// essays
Essays
The wider notebook. Stories from the work, and the ideas underneath them. Most began life on LinkedIn; they’re gathered here so they last longer than a feed.
// essays
The Laziest Professional I Ever Met
He was in my kitchen. In marketing, as in life, the best fix is rarely a rebuild.
Black Friday Is Just Bad Business
The economics are cracked. Nine studies on why the discount rarely pays.
David Beckham and the Magnus Effect
Three things a thousand hours of writing marketing courses taught me about how people actually learn.
I Bought a Knife Off the Street
A street-market knife demo, the OCEAN model, and why marketers misjudge normal buyers.
Forget the Metrics
What an allotment full of people in their seventies taught me about community.
If You Want to Understand a Community, Break Something
A snapped bike-polo bracket, the bystander effect, and the difference between an audience and a community.
The Blank Departure Board
A tense moment on the Underground, Rory Sutherland, and why clarity beats doubt.
The Recycle Ad That Got Me
The gap between wanting to act and being able to: mental versus physical availability.
I Don’t Know the Brand’s Name. I Always Buy It.
The quiet power of brand codes: remembered, not named.
I Measured It Wrong
A 1,490-day Duolingo streak, and the trap of optimising for the wrong number.
A Eulogy for UrbanFox Club
I ran a moustache-wax brand. On putting your money where your mouth is.
Maslow’s Hierarchy Is Wrong
The most compelling models of human need are the ones you should trust least.
All Band Names Are Awful
Every brand name is terrible until it isn’t. Why naming matters less than you fear.
The Microwave Streetfighter
What selling rancid burgers in a chef’s hat taught me about conviction.
AI Stole Everything I’d Ever Written
I found my life’s work laundered by AI. So I built a tool to stop it.
It’s Rare to See a Sale Increase Revenue
A client obsessed with flash sales, and the formula that got them from twice a month to twice a year.