control environments rather than create them. There is little room for intuition, creativity or mistakes. The desire for control effectively removes any spontaneity and freedom. The result is for the most part consistent inauthenticity.

Spaces that are created from the desire to pass on the brands vision are quite different from those created from the desire to control. The first invites customer to participate in the companies sense of purpose. The offer is clear, nothing hidden, take it or leave it. You know what’s on offer when you walk into an Apple shop or an Abercrombie and Fitch. The second, far from achieving the desired effect of comfort and safety, can often leave customers feeling guarded. In this space, one that is controlled rather than created, the best that can be hoped for is a truly forgettable experience.

]]> http://brandorienteering.com/2011/12/02/confidence-vs-control/feed/ 1 http://brandorienteering.com/2011/12/01/generating-generosity/ http://brandorienteering.com/2011/12/01/generating-generosity/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:28:00 +0000 Owen Stevens http://brandorienteering.com/?p=2024

I remember the first time we walked into the Dunstan Inn, boots and a muddy dog, in search of a drink and a something to eat. The pub was small, all but empty, I asked if the kitchen was open only to be told by the landlord that they didn’t do hot food… or sandwiches. I was surprised, these days most pubs have to, to survive.

The landlord recommended a pub down the road, ‘good food and a decent pint.’ My second surprise. It takes confidence to recommend the competition at the best of times and in today’s economic climate doubly so.  So how was this pub managing to thrive when others are struggling to survive? *

In turned out that the Dunstan did do food but not in the way other pubs do. For a start there is the Friday night spread. Pates, french bread, biscuits, slabs of cheese pickles and chutneys. The spread has its own table. Help yourself its all free.

On Saturday’s the landlord, Richard Maurice, orders in a few dozen pies or fresh hamburgers from the local butchers. First come first served. Watch the match have a pint and pie or a burger. There’s a kitty to cover the cost but it’s not obligatory.

The Dustan also does one thing I’ve never come across before. Takins. Chinese, Indian, Fish n Chips… There’s a stash of menus propped up against the wall at the corner of the bar. Plates, cutlery and condiments are provided by the pub, orders take about 30 minutes to arrive. I haven’t tried the ‘takin’ service yet. But it’s on the list.

The Dunstan does not offer discounts, loyalty cards or special events to bring in those customers, that will according to market research, drink more and stay longer. Events are not driven by the pub but belong to the community and are seen as joint ventures, so there’s no need to plug, cajole, promote or bribe.

By actively generating generosity, no measly squares of dried up cheddar cheese from the ‘cash n carry’ and few pickled onions. The cheese is local, farmhouse, not vacuum packed and there’s a cake of it, the Dunstan has done what all sticky brands do. Created a club, the glue that makes brands sticky, and along with it a sense of belonging and community. The result is that holy grail of holy grails; customer loyalty.

The secret to the Dunstan’s success is the landlord Richard Maurice who sees himself not just as a proprietor put community guardian. The relationship that this creates with customers is markedly different to those publicans who see their business through a balance sheet. While profits are important, without them the pub would go the same way as so many already have, it is not the driving force.

Richard sees the pub, of which he is the custodian, as serving the community.  It is this view of the world that informs the marketing and gives it the authenticity that brands like Levi’s, despite endless market research and deep pockets, are unable to command. It’s one thing to tell customers you are part of the community another to behave in a way that shows you truly are.

Marketing strategies that are driven by research rather than a long term vision may well increase profits but at what cost to the brand over the long run? Generating mistrust rather than generosity they are unlikely to ever create the brand loyalty that is the provence of a really sticky brand.

The Sticky Brand Checklist

The Dunstan ticks all the following checkpoints needed to create a sticky community and with it real brand loyalty as apposed to fans or followers.

1. A clear sense of purpose. The Dunstin’s purpose is to be a cornerstone of community life.
2. Meets a need. Provides an informal gathering place and with it a sense of belonging. A hub for charity events, village life – bonfire night, Halloween.
3. Unspoken rules. No one would dream of trying to eat as much free food as they could. The Dunstan is self-policing.
4. Participation: Food is free on Saturdays – but everyone pays their way. Room to give and be part of rather than just pay. Generosity is a two way street.

Source: Guardian

James Forman (Tod) Sloan

The phrase ‘on your tod’ comes from the Cockney rhyming slang, Tod Sloan – alone. While the saying has stuck the person who helped coin the phrase, James Forman (Tod) Sloan, has long since faded from memory.

