Do you want to show up more creatively for your clients and your colleagues, your family, and your friends?
Do you want to default to thinking about opportunity versus focusing just on problems?
Discovering Hope is full of proactive steps you can take right now, to achieve a more positive mindset or to help maintain the positivity you already have
Getting Positive reveals that more optimism is close at hand
The Beyond Employee
Based on my understanding of career happiness (I’ll leave others to define success) there are some obvious things to get on top of, noteworthy:
Keep learning, (Tech’ yes, but soft skills are more critical than ever, none more so than empathetic ability) learn to be adaptable, focus on relationships, but also key, find time to get perspective, both to understand trends but also to keep in a good mental space!
One other factor to focus on here, personal agency. This is you needing to strategise for you! What are your goals? If you know the answer, you’ll know what your dream working scenario is. Know this and then you’ll know what experience, expertise and connections deficits you have and what you need to work on. Why is this important?
The reality in 2025, we’re all one relationship away from a good or bad year. From making money or not. From working for someone else or not.
If you are currently an employee, what I want to communicate, you should start thinking of youself right now, as self employed. Yes deliver as employee, but also make your employer, ‘work for you.’ Consciously make connections and get experience with a mind to working for yourself. This way, it will be a softer landing when change comes for you.
Agency consolidation is not a new thing neither is job insecuity, but as one accelerates, so does the other. Start to adjust your mindset to it and in so doing you’ll be better prepared to build as a ‘beyond employee.’
All happiness,
Personal Agency – Key to the Achieving Your Goals
First, sorry this is a wordy newsletter, but there are things I just wanted to say and couldn’t seem to edit.
The advertising jobs market is a real mixed bag at the moment. And by that I mean, there are as many people losing jobs as gaining them, although the way I see it, there are certainly more losses at the moment.
Many more of you are also out of full-time employment through choice. And for freelancers/consultants, the purpose of this note is key. I should add this is in part because there are so many more of you freelancing now that freelancing has become much more competitive. Everyone it seems, and for different reasons, client, agency and individual, want more flexibility, which post pandemic, most of us have more of.
The point of this newsletter is not to talk about the overall market but more for individuals either in jobs and feeling âstuckâ âunder-valuedâ and/or âvulnerable and those actively looking for their next full-time role or freelance gig.
I was recently talking with a long-standing connection, whose pretty well known in the business both by reputation and in terms of their expertise. And, for the results heâd help achieve.
Like many, heâs been looking for a job/the right job, for a while, but well connected, wasnât sweating it, and had a meeting lined up with a high-level holding company exec.â Heâd been waiting a month for this meeting but was very hopeful.
Last week I caught up with him having had the meeting and I asked him, how the meeting went.
He told me heâd had forty minute in-person meeting.
âIt was great. We caught up on the industry, world chaos and the kids.â
I was encouraged, it sounded positive.
âWhat elseâ I asked, waiting for the punchline role/roles he was going to be considered for or introductions that were being made perhaps as we spoke.
âWhat else? He replied?
âWhat did you ask him for?â I asked perhaps a bit to stern.
âI didnât ask him for anything.â His voice dying away as he responded. Immediately realizing, that the person he âisâ in front of clients had not shown up for himself, when it mattered.
I shrugged my shoulders, and politely let him know what I think many of us take for granted.
âMy friend, you âHAVEâ to let others know what you want; What you want to be considered for! At the very least, let the person in front of you know, how you want them to help you, even if itâs not a job that you want.â
âYou know this!â OK, I know I showed a bit of exasperation here..
The point, everyone you know is busy. When you are upset that they didnât âhelp you,â think about it. Did you assume theyâd know exactly what you wanted or how they could help you? If you did, you didnât âmake it easyâ for them to help you.
So many times, when it comes to âus,â we donât ask for something, either because we are complacent and assume by our reputation or resume, others know what weâre right for. While others donât have enough self-belief to understand that there are times when itâs critical to âask!â
However well-known you are/think you are or arenât, donât rely on others telling your story for you, unless you specifically âhaveâ someone that gets rewarded to tell your story for you.
If you donât ask, you canât expect.
If you donât steer your own ship, youâll either capsize, run aground or drift aimlessly. Any of these scenarios feel familiar for you?
Take personal agency, âthe act or intervention producing a particular effect.â Ask specifically for what you want, donât assume others will act otherwise.
