A decade in Australian advertising: 10 lessons from 10 years

This month marks my ten-year anniversary at Leo Australia. In most industries that’s a decent stretch. In advertising, where time runs in dog years, it’s practically a lifetime.

Milestones like this inevitably bring reflection. The changes I’ve worked through have been significant: technology has transformed creativity, agency culture has been redefined, and the competitive landscape for agencies is unrecognisable compared to 2015. This all gets plenty of airtime elsewhere, so I won’t add to the noise.

What doesn’t get shared nearly as often is the recognition that working in advertising is hard and it requires a resilient mindset and particular habits to navigate its constant chaos and challenge. These are the human truths, realisations and behaviours that rarely make it into industry panels or end-of-year reviews, yet are the very things that have unlocked longevity in my own career.

So here we go. 10 lessons from my 10 years in Australian advertising:

1. Nothing stays the same, build your adaptability muscle 

Clients, teams, processes, tools, expectations. It’s all in constant reinvention. In 2015 it was all about mobile-first strategy, today it’s agentic mastery. Once you accept that change is the default, you stop wasting energy resisting it and start using that energy to adapt and get purposefully curious about what’s coming next.

2. Advertising is hard, but the tension fuels creativity

Mr. Leo Burnett himself said it better than anyone: “Rarely have I seen any really great advertising created without a certain amount of confusion, throw-aways, bent noses, irritation and downright cursedness.” Anything truly good tends to be something that hasn’t been done before, and where there’s uncertainty, there’s tension.

3. Don’t take it too seriously, creativity needs levity

The work matters, of course. But treating every project like a World Cup final is paralysing. Perspective is a discipline worth practicing but difficult when you’re literally in the trenches on complex and pressured work. Find the space to find some lightness when it gets heavy. And work out what can play out Sunday league style, rather than at Wembley.

4. Work–life balance is a myth, figure out what works for you

At best, it’s all a messy juggle (a “muggle”?). The earlier you accept that perfect balance doesn’t exist, the more freedom you’ll have to figure out what works for you. I still struggle and it’s a constant process of adjustment but make a commitment to yourself around what’s important and do your best to stick with it.

5. Don’t wait for the good times, enjoy the moment you’re in 

“I’ll just get through this tough patch, then it’ll be fun again.” I’ve told myself that too many times. But the truth is there’s no perfect phase waiting just around the corner. Every stage has its grind and its rewards. Stop waiting and find a way to enjoy the moment you’re in.

6. Escape the bubble, it’s more interesting outside 

It’s easy to get trapped in the ad-land echo chamber. But the best ideas, insights, and inspiration always come from outside it. Pay attention to the real world. Read books. Watch movies. Talk to people. Be a secret shopper. Get into subcultures. Indulge your interests. More interesting advertising comes from more interesting people.

7. Do the things you don’t like, so you can do more of the things you do like 

There will always be parts of the job that don’t feel like your sweet spot. That won’t change. The key is to work out what is in your sweet spot and make sure you’ve got enough of that to sustain you, alongside the other bits.

8. Keep it simple, less complexity = more clarity 

The brief. The strategy. The idea. The numbers. The way you talk about things. Complexity surrounds us and drags us down in the form of endless slides, words and emails. Get good at stripping everything back to its essentials and keep it that way. The best strategy is always the one which has less in it.

9. Be generous with your praise, and praise loudly 

Praise and gratitude are powerful. Thank people for their energy, their time, their ideas. Share praise with others freely. Talk them up, not down, when they’re not around. A culture of appreciation builds teams that thrive. As the late David Abbott of AMV said “talent grows best in the sunshine of security and encouragement”.

10. Make some good things; it’s why we started in the first place 

That’s what it all comes back to. Amidst it all, the reason we endure is simple: to make good work. Work we can be proud of. Find what will make it good for you, your team and your client. And go after it.

Ten years in, advertising is still tough and at times absolutely maddening. But it’s also brimming with irresistible energy, wild ideas, and people who care about making things that matter.

Here’s to the next 10 years.