I’ve given this talk a couple of times now. Building and running an agency is all about controlled chaos. These are a few lessons I learned (or failed to learn) along the way. NOTE: I HAD NO PLAN. If you’re looking for a how-to, this is the wrong deck. OK, continue…

Read this to plumb the depths of my despair as a marketer and writer.

If you run an agency, you’re going to face tough times. There’s no avoiding them. These are my experiences and how I (and my agency) survived them.

Yep. I still have writer’s block. I’m so desperate I’m rewriting old fluff pieces and publishing them in a futile display of attention grubbing. So here you go: More Marketing Haiku. I apologize.

Advanced isn’t what you think.

“Skilled” isn’t the same as “advanced.”

“Skilled” means you know how to do a thing. Skills are crucial.

“Advanced” means you can recognize the bullshit, cut through it, and then apply skills to solve problems. “Advanced” is invaluable.

After 25 years running Portent, I’ve decided to head out on my own.

I was not “forced out.” Nor did I leave because I don’t like working here. It’s just time. I’ve spent my entire adult life (give or take a few years) running an agency. I saw us grow from one person to a team of forty. We were acquired.