Learning from my biggest fuck ups: believing my own bullshit, selling my soul, and lying to myself
Speed's Ian Perrin reveals his three biggest mistakes: believing his own bullshit at Naked, selling his soul at Zenith Optimedia, and lying to himself about being a good dad.
We are in an industry that is meant to push boundaries. To think creatively think about communication problems. To differentiate brands in unique and compelling ways. And to do this effectively, we can’t afford to live in fear of failure. Everyone makes mistakes, and although these may be exaggerated in trade media comments sections, that doesn’t mean we should hide from them. In fact, quite the opposite. Owning up to them, taking pride in them, and ultimately learning from them will make us all better.
And it isn’t just me saying this. There is a mountain of evidence (see Columbia University’s Janet Metcalf’s ‘Learning from mistakes’) to suggest that mistakes are an important part of learning. In fact, the more certain you are that you are right, the greater the learning will be when you are actually wrong. And the size of your fuck up is proportional to the size of your learning.
When Perrin started Speed, he wanted to “ensure my independence and control my own destiny”
So, if you’re going to fuck up, do it in style.
But, perhaps most interesting is how the brain reacts when you do fuck up. It basically responds in two possible ways: fight or flight. It either sees the mistake as a wake-up call and dedicates its problem-solving resources to fix it – which in our industry is highly productive – or, it shuts down and seeks to deflect responsibility, which is how many agency people react. Ever heard anyone say, “The other agency dropped their pants”, “The CMO is related to someone at that agency”, or “They didn’t understand our brilliant, award-winning idea”? Of course, you have, and chances are you have uttered those words yourself.
So, I’ve become a loud and proud fucker upper. And upon reflection, I have made the most obvious, basic mistakes ever. Here are the top three of my greatest hits:
- Believing my own bullshit
- Selling my soul
- Lying to myself.
Spoiler alert: It gets somewhat self-indulgent from here on in, but as I said, loud and proud.
Believing my own bullshit
Believing one’s own bullshit is easy to do in this industry. Especially when you are winning awards, producing outstanding work, and managing a group of people you would genuinely call friends for life. That was me at Naked.
I helped to create an outstanding agency, but mired in our own hubris, we didn’t react to a changing environment. Naked may have revolutionised the market by delivering creative, neutral, channel planning solutions, but when everyone caught up, we simply didn’t know where to go. And I personally didn’t do enough to change.
I helped drive an agency that delighted in making ourselves difficult to buy, and while other planning agencies such as Nota Bene and Match Media went on to become incredibly successful, Naked is sadly no more. So, the learning when I started Speed (which is also a planning focused agency) was to follow Nota Bene and Match and build an integrated buying model as part of the solution. And we have a process to work with creative agencies, not against them.
Selling my soul
Selling my soul was the most difficult, yet ultimately most educational of my fuck-ups.
After Naked, I joined Zenith Optimedia because, to be honest, they offered me a lot more money. I accepted a position with three different reporting lines, clients flying out the door, and no coherent holding group strategy. I naively and stupidly (which is quite a combination) thought I could change things. Mould the agency my way. Reshape an established cog of a major holding group into a nimble, transparent, sustainable, and client focused disruptor.
But, as many in the industry know, that’s not how the multinationals work.
So, the second learning when I started Speed was to ensure my independence and control my own destiny. I do have a partnership with Clemenger Group and OMG, one that is built on trust and shared values, but Speed remains 100% mine.
Lying to myself
Lying to oneself is the fuck up we all make the most. We look in the mirror and convince ourselves that the way we are behaving is justified.
For me the big lie was, for too long, believing that I was a good dad, just because I got home a few nights a week to read bedtime stories to my kids. Even if I was checking my phone simultaneously, I thought I was ‘part of their lives’. But I was lying to myself about the one job I wanted to do better than all others.
And next week, while I’m in Canberra watching my son play soccer, I know I will have learnt from my biggest fuck up of all.
