Garry Crawford, Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Salford, UK
Garry Crawford is a Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Salford, UK. His teaching and research primarily focus on audiences and patterns of consumption. Garry has a particular interest in video game culture and sports fans.
However, he has researched a wide range of audiences and consumer groups and worked with a diverse array of partners including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Imperial War Museums, Camden Market, Alexandra Palace, the Royal Academy of Art, and many others.
Garry Crawford has published (to date) ten books. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Who do you most admire in business?
Well, I'm not really in businesses, as I'm an academic; however, I'm sure many university Vice-Chancellors would disagree with that assessment.
Universities are increasingly becoming businesses and business-focused, that is just the world of higher education that we now live in.
There are, however, both strengths and weakness to this growing relationship. On the one hand, I understand the need for governments and industries to fund research that has direct value, and use.
Although academia also needs the time and freedom to think outside of the box. To not just give industry and businesses what they think they currently, need, but to innovate, and develop radically new ideas, to turn things on their heads, and propose new ways of doing things or new ways of looking at the world.
What companies or brands do you like or do you think are getting it right?
My research and teaching are focused on consumption. What has most interested me over the years is what people do with the things, the goods and services, they are given, or more commonly, sold.
We all get the same things, the same clothes, the same phones, the same cars, or very similar things. But we all make them our own. They become part of our lives, our relationships, or our life stories.
Increasingly, however, I'm becoming aware of the impact that things have not just on us, but also the environment.
We all need to be more aware of the impact the things we consume are having on the world around us, and we can all do our bit by consuming less, buying better, so things last, and recycling, reusing, and repairing what we already have.
Though we also need to put pressure on businesses and industries to be more considerate and ethical in what they do. So, I love initiatives like "Good on You", and their app, so that you can easily check information on things like companies' environmental record and labour processes.
This puts more power in the hands of the consumer, and in doing so, helps bring about better practices in industry and business.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Pay yourself first. Too often, too many people, do the things they have to do first, and that means they never get around to doing the things they could be doing.
This is the same in life as it is in business. If you just focus on the daily admin, the daily grind, then that is where you get stuck. The things you have to do will get done because they have to be done.
So, do other things first! Put first, pursuing new things, new projects, new ideas, or just giving yourself some good mental health time.
This is the advice I always give to those just starting out, put yourself first. That's not selfish, as if you are happy, you're happy in your life and your job, and you're putting time aside to explore new ideas, then everyone benefits, not just you.
What advice would you give to others?
Since this interview is about business, I'd like to offer some advice to businesses, both new and established, to think about people, not products.
Too often, too many businesses still have a "build it, and they will come" attitude. Surprisingly, a lot of new tech and digital companies are the worst offenders here.
Too often, those involved in new and digital media companies think they know their audience, because they are their audience, or so they believe.
Although there are many problems with this outlook. First, no matter how much you think you are like your audience, you are not. You are someone who is institutionalised into your own particular industry and its mind-set, which others outside of it are not. And, even though you might not be aware of it, it is the ways your industry works that will increasingly shape what you do and how you do it. Audiences and consumer needs and interests will move on, and move on much faster than you and your industry adapts.
Second, this model of business stifles innovation and development. It breeds an "I know best" culture, which can very quickly become stagnant and yesterday's news.
And third, by making the kinds of things you want, you are restricting your audience and market to just people like you; which is both exclusionary and longer-term, not good for business.
Always start and keep going back to, your audience, and also, those who are not currently your audience. Find out what people want, and that includes people you are not now talking to or meeting the needs of.
This is then good for everyone. It is good for the continued health and profitability of your business, but also, it is suitable for consumers, as they are getting what they want, and not just what companies think they want. And when I work with industry, this is what I try to do; help them better understand and connect with their audience and seek out new ones.
However, too many businesses don't want to do this, as they see it is a waste of time and money, as they think they already know their market. They may do, but not entirely, and maybe not forever, or even that much longer.
In these increasingly fast-moving times, it is only businesses that understand their audience, put them at the centre of all that they do, and seek to reach new audiences, that will prosper, or even survive. And if they do this in a way that is ethical and inclusive, then everyone wins.
What drives or motivates you each day?
My to-do list. I am the slayer of to-do lists. I have a list of the things I need to get done, and nothing feels better than ticking them off.
The irony is, that for someone who studies technology and the uses of technology I'm a very analogy person.
I use a paper diary, and scribble ideas and lists on pieces of paper, or in notebooks, and being able to cross them off is such a fulfilling feeling.
What are your thoughts on the future of social media?
Social media, and the Internet more generally, is still very hierarchical. It is largely run and controlled by a small number of big tech companies.
The dream was that the Internet would set us free, liberate us all, from old hierarchies. And to some extent it has, but it has also made us reliant on new hierarchies, which are not all that dissimilar, and in many cases exactly the same, to those that went before them.
What we need are more horizontal networks. Likeminded people coming together, sharing ideas, and resources, for the benefit of all. And I don't just mean those in their groups.
Too often ideas, such as collaborative consumption, are based around the benefits they can bring for those involved. But that is incredibly exclusive and just creates new hierarchies and distinctions between those in inside privileged groups, and those outside of them.
Great things can happen if we work together, but the end goal has to be about making things better for everyone, everything, and the world we live in.
How do you network?
One of the great things about social media and new digital technologies is that they reduce the need to travel for work. I don't like travelling for work. Far too often I hear stories of colleagues travelling half-way around the world, and all they see are airports, hotels, and conference centres.
They could be anywhere. I would not say I like to travel. I don't like to be away from my family; I am not too fond of the time it takes out of my already far too busy life, and I don't like the impact it has on our environment.
So, I mostly network, and keep in touch with people in my field via social media, and following them and their work online. Of course, from time to time, it is necessary and essential that we meet up with others working in our respective fields.
So much can be achieved by people just being in the same room together for a period of time. But most of the time, I don't think it is necessary. I think we all spend too much time talking about things we could or should be doing, and I'm a great believer in just getting on and doing things.
What do you think your unique skill(s) is that has helped you become successful?
Insecurity. It is both my biggest weakness and my biggest strength! It is the main thing that drives me. I think it is that never-ending need to prove oneself, to feel like we actually belong, that we are successful, that drives many people.
More than most would openly admit. That is probably, defiantly, what has got me to where I am today. But on the other hand, we all need to remember there are other things, more important things in life. As family, friends, taking care of our own mental health, and just being kind to the people around us. Work will always be there tomorrow, those around you might not be.
What is your hobby?
I still love playing video games, though I don't get much time to do so these days. Video games are part of what I do or at least studying and understanding video game culture. And as a sociologist, we never completely shut off. It is the power and curse of being a sociologist, we are continually analysing and decoding everything, and everyone, around us.
It is therefore sometimes hard to remain neutral to things, to switch off, as you either already know, or are working out, the mechanisms behind everything. But whenever I get the chance, which is not very often, it is great to get some me-time, to kick back, open one or two cans of Guinness and try and lose yourself in a game that grabs your attention.
And games are getting better at that. They are getting better at engaging us; not just in terms of our hand-eye coordination, but more emotionally, and making us think about and ask deeper and more difficult questions. And some great games do this, like Papers, Please and This War of Mine. People like me have grown up with video games, and likewise, video games are starting to grow up too.