I Strategist

"I was born to perform, it's a calling, I exist to do this" — Jarvis Cocker

At 60, recently redundant, people ask why I don't just "wind down."

Find something less stressful.

But here's the thing about being a strategist — it's not what I do, it's who I am.

Emma Perret recently wrote a brilliant piece about the need for 'life in her work’ full of great quotes, I loved: ”fingerprints on everything I touch as proof I was here."

She talks of strategy living in the gap between what data says and what your gut knows.

And that gut feeling, never switches off.

Even between paying jobs, I find myself studying problems, sketching solutions, seeing patterns others miss.

My brain feeds off finding routes through chaos — whether it's cultural, political, or brand challenges.

In the ‘Self-Determination Theory by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, they talk of ‘..a certain group of people as having spontaneous tendencies to be curious and interested, to seek out challenges and to exercise and develop their skills and knowledge, even in the absence of operationally separable rewards..’

Research shows that strategist identity often builds on earlier professional experiences, becoming an extension rather than abandonment of previous identities.

After decades, it becomes woven into who you are.

How we see our work matters more than the job title. I now see strategy work as essential to my identity.

Tom Fryer, Professor of mental health, wrote about ‘Work, identity and health’ pointing out for most people, their job was their only significant source of personal identity.

He went on to warn: ‘….Without a clear sense of personal identity we are vulnerable to psychological injury, at risk of anxiety and depression, and social disengagement.…’

Clearly a subject of the moment, not just for me, but the nation as a whole facing up to a new world of AI infused work.

So me being a strategist is more than getting paid (although that bit is neat) its essential

as Javis says:

I exist to do this

Some callings don't respect retirement plans.

What drives you to keep doing what you love, even when the world suggests you shouldn't?

Skills vs Mindset in the AI Era

At 60, I still delight in approaching each new challenge with a beginner’s mindset. It’s what researchers term "deprivation sensitivity" – the psychological hunger for an understanding: The alluring draw of the why?

My career trajectory resembles a rather haphazard game of pinball, not just from design to advertising, but from B2C to B2B, and steps from: Creative Director to Strategist to Agency founder to Investor to Client, etc.

Each ricochet taught me something. Curiosity consistently trumps credentials.

Recent studies reveal 81% of employees acknowledge AI fundamentally alters required workplace competencies. The World Economic Forum identifies curiosity, creative thinking, and flexibility as core, central skills for future workplace success.

Intriguing, how we've arrived at valuing really ancient human traits in our most technologically advanced AI era.

Contemporary workplace innovation increasingly stems from curiosity-driven exploration rather than process adherence. Multiple studies demonstrate that deprivation sensitivity correlates more strongly with adaptive performance than technical proficiency alone.

My zigzag career wasn't planned, but it cultivated something invaluable: comfort with discomfort. Each pivot demanded simultaneous hunger for learning and disciplined competency development.

The difference now is the urgent requirement of concurrent curiosity and capability in a perpetual refreshed mode.

The limiting factor isn't technical constraints – it's our own ambition and intellectual appetite.

Competency without curiosity will create professional dead ends.

Now its about cultivating a beginner's mindset as a core competency. Develop systematic comfort with uncertainty.

Crucial point:

Practice intellectual humility alongside technical skill acquisition.

You are NOT an AI expert, be honest, we barely grasp the AI workplace implications of the next 6 months, let alone the rest of the decade. >> Look up Rana Adhikari at the California Institute of Technology, who recently found some AI models designing experiments that defy human expectations, sometimes bypassing controls. (Article in Wired, et al.)

So its clear, the most valuable professional asset isn't knowing everything.

It's maintaining the discipline to approach everything as if you know nothing.

The challenge now is how to institutionalise intellectual curiosity within traditional competency frameworks