The more I read about Sloan’s life the more I was struck by how his outlook and the challenges he faced were very similar to those faced by companies and entrepreneurs  who, not content with business as usual, have gone on to create some seriously sticky brands.

Born in Indiana in 1874 James Forman (Tod) Sloan’s life didn’t get off to a promising start. Rejected by his parents and left to fend for himself Sloan overcame almost impossible odds to become one of the world’s best-known sportsmen and the greatest jockey of the late 20th century. The song I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy, was based on Sloan’s life. *

Undoubtedly Sloan was a gifted rider but it was his unconventional approach to riding that was to set him, quite literally, head and shoulders over his competitors. While other jockeys used long stirrups Sloan used short stirrups. By positioning himself over the animals centre of gravity he enabled the horse to achieve its maximum speed. Sloan was not the first to use this style of riding but he was the first to adopt and adapt it for professional horse racing.

Having won every race there was to win in his native North America he travelled to England – the epicentre of the horse racing world. In 1897 the Prince of Wales engaged Sloan as his principle jockey. At the age of 23 Tod Sloan was the undisputed king of the horse racing world.

While the America press were far from complimentary about his unorthodox style of riding the British press were, true to form, positively caustic, referring to Sloan as the ‘monkey jockey.’  Far from being praised for his winning ways Sloan was mocked.

The Jockey Club, a stalwart of convention, did not approve of Sloan’s maverick behavior and in 1900 the club’s steward, Lord Durham, stepped up pressure on the Prince of Wales to have Sloan fired. In 1901 Sloan, no longer in the employ of the Prince of Wales, was informed by The Jockey Club that he need not re-apply for a license.

Sloan never raced again. The Cockney rhyming slang that was to far out last his fame proved to be an all too prophetic one. Sloan died in 1933 impoverished and alone or as the Cockney rhyming slang would have it ‘on his tod’.

The phrase may well be slipping from everyday use – my son who is 15 has never heard of it – but Sloan’s unorthodox style of riding which is the one used by every jockey in the world today looks like it’s here to stay. Unless of course….

Like most entrepreneurs who go on to create sticky brands, Sloan cared less about what others thought and more about what he did. An attitude that allowed him to look outside the confines of his profession and change the way things were done. When the going got tough, and you can bet your bottom dollar it will, Sloan’s disadvantaged background gave him the drive to keep on going. Like many entrepreneurs before him and since Sloan was a born maverick.

But I can’t help thinking that there is one big difference between Sloan and the Apples, Body Shops, Howies and Innocents of this world. And that difference is Vision. While Sloan shared their passion, talent, and ambition there is nothing in his story to suggest that he wanted to change anything other than his own world.

Sloan, like so many driven men and women and the companies they have created wasn’t moving toward something but simply trying to escape from it. Ultimately those entrepreneurs and companies that are driven purely by fear and the need to grow ever richer and larger with the sole aim of putting as much distance between themselves and their fear are, sooner or later, bound to come a cropper.

Perhaps if Sloan had had a vision of how horse racing ‘could be’ he would have changed more than just the way jockeys ride and in the course of doing so a small part of the English language.

*‘The Yankee Doodle Boy’ By George M. Cohan

I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy,

A Yankee Doodle, do or die;

I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy,

A Yankee Doodle, do or die;

A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam’s,
Born on the Fourth of July.
I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart,
She’s my Yankee Doodle joy.
Yankee Doodle came to London,
Just to ride the ponies,
I am a Yankee Doodle boy.

As recent events at News Corp have shown values, or the lack of them, play an important role in how a company is run. By values I am not referring to those that have been manufactured in order to provide a solution to a problem or rolled out because the research shows that they will improve the brand image.

The values I’m referring to are neither transitory nor disposable. They are authentic, ingrained, part of the woodwork, for the most part invisible, the very air we breathe. The driving force behind the brand, these are the values that provide a sense of direction and overarching purpose, which helps further differentiate the brand from its competitors.

The outdoor clothing company Howies, and Lush cosmetics, have each used their core values to create two very distinctive brand strategies based around their common stance of providing ‘eco’ friendly products. Howies make clothes from natural materials that are designed to last.  Lush cosmetics are made from natural ingredients and come with little or no wrapping.  The expression of these values – Howies hand me down campaign and Lush retail outlets that look like grocery stores – differentiates both brands from their competitors.

Brands that do not have a ‘values driven’ agenda or are happy to go along with the flavour of the month struggle to develop their own distinctive voice. Adopting a ‘me too’ approach and with it a certain blandness customers are far more likely to find these brands difficult to distinguish from the competition.

