Second point I would raise is that I would advice young creatives to fight for their ideas and never be intimidated to present an idea to their CDs. Take a scribble and knock on your bosses door and show him/her, they might be busy but trust me they will appreciate it.

thats all, hope i wasnt talking crap.

The best creative guys GET research. It’s an inspirational tool not an assassin.

Numbers are your friends. So is good qualitative - if done well. Whoever invented the focus-group-in-viewing-facility does not understand how people think or talk. That is not research, that is piss poor performance art.

Listen to the stories that come out from research. You can tell in your gut if they’re helping.

Never talk confidentially to anyone who is on a speaker phone or put something negative in an e-mail.

Don’t have more in your office than you can carry out in one trip–and always keep your resume and samples up to date.

Finally, if you don’t like people changing your words, write your own book. Everyone thinks they’re a writer–especially when they are reviewing your work. Get over it!

A creative brain filled with the flotsam of science, math, sociology, philosophy and the like is far more valuable to me as a CD than all the slick looking, Archive-inspired student work in the world.

I do have some small, but important, advice for all the recent college grads or soon-to-be grads…

NEVER STOP LEARNING and take the initiative to teach yourself, the world outside the classroom is much larger than you think…and much more complicated.

I cannot tell you how many advertising students don’t read a copy of Adweek or research what’s happening in the ad-related scene every now or then. Will you have a good education in the field just by having a college degree? Sure. But don’t think you’ve learned everything there is to know.

I, unfortunately, see too many students act as if the world they’re about to enter is nothing but a piece of cake and that they can simply apply what they’ve learned in class in work. Those types of students have a very harsh realization coming to them when they realize THIS field is much more difficult and demanding than they think. Life isn’t a perfect-fitting puzzle.

So continue to study and learn – not just your field but anything and everything else, even politics, economics, business and whatever it may be. Everything is connected. Plus, you can’t argue with wanting to be smarter eh? *_~

Not sure I can think of anything to add - except maybe give a colleague a hug once in a while!

I had a friend once who said she wanted to keep her work and like seperate.

That never made any sense to me.

I’d much rather be friends with the people I work with, and I tend to hug my friends!

1) Ad monkey see, ad monkey do. It’s hard to avoid politics if it’s the modus operandi for agency management. Chilluns, if you land at a politically-charged agency, try to get out quick. That is, don’t just avoid playing politics — avoid agencies playing politics. Good luck finding politics-free shops.

2) It’s amazing to see how the youngsters ignore their 401k. Wonder if it has anything to do with incredible college debt compounded by shitty entry-level salaries.

3) This advice needs to start with management. Are creative directors making writers and art directors wait and wait and wait? Respect for everyone’s time is everyone’s responsibility.

4) This wouldn’t be a problem if the elder statesmen hadn’t made winning awards such an obsessive, masturbatory act. Again, ad monkey see, ad monkey do.

5) OK, the youngsters will agree to learn the old school mechanics when the elders learn some new school skills.

6) No issues with this point. Except the same advice should be directed to ALL account people, regardless of their experience level.

7) Sorry, downsizing and nomadic clients make moving around a fact of life. Be ready to run at the first opportunity. You’re the first ones hired and the first ones fired. Paranoid Boomers are not your friends, adpups.

8) Not sure about this point. As a creative director, I want my kids running ideas by me first. I’ll help to make sure the ideas are client-ready, and I’ll help you sell them. Provided I’m not a paranoid Boomer playing politics.

9) Yeah, be curious about the business. But focus first on coming up with great ideas. Big ideas are more important than billable hours. Let your managers worry about the business shit for now. You should be a creative, not an accountant or manager.

10) This last point is brilliant. Reread it daily.