Inspiring Futures Podcast

Edward Cotton is a seasoned strategist working in New York and runs an excellent podcast called 'Inspiring Futures'. For our second appearance on the show - listen to the first one here - we wanted to do things a bit differently and bring in a client and an agency. 

So in this 57-minute 'Inspiring Futures' podcast episode, marketer Tom Noble (Nike, adidas, BMW, MINI, AFL, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat) and Jeremy Diamond (co-founder of Distillery,  a brand strategy consultancy) join us for a panel discussion.    

We discuss what good looks like. Key pointers: 

• - Run pre-brief conversations to align expectations;
• - Give one owner clear decision rights;
• - Define the problem crisply, set clear objective, and state constraints upfront;
• - Replace opinion-led feedback with structured evaluation criteria and pre-agreed success metrics;
• - Use practical tools—checklists, templates, and training—to raise baseline capability across teams.

Some of our favourite sound bites: 

Matt Davies: Strategy first, creative brief second. Mixing them is the fastest way to waste time and money.

Pieter-Paul von Weiler: Decide who decides. Clear ownership beats endless consensus every time.

Tom Noble: Brave ideas are efficient ideas—when the brief is sharp, you need fewer rounds.

Jeremy Diamond: Swap opinion for criteria. Evaluate ideas against agreed outcomes, not personal taste.