3 things I learned from Ian Rogers

On Monday morning I chose to ditch the tube one stop early and walk up to St Johns Wood around the edge of Regent's Park. I opened Spotify and started playing a podcast. On my train journey that morning my friend Martijn had messaged me with a recommendation: Ian Rogers in conversation with Rick Rubin on his podcast Tetragrammaton.

Rick Rubin probably doesn’t need any introduction, my blog post on his book ‘The Creative Act’ is the most-visited page on my website this year.

Ian Rogers might be less familiar. Ian is the former chief digital officer at LVMH, but he spent most of his career in the music business. He started out in the early days of the web working with the Beastie Boys before going on to roles at Beats and Apple Music. He’s now chief experience officer at Ledger. I first became interested in Ian when I read an interview in the Financial Times when he talked about getting tattoos on his fingers - that story struck me so much it made it into my book ‘365 Ways To Have a Good Day.

There were a few themes from the podcast that stayed with me. So much so I shared them with Zoë and my sons over dinner last night. I wrote them up over my morning coffee and wanted to share them with you.

So here you go, three things I learned from Ian Rogers:

One: If people tease you for your ideas, you might be onto something

“I wore Bermuda shorts in the sixth grade, I got made fun of. And five years later? Those same people were wearing Bermuda shorts! I’ve seen this ‘movie’ so many times.

That's the pattern matching I’m always looking for.”

Ian on getting ridiculed for ideas, especially when they’re in emerging tech like the early days of the web or crypto.

Two: In a world of unlimited consumer choice, Quality matters

“The fundamentals of the Internet are that we are moving from Mass to Niche; from marketing being hyper-efficient to quality being hyper-efficient.

If you and I are making ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 12‘ and we have 2 million extra dollars, do we spend $2m making the movie better, or putting Johnny Depp‘s face on cups at Burger King? In the old media model the answer would be Burger King. Now it’s about making the movie better.

In the old world, you weren’t trying to make Citizen Kane, you were just trying to make people go to Theatre A instead of Theatre B. You had to make people go to This one instead of That one.”

Ian on why quality matters in a world of unlimited consumer choice.

Three: Our fashion statements matter because they express: I’m a part of this tribe, not that one.

“A Louis Vuitton handbag and a Slayer T-shirt serve the same function in society: they say I’m a part of this tribe, I’m not a part of that tribe.

Louis Vuitton doesn’t sell things that are useful or necessary - LVMH sells culture. You don’t spend $3,000 on a Dior handbag because of its utility, it’s because Dior means something and it expresses to the rest of the world - you are part of this culture.”

Ian on our fashion choices and why luxury brands are still relevant.

I hope you found Ian's observations as useful as I did.

If you're curious to learn more, you can find the full (three hour!) conversation here.

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