A collection of lessons and learnings in Account Service after more than a decade as a creative communications professional. This document accompanies a voiceover I've shared with my colleagues and peers in Account Service for their benefit in avoiding some of the many grenades I've stepped on over the course of my career.

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10 Things
10 Things I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago
By John Frahm
Account Director
Latitude

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10 Things
An incomplete list of things I wish didn’t
take me more than a decade to learn.

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10 Things
#1

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NUM BE R 1
Don’t look for the next opportunity.
See the one right in front of you.

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“I just need to to get through this brief.”
“I just need to get promoted to the next title.”
“I just need to get offered this opportunity.”
“I just need to work on this type of client.”

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10 Things
This job, in this industry, for all clients,
in any role, at any point in time,
is. all. the. same.

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SO
Focus on what’s in front of you, and make it the best
brief, email, ICR, formatted deck, budget spreadsheet
or pot of coffee that’s humanly possible.

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BECAUSE
If everything you touch is done well,
you’ll keep finding yourself in the “next” opportunity.

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10 Things
#2

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NUM BE R 2
Make it simple.
Simple is hard.

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Another way to say this, is that writing or sharing
something that is long and meandering, with
multiple requests or an unclear point-of-view
with what exactly you want or what is needed
from whom you are asking is just plain lazy and
irresponsible.

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“If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t
understand it well enough.”
- Albert “Bud” Einstein

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Don’t give me all the information, give me the right information.
Requires critical thinking that forces you to understand what the other
designer, writer, director, client, needs in order to advance a situation.
It’s self-growth opportunity that is always available to you.

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10 Things
Simple is strategic

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SO
Force yourself to spend the extra hour,
minute or second asking yourself,
“Is this as simple as it can possibly be?”

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BECAUSE
People want to work with other people
who make things simple.

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10 Things
#3

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NUM BE R 3
Control what you can control.

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“This client is an idiot.”
“That creative person is a pain in the ass.”
“This budget is a joke.”
“This timeline is insane.”
“This project is bullshit.”

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10 Things
yep.

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SO
Get over it.

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BECAUSE
You can’t free your mind to solve a problem until
you’ve unlocked it from the symptoms of
focusing on what you can’t control.

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10 Things
#4

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NUM BE R 4
When all else fails,
apply basic common sense.

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“What do we do?”
“Who owns what?”
“When should that happen?”
“Where does that take place?”
“How can we do this?”

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10 Things
You don’t have to have the solution
in order to advance a team
towards one.

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SO
Say what you need in plain language
and others will follow.

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BECAUSE
Nobody has the solution.
Common sense is a language everyone can latch
onto to get you somewhere.

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10 Things
#5

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NUM BE R 5
Questions are good.
Asking is bad.

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This entire job is trying to solve problems, which you can’t solve
properly without asking questions.
BUT:
Good questions are active: “Can you clarify this?”
Bad asks are passive: “How would you like to handle?”

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10 Things
Questions work towards solutions that
keep you in control of the situation.
Asking stalls everything.

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SO
Speak up with questions.
Rephrase asks into action questions.

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BECAUSE
Questions move you toward a solution.
Asking prohibits progress.

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10 Things
#6

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NUM BE R 6
Come to terms with this fact:
“you don’t know what you don’t know”

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“I’ve got this mastered.”
“I can do this in my sleep.”
“All you have to do is do it like this.”
“I am amazing at my job.”

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10 Things
Nope.

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Lack of self-awareness and humility turn relationships,
respect and collaboration into full-blown dumpster fires.

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If you operate like you are not the smartest person in the room,
that’s a truthful place from which to be working.
The bonus: people will underestimate you.
That’s some powerful shit.

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SO
Get to a place where you recognize you
don’t know everything.

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BECAUSE
You’ll be a more dangerous force with
which to be reckoned.

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10 Things
#7

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NUM BE R 7
Plan like a pessimist,
act like an optimist.

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The Planning Fallacy Theory = Plans are always created with a best case
scenario in mind, never accounting for potential challenges
The Pollyanna Principle = People remember the good more accurately than
the bad

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10 Things
They will love you for your optimism.
Especially when things go into the toilet.
(It will)

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SO
Account for a worst case scenario at the
project beginning and meet challenges
with positivity and a shit eating grin
during the project.

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BECAUSE
You’ll set yourself up for the best possible
chance for success.

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10 Things
#8

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NUM BE R 8
You don’t need to be called a strategist
to think strategically.

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If information is power, then Account Service is the most powerful
position at any agency.
You know better than anyone:
The nature of your client’s business and agency’s values.
The motivations behind your client’s actions and agency leadership.
The dynamics at play between your clients, the market and your team.

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10 Things
Strategic thinking takes on all forms.

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SO
Embrace the power of information that
exists in the grey of your job.

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BECAUSE
It will empower you to lend your voice
and guidance to situations.

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10 Things
#9

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NUM BE R 9
Measure with your own yardstick,
not your peers.

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“What do I need to do to get promoted above my peers?”
“What is that person doing that I’m not?”
“What box do I need to check to advance my career?”

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“There’s a reason why they put blinders
on plow horses. Keep them focused on
their own row.”
- My Iowa Dad

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10 Things
Comparing your skill relative to your
peers will never provide you with the
answer you seek.
Or, more importantly, need.

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SO
Focus on you. Your job.
Your task. Your life.
Your own shit.

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BECAUSE
You’ll ultimately get where you
want to be going faster with more
grace and greater respect.

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10 Things
#10

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NUM BE R 1 0
Hard Skills < Soft Skills

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Hard Skills = easy to define, easy to measure
Soft Skills = difficult to define, easy to recognize
When you find yourself feeling stuck, more often than not, signs
point to soft skills

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10 Things
Your hard skills will get you a job.
Your soft skills will get you a career.

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SO
Put yourself into uncomfortable conversations
that critique your soft skills.

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BECAUSE
You’re the only person that can hunker
down, grit your teeth and evolve.

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10 Things
Above all else

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Account Service is the hardest job in this industry.

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10 Things
So, give yourself some credit.

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AN D R ECOGNIZE
1. You don’t know everything.
2. That’s ok, because you’re not expected to know everything.
3. If you work with humility, grace and common sense,
everything will be ok.

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10 Things
John Frahm
Account Director
+ 1 612 710 5877
jfrahm@lat.co
Thank You