In a market place that is overcrowded and where price and quality are no longer guaranteed to distinguish one product or service from another customers are increasingly looking for brands whose values and social outlook is in line with their own – aspired or otherwise.

An increasingly important part of the purchasing mix values provide sticky brands with a social status and with that status a language, which further defines and differentiates the brand.

Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream with ‘its gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough’ is in keeping with the company’s status as a ‘brand of the people.’ This language, which is quite different from that used by Häagen-Dazs, is underpinned by the founders commitment to social justice for everyone. Ben and Jerry’s ‘it’s not fair’ campaign is  simply one more expression of this core value. As with all sticky brands Ben and Jerry’s communication never deviates from delivering its core values.

As well as being able to project a single well-focused message that has provenance, value driven brands have one other distinct advantage over those companies who are content to lead purely on product or service benefits.

While the latter look for people who are qualified, value driven brands look for those who share their values. Having a natural affinity with the product, service or/and underlying ethos of the company they are far more likely to represent the brand in a good light. By insisting that all their employees have a strong sporting background Oakley are ensuring that every department is the sales department.

Walking into a bookstore where the staff are interested in books and walking into one where they are not lends itself to two quite different shopping experiences. In the first the experience is friendly and embracing in the other you are likely to get the impression that they couldn’t care less not just about books; but about you.  Not the sort of experience that lends itself to creating a sticky brand.

A few years ago I was involved in some research for a shoe manufacturer. The brand had a reputation for being sensible, hard wearing and comfortable.

They wanted to launch a new range of shoes; ones their customers would buy because they were stylish and sexy. Like most companies they wanted a slice of a market that until now had eluded them.

The company had the designers, the technology, the financial muscle and the distribution network to achieve their ambition – they were global players.  What soon became apparent was that their values reflect their Nordic sensibilities. These values were collective not individualistic, solid rather than overtly sexy and erred on sensible. In other words what they didn’t have were stylish, sexy values.

In order for that company to produce shoes that were inherently sexy and stylish they’d have to step away from their existing cultural values and adopt a culture and a set of values that was inherently alien to them. That wasn’t going to happen.

Over the last six or eight years I’ve seen and in some cases been involved with research initiatives in which global brands have invested significant amounts of money and time to break into markets which are alien to the brands’ core values.

The pickings look rich – irresistibly so and besides if you don’t do it someone else will. In the rush to stay on top and take advantage of the next biggest thing brand values are often ignored or worse reinvented.

It’s as if Harley Davidson had decided to get into the moped market.  Sounds outrageous but what about Porches foray in the 4×4 market?  Or Hummer moving into the luxury car market? Whilst it is possible to mine those profits in the short term the damage done to the brand in the long term is likely to outweigh any opportunistic short term gains. Growing a business at the expense of the brand can be costly in the long run.

Successful brand stretch is not so much linked to the product – we do toothpaste therefore we can do toothbrushes, mouthwash, chewing gum – but to the core values that define the brand territory. Stepping away from those core values confuses customers, muddies the brand message and ultimately damages the brand premium.

Brands that have been successful in moving from one territory to another have always remained true to their core values.  Lucozade’s move from being a drink you gave to kids who were feeling under the weather to one consumed by athletes was in keeping with its core values around health.  Marks and Spencer where able to reinvigorate the brand by going back to its core values of innovation married to value and quality.

Those brands that ignore their own brand heritage and the values that go with that heritage invariably end up looking like the proverbial ugly sister.

In an interview following the Conservative Party conference, notable for its cats and bags, I was struck by the PM’s answer when questioned by Jon Snow on the economy. When asked if he, David Cameron, had ever suffered economic hardship himself, the PM referred to his current job and the fact that he was well paid and privileged to do this job.

The question was of course directed at Mr Cameron’s past and his privileged background not his current state of employment. That the PM chose to deftly sidestep the question is telling for two reasons. Firstly it shows us that, like most politicians, the PM is a master of the foxtrot.

Secondly, party politics and dancing aside, it tells us that the conservatives are aware of a potential flaw in the brand Cameron, one that is destined to play an increasingly important role in the party’s ability to deliver a powerful message on the economy.

The conservative’s have chosen to base their economic campaign strategy on austerity, the strap-line ‘We are all in it together’ underscores the message and adds that all important call to action. This key message is in keeping with the conservative brand values which are traditional and lend themselves to a good old fashioned bit of  patriotism; not a bad card to play when times get tough. So far so good.

