Sunday drivers...

Another Sunday mid-afternoon was spent drifting between 'realtime' and thoughts of the working week ahead. This week is running to a particular theme, purely by chance rather than by design.

Rather than client meetings, proposal writing and campaign launches, the next 5 days involve team reviews, PDPs, entrepreneur awards and a KMPG mobile start-up competition. That’s not to mention participation in a round table at the BBC about closing a growing skills gap, hopefully by inspiring young people about the jobs of 'tomorrow'. This at a time when government research reveals that students who lack a sufficient number of encounters with employers are 4 times more likely to become NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training).

Yes, this weekend my outlook for the week was slightly different. I liked it and, as a result, enjoyed my usual Sunday limbo a good deal.

In our role as B2B tech PR pros, we talk at length to discover a shared vision for our clients, and greatly enjoy future-gazing. We analyse tech trends, changing regulation and competitor activity to build up ‘thought leaders’ and gain recognition for businesses making a difference.

In an attempt to bring ‘thought leadership’ outside the PR office this week, I am turning to examples from two recent events;

A client of ours, who shall remain nameless, disclosed in confidence a new global campaign concept. It was derived from a single remark about the humming Fintech ecosphere. It’s a great concept, but it won’t be easy to get sign-off within a usually conservative business culture.

Later in the week there was another benefactor, who shall also remain unnamed. Someone I have worked closely with over many years (someone who could certainly be considered an occasional ‘frenemy’) carried out an act so kind at a time of utter inconvenience and personal discomfort for them. It took me aback.

Point one, offering a clear purpose in a chaotic landscape has potential to influence perspectives and write headlines. But only having the means and the determination to act, and the staying power to deliver, can change the world around us.

Point two, it feels great to be fulfilled by the good in others. Whether that be in unexpected gestures of immense selflessness, or in day to day work-based achievements.

Challenging subjects, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and global fraud trends, cross our minds and our pages daily. Our industry is pushing on and we have our heads down, pushing too.

After almost a decade at SkyParlour, we have an office packed full of teammates – and by pushing in the same direction they are achieving outstanding results. It feels satisfying, when we take a moment to realise it!