Name: Sybil Fawlty, specialist subject: the bleeding obvious.

Strictly speaking, the statement has two authors. John Cleese gave it to all of us, but it was a long cross-European car journey that made it my de facto by-line. I was sharing my view of the world with a friend, also a marketing consultant, when he brought it out to voice his disbelief that what we do should be regarded as such an esoteric pursuit.

He’s right of course. The most powerful components in marketing consultancy are an ability to listen and a strong regard for common sense. But if my specialist subject is, indeed, the bleeding obvious, then it’s not a bad field of study. 

Over the years (oh, so many of them!) I’ve seen how the woods get hidden behind that line of trees. The line of trees in the middle of that swamp full of alligators. The one you’ve been meaning to drain, but...

So I wouldn’t presume to claim superior understanding of your business, your customers or your problems. But I have evicted a few alligators in my time. And once they stop snapping, draining the swamp isn’t a major challenge.

What this site is about

In 2007 I made the decision to withdraw from the vicissitudes of running a marketing agency and get back to what pushes my buttons - creative marketing.  You can't do much of that when you're acting as an unpaid VAT collector, untrained HR consultant and unwilling financial juggler.

So this site's here to show you what I do now.  I'm lucky enough still to have the same creative team around me, but it's all so much more fun now.