The End of Average by Nigel Roth

Meet Brad.

Brad is a consultant. He spends his days collaborating with companies that need his help. His help, in most cases, is being a sounding board for potential strategy, and guiding his clients to make the right decisions.

The strategy he responds to he hasn’t ever created. He reviews, listens, and tries to add something - anything - to the conversation. And the decisions he confirms are tentatively already made, he just gives a verbal and virtual nod.

For the most part, Brad isn’t very creative or inspirational. He’s methodological, process-driven, and essentially repeats what’s already been said. What he offers is confidence. Because he’s a ‘consultant’ and has ‘done this before’, he provides clients with the confidence that they’re strategy is good and creative ideas are indeed great, and that they will have the impact the team knew they would have anyway.

And, it ticks the box that says ‘need an independent viewpoint’.

Meet Lucy.

Lucy is the strategy director and is forced to sit on a Zoom call every week with Brad. During that call, her multi-disciplinary team throws ideas they’ve already discussed and agreed at Brad, who confirms they are good, which she would’ve already known if she had actually participated in the creative ideation session rather than spent the t