1. Why do clients only have emergencies at 5pm when you were planning to leave on time that day? 2. With enough denim around the average agency to stage a rodeo, whatever happened to the Working Wardrobe? 3. Why are the majority of staff in every agency aged under 35? 4. Whatever happened to the … Continue reading 10 things I still don’t understand about agency life
Category: Work
10 things I wish I’d been told when I started agency life
1. It is NEVER OK to be bullied in the workplace 2. Going to the pub after work is not compulsory 3. Manage and protect your workload to allow time for the inevitable crisis that will need dealing with 4. Learn how to tell which battles are worth fighting 5. If you don’t like certain … Continue reading 10 things I wish I’d been told when I started agency life
its apparently Positive Mental Attitude week – and its catching
A couple of weeks ago, one of the Account Directors who sits near me at work merrily declared that for the foreseeable future, all weeks would be now be designated Positive Mental Attitude Week. Since then, she’s won two pitches. I’m not suggesting that the two are completely related, but spending every day alternating between … Continue reading its apparently Positive Mental Attitude week – and its catching
a day in the (reality checked) life
You know those ‘day in the life; and ’24 hours with’ pieces that turn up in trade mags and the business section of the newspaper? They make working in AdLand sound very glamorous, but I’m afraid the life of this Planner is rather more mundane… 8.40 Arrive at work. Go to kitchen. Coffee pot is empty. Decide … Continue reading a day in the (reality checked) life
Time waits for no agency (or planner)
We were clearing out a cupboard at work last month and found some photos from when the business was just getting started over 20 years ago. A few faces from the photos are still with the agency today and they told me about the days when desks were for writing not typing on, when efficient … Continue reading Time waits for no agency (or planner)
The naming of things is a difficult matter
I’ve been pondering recently – why do we have ‘shorthand’ names for some places and people but not for others? At work, for example we have The Coffee Man, Sandwich Man (or occasionally Sandwich Lady), Sewing Lady and CityLink Man. Then there’s The Book People, who have cut out the middle man and handily named … Continue reading The naming of things is a difficult matter
Don’t panic, Mr Marketing
I am loving these posters-for-our-times from the team at LOVE. Good advice for the Planning community: And also for Creative types:
When five become four
I’ve written before on this blog about work/life balance and I’ve decided to follow my own advice and try to get a bit more of it. So I’m going to be working 4 days a week instead of 5 (but hopefully not trying to ram 5 days work into 4…). I do appreciate that I’m … Continue reading When five become four
A finely tuned moving machine
I’m guessing that 100 people (about half the office) have moved desks in the last 48 hours. We shuffle around so often that it’s a finely tuned machine. The blue packing crates arrive, the skip and recycling bins are filled, the moving muscle shifts furniture and IT switch everyone’s phones and computers round overnight. This … Continue reading A finely tuned moving machine
Big Thinking, Big Price Tag
I got an email today reminding me about the forthcoming APG Battle of Big Thinking. It boasts an amazing line up of speakers and everyone I know who has been to a Big Thinking event before has raved about it. There’s just one problem – the cost. Its not a good time to be asking … Continue reading Big Thinking, Big Price Tag