nouvôt name, same substack
Does what it says on the tin.
After months of kicking this can down the road in pursuit of being less impulsive, we’re finally here: new name time! Now yes, I may have overhyped this as a big bang rebrand but tbh, it’s really same old substack, same objective, same content…same me - just under a new name.
What’s in a name?
Curious Strategy.
Looking at the big picture, it’s the ethos around here. From curiosity as a strategy to asking what would it take to change your mind? It’s how I think about change. Taking a curious, quizzical approach might not be favoured by the unambiguous-seeking algo’s (and all that comes downstream of it), but I think a little more questioning is never a bad thing - maybe even much needed right now.
Because in all my years of experiencing change, it’s curiosity and thinking strategically that’ve been the survival blanket and the GPS respectively. To be playful, quizzical and experimental - and - to apply it through strategic action.
Not to overthink and exist in mind and on paper, but to draw out a blueprint, to imagine an alternative future and map out how to get there. One foot in front of the other.
When I first started this substack I was hell bent on it being an extension of my work-life persona and entirely distinct from me as a human person and all those multitudes. One separate (brandable) entity, s’il vous plaît. And just using my name wasn’t an option, having recently changed my surname from maiden to marital I wasn’t in the headspace to land on either with conviction: one was too old, the other too new. It is also somewhat uncool to marry into a family and start anything in their name.
So enter: nouvôt. The name of my consultancy, and therefore good enough to start out on substack. Start first, make it better second logic. Except that substack being a very ronseal kinda place (sidenote: solid example of creative work influencing wider culture beyond just consumer behaviour), it was quickly clear my chosen name wasn’t quite fit-for-purpose on here.
And that’s ok. Change is a constant. We adapt, we move. It’s a central theme around here.
So what to expect from Curious Strategy…
Moving forward?
Other than the name change, things will stay pretty much the same. A weekly read on the changing world around us, through the lens of curiosity and with a smol plate side of light strategic & action-oriented thinking.
But for this week, let’s keep it extra light because that was a whole wall of text above and the world outside is extra crazy.
Instead of a deep dive, here are five curious links and lovely things I’ve been exploring over the past week - enjoy!
Coming via
at is The Pudding’s 30 minutes with a stranger. A very fun scroll and heart-warming reminder on the value of face-to-face conversations.And at the other end of the spectrum: On the modern viewer’s lack of empathy by
dissects all the ways in which consuming content platform-first is decaying our ability to act. (aka there’s work to be done)Thibault Constant’s Nox Mobility launch finally adressing the fact that overnight rail travel is a) the best and b) horribly overlooked as a modern travel option. Change is possible.
Sarah Johnson’s essay series on The Quarantine Cohort is well-worth a read for those of us curious about how coming of age in a time of pandemics actually affected young people.
And last but by no means least: Haven’t got a copy yet but super curious about Sam Parker’s new book Good Anger and the chit-chat that led to Rage Reconsidered via Protein.xyz
A change is as good as a holiday. And "curious" is my favourite word.
Who are we as humans if we are not changing and changing our mind. Love the new name, and will continue to read. But please give us more from Caitlin haha, cause in the words of my Substack: it's the stories behind people that make us so beautifully unique ;)