Predatory Thinking

By Dave Trott

Predatory thinking in which Dave Trott shares the ideas that underpin his philosophy’s in both life and work. Mr Trott is most noticeable for founding the GGT advertising agency whose clients have include Cadbury & Toshiba.

The Ship Of Theseus

Trott uses Plutarch’s “Ship Of Theseus” thought experiment to illustrate what creativity is.

The experiment states that there was once a ship which went on a very long voyage. During the voyage it got tossed around and bit by bit the ship’s components (Sail’s, Ropes, Planks etc.) had to be replaced. By the time that the ship returned to the port, not a single piece of it was made from the original material. The question posed is “Could this ship still be considered the Ship of Theseus?”.

Some people argued that it was no the ship of Theseus as it contains none of the original parts. However, at what point then did it stop being the Ship Of Theseus. Was it after the first plank was replaced, or second … ?

Others argued that it is still the Ship Of Theseus despite it containing no original parts. If this is the case then, let’s assume that none of the old parts (rusty nails, broken ropes etc.) were thrown away and instead were housed in the inner rooms of the ship. Once they got home then unloaded all of these broken parts into a pile. Now is the functioning ship or the pile of parts the real Ship Of Theseus?

Trott makes the point that most people would agree that the standing/functional ship is the Ship Of Theseus stating that:

Without a mind to envision a ship, to build a ship, to use it as a ship, there isn’t a ship. It needed a mind to think it up the concept of a ship. Then the mind shaped matter to fit the concept. And then the ‘ship’ existed. And that’s what creativity is. Having an idea for something that doesn’t exist. Then shaping matter to make it exist.

On Hard Choices

Mr Trott makes the point that people do not like to face up to the harsh realities and the choices people are required to make as a result.

He begins by using the example of the philosopher Isaiah Berlin who says that there are 2 kinds of liberties:

• Positive liberty — The freedom to DO things
• Negative liberty — The freedom FROM things

Although both of these liberties are good, people “refuse to face the truth about them. The more you have of one, the less you have of another”.

If you give everyone freedom FROM homelessness, the state must pay for housing resulting in taxes and the reduction in people’s freedom to spend their money how they would like. “No one wants to face these hard choices”.

Trott argues that people forget this simple rule in business, “If we want to increase brand share, it has to come from somewhere else”. In marketing, people simply expect client’s to be attracted to a product like moth’s to a flame with little to no thought paid to where these client’s are being attracted from.

On The Advertising Business

Trott makes the point that the billing system in advertising takes sunk costs into account over what the client get’s out of the job.

Einstein said, ‘Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts’

On Rejection

The actor Warren Beatty had affairs with many of the most beautiful women in the world including Madonna & Christiana Onassis. When asked by an interviewer “What is the secret of your success with women?”, he said ‘I ask every women I meet if she’ll sleep with me”. The interviewed gasped, ‘Does it work?’.

Beaty replied ‘Well, I get slapped a lot, but I get laid a lot to’

Trott explains that ‘We don’t want to ask a question until we’re guaranteed a positive answer’ .

‘In advertising, I notice young creatives won’t do anything without permission. They won’t take a change on rejection. But rejection isn’t death…it’s just a speed-bump…If you avoid the rejection, you avoid the opportunity

We get caught in the trap of thinking to far ahead before even taking the first step. Trott illustrates this with a parable of a farmer whose plough broke. The farmer thought, ‘Farmer Giles on the next farm over has got a spare plough, I’ll ask him if I can borrow it’ and he starts walking. As he walks he questions whether Giles will lend him his spare plough. After walking a bit further he thought ‘He might not. That would be mean, not to lend someone your spare plough.’ As he approaches the door he thinkings ‘I bet he’s just the sort of bloke not to lend his neighbour his plough’. As Farmer Giles opens the door he said to him ‘You can stick your fucking plough up your arse’.

That’s how most of us deal with life.

We react to situations that haven’t happened yet