Ian Perrin is the chief accelerator at Speed
Love the honesty Pez, I know we’ve all got a few stories to share and f* ups to learn from.
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Hi Ian, loved this piece! I hope you enjoy your weekend away!
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Touchingly human as always. Would be a painful read for some. Hope you are well.
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Well done, Ian. Honest, insightful, human. ps some of your Naked fuck ups weren’t that bad.
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F-bombs in the headline?? Call me old fashioned…
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Own it and learn from it. Appreciate you sharing.
Most of our best and brightest learning experiences are from hindsight.
Like you, I owned and operated a successful award winning agency for 20 years. In the last 5 years of the Agency, we lost our mojo. And ultimately it was my fault. (like you, I believed my own bullshit) I was stressing big time and not sharing my concerns of failure.
This resulted in me having 2 major strokes. That was 10 years ago. And I’m still learning from my thoughts of what I should have done better. Suggestion to others reading this, take stock every day of the TOP 5 things you are doing right now and what can you change to improve.
Hope these comments help just one person.
Ross Kilpatrick
Former Creative Director and owner.
Huntingdales Brand Builders.
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awesome post
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also awesome
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Advancing the frontiers of good taste.
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I enjoyed the brutal honesty in this refreshing short read. Thanks Ian
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Always enjoy reading your thoughts on this industry of ours Ian, and I know that I can relate to a number of your points. I’m pleased to see that you are managing to stay successful, but with greater balance towards the things that are truly important in life i.e. family.
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but the other ones…..
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A good read and one I’m sure many will associate with.
Not a bad way to introduce Speed either!
It’s the antithesis of a typical super-positive, breast-beating creds presentation.
Nice creative at work!
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Great article.
But how much time do you really spend with your kids now …. every day, whilst running your own agency?
I had my own (successful) business and thought I was ‘involved’ with my kids life. Then I stopped work altogether (not easy) so my wife could pursue her career full time.
Being 100% responsible for the domestic scene; kids at school, the house, the shopping, the meals, waiting for tradies to fix things, dealing with an aging /sick mother or in law, listening to your partners problems at work. Year in year out. Then you know how rewarding being a father can really be. Not easy, but I’d never swap it for the inane bullshit of adland any day. Sure you miss the excitement, the people, the highs and lows , the money, the lunches, but if you talk the talk ……
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Drop the F word from your vocabulary and [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
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Ian, your honesty, ownership and vunerability! If we shared more mistakes openly then perhaps we would all make less. Nice piece Mumbrella!
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Bring on a solid “Paddy-bomb” about the ancient media ways, Paddy!
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Love the honesty Ian.
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authentic words Pez. Enjoyed muchly.
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Refreshingly honest and authentic what an insightful story. Well done Ian and thanks for sharing.
All the best
Sparrow
I think you’re only just touching the surface. There are loads more.
Nice piece, lots of love
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Hat’s off to you, Ian!
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Seems I am the only one to see this poorly disguised piece of self-promotion for what it is. Sorry, while the f bomb in the subject line got me in, the content itself I found totally underwhelming and simply a PR piece.
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Of course it is. All comments on here are. What’s wrong with that little anonymous one?
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great to read an honest and raw article, acknowledging mistakes and learning from them, being humble. Good for you.
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and isn’t it about time we take responsibility for our comments and our name is mandatory?
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Ian, as you know I’ve never met you or worked with you or any of your companies, but based on your article, I believe that you are a superstar and this industry needs a lot more people like you. Cheers, Henry
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Nice one Perrin. 4th fuckup… “To think creatively think about communication problems.” ?
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That sonata was “good as Ghul”
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Amazing article Ian!
I too had those moments when I worked for a multinational agency and gave my arse and soul to them. When my child developed a medical condition, they just didn’t care and let me go.
Independence is key to bring the passion and soul back to the industry and family
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Totally agree. A puff piece clad in self effacement. Did any of you commenters actually read it? Or are you just gullible?
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