What have I learnt in the last 15 years?
As it’s Ponderosa’s 15th Birthday this year, moderately successful CEO Richard Midgley has written the 15 (if he can be bothered) things he has learnt working in agencies over the years. He has stretched it beyond the 15, as his career started in 1992 when mobile phones didn’t exist and secretaries did. People didn’t have laptops on their desks; they had a phone, a landline, and a packet of fags.
- It’s never personal: whether it’s a client sacking the agency, or an agency making people redundant, it’s very rarely personal. Making redundancies is the hardest thing I have ever had to do and it’s very upsetting to the agency owner, I promise. But also, when people leave, they generally just want a better offer, a change, or a new opportunity.
- Never put all your eggs in one basket. I set Ponderosa up on the back of the Halewood International account, mainly Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer. They continued to give us more work, and then one day they sacked us. They were 40% of our GP – far too much. It nearly took us under.
- Always know your 13-week cash projection. What people don’t realise is that agencies can be making profit and still go bust. You need money in the bank.
- As an agency owner you come last: you have to pay the mortgage/rent, salaries, HMRC, bank, suppliers, and only then can you pay yourself.
- Briefs are much better handwritten. I went to a school where we were told to use fountain pens so that you took longer to write, and therefore thought more about what you were writing. A handwritten brief had time and craft and thought. But you couldn’t use a fountain pen because it wouldn’t go through the carbon paper.
- It’s harder to do great work. It’s probably predictable to say this, but the work was generally better back then. It’s not the agency’s fault, or even entirely the clients’, but work literally took weeks just to reach the concept stage. So, it’s no wonder creativity and craft get squeezed when deadlines are so tight. Creatives are miracle workers.
- There is no time to think: I have been dragged kicking and screaming onto the Ritson Mini MBA. It’s very good, and begrudgingly I accept he knows what he’s talking about. The most important thing he teaches is “take time to think”, don’t just do.
- People are nicer: I dug out an old leaving card and I kid you not there was not one comment that was “good luck in your new role” most were along the lines of “f*ck off and don’t come back”. Nowadays people are much more encouraging.
- People take it too seriously. That hasn’t really changed (people have always cared) but with websites first, and now social media, it’s impossible to escape. Add the lack of time, and what you’ve got is a bunch of people who genuinely care, trying to hit impossible deadlines. Not a great recipe. And people like me should do something about it.
- People don’t drink as much. This is very sad. The pub on a Friday was the best thing about the working week. Getting to know colleagues outside of the office and have a little download about the week meant you could skip into the weekend not giving a monkey’s. Some of us let the Friday pint slip all the way to Tuesday or Wednesday. Monday was a sign of trouble. But I still like nothing more than a few pints with the team, even if it is a way to try and understand them.
- Working from home is crap. One day a week, maybe two, is fine. But if you’re in client services, you’re squeezed between clients wanting things quicker and cheaper, creatives wanting more time and more money to piss away, and a line manager or MD asking you to make more money for the agency. Being able to go out on fancy lunches, dinners, beers, coffees, and generally dick about a bit with your workmates made up for it. Doing all this from your spare room or kitchen? That’s no way to live. Get in the office and have a bit of a doss.
- Good, is good enough. Sometimes we waste too much time trying to get something that is 90% there and make it 100%. You can’t. It won’t ever be perfect.
- Only you can make you happy. If you are looking around for someone or something to make you happy, you will be looking a long time. Focus on making yourself happy.
- Always have enough cash in the bank. See image of the first ever Ponderosa cheque. It bounced. Fortunately, it was to our accountant, and he saw the funny side and framed it.
- See point 12.