Michelle Excell

Brainstormer, Business adviser, Change agent, Connector, Consultant, Idea generator, Producer, Technologist

Michelle is a consultant for brands and agencies looking to develop innovation strategies, build teams, or execute campaigns and experiences. She made her start in the industry in 2002, working for digital agencies/consultancies and responsible for digital strategy and production. She was soon "running digital” for national brands spanning CPG, Entertainment and AEC. Then for the following decade she ran interactive and integrated production within advertising agencies in Melbourne, NYC and San Francisco. Within this time she developed strategic, creative and operations approaches for both agency and brand. In addition she acquired an extensive network of specialist partners in digital and app development, animation, experiential and content production. In 2016 she launched The Antipodean, a creative technology consultancy and production collective. For the past two years she has specialized in “immersive technology” (AR, VR, IOT, AI) and "innovative positioning" for brands and agencies looking to up-skill and build a technology identity and roadmap.

Doing it the right way. That doesn't mean doing it perfectly. I define 'doing it the right way' as approaching everything with optimism, clear articulation of objectives, roles, responsibilities (shared and individual) and ethics. It means that we should strive to educate and elevate with every project, every brief. We should not bully, we should not leave-behind, we should not waste and we should treat each other with respect. If we do this, we enjoy our work. And happy work, makes better work. And a more positive impact on more lives. I'm passionate about building these systems within and between teams/groups/companies. I'm passionate about shining a light on old ways and first-and-foremost learning from them... then evolving them.

Evangelism vs Evangelists. - Evangelism requires cooperation, a collective vision through understanding. - Evangelists are often given unrealistic (or non-existent) expectations and lack unilateral endorsement from departments. Many companies believe they need to hire an evangelist to help them 'keep up, 'evolve', 'become digital / immersive'. These same companies are then unwilling to provide agency to the evangelist, or give them time to develop a strategy. They are applying the evangelist topically, not ingesting them. We hear this phrase a lot "I was given all the responsibility, but none of the control". I've been lucky to have a career that has spanned many important revolutions. The ubiquitous web, mobile, social and now immersive. Overly simplistic terms and categorizations of life-changing leaps in the ways we access information, communicate, chill-out and work. I've witnessed knee-jerk reactions at every one of these junctures, across every type and level of company. I can understand and empathize with these reactions. However, real transformation or evolution comes from understanding the *value* of the new, then aligning your team/company/personal/client's goals and objectives with the new possibilities and opportunities. Often times, these dramatic technology shifts require dramatic shifts in business operations. For example, in my experience, finance operations is always a big one. Evangelists start knocking on certain doors and find themselves stepping on hidden toes. "We want you to bring about change, but not *that* much change". Positive change comes from asking less *how* questions and more *why* questions. This is why I advocate for Evangelism vs Evangelists. Not because I don't believe in the existence or value of evangelists, but because we must focus on first establishing evangelism through understanding, cooperation and establishing expectations.

Evangelism and defining value, Immersive technology, Innovation strategy, Production, Team-building and operations, Workshops and education

This is my second TEDWomen. I'm so happy to be participating in this format, as it's much less time/cost and still all the enormous value. Here's the story from my first TEDWomen 2018... "This is my first TED. My stupendously talented friend Galit Ariel paid it forward. I'm not outspoken about the work I do. I'm very thankful to several women, including Galit, who have recently had a huge impact on my self-confidence and awareness of the value of my ideas. I'm very excited to be bringing parts of my framework to a more diverse audience and am looking forward to the surprised and happy responses we always get from groups who come up with genuinely great ideas! I'm also looking forward to spending days immersed in an ideas-driven environment. It's a spa for the mind. "

Subconscious punning. Knowing which way to go (even in the middle of the night in the middle of farmland in Cornwall). Googling things: *phrasing*. Strategy and consulting (most of my peers from my advertising days incorrectly assumed I just got things made).