Tag Archive for Razor’s Vision

Sliding Doors

August 20, 2011 Razor news, Razor's progress No comments

Let me qualify – I don’t really understand what a sliding door is.  Other than being an actual door that slides I suppose.  I nearly titled this blog ‘one era shuts and another one opens’ but that felt a tad grandiose (and you know how I abhor exaggeration…)

But I wanted to mark what was, I feel, an auspicious week in Razor’s (nearly 4) year history.

Three much loved Razorettes have said their last goodbyes to the room on the 4th floor in Waterloo.  Debbie has gone off to seek better positions for her troublesome back, Lucy is returning to Australia and Sam Dodd is off to University to study Creative Writing.  Some of these departures were more inevitable than others but all are exciting – all heralding in exciting life changes for these three fabulous, inspiring, clever women.  We have been privileged to have counted them amongst our number for a few years.

But our numbers are swelling in return.  Claire and Rachel have been with us for a few months now – so few but so seamless that I have to keep reminding myself that they haven’t in fact, been with us forever.  Matt joined a few weeks ago and comes back on Monday after paternity leave…Steve’s fears that any of the WOMEN at Razor would have babies immediately laid to ironic rest by having a new father sooner than we have any new mothers.  Tara and Michaela form a small but perfectly formed Ops Team – Tara managing us and the office, Michaela is our very first book keeper.  I’ve already had to apologise twice for my shambolic finances (Steve has not had to apologise yet – namely by avoiding the issue altogether!)  And on Monday we are joined by Amelie – a stylish and funky researcher who we can’t wait to work with.  And we have a new intern with us too – my very beautiful and clever third cousin, Emmelia, with whom I sadly don’t share half enough family resemblance.

Elle will return in a few weeks – bronzed and refreshed after an amazing wedding and the 1st September heralds our 4th birthday.

So there’s a lot of change in the air. I COULD wax lyrical about the girls who’ve departed and weep into my hanky but I won’t.  They will ALL stay great friends – nothing is over.  But I WILL bang on about how excited I am that we’ve already met some great new people and that the opportunities to learn from them, work with them and introduce them to our clients and our values is just really, really cool.

Ta ra for now my dear darling departing Razors.

And welcome to Razor you lovely, exciting new friends.

Chloe

AQR Q Fest and The Devil Wears Prada

June 19, 2011 Qualitative Research, Razor's progress, research method No comments

Remember the scene in The Devil Wears Prada where Anne Hathaway’s character claims she’s ‘just wearing a sweater’ and Glenn Close turns on her and reminds her that the cheap turquoise ‘just’ sweater she’s wearing has in fact been passed through the style gullets of 10 or so luminaries in order to reach the level of affordable accessibility that she calls ‘just a sweater.’

I think maybe that’s how I feel about the things I hear at qual conferences.  By the time I get it (aka understand it)– it’s been through the layers of trend setting, dissection, resurrection and application that turn the theory into something I can actually use.

To be fair, I’m not a very good conference –goer.  Like I’m not a very good church-goer.  Or a stand up comedy-goer.  I can’t help but adjust my face into some sort of sceptic frown at some point around the first biscuit and it doesn’t lift until the final ciggie out the front with the cool kids.

Last week it was the AQR’s Q Fest – touted as the Glastonbury of Qual.  That sent me spinning for a start – as my idea of merry hell would be Glastonbury.  Or Sainsbury’s on the first BBQ weekend of the year.  But I gather it was all about melting pot, free-thinking and freedom of expression.  I was rather hoping it meant free weed but I have yet again misjudged my colleagues in qual.

I hear the big words: neuroscience, paradigm, plasticity, heuristic…and this year we have ‘BE’ (Behavioural Economics) – looming over all the how’s and why’s.

But what sticks?  The next day – always more than I think at the time.

But there’s something else I learnt more than anything else and that’s having the courage just to TALK about what you’re doing is as important as doing the doing.  What was it Jo Kennedy Snr said in the first episode of C4’s The Kennedys (it’s not as dire as you think) “It doesn’t matter who you are, it’s who they think you are” that counts.  And that’s it.  I think at Razor we shy away from bundling our practices into words and calling it theory.  We assume what we’re doing is dead normal and run of the mill and actually, I’m wondering whether maybe it’s more unique than that.  And sometimes we DO get there first – or at least, we’re not last.

