Summer Soldiers.

Of all the types there are to dislike in our business--and there are many, I've decided I like Summer Soldiers the least.

I despise them more than I despise the bullies.

I despise them more than I despise the do-nothings.

I despise them more than I despise the blow-hards.

And the jargonistas.

And the know-it-alls.

And the haters of advertising.

And the ignorers of facts.

And the doyens of data.

Summer Soldiers are the types that are all over an assignment when the sailing is smooth, when the living is easy. They're the first to disappear, to meld into the forest, to show up missing, when the work gets hard. When the edit isn't working. When you're staring at disasters.

Summer Soldiers evaporate when the going gets tough.

Then, when the corner is turned, when sweat and toil and determination prevail and the work begins to work--there they are, triumphant, vain and glowing.

They've returned.

They're there.

There's credit to be grabbed.

Every assignment, or nearly every one, has an arc.

And most often part of the arc is that moment of terror when things seem to have taken a turn for the worse.

I've found that that's when the real work begins.

The ingenuity. The elbow-grease. The client modulation.

Those are the moments creatives show their true colors.

That's when you need to come through.

That's when it's apparent how different the real world is from ad school.

You can't just wash your hands and go onto something new.

You have to work.

And that means showing up.