Technique v Personality

Good weekend? I'll wager you don't often spend your Saturday mornings attending public lectures at the Barber Institute in Birmingham. Well you really missed a treat the other day when Mike Brearley came to deliver his thoughts on the subject of technique and personality in sport and psychoanalysis. Fortunately for you, dear reader, I was there, bright-eyed and taking notes. 

For those poor souls not properly raised, Mike Brearley was probably the best captain that England's cricket team has ever had; a strong, quiet philosopher of a leader, with a knack for reading people as well as knocking the odd century at the crease. His point was a pertinent one, about the dual role played by technique and personality in performance. 

So, on the one hand you have the specialist technical skills required to master an art. The way you grip the bat, your foot placement, the drop or lift of your shoulder. And then you have all the unconscious personality elements that go into success. Things like attitude, self-discipline, resilience, confidence, imagination, empathy, responsibility... Everyone spends their first few driving lessons learning how to control the car, change gear, make use of pedals and mirrors. But is is something else entirely that makes the difference between being a good driver and ending up as a road safety statistic. 

I couldn't help but notice the parallels with our own world of creative brand communications. Technique is essential, but on its own it will not win. Or sell. We admire technique, but we respond to personality. We win or lose (Kevin Pietersen eat your heart out) on the basis of character, approach, feeling. And I think this is what we mean when we talk about brand. 

Of course, poor technique can always wreck the result - our skills have to be continuously reviewed and perfected. But without personality, the most beautifully crafted film, the most perfectly printed brochure, the most thoroughly researched campaign will be as flat and hollow as an England victory achieved only through a miscalculation of the Duckworth-Lewis method. 

PS Even if you're not into cricket, you might like The Art of Captaincy by Mike Brearley.

Carrie