But is Cameron a believable candidate to deliver this particular strategy? As an old Etonian and member of the Bullingdon Club (ah cruel fate) the answer is probably not. Cameron lacks the provenance to deliver a message that would have him be seen as one of the boys, down in the trenches… ‘austerity let me tell you about austerity my family lived in a… but of course they didn’t and he isn’t. And that’s a problem.

Brands like Johnnie Cupcakes (covered in last months newsletter) go to considerable lengths to ensure that the founder’s story is in keeping with the brands values and the products it delivers. Richard Branson rarely if ever misses the opportunity to show that he, like the brand, (which he is) is youthful adventurous and aspirational. Unlike Branson’s or Johnnie Earle’s past Cameron’s is off limits to the strategists.

When Reebok stepped away from its aerobic heartland to take on Nike’s prowess in the track and field market it failed to win not because it’s products were in anyway inferior to that of its competitor or that it lacked the financial muscle and will power to compete but because it lacked provenance. Ask people what they associate Reebok with and most will say aerobics ask them about Nike and most will say track and field. Who would you buy a pair of running shoes from?

A brand whose strategy and message is not aligned with its history, and the actions that make up that history, is one that will at best lack punch and worst be seen as a fraud.

Why do the polls show Cameron as a lightweight and not really up to the job? Answer: he lacks the provenance to deliver the party’s strategy on austerity. Cameron knows this and so do the strategists which is why he is keen to side step the issue and move the conversation elsewhere.

As is the case with all brands the issue is not what is being said, or even how it is being said, but our (the customers) perception of who is saying it. Consciously or unconsciously voters will always ask the question, do they have the provenance, do we believe them? The famous Monty Python sketch uses this gap between the sayer and what is being said to great comic effect finishing with the punch line, ‘and you try and tell the young people of today that and they won’t believe you.’

Margaret Thatcher could deliver messages about free enterprise and social mobility with power because she was a grocers daughter. When George Bush senior, an east coast wasp, hit the campaign trail he donned a Stetson and a Texan accent. While the rest of us are striving to be upwardly mobile those seeking high office are striving to be downwardly mobile. It’s a funny old world.

For a variety of reasons that go beyond the point of this article many European politicians are increasingly looking out of step with their voters. Thanks to a combination of education and geography, European politicians, will at least for the seeable future, find it much harder to reach for the equivalent of a Stetson and Texan accent.

If Cameron could lay a historical claim to austerity I’m sure he would. But as it stands the current Conservative brand communications strategy is doomed to look more like a sticky wicket than a sticky brand. A grocers daughter he ain’t.

Kweku Adoboli It's always the ones you least suspect

Anyone who is in any doubt as to the power of values and the extent to which they drive a business and its financial outcomes need look no further than UBS. The latest ‘rogue’ trader to run up losses of £1.3 billion is a junior who rose up the ranks from the back office-trading floor.

UBS are not the only bank or company to be blighted by rogue syndrome. In the last year and a half we have had rogue reporters, rogue MP’s, and rogue policemen. In each case there has been a call for stricter regulations, more checks and balances more transparency. Historically these measures have a poor track record treating as they do the symptoms rather than the cause.

UBS who has a history of rogue traders, dating back to at least 1998, had according to their latest press release put in stringent safeguards to prevent such a thing ever happening again. Interestingly the only difference between UBS’s 1998 losses and those incurred  in 2011 is the amount which is three times larger than that lost in 1998.

In the game of Monopoly that is investment banking the win lose stakes are high. Those that are prepared to take the risks can expect to pick up their own slice of Mayfair. Those that gamble and lose don’t pass go, don’t collect their £200 and risk going straight to jail.

Risk, the core value that drives this carrot and stick game has created an American ‘frat’ house culture. The basic entry level requirement for ‘frat’ members is the willingness and the ‘balls’ to take risks.  As part of this rite of passage new members can also expect to undergo a series of hazing (harassment) rituals from other more seasoned members of the club.

The real power of these value driven cultures lies not in their financial rewards, which is the icing on the cake, but in the fraternity they create, frat coming from the Greek ‘frater’ which means brother. The club’s uncompromising rules to entry are designed to foster feelings of privilege and belonging. Once inside there are some clear, if unspoken guidelines, on how to improve your standing.

Junior members more than anyone else are required to prove they have the balls to embrace the company’s risk taking culture. The more able they are to effectively embrace that culture, the bigger their balls, the more power they can exert. The more power you can exert the safer you are. Ironically for those traders working in investment banking safety comes from taking ever-greater risks.

The value driven cultures that epitomize those found in investment banking are inward looking. The ability to accumulate the all important cultural trophies of money and status, are what really counts. Loyalty is to the group anything that might threaten the group becomes the enemy.

