Introducing Williams Nicolson X Rankin

Authenticity is the basis of modern leadership. It rests between authority and vulnerability. It’s the delicate push and pull between collaboration and decision. 

Not too long ago, Boards needed a stiff smile and political flex to gain respect in an uncomfortable pastiche of masculinity. Now, stakeholders want to see what’s behind your corporate mask. We want humility and humanism with a dash of humour.

Williams Nicolson leads with words. There is enduring power in a sentence that says exactly what you mean. There is power in your business’ ability to simplify and shape, to reassure and persuade, to cut through the noise.

But sometimes – and this is tough for a twice-published author and PR to admit - words fail us. Sometimes it takes a photo to change minds and behaviours.

Consider Greenpeace’s environmental photo activism to illustrate the science. Consider the heartbreak of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian refugee washed up on the Turkish shore; a photo to shame politicians and change policy. Look at the curve of Coca Cola’s bottle - so distinct it’s recognisable even when broken on the ground. Look at the art buried in the underground map welcoming commuters home. Copy doesn’t always cut it.

My Twitter handle is @thousandthword because I know text eventually concedes to pictures. While I would like the last – thousandth – word, sometimes business and brand relies on the silence in between. We must look down the lens of the camera and communicate in a different way.

Today, I couldn’t be prouder to announce Williams Nicolson’s new collaboration with the iconic photographer Rankin.

Boards x Rankin is an opportunity to shoot you, not just as a leadership team or business, but as people with an urgent, uncompromising story to tell. 

To paraphrase John Berger, while your photo is encoded with your unique way of seeing, it is also your unique way of speaking. 

Tell me. What do you want to say?