A JANUARY FAVOURITE - Personal Development and ways to become a better marketer
As we take time to reflect & plan ahead for the year, now is the perfect time to hold a mirror up to ourselves and ask, how well equipped are we for the challenges ahead? Let's draw some inspiration!
There are fundamental truths we have discussed over and over I am sure, but equally there are always new things that come up that would be arrogant of us to dismiss.
There is an old saying : “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!”
We constantly have to evolve our toolkit and fight dogma, in all walks of life. I’ll give you an example. Not the forum for getting into it right now (perhaps another time) but after 39 years and months of learning and seemingly mastering this thing called life, I got diagnosed with ADHD combined with something else. Cutting abruptly to the end of this tale (for now), it has me rethinking and reframing certain things in the past, my truths and realities, and that is all thanks to new information available to me and new frameworks. Talk about Personal Development!
Apply this kind of retrofit thinking to what you know, or what you are unsure of, and oftentimes you backfill the knowledge, and this goes to show that learning is never too late.
1. From Mentor to Mentee
Ralph Sockman: “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.”
There is no way you know everything you need to know, and maybe you never will, and that is fine. Myself included as an often disseminator of thoughts. As a marketing consultant, strategist and general dogs-body, I have to make it my ongoing business to be relatively aware on most topics; of course as a generalist some things I will never (nor wish to) achieve such knowledge depths, but it is important for me to keep on top of things, generally. Fundamentals remain as old as time, but I must be sure I continually evolve and keep abreast of the cultural situations that are, like it or not, impacting client decision-making. I don’t love TikTok and I am tired of hearing about AI, but to ignore such proliferations would be dangerous and negligent.
Furthermore, I have my own mentors; one being a top UK CMO who I have a quarterly chat with and is more a sympathetic ear who guides my focus and reassures that what I am delivering continues to be fit for client purpose. I have also developed a tribe of those that I truly learn from, including my own advisory board, those in this newsletter, people who I follow on Twitter, Substack and now other platforms like Post, as well as the authors, lecturers and writers who continue to inspire and challenge me positively every day.
2. Be Open Minded - & Unlearn cynicism
“Cynicism is choking the lifeblood out of the creative industry”
The excellent advertising, creativity and communications expert Zoe Scaman who writes in her
newsletter, shared an (overused word but really) awesome presentation she did for IPA a few months ago, fighting back against cynicism in the creative industry.Check it out here! It was predominantly aimed at new industry entrants; however, I told Zoe at the time, I found it refreshing and excellent. There is so much to bear in mind here. To be open minded and to be brave, and not get bogged down in the smart-arse rhetoric and naysayers that dominate the industry narrative and social platforms. Fear and inertia holds those back, and in this industry learning is achieved by doing and not merely commentating. More on that later.
It is fun to be optimistic, to not be cynical; as one of the key slides near the end of the deck says :
“Be prolific, be Playful, Embrace Possibility”
3. General advice : The Story of an ad ‘veteran’
An ad twitter buddy, former colleague, media turned brand guy and all round good-egg
Please read this afterwards - it could be the best 9 minutes of your week (or longer time period). It’s all from 15 years of working in Marketing & Advertising, and he has managed to skilfully distil into one article the things I have ad-hoc tried to mention over the years. Yes he reaffirms so frankly the importance of learning, but also to enjoy it, and if you stop learning/enjoying, then move the hell on, and absolutely do not let it impact your spirit…
“It’s only advertising, we’re not saving lives. It’s an unnecessarily difficult industry, full of terrible working habits, poorly paid, and increasingly stressful. It’s also a lot of fun, inspiring, exciting, and fulfilling. You’ll have some really tough days, weeks, and months, but if you’re not also having fun, leave, immediately. Nobody should have their spirit or mental health broken by working in Advertising, and yet, it happens way too often”
4. The power of learning, as a mentor!
Learning is not just one way, and neither is teaching, coaching and mentoring. I asked one of my mentees, the brilliant young sports marketing agency founder
I decided to look for a mentor because I believe learning from someone who's currently in a position you aspire to be in is a great life hack. I saw Simon's work background and the fact he started his own agency stood out to me the most. Having started my own agency I want to learn from someone who has taken the same risk as me and has been through similar struggles and obstacles.
Having a mentor means I can learn from their mistakes and avoid making the same mistakes. I have someone who is backing me and that gives me the confidence to go after what I want. Most importantly having a mentor can provide me with information and access that I will struggle to gain by myself. Things such as pricing, and pitching are not easy to get to grips with, and having a mentor guide me through that process means I'm not under-pricing myself or playing a losing game. I'm very grateful to have Simon as my mentor guiding me every step along the way and I shall pay it forward by being a mentor someday.