Ideally your ask is with something that will address a need/help the person in front of you. Key, make the ask about something you really want, then youâll come across authentically, or as Andy Wilson recently wrote:
âOur livelihoods and (our sanity) more than ever before, are about doing what we love, with the people we love, for the outcomes we love. This is the good stuff, make sure others know about it!â
All success in the quest to achieve your goals.
Best wishes,
Stuart
Personal Agency – Key to the next career move you dream of!
The advertising jobs market is a real mixed bag at the moment. And by that I mean, there are as many people losing jobs as gaining them, although the way I see it, there are certainly more losses at the moment.
Many more of you either out of your choice or through those quarterly ânumber balancing decisions,â are now out of full-time employment and freelancing.
There are so many more of you freelancing now that freelancing has become much more competitive. Everyone it seems, and for different reasons, client, agency and individual, want more flexibility, which post pandemic, most of us have more of.
The point of this post is not to talk about the overall market but more for individuals either in jobs and feeling âstuckâ âunder-valuedâ and/or âvulnerable and those actively looking for their next role. If you fit in to either scenario, read on.
I was recently talking with a long-standing connection, whose pretty well known in the business both by reputation and in terms of their expertise. And, for the results heâd help achieve.
Like many, heâs been looking for a job/the right job, for a while, but well connected, wasnât sweating it, and had a meeting lined up with a high-level holding company exec.â Heâd been waiting a month for this meeting but was very hopeful.
Last week I caught up with him having had the meeting and I asked him, how the meeting went.
He told me heâd had forty minute in-person meeting. âIt was great. We caught up on the industry, world chaos and the kids.â
I was encouraged, it sounded positive.
âWhat elseâ I asked, waiting for the punchline role/roles he was going to be considered for or introductions that were being made perhaps as we spoke.
âWhat else? He replied?
âWhat did you ask him for?â I asked perhaps a bit to stern.
âI didnât ask him for anything.â His voice dying away as he responded. Immediately realizing, that the person he âisâ in front of clients had not shown up for himself, when it mattered.
I shrugged my shoulders, and politely let him know what I think many of us take for granted.
âMy friend, you âHAVEâ to let others know what you want; What you want to be considered for! At the very least, let the person in front of you know, how you want them to help you, even if itâs not a job that you want.â
âYou know this!â OK, I know I showed a bit of exasperation here..
The point, everyone you know is busy. When you are upset that they didnât âhelp you,â think about it. Did you assume theyâd know exactly what you wanted or how they could help you? If you did, you didnât âmake it easyâ for them to help you.
So many times, when it comes to âus,â we donât ask for something, either because we are complacent and assume by our reputation or resume, others know what weâre right for. While others donât have enough self-belief to understand that there are times when itâs critical to âask!â
Moral of story, however well-known you are or arenât, donât default to others telling your story for you, unless you specifically âhaveâ someone that gets rewarded to tell your story for you or in addition to your own effort.
If you donât ask, you canât expect.
If you donât steer your own ship, youâll either capsize, run aground or drift aimlessly. Any of these scenarios feel familiar for you?
Take personal agency, âthe act or intervention producing a particular effect.â Ask specifically for what you want, donât assume others will act otherwise.
Ideally tie the ask in with something that will address a need/help the person in front of you and make it about something you really want, then youâll come across authentically, or as Andy Wilson recently wrote:
âOur livelihoods and (our sanity) more than ever before, are about doing what we love, with the people we love, for the outcomes we love. This is the good stuff, make sure others know about it!â
Great Strategy is Based on Client Trust
Bravery is talked about alot in our industry.
‘The quality or state of having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear or difficulty.’
I’m unsure how much ‘danger’ most of you face day to day. However in the event of bravery, whose bravery are we talking about? The agency or the clients’?
The answer might be six of one half a dozen of the other. Truth is, if you’re the agency, while you want to work with committed marketers, you don’t want to rely on them having an epiphany of bravery, you want to proactively help them value great strategic thinking and the cut through creative that comes from it. Yes, there is a ‘right’ time to broach ‘out there’ ideas that will take the clients out of their comfort zone. But when?
At October’s Jay Chiat Awards, Antonio Luccio, ex CMO Pepsi/Visa/HP, clarified that what he wanted first and foremost from an agency was a business partner. He explained that partners communicating an understanding of his industry was key and stressed the importance of making the commercial case for any recommendations. He highlighted also the importance of agency partners communicating an understanding of the client’s stated priorities – All obvious?
What he didn’t say explicitly, when the client believes the agency is committed to making the client successful, then the client is much more likely to pursue bolder recommendations.