How effective will new legislation, increased safety checks and balances be in curbing the excessive risk taking and the hazing that helps to perpetuate it? If the same legislation that was used to ban the excessive hazing techniques in frat houses in the states is anything to go by, not very effective at all. Frat houses have longevity and resistance to change built into their DNA.

The UBS PR machine would have us believe that Kweku Adoboli, the junior trader at the centre of the latest UBS debacle, is a bad apple, a rogue trader that slipped through the net. The reality is that most rogue traders are not unprincipled outcasts  waiting for the chance to buck the system, they are the system.

I don’t think anyone would argue that it takes a certain kind of balls to rack up £1.3 billion in loses. Unfortunately for Kweku Adoboli the only balls he’s likely to be carrying around for the forceable future will be those attached to his ankles.

On the bright side a stretch in goal might give him plenty of time to reflect on the values that have lead to his demise. We can only hope those companies and organisations who have been effected by rogue syndrome will do the same.  If the UBS track record is anything to go by I wouldn’t bank on it.

The Telegraph

Herdism or Mumism?

According to Mark Earls individual choice is not the big thing it has been cracked up to be. Evidence has come to light, which seems to suggest that our choices are for the most part driven by the social groups we inhabit. This thinking also has significant repercussions on how, we as customers relate to brands.

Important stuff and it all makes absolute sense especially given the new social interconnectedness afforded by the new digital networks. In other words not only interesting – this new stuff is also very timely.

And yet… I couldn’t help thinking of something my mother said to me when I was 14 or 15 years old. ‘It’s funny,’ she said. ‘Every generation thinks it’s the one that invented sex.’ Listening to Mark Earl’s speak you could be forgiven for thinking that this new thinking is err… new. And that this new way of thinking which gets to the bottom of how we really behave and what drives that behaviour will revolutionise the way market research is done in the future.

And yet…in 1984 a report was carried out which showed that when the suicide of a celebrity was reported there was ‘a significant increase in suicide rates in the months those articles were published.’ It’s not the only report there are countless others – not all of which have suicide as the main topic – they just have the same conclusions. If in doubt, which is where most of us are most of the time, then follow the crowd. When someone comes along with what looks like an answer that fits our inclination, be that inclination hunger or the wish to end it all, we say I’ll have some of that thank you.

The fact that we take our cues from the social networks we live in is hardly news – at least not new news. Behavioural psychologists have long since known the influence groups exert on our behaviour and decision-making. People who go to weight watchers might say they are going there to lose weight – most will probably believe that this is the case. But if we dig a little deeper we soon see that the reason they are going is to hang out with other fat people in order to feel okay about themselves. If I am an alcoholic I’ll hang around alcoholics that way I can have my behaviour confirmed as normal and socially acceptable.  The weight watchers business model is nothing short of sheer genius – certainly the closest thing I’ve come across to a perpetual motion machine.

What Mark Earls is saying is interesting. What’s more he says it in a way that is cogent and well thought through. You don’t get to have several books published on a subject without being able to string a sentence together. Mark Earls has certainly strung a lot of sentences together and strung them well. Herd is well worth reading as indeed was his previous book Welcome to the Creative age.

But really is this stuff new or are we just being strung along? In his opening gambit he sets out his stall by posing the question ‘what do we do in a world in which social learning is the prime means in which people shape their behaviour?  Although not explicit the inference and the argument it sets out is that the world we now inhabit is somehow different. Digital social networking has changed the way we operate and we need to rethink our approach to branding and the way we do market research.

Mark Earls latest book, Herd, provides us with the new methodologies and the new way we need to think about branding and market research. Herd is the new frontier a bright new dawn and  a brand new day in market research land. If all goes well it won’t be long before we see market researchers and marketeers rolling up to become Herdsman or Herdswomen.

Mark Earls is a master ‘brandsman’ – you only have to look at the Mark Earls brand to know this to be true. If he is half as good at delivering other companies brands, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, then to have him shepherding your company’s assets to the promised land would be a very useful thing indeed.

Although not part of the book’s main premise Herd has one other important message, that brand owners and those who work to improve them would do well to heed. And that is the only thing that sells better than sex… is the new sex.

Whilst I’d like to claim this insight, credit where credit is due. My mum – who incidentally and for the record went to weight watchers – was right, there’s nothing new under the sun just the latest generation who think there is – very insightful my mum. Think I’ll call this a Mumism. Perhaps there’s a book in there somewhere?

You can find the video of Mark Earls talking about his new book Herd on the Roy Langmaid website