Lessons Learned

As grown-ups, birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones tend to cause us to reflect rather than celebrate in the way a 10-year-old child might. Since we’re grown-ups (most of the time) here at Philosophy Communication, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the most important lessons in life and business we’ve learned over the last 10 years.

10. Clients come and go, but relationships endure. The first time a client fires you, it’s devastating, just like the first time you got dumped. But if you’ve built a great relationship with your contact, they’ll remember you and hire you again down the road.

9. Ignorance really can be bliss. If you don’t know what you should be afraid of, you’re not afraid. Some of our best work has come from an idea and the determination to make it work. If we knew all of the possible pitfalls ahead of time, we probably wouldn’t have tried in the first place.

8. Even great work can’t always overcome a gi-normous ego. This one continues to cause us to scratch our heads. Sometimes if someone says, “I could do this myself if I had the time,” you need to just let them do it.

7. Peanut M&Ms can make a bad day just a little better. Slightly salty peanuts wrapped in sweet milk chocolate encased in a thin candy shell. Clean, delicious, satisfying – there’s not much else to say.

6. Flexibility is a lot more than being able to touch your toes. The old cliché goes, “the only constant is change.” It’s a cliché for a reason, and being flexible with your clients and yourself makes your day go a whole lot smoother.

5. A power suit really does make you powerful. It’s subtle, but your clothes can help you exude a certain attitude, and sometimes it’s all about attitude. When you’re dressed to impress, you usually do.

4. There ARE bad ideas in brainstorms. But it’s always better to focus on the good stuff and how those not-so-great ideas can lead to even better ideas.

3. Don’t trick the trick. When you have a great idea or product, let it speak for itself. Focus on your execution rather than trying too hard to be creative for creativity’s sake.

2. In the world of PR and marketing, the customer isn’t always right. If they were, why would they need to hire us? Clients sometimes need us to show them the error of their ways. Even better, when it’s a collaborative effort, great work prevails.

1. Business is personal. People own, operate and work at businesses, and people like to work with other people. It all comes back to relationships and real relationships are personal. At Philosophy we’re like a family. We care about our clients, the work and each other, and that’s the best part of the job.