Yes, trust is the platform from which to move client and agency forward. But building trust takes time and it is a lack of this that is the greatest threat to the agency business model as we know it.
Perhaps real bravery will come from those prepared to adopt a longer term approach to building brands. A shocking concept!
Best wishes,
Stuart
Success Demands Adaptability
I wrote about adaptability six months ago but this year in particular, I’ve received so many calls from strategists struggling to adapt, that I thought I must revisit this theme.
Having decent mental health, let alone having a successful career is increasingly about one thing, your ability to adapt. But adapt to what? Changing working practices, changing pressures to deliver results, demands on you to learn new skills, expectations that you can easily work with a variety of people/expertise and teams; That you can learn new ideas and how to thrive in new environments, quickly. Yes, all of the above.
Most of us have a sense of what adaptability is,
‘the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions,’
or perhaps,
‘your ability to channel change in to success.?’
Most dangerous – When you think you’re an adaptable person when you aren’t. For this person, the world will feel a frustrating place and the person will quite possibly sooner or later feel alientated.
Who is most likely, an ‘adaptable person?’ The person that has encountered many work and non-work situations, where there skills and/or mentality were tested; An individual that is practiced in constant change. Perhaps they have moved alot/Lived in different cultures. Perhaps when they grew up they constantly moved and had to make new friends in new environments?
Key, what steps can you take now, to build up what I will refer as the third intelligence rating after ‘IQ’ and ‘EQ,’ your ‘AQ’ or Adaptability quotient. Some key thoughts:
Practice change – Put yourself in situations at/and away from work where you test ability and comfort levels. Do this on your own terms when your livelihood isn’t dependent on it.
Constant learning – Whether learning about yourself or others or new subject matter, you are more likely to adapt through constant development.
Good support network – Our success is ‘so not’ simply about us! You will get through the biggest challenges you face through having family/friends/mentors around that can help you.
Coping Mechanisms – ‘Know thyself.’ Be aware when you are under extreme pressure, how you manage to cope. Know your go to tools for coping with sudden or extreme demands on you.
Be a generalist with a ‘specialty.’ – Understanding the bigger picture is more likely to allow you atleast, to understand change when it comes. Generalists know about alot of things and are therefore more likely to survive and thrive when change comes barrelling toward you.
Transferable skills – An existential crisis occurs when you no longer see meaning/believe you have value – Understand now, the power of the skills you have/their transferability way beyond what you currently do for a living.
Positive mindset/Our Psychology – Change can be horrifying but it can also be for the good. If you can learn in the face of change to default to a positive take, such as ‘it could have been so much worse or this could actually be good,’ rather than the mindset of a victim, ‘Why me,’ you use your energy focused on adapting versus fighting change.
What else might you add?
All the best,
Stuart
- https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-with-existential-anxiety-4163485
- https://hbr.org/2021/11/how-to-become-more-comfortable-with-change
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertcerone/2019/12/20/how-and-why-to-boost-your-adaptability-quotient/?sh=190d8dfd6918
Adaptability = Career Success (Revisited)
You have great intellect and many would describe you as emotionally very smart, a natural people person.Excellent capabilities to have in a very rapidly morphing business environment. But what’s your AQ like? I’m referring to ‘Adaptability Quotient.’ How capable you are at adapting? How well do you ‘do’ change? Because sooner or later, however good a job you do, ‘change’ is coming our way.
‘A 2020 Harvard Business School survey showed that 71% of 1500 executives from more than 90 countries said that they believed that adaptability was the most important quality they looked for in a leader. And data from a 2021 McKinsey study revealed that people proficient in adapatbility were 24% more likely to be employed.’ (BBC)
What’s your AQ – Try a short test.
In 2018 I wrote about the importance of adaptability for your career success. (See below.) At the time there appeared to be a big discrepancy between how employers and employees viewed its importance, 91% and 53% respectively. But no more.
While most of you would be prepared to change, many struggle with it. So what makes us good dealing with change, all other factors being constant, I’ll suggest a few:
1. Your level of optimism. If you’re optimistic you’re more likely to believe there’s a solution – Expect to be tested for your ‘OC’ or Optimism Quotient very soon!
2. Life experience – The more changes you’ve already experienced, the better able you are to manage new change. e.g.Meditation
3. Coping mechanisms – Which help you deal with stress/help keep a clear mind to best deal with the change.
4. Support network – This could be within or outside work.
5. Organisational skills – No doubt about it, the better organised someone is, the more able they are to multi-task if not outright change what they are doing.
What else would you include?
All the best,
Stuart