Notes from Biggsy's Last Exit Interview
I think I first have to admit to having a huge man crush on Peter Biggs.Â
He has been the CEO of two of the most respected and awarded creative agencies over the last two decades, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and Colenso BBDO. Much of the work I admire and wish I had been part of has come out of those two agencies.
Which is why I have sought to watch Biggs speak a couple times now in an attempt to steal whatever knowledge I can from his brain.
On each occasion he has come across as a hard working boss that expects the highest standards of his staff. That is a pretty standard trait amongst the CEOâs Iâve either worked for or met. But he is by far the most charming, intelligent, well read and practical person I have encountered in advertising which I imagine makes him an inspiring agency boss.
As he is leaving both Australia and the advertising industry, he was invited to give his âLast Exit Interviewâ. Last night he spoke broadly about what he had learned in advertising and could pass on to the next generation of industry professionalsÂ
By request from a couple of people on Twitter, I have included my notes that I furiously typed on my phone during the hour long session. It does not do justice to the stories or wit that it was delivered with but hopefully captures his main points.
The Song of Wandering Aengus is a poem that that he always recommends for people in advertising who ask him what they should do to get ahead in this industry.
Why advertising is good for your career and your life;
Ceaseless exploring. Allows you to spend your time learning and experiencing new things.
It is a cruel business. You know defeat. Pitches are won or lost on someoneâs opinion. Brilliant ideas and work do not get made for reasons out of your control. It builds resilience. If you are tough enough, you get better.
Forces you to not plan anything. You gotta give up your plans so life will surprise you. Life is not a problem to be solved is a mystery to be experienced. Putting yourself into situations where you have no idea what you are doing is good. Suffer. Know defeat. Learn. Everything is a surprise. Stretch yourself for the better.
Best advice for doing well in advertising? Be an interesting person. And be interested in stuff.
Advertising lets you learn about beauty, truth, human experience, and the human heart. If you donât know about those things through life and through making advertising, how will the ideas you create even work or matter to people who see them?
Speed makes things better. Told story about how the American Civil War was won in Gettysburg in a ten minute window. Do everything as fast as you can. He or she who waits is punished by life. The world belongs to the urgent and the organised.
Follow your own path. Work it out your own way and trust your instincts. Be distinctive. Agencies are meritocracies of usefulness. Be distinctively useful in your own way.Â
Advertising is the best training. It teaches you skills that accountants and lawyers do not have, like;
Advertising. Itâs not a job, it is your life. It will try to kill you. So get out when it is no longer fun.
People in advertising need to stop trying to impress. They should just be impressive. Just focus on doing your job well.
Being impressive is getting everything right and doing it for the right reasons. Being distinctly useful, that is impressive.
Failure is a wonderful thing. Nothing comes easy. Being completely out of your depth is the best fun youâve ever had.
As a leader. Make your people feel invincible when they go into meetings. Not arrogance. Confidence and resilience. Self belief.
Be suspicious of institutions. Get out of anywhere where rules and politics matter more than people. Get out.
Build your agency around people instead of a set of presets.
Have a no leave policy. The 24/7 always on world we live in having four weeks of leave makes no sense. Leave is an outdated notion from the military when you left the front line. Let people take a break whenever they need it. Theyâll still be checking email and keeping things moving all the time. And give the best people a sabbatical. Let them take 3, 4, 6 months off. Donât let the best people in your agency go just because they need to do something else right now in their life. Let them do it. They will always come back. It will cost you more to hire someone new.
Donât be internally focused. Great agencies you can just feel it, the energy. But it is an outward energy.Â
Donât be bothered or give any attention to internal agency politics. It is not where it is at.
Agencies that become institutions or cults lose the speed and entrepreneurial thinking that make agencies amazing places. It is why clients hire them. Being an institution stops that. Gave an example of having to ask New York head office for âpermissionâ to give staff  pay rises but only being able to do it twice a year being the most ridiculous and perfect example of how agencies have become institutionalised, slow and bureaucracies.
Agencies are made up of two things together. Talent and culture. You need both together. Build an enduring culture where people are treated fairly, generously and humanely.
Culture needs to be sustaining and enduring.
The best agencies are built around people, culture and the work but not money. Money should come last.
This business is crazy. But it is fundamentally human. So build your agency around generosity to the people who work for you.
Somehow the money happens. Donât focus on the money first. Business people should not be allowed anywhere near running an agency.
Ad agencies are anti-businesses and totally irrational. When an agency is losing money. Fix the talent and culture. Then the money will come.
How do you get clients? Start with the people. Lunch your clients. Clients want to work with people they like. You will learn more stuff over dinner than you will learn in ten meetings.
Also, take your competitors out to lunch. It is only advertising. Is not life or death.
A couple of books he referenced that advertising people should read;
Civilisation by Sir Kenneth Clark
Confessions of an ad man by David Ogilvy âIs still as relevant to the industry now as it was when it was first written.â
When In Doubt Be Nice: Lessons From A Lifetime in Business by Peter Mead
