Interviews (The Londonist) and branding talks … could life be about to enter the fast lane …?

mark shearer

Categories: interview, marketing, the londonist, udey

Oct 14, 2009 05:04 am

Following years of thinking about Project Dirt – I’ve finally had the chance to talk about it – publicly, in an interview for the Londonist.

It’s so difficult to say all that you want to say in such a short space of time. Succint answers shearer. Yes – I know, I’m telling myself, but I go go on all day about some of the issues raised by the most recent question.

Being a chartered surveyor, I’m no stranger to being interviewed. My exams (known as the APC) entailed an hours grilling but 3 professionals, who could ask almost any question they wanted. We were expected to answer deliberately and in a straight forward manner with advice that was spot on. The exam was then a simple pass or fail. You either impressed – or didn’t.

Little did I know that my APC would stand me in good stead for future interviews in th egreen space. Be direct. Answer the question. Don’t waffle. Know what you need to say – and say it. Don’t think about what people will want to hear.

So, last week, over lunch in Caminos – a lovely tapas bar in Kings Cross, Helen (the interviewer) and I sat down for a Q&A session and a nibble on some food. Helen was absolutely lovely. Very thorough, thoughtful and an absolutely master at maintaining impeccable table manners whilst firing over the questions. I believe she has only joined the Londonist team recently. Wow – she seemed like a seasoned pro to me. I was asked a number of important questions in a chronology that flowed without hesitation. Why start up Project Dirt? Whats at the core of your philosophy? How are you different from the other networks? What are you looking to achieve?

Being able to talk about Project Dirt in this context was great. It was like an escape. Suddenly there was a platform and I could summarise all the hard work that Nick and I have put into getting it going. It felt great – and there was an underlying sense of appreciation, because it meant people wanted to hear about Project Dirt. They wanted to understand it and The Londonist wanted to give it scope. A platform for a day or two where Nick’s/my dreams trascneded into a description taking the form of an interview.

And that’s not all that happened this morning. I had a meeting with an old school mate of mine – nicknamed Udey – who works as a creative at a large ad firm. Udey and I did Theology a-level together … and have known each other since we were 13 years old. I wanted to run him through Project Dirt. Get his thoughts on how to make it a stronger proposition. Not just for us – but also so that people could understand where we were coming from.

It was a great meeting. Intriguing to see what he does to maintain long hair and a fully fledged beard at work. He liked the idea of what we are up to. Asked some incisive questions. And suggested we come back in next week to work through things with him. I trust Udey’s opinion and advice hugely in this area – and I’m excited by the prospect of the input he can make.

So – things are progressing. Its been a good day (yesterday was a shocker). Project Dirt rolls on. We experience new things and Nick/I are looking forward to continuing this journey, which has affectionately and rather bizarrely become known to us as Project Dirt.