My PR and marketing journey is in the early stages of its growth. I recently transferred into the industry full time. Before this I was a university teacher, researching and lecturing philosophy. I used to read dusty old texts and make them exciting for young people. I spent a lot of time thinking about new angles on old ideas, new ways to package ancient wisdom, and how to keep an audience engaged. So, in a way, I think many of the same skills are shared.
So far, I’ve learned a lot of insightful things from lots of kind people in marketing. People who have, in one way or another, sacrificed their time to help me. That’s how I’ve been able to change careers and that’s how I’ve been able to grow.
Collaborating with other people and working towards a shared goal. That’s what I find more rewarding than anything else. Having individual goals is all well and good, but you don’t necessarily get to share that success with anyone. Collaborating with people lets you do that. It can be people on your team or clients you’re working for. But when you help them achieve something they want, that’s the best result you can have. I also love seeing the outcomes of what I do – the ‘concrete deliverables’ and how they’ve helped.
Clarks, because I’ve never had a bad pair of Clarks.
I enjoy listening to podcasts and audiobooks while walking my dogs. I mostly listen to political or comedy podcasts, and for audiobooks I like non-fiction. I’m currently listening to ‘The Murder of Professor Schlick: The Rise and Fall of the Vienna Circle’ by David Edmonds.
It really depends on where people work and what their jobs are. But, in the UK, the biggest challenge businesses face is probably going to be the fall out of the cost-of-living crisis.
There are so many challenges it can be hard to know where to begin. But, here in the UK, lots of people think that the government itself is the biggest problem.
Recently, lawyers at the Client Earth project took a case against the government to the high court. They argued that the government’s current policies aren’t enough to tackle the worst effects of climate change, and therefore it’s failing in its legal duty set out in the 2008 Climate Change Act. Its lawyers also argued that the government is essentially withholding the numbers on individual policies’ contributions to meeting the Net Zero target. If the court case is successful, then it may force the government to release a new, detailed Net Zero strategy.
Public transport, like trams, and pedestrianised city centres. They’d hopefully reduce a common but unnecessary car journey: those below 3 miles. And fewer cars would make many cities much nicer places to live, which will be of great importance as some predictions suggest 7 out of 10 people around the world will soon live in cities.
More than anything, I love going on guided tours around cities. You get to see impressive architecture, someone tells you about the history, and you get some exercise. At the end of it, you can have a few drinks at some of the bars and restaurants you’ve spotted en route.
