Listing.

A friend just sent me a note asking for life-steps. One-foot-in-front-of-the-other things that can help people. This ain't Marcus Aurelius, but it isn't half bad. Sometimes not half bad is pretty good. Oh, and when in doubt, write a list.

Six Life Steps for Successful Ad Agencies.

Two Small steps.
Two Giant steps.

One Nice step.

One stupid.

 

 

1.    File. (More than your nails.)

There's a lot of great stuff to be found online. Smart people read it. Keep it. Refer to it. And share it. (Just today, I downloaded Herman Miller's brand guidelines. I added it to a file with about 50 other links to brand guidelines.)

2.    What makes you different?

There's a micron's worth of difference between one agency's website "About" section and another's. If you aren't doing something better than others, you have no reason for being. You need a reason for being. What is it?

3.    Do.

Talk is cheap. Too cheap. Showing what you do, how you think, how you behave beats talking about it. What work, what thinking are you doing, not in the past, but today? Make it shareable and make yourself top-of-mind.

4.    Love.

Be avidly, actively, assiduously nice. Get back to people quickly. Answer questions without jargon. Always be on time. Always keep your promises. And always always say please and thank you.

5.    Twenty minutes.

Get in twenty minutes early everyday or leave twenty minutes late. Spend those minutes offline with a pencil and a piece of paper. Twenty minutes of thinking while you're un-plugged is equal to twenty days of distracted thinking.

6.     Get good at writing lists.

They're a helpful way to get out of a jam when you're on deadline and have no ideas.