Learning the Why Behind Mad Men’s Characters

I started watching Mad Men, (the advertising agency tv show set in the 60s) last year, occasionally. I bet you’re surprised by that statement. Being that I’m a branding designer, why wouldn’t I have watched from the very beginning? Well, when you do this type of work during the day, you don’t necessarily want to watch about it at night too.

In the summer, when may shows are on vacation and there’s not much to watch, Netflix is our friend, having most of the seasons / episodes of a show. So I decided to start from the very beginning and now I’m in the middle of season 6. I have to say that I cannot believe all that I had missed and now know! I was watching without knowing all the facts.

As we move from episode to episode, especially seeing so many in a row without long breaks between seasons, you really get to know the characters and become so much more involved, caring about how they act, what they do or don’t do.

In thinking about this, I decided to compare this to the way we connect socially and work with other businesses. How can we help others without knowing as much about their goals, hopes and dreams, if we don’t ask and investigate?

Is it enough to just ask someone to send examples of what they like, without actually sending them a questionnaire to fill out, or interviewing them? No, it isn’t. Every business has a mission, a target, an ideal customer, and we need to know what that information is!

It’s similar to “liking” a friend of your friend, and then just moving on to the next post or task, without even saying hello, or having a look at what they do or what kind of art they create.

It’s time to slow down your pace, learn each and every “why” and connect with people on a much higher level.

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