Firstly- he is being very lovely and it is of course a slight ego boost, but the big thing to come out of this? It is absolutely a 2-way learning. These searing young talents coming through are so inspiring and they have given me pause a few times and helped me make more creative decisions. I see his work and think ‘wow’! Also, he is correct that I’ve many mistakes and faults and obstacles I have overcome, but it is important to know that whatever you try to game, ot pain you try to avoid, you will never be invincible. We will all face the adversity; it is how you respond, and by collating wisdom from peers and those of years past you can move forward with a confidence and fortitude.
5. If nothing else - Keep up Learning on your own terms
There has never been a better time to tap into the litany of quality content out there to add feathers to your marketing or advertising cap. Indeed, there is a lot of crap out there, but hopefully this can steer you with some of the aforementioned and following:
COURSES - Industry bodies have some great stuff. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) do plenty. I myself have done a couple and as a Fellow I am on a CPD run at the moment towards Chartered status as maintaining professional output and receiving accreditation is important to me and I think my clients. The IPA and their fundamentals is a great advertising starter too as are many of their more advanced courses. Thinkbox’s TV Masters is a lot of fun too. Many platforms have free self-directed video courses too. Beyond this on a bigger commitment level, Mark Ritson's Marketing Week Mini MBA is highly lauded by many I respect, as are Scott Galloway's Section 4 courses, both of which I am mulling over myself.
PODCASTS - not personally my biggest learning medium for marketing as I listen to all kinds of weird stuff about Ancient Rome, architecture or trees when I am cooking, but if your medium of choice, I can personally vouch for …Gasp!'s Call To Action podcast. Giles is a great host with some great guests so far and more good ones to come..! Uncensored CMO is also a goody as is Sweathead. There are plenty more too - but they are a good starting point.
BOOKS - so many here. Not sure where to start. Looking at reading, a top global media planner and friend
has just started a Substack and his first article was sharing his recommendations of books to read, I have read most but not all and a couple have been added to my Goodreads straight away!Some personal favourites of mine include How Not To Plan by Les Binet and Sarah Carter, such a practical breakdown into misconceptions and defiance of misplaced wisdom. It took me 2 and a half years to finish but I would read a 2 page chapter a week and really think about it and see how right it all was. 11/10. How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp is a cornerstone of marketing science, and I believe Jenni Romaniuk has brought out a new book on brand tracking I need to look into. I also love the human irrationality and behavioural science piece, and enables me to think beyond the entrenched spreadsheet thinking from my media background, with important guidance on how much is irrational and emotional. To that end, I love Buyology by Martin Lindstrom, The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton and Alchemy by Rory Sutherland, as well as books about behavioural economics as a whole which get you thinking holistically about humans in markets, such as The Economic Naturalist and Freakonomics. If you are running a business/agency or self employed as a consultant (like myself), Agencynomics is good value, as is the excellent You’re The Business by Anna Codrea-Rado. There are loads more but these come to mind first.
NEWSLETTERS - Also, as you have read this far I would hazard a guess you like a newsletter or a good blog piece. I have already referenced Zoe, Ross and Giulio; however if you want to learn about wider strategy in business beyond just the marketing realm then the Swedish tsar
is your guy with his Strategy in Praxis newsletter. I think he is about to drop a book too; he promised me a signed copy but that does not sway my writing I assure you. There are many more, including Joe Glover’s The Marketing Meetup (with delicious webinars) and I’ve recently got into Louis Grenier’s Stand The Fuck Out newsletter I get once or twice a week, always a wonderfully mind-jarring read; follow and read whatever works for you, but the knowledge is definitely out there!LAST BUT BY NO MEANS LEAST - DOING THE WORK - it can all live on the tip of the tongue or on the paper, but the carousel of sector knowledge and experience comes from truly throwing yourself into the work. Immerse yourself in the client world. Understand their offer, their challenges, their market, and you will find yourself learning things you never thought you would. Since starting Archmon almost 4 years ago now, I have learnt via both partners and clients things I never would have expected, from sustainable packaging supply chains, to manufacturing weight control and legacy land management practices. You apply your marketing knowledge and fundamentals, but it is always 2-way and that is never not a good thing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Inspiration and learning comes from all corners. Courses, books, podcasts, people, inspiration, mentors and indeed mentees. To be a marketer is to be relentlessly curious on the human condition, what drives us and motivates us. By tapping into lived experience now and in the past, it really is a cheat code to enable a mosaic of knowledge and thoughts, of markets and personas, of evidenced pasts and hopeful futures. Surround yourself with the books that matter, the people that inspire and the mindsets that soar. Do it, nobody else will do it for you. You are the CEO of your life. Go forth and conquer.
SA x
I hope you are getting a semblance of value out of this. If so, and you think any other marketer or business owner would, feel free to share/forward this to them and encourage them to subscribe. Also, follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter or even my company page. Thanks and happy reading!
Thank you for the amazing shootout Simon!