Okay, maybe I personally will only ever be the one wearing ‘just a sweater’ but we need to keep surrounding ourselves with the people wearing the banana print sawn-off shorts and sometimes we need to be confident enough to go out there wearing the latest fashion and being proud of it.

Chloe

Blog conundrum and a prize fund

May 29, 2011 Qualitative Research No comments

Right, here’s a challenge.  I will give £20 of my OWN money to the Razor researcher who is the first to tell me this secret password: “I read your blog”.  Yeah, I know, shaha.    Steve – that includes you.  Except you owe me £20 so that makes is Even. Steven.

The whole blog ‘thing’ is on my mind a lot – and that’s despite the fact that frankly I’m a bit of a rubbish blogger.  Well, I assume I’m a rubbish blogger, because it feels a bit like a vacuum of thoughts that unlike a ‘dear diary’, you don’t even get the pleasure of being able to hide under the mattress.  Mum, that’s where they were…in fact, that’s probably where they still are.

I just haven’t had the epiphany moment like I did with Twitter and yet to have with my iPad – where the point just falls into place.  If there’s a Twitterati I’m not in it but I read it.  But this blogosphere just feels a bit airless.

I remember to write up when something ‘happens’ but that pre-supposes that the big things that happen at Razor are events, parties, conferences, etc.  But to be honest, great things happen amongst us everyday – great conversations, fab briefs, happy clients, new stuff on the shelves and on air.

But should I be opining on a daily basis?  Sharing my thoughts on the industry, the products I buy and the brands I love and love to hate?  Should I be recounting the great experiences I have with respondents, with clients, colleagues and friends?  Should I be mulling over the thoughts about new methods and approaches – just putting them out there to see if they bite?

I dunno.  Should I even be spending MORE time reading OTHER people’s blogs and looking smart by blogging about the bloggers?

Should we be finding ways to plug the blog?  How do I encourage all the smart people at Razor to blog more?  How do we all get over the hurdle of ‘but I don’t have anything to say’ when we’re all busy chatting away in the office?  If I had collected a pound for every time I said ‘we/you/I should blog about that’ would the prize fund for just reading this one be swollen to £50 or more?

Anyway – all thoughts welcome.  In fact, just blog about it.

Chloe

We have a dream (okay, a vision)

May 5, 2010 Razor news No comments

So this is a week of visions and values – if you’re anywhere near anything or anyone talking about the election. But while politicians are busy spinning their values and visions into the vortex of voting…Razor is busy working up their own. V good.

It’s not that we didn’t have any before – we did. We attribute our successful first 2.5 years to the fact that our brand does stand for something, and whatever that is has been potent and powerful for clients (and the fact that we work damn hard). But we’re aware that we’ve grown pretty fast and that with more Razorites in the mix it seemed the right time to check we ALL know what we’re doing here.

And even better, my terribly talented sister Polly is mid way through her MBA programme at London Business School and one of their modules is MVV (missions, visions and values). She and her study group buddy, Cheryl, offered to work with us for their case study. Fabulous. Love a bit of keeping it in the family. They spent time with each one of us and also interviewed several of our key clients, potential clients and carried out a competitive review.

So we spent yesterday hearing about what we think of ourselves and what others think of us and aligned and defined all our thoughts on what our mission, visions and values really are. A fabulous example of poachers turning gamekeepers as we were (nearly) forced to hold hands, play games and work in syndicates – just like we make our clients and consumers do all the time.

I am really excited by the outcome. I’m thrilled that the team are energised by what the company stands for and we’ve got some fab thoughts about how to make those values run through everything we do – from debriefs to desk tidies.

I am less thrilled by the fact that we ended the night in an underground bunker singing karaoke. My memories are hazy but I’m pretty sure I didn’t grab the microphone but I MAY have done some interpretive dance. I will also be permanently scarred by seeing Steve perform a word perfect, with hand gestures, version of Britney’s ‘Baby hit me one more time’. Who said working with 8 girls came with any disadvantages?! And don’t ask what Andy sung…I couldn’t possibly say.

Chloe