Poetry, mundane magic and radical ideas: T&Pm's Alex Dobson on keeping his cogs turning

In an AI-powered world, it can sometimes feel overwhelming for strategy folk to seek out inspiration when they’re busy creating order out of chaos. 

But the world has always been a bit mad. People don't think what they feel, say what they think or do what they say. They never have. 

For me the calm and creativity comes in embracing those contradictions rather than trying to overcome them, fusing two opposing sources of inspiration to arrive at a perspective which might feel fresh. So in advance of what is likely to be an even more mad 2025, here are five ‘creative compounds’ I find helpful. 

Mindful and Mindless

I’m a recent convert to the ethereal world of poetry thanks to Frank Skinner’s Poetry Podcast. He’s introduced me to poets like Denise Levertov, Stevie Smith and Caroline Knox who I would never have heard of otherwise, and it’s such a fab way of getting your brain to relax and make new connections instead of operating on autopilot – I can’t recommend it enough. The depth of thinking and soul crammed in every phrase is so refreshing, and I probably listen to an episode every other day. I’m currently reading The Inward Trilogy by Yung Pueblo which is like camomile in written form.  

But life lived only at that level is pretty one-dimensional (and a little bit wanky). So I like to balance it with the mindless candyfloss of a Below Deck, Selling Sunset or Emily in Paris (and much more). Not just because they’re good fun, but because they’re the things people actually watch. And we’re in the business of understanding popular culture. 

It’s why I love The Rest is Entertainment - it balances high-brow and low-brow in a thoughtful, effortless way, giving you a more rounded perspective on culture.   

Timely and Timeless

Whether it’s via listening tools like Sprinklr or the feeds of social starlets like Duolingo, Nutter Butter, Mobil Fox (and more), it’s an obvious point to say that knowing your demure dresses from your brat beanies is pretty important, and I’m scrolling around on social quite a lot – as you’d expect. But it’s when you see what’s trending in the context of the universal truths of people like Stephen King, Bill Bernbach and David Ogilvy that it becomes really interesting. 

My dad also used to be a planner, and I resisted the ad industry for many years as a result. But once I realised it was where I belonged, he would sit me down every Sunday and get me to deconstruct that week’s ads while educating me on Tesco Dotty, VW Lemon, Levi’s Launderette, the Malboro Man and more. It was the best training I could have ever asked for. 

Tesco’s recent ‘ICONS’ OOH may be cool, but it’s much more interesting in the context of the giants that came before it (see Tommy Hilfiger). And for me the timely is always more interesting when you see it in the context of the timeless. 

Mundane and Magical

I’ve just returned from a stint living out in NYC and it was the most exciting, exhausting period of my life. You can’t help but compare every experience with what you’re used to back home. Grocery shopping at Trader Joes, commuting on the subway, watching the Brooklyn Nets on the weekend – everything makes you think. So whilst traveling around the East Coast to places like DC, Philly & Boston was pretty incredible, it was actually the small stuff I found most fascinating about living in America. 

And now I’m back in little old London it’s made me view seemingly dull experiences like commuting on SouthWest Trains with fresh eyes. I now see more of the magical in the mundane. 

Putting yourself out of your comfort zone will, by its very nature, feel a bit uncomfortable. But I can’t recommend it enough. Whatever that looks like to you (you don’t need to move your life to and from another country) go for it, you won’t regret it. 

Routine and Radical

In my life I’ve probably sat on about 10,000 chairs and, until five years ago, I would have given them almost zero brain power – in my mind they were just an incidental part of everyday life. But my fiancé is a spacial-planner at a high-end furniture company and he has, very patiently, educated me on the radical creativity that comes in designing something as simple as a chair. When the same thing has been designed upwards of a million times already, it’s almost impossible to come up with something new or interesting. It’s why I love the Masters chair designed by Philippe Starck – it’s an homage to three iconic chairs by 20th century designers Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames. And learning more about furniture design has helped me realise the radical creativity that rules our routines almost invisibly. 

Similarly, all but a few ‘wonks’ in Westminster actively enjoy thinking about politics outside of an election. It’s part of the wallpaper of our world. But I love it, and when you dig into the details of FDR’s 'New Deal', Atlee’s post-war government or Blair’s ‘Third Way’ you realise that real change isn’t always sexy. It’s not always "We shall fight them on the beaches" or "I have a dream". It’s often practical, pragmatic and precise. There’s inspiration to be found in the radical ideas that aren’t always shouting for our attention. 

Paper and Pixel

I enjoy immersing myself in cultural commentary from the likes of Casey Lewis and keeping tabs on creators like Khaby Lame, Anthony Voulgaris, A.L Crego and George Olney.  But it can sometimes feel like our phones are fused to our fingers, and there’s a reason nearly 2/3 of Gen Z take some kind of break from social media. 

That’s why my favourite places in the world are relatively remote, like the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where you can totally disconnect. A world more about moss, mud and Macintoshes than Cap Cut, Collages and Content Pillars. 

I also subscribe to print editions of The Atlantic, New York Times and New Scientist, which may feel old fashioned if it weren’t for Gen Z leading a ‘Printaissance’ right now. 

And my Remarkable 2 is one of the best things I’ve ever owned – a digital notepad that purposefully writes like a paper and converts your writing to text – effortlessly blending the power of pixel and paper. I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Alex Dobson is creative strategy lead, global, at T&Pm