Life is a series of learning experiences. With each victory, we learn something; and with each setback, we garner much more. For professionals in the field, their expertise over the years has given them a lot of experiences from which they can draw.
Both positive and negative experiences can be teachable moments. The only real failure is a mistake that one doesn't learn from. While some are more impactful than others, they all contribute to understanding and growing within the field. Below, 13 members of Forbes Agency Council share the experiences that taught them the most and highlight why those particular events stuck with them so much.
1. Learn Humility First
Over my career, countless mistakes have taught me how much I don't know. But I believe once you've learned humility, you can learn everything else. When you discover how much there is to learn, you learn how to leverage the knowledge and expertise of others at the right time. - Tom Hileman, Hileman Group
2. The ‘Brand’ Matters
The first years in our agency were frustrating. We couldn't win big pitches or close bigger deals even when we knew we could do a better job than the agencies that won. This changed when we started investing in brand growth -- we started speaking at events, contributing content in major publications, and making our proposal designs more professional. We went from nothing to closing $1M+ deals. - Aaron Agius, Louder.Online
3. Hope Is Not A Strategy
Early on in my career, when I worked as a CMO for a Fortune 100 Company, I learned that while it's important to trust your gut, you can't build marketing campaigns on intuition alone. Research into your customer base and your brand is critical to form meaningful connections with consumers. Today, I've made my life lesson a rallying cry for my agency. - Mary Ann O'Brien, OBI Creative
4. Your Competitors Are Your Friend
A good competitor makes you work harder and smarter. They challenge you to provide better service and communicate your value to the customer clearly and succinctly. In addition, today's competitor is tomorrow's collaborator. Our careers are long and getting longer. Transitions are frequent. Today's agency CEO may be tomorrow's corporate CMO. Be radically generous to all. - Dan Cohen, Full Court Press Communications
5. No Room For Emotions
As a CEO, you cannot allow your emotions to dictate your business decisions, period. Early on, I let my emotions influence my decision-making process which led to misjudgements in hiring/firing, client relationships, etc. Passion and empathy are essential to build a business. However, be unemotional when making decisions that would impact your business and the lives of people connected to it. - Osama Khabab, MotionCue
6. There's Enough To Go Around
In my early days as an agency owner, I often worried -- would there be enough? One day, a mentor suggested that I focus on the work in front of me, truly be present, and the future would take care of itself. It did. Recognizing that doing the work is the path to having more work is important, as is realizing there is enough work for everyone. Be grateful for what you have -- that's the way to have more! - Lynne Golodner, Your People LLC
7. Trust Your Gut And Mine Your Own Data
In the SEO industry, there is a plethora of opinions and influencers that try to guide the industry. One thing that skyrocketed my career was making my own assumptions and creating tests to collect data to prove or disprove my idea. By doing this, I have always stayed ahead of the curve with search algorithm updates and kept my clients soaring past industry plateaus. - Tyler McConville, NAV43
8. Don't Complain, Just Do It Better
I spent too many years complaining about how I wished people would be better bosses or run more human-first businesses. Complaining is easy. Figuring out a way to do things differently is challenging, but more rewarding. Rather than focusing on how you wish others would change their behavior or management style, go do it better yourself. Then you can actually change your industry -- and the world. - April White, Trust Relations
9. Check, Check And Check Again
At my first agency job, I was managing a huge new account announcing a major deal with two different partners. I got approval on a press release with quotes for each partner, and the next morning it went up on the wire. One of the partners called us livid because they had not approved their quote. It taught me how important it is to check and double-check every major detail when dealing with media. - Nathan Miller, Miller Ink, Inc.
10. Mantra For Effective Crisis Communications
One of the most challenging areas to provide counsel is in the field of crisis communications. Early in my career, I worked with the world leaders in express and logistics. Dealing with millions of shipments, there was always some crisis or other. What I learned that has stayed with me throughout my career are three things -- stick to the facts, don't make assumptions and never speculate. - Lars Voedisch, PRecious Communications
11. Management Is Not About Being Good At A Task
The shift from being a member of the team to managing the team was incredibly hard. It also provided many opportunities to learn what my management style is. It took me a while to understand that being good at a task does not make you a good manager. Having empathy and being an effective communicator enables you to be able to lead the team, and it is rewarding to watch the team flourish. - Laura Glotzbach, LGS Marketing Services
12. Don't Play To Win, Play To Keep Playing
Simon Sinek introduced the concept of "infinite game" and everything started to make sense to me. The biggest learning experience I have is a pattern of feeling meaningless after celebrating a win -- whether it's a new client, a project or a deal, because these are all finite games. The game continues whether you win or lose. That is why we need to reorient ourselves around a bigger vision. - Kashif Zaman
13. Under-Promise And Over-Deliver
Looking back, I've learned that it's always best to under-promise and over-deliver for clients. It's better to set the bar modestly, and then over-execute and deliver. For example, if I know a project can be completed in three days, I will set the expectations for the client for one-week delivery. This allows me more time to perfect my work and ensure it always gets completed on time. - Jonathan Durante, Expandify Marketing Inc
