Author: ROMA SINGHAL

Here’s bringing to you a “different” strategy event.

Is your Brand Game on? 🎯

Most “lunch & learns” give you slides you’ll never revisit.
This one gives you something you’ll actually use.
Join us for a Strategy Buddy Lunch: Brand Game™ Practice Event, a hands-on, interactive session where you don’t just talk about brand strategy… you practice it.

💡 What makes this different?
This isn’t a passive session. It’s a working room full of sharp minds, real conversations, and practical application.

Over 75 minutes, you’ll:
🚀 Walk through a practical brand strategy framework you can plug straight into real briefs
🚀 Experience a mini Brand Game™ session and see strategy come to life
🚀 Connect with other marketers, strategists, founders & creative leaders
🚀 Get the opportunity to book a free discovery session with us

👥 Who should join?
If you want your brand thinking to be:
Sharper: clearer structure, better language
Braver: more confident, more decisive
More applied: grounded in real work, not just theory
This is for you.

⚡ Spots are free and limited. RSVP closes 30 April.
If this sounds like the strategy session you’ve been missing, grab your seat now.

👉 Register for the event here: https://luma.com/xopz6r37

🛠 Before you come:
Sign up for the free Explorer plan: https://lnkd.in/gc2GbJdt
Bring your phone or laptop
Come ready with one question: “What’s one brand or challenge I’m thinking about right now?”

Let’s make strategy something you actually do, not just discuss.

See you there. 🚀

#brandgame #gameon #thesmilingstrategist #launchevent #practiceevent #lunchandlearn #entrepreneur #startup #founders #marketers #strategists #brandstrategists #creativestrategists #productmarketers #educators #students #creativestrategists #creative #events #marketingevents

I’m really excited to share a small but meaningful shift. The Smiling Strategist Company page is now becoming The Smiling Strategist Community. 💛

What started as a page has, over time, grown into something far more special. Many of you have engaged deeply with ideas, read along with my newsletters, and contributed to thoughtful, generous conversations. It’s been incredibly heartening to witness.

This change is about nurturing that spirit even further. It’s about creating a space where strategists from all corners of the world can connect, share, and grow together in a way that feels meaningful, supportive, and human.

And this community is only as strong as the people who shape it. There are so many ways you can be part of it:

🤝 If you have something interesting or thought-provoking to share
🤝 If you’ve built something unique for the strategist community
🤝 If you want to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, and help make this a more open and representative space
🤝 If you simply want to bring a bit of positivity into an otherwise hectic and often brutal world
🤝 If you’d like to promote co-operation instead of competition
🤝 If you feel called to mentor strategists who are looking for more meaning and impact in their lives
The list goes on…

If any of this resonates with you, feel free to DM me. I’d genuinely love to hear from you.

Thank you for being here, for contributing in your own way, and for helping shape this into something bigger than any one of us. I’m really looking forward to what we build together – A truly happy place for strategists to belong. ✨

Join The Smiling Strategist Community here: https://lnkd.in/gUdnSfFf

#thesmilingstrategistcommunity #marketers #strategists #brandstrategy
#creativestrategy #digitalstrategy #advertising

In Manifest, I explore the role of the new-age heroine.

Thank you for all your DMs about this piece. I truly value the appreciation and thoughts coming from every reader and the time you’ve taken to read it. 🙏

For digital readers, you can read the whole article here:
https://lnkd.in/gch_Whar

Shoutout to Manifest for bringing such amazing writers and contributors together.

#manifestmedia #thesmilingstrategistcolumn #newageheroine #newagewoman #femininity

Strategists, the game is on.

After years in strategy, one thing has become increasingly clear to me:
We don’t have a talent problem in marketing. We have a training problem.

Too often, we expect marketers to “learn on the job”… But the job itself is moving faster than ever.

The result? Surface-level thinking. Over-reliance on frameworks. Not enough real strategic muscle being built.

So I started asking: What if we trained marketers the way we train pilots, athletes, or even gamers?

That’s where the idea of learning through play comes in. Because games don’t just teach knowledge, they build:

🚀 Decision-making under pressure
🚀 Pattern recognition
🚀 Iteration and feedback loops
🚀 Creative problem-solving

In other words, the exact skills great marketers need.

This piece explores how gamified learning might be a far more effective way forward.

Thanks, Campaign Brief for bringing this to light! 🙏

You can read the full article here.

#thesmilingstrategist #strategybuddy #strategpartner #marketing #strategy #brandstrategy #creativestrategy #learninganddevelopment #gamification #marketingtraining #founders #entrepreneurs #strategists #marketers #productmarketers #students

Imposter syndrome affects most professionals at some point. It’s the feeling that your success is just luck, and that you’ll be exposed as a fraud. We break down the 5 types of imposter syndrome:

• The Perfectionist: “If it’s not perfect, it’s not good enough.”
• The Natural Genius: “If it’s not easy, I must not be capable.”
• The Expert: “I need to know more before I start.”
• The Soloist: “I should be able to do this alone.”
• The Superperson: “I have to succeed in everything I do.”

Recognizing your pattern is the first step towards overcoming self-doubt. Here are practical approaches:

• Cognitive restructuring: separate facts from feelings
• Self-compassion: reduce overthinking and burnout
• Growth mindset: reframe failure as learning
• Track your achievements: keep a “brag book”

Imposter syndrome isn’t a sign of incompetence—it’s often a sign of growth. What type do you relate to? Watch the full video here.

#ImposterSyndrome #SelfDoubt #Confidence #CareerGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment #GrowthMindset #WorkplacePsychology #ProfessionalDevelopment #EmotionalIntelligence