Please, no more brainstorms
An open letter to my colleagues at Fleishman-Hillard Toronto.
Please, dear friends, I beg of you. No more brainstorms, at least this week. I love the creativity, the energy and the fantastic ideas – both from a strategic and tactical perspective. Every session I go to, I’m humbled by some of the conversations and I just wish I could offer as much as some of my other colleagues.
Nonetheless, two brainstorms in two days is just too much. Not intellectually, not physically, but nutritionally. Yesterday afternoon I devoured half a bath tub of Lays chips (original flavour), a box of sour candy and no less than sixteen Reisens. I left the meeting amped up on sugar and creativity and couldn’t stop twitching for an hour. And I don’t even drink coffee.
This morning I was part of a tele-brainstorm with our Quebec office and happened to sit next to the over-stocked plate of timbits, from Tim Hortons (Canada’s favourite coffee/doughnut chain). I was determined to be strong, to fight the good fight and to resist temptation. I failed. The plate is empty.
So please, no more brainstorms! My waistline can’t take it any more.
Yours sincerely, Ed
ps – I still think the dunk tank idea would work
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Full disclosure - Lays is the client we were brainstorming for.
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October 3, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Ed, years ago I played Dorothy in a production of The Wiz, and our munchkins were played by children aged 4 to 13.
The director and I rehearsed every Saturday, all day, with the munchkins. We’d work from about 10 to noon, then break for a snack, then rehearse from 12:30 till about 2 pm.
The snacks? Donuts. Colas. Cookies.
And the director wondered why the kids were cranky, short-tempered, and swinging from the chandeliers for the last half of *every* rehearsal…
As a result, our functional rehearsal time was cut in half. And the parents of our child actors wondered why such irritable, over-tired, over-stimulated kids were coming out of rehearsal each week.
The morals to the story:
- Learn the discipline to walk away from the junk food, because it really does affect your performance, detrimentally, and will affect your health over the long term.
- If you’re not good at resisting temptation, make sure to eat before meeting where there will be junk food so at least you’ll be full, and/or bring in your own healthy food.
- Ask whomever organizes refreshments if there are healthier options they could include for you — and then live up to your request, eat the healthy stuff, and make sure to say thank you afterwards.
- Someday, when you’re running the show, make sure you provide your people with snacks during meetings that they will enjoy, but that don’t decrease their ability to work well.
And remember: nobody likes a cranky munchkin.
October 3, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Ha ha ha, very funny post Ed.
We’ve got a client with a Red Bull sponsorship. This means we’ve constantly got a fridge jam-packed with the stuff.
I’m like you, and I try to keep a tab on my coffee consumption, but this Red Bull stuff is the devil!
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try mixing a can of red bull with three double vodkas. not really work safe.
October 4, 2006 at 10:56 am
You don’t…drink…coffee…. ?
That’s not normal.
October 4, 2006 at 7:33 pm
You feed people during brainstorms??? Go sans-food .. get better ideas in half the time … it works!
October 23, 2006 at 1:25 pm
[...] After Ed Lee posted his thoughts on brainstorming, Julie Rusciolelli provided her perspective: [...]