The mother of all mistakes
There’s no other single thing that’s had as significant and negative an impact on my career as having children.
Surviving the 9-5, being different, and buzzkill frameworks
The fact that I am built like complete professional nonsense has made me the worst hire possible. It’s a miracle I’m employed at the moment.
CEOs called Elizabeth, risky strategies, and how to get lucky
Luck plays such a significant role in so many successes, yet it seems somehow disingenuous or deceitful, so we look for rational reasons instead.
A lesson in being humble, presenteeism, and writers networks
The 9-5 mindset is so outdated. Measuring someone’s performance based on how many hours they’ve been in the office, will get you nowhere.
The marketing industry’s no barrier to entry and why you should be choosy with clients
The sheer amount of blagging and bullshit in the digital marketing world has been pissing me off on a daily basis for nearly 20 years.
Climbing the ranks, and how long it takes to become successful
I was managing 9 staff and 250 rental cars with next to no experience, and I was shit at it. I was working ridiculous hours, running myself into the ground and hating life.
Losing your life savings and where it can lead you
Immediately after my MBA at Manchester Business School, I joined a tech startup as an investor employee, investing £50k into the business.
A death-threat-inducing fuck up, and adlands obsession with ‘why’
Biggest fuck up?
Over the last 15 years, there’s been plenty of moments that – at the time – looked like Mr Fuck Up had...
Brave advertising and where being a creative goofball can take you
Someone along the line becomes afraid of making a statement; afraid of being too ‘out there’; afraid of upsetting their boss.
Troublesome hiring, missed Amazon shares, and how to improve your judgment
The most important thing for success is good judgment. But there are very few rules, or best practices, around improving your judgment.
Poisoned partnerships, being the wrong age, and how you can have it all
Slow down, you're going to have a very long life, and you will work till you are at least 70. You don't have to work full pelt for nearly fifty years.
Echo chambers and LinkedIn police
My biggest fuck up was growing up thinking that being older or being in senior management meant that you knew what you were talking about.
Accidental texts, performance miscalculations and what you should never apologise for
I was lucky to have a client who was both forgiving, and receptive. I learned from this experience to never ever badmouth or underestimate a client.
Self-doubt, freedom from bureaucracy, and the search for meaning
I dream of a world in which people doing creative work are able to suffer only their own internal pain and not be pushed through bureaucracy that causes them additional pain.
The pressure to grow, cherry-picking zealots and proving yourself wrong
If you tell someone you run your own business, the next question they ask is, ‘How big is it?’. This creates a lot of social pressure to make the business as big as possible (regardless of whether that’s the right thing to do).
Losing respect, unethical advertising and the wisdom of age
I would like to see more media owners taking a stronger stand on whom they’re affiliated with through their advertisers.
Speak up, hang up and cheap personalisation
My biggest mistake would be not speaking up enough earlier on in my career. It’s taken a while and I wish I’d learnt to do it sooner with confidence and conviction.
Bad career moves, social media snake oil and content writing tips
I was literally getting calls from the Group FD who was now running the business, as my wife went into labour.
The “good enough” people are dangerous
I remember his opening line, “what makes you think you can get away with that with me?” I had become the person I wanted to destroy.
Morals or money?
Everyone is a futurist and keynote speaker. If you all were truly futurists, you would have invested in Bitcoin back in 2011.
Popular
Please don’t reach out
I understand the need to talk the same language as your audience but does it really have to come at the cost of our beautiful language?
Fuck milk
This was our first project for a huge household brand. I saw our hard work closing the deal, and my financial projections disappear in front of my eyes.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it
We need to learn how to respond, rather than react to other people online.
Reducing your reliance on devices and social media
I was summoned to London to see the sales director. I knew I hadn’t royally screwed up, but when you’re dealing with a hairdryer of a human, you never know.