The pros and cons of living in the UK versus NZ
Grant Campbell-Carran, Managing Partner, Mandate Creative Grant Campbell-Carran, Managing Partner, Mandate Creative

The pros and cons of living in the UK versus NZ

I came to the UK nearly thirty years ago from my native New Zealand. Initially I planned to stay for a six-month overseas experience - and I’m still here today. Why, a lot of people ask, have I stayed so long, leaving such a beautiful country behind? And NZ is a truly beautiful country, but then again so is the UK. Both countries have their pros and cons…

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Working with your spouse - how to make it work
Grant Campbell-Carran, Managing Partner, Mandate Creative Grant Campbell-Carran, Managing Partner, Mandate Creative

Working with your spouse - how to make it work

I jointly own and run a Public Relations consultancy with offices in London and Beaconsfield with my husband and business partner. I often get asked what it’s like working together. In all honesty it not that bad, as long as you both follow simple rules and honour those rules, working together can be fun and rewarding. For work relationships to succeed it’s important that certain boundaries are kept. Here’s my secret sauce…

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Age is just a number! The benefits of cross-generational teams.
Grant Campbell-Carran, Managing Partner, Mandate Creative Grant Campbell-Carran, Managing Partner, Mandate Creative

Age is just a number! The benefits of cross-generational teams.

This guy is learning something new every day and I love it. The explosion of generations and the fusion of different life experiences within our team creates amazing ideas and boosts creativity. This is because we all look at problems and briefs from different perspectives. It also massively helps with developing messaging and media targeting – again, due to cross-generational input. I have to admit some of the things I have learnt during team chats over lunch and drinks I find rather amusing... Little did I know that ‘Grime’ is music not dirt, and ‘Sick’ means good not vomit. There is an app for most things – ‘I have an app for that’. Oh and ‘Fast Fashion’ does not mean models running down the catwalk. Something new which I heard recently is that ‘Ghosting’ does not have anything to do with Halloween or the supernatural.

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