Add Some Mischief to Your Strategy Sessions

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 Before Slack notifications, dashboards, and back-to-back meetings, there was summer vacation.

You remember it: Just a popsicle and the wild confidence to turn your backyard into a zoo—complete with a confused family "lion".

No Agenda. No rules. No roadmap.

Just pure momentum, imagination, and a refusal to sit still. And somehow, it worked.

That scrappy, joyful, make-it-up-as-you-go mindset might be exactly what your marketing needs now.

Unstructured Time Sparked the Best Ideas

Back then, no one gave you a roadmap. You invented one. You built backyard obstacle courses, ran pop-up lemonade stands, and turned boredom into brilliance. Most marketing teams are moving fast but thinking small. Creative energy gets buried under backlogs, rework, and performance anxiety.

Try this: Block “white space” on your calendar—1–2 hours per week of protected time for curiosity, imagination, and high-level thinking. No agenda. No email. No pressure to produce.

The Best Adventures Started Without a Map

Remember when you grabbed a bike, a snack, and just… went? No step-by-step instructions. You followed energy, not a plan. The modern buyer’s journey is unpredictable and fluid. Sticking to rigid funnels and pre-scripted paths keeps you from seeing (or seizing) new momentum.

Try this: Map multiple entry points into your brand—social content, email journeys, organic search, referrals, and events. Design your ecosystem to welcome exploration, not just push conversion.

Slip-and-Slide Thinking Wins

No budget? No problem. You built a water park with a hose and a trash bag. That was ingenuity in its purest form, scrappy, joyful, and fast. Innovation doesn’t require polish. It requires momentum. Some of the best strategy starts when you allow “fast, fun, and flexible” to beat “slow and safe.”

Try this: Instead of waiting for the perfect plan, prototype something bold—low-fidelity mockups, message tests, creative experiments. Speed-to-insight is more valuable than slide decks.

The Best Stories Stick Because They’re Shared 

The best summer memories weren’t solo—they were shared. We told those stories over and over because they happened together, were loud, messy, and unforgettable. Your audience isn’t just looking for information. They’re looking for something that makes them feel seen, and worth repeating.

Try this: Stop thinking in campaigns. Start thinking in stories. Center real people, real challenges, and real transformation. Build content designed to be retold visually, emotionally, and narratively.

Keep the Flip-Flop Mentality—Just Add Foresight

One minute you were doing cannonballs, the next you were picking out notebooks. Summer always felt endless—until it wasn’t. Strategic planning isn’t something you slot in “when there’s time.” It’s a competitive advantage. The marketers who win next quarter are laying the groundwork now.

Try this: Build a 60-day “look-ahead” ritual. Once a month, zoom out from execution and ask: What’s coming? Where are we underprepared? What seeds should we be planting?

The Sticky Stuff That Stays with You

Marketing is noisy, nonlinear, and nonstop. The leaders who will stand out aren't just data-driven—they’re imaginative, intuitive, and unafraid to play.

So before your next campaign… Put down the slide deck. Pick up a popsicle. And ask yourself:

What would my 10-year-old self do first?