35 years in. What's next?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to find books about how to build a career or how to build and manage a small business? And have you noticed how hard it is to find books about how to gracefully manage the twilight of your career? 

Having started a company when I was 23 (originally called The Write Stuff, then Shelton Communications Group, then just Shelton Group and now ERM’s Marketing & Communications Agency), I relied heavily on books — and anybody who was willing to talk to me — about how to manage a business. To say I didn’t know anything is an understatement! I knew how to write ads … but I didn’t know how to charge for my time or the work I created, how to pitch and win work, how to price it, how to ensure quality control, how to manage employees, what to pay people, and how to do payroll and taxes. I didn’t know there was such a thing as an income statement, much less how to read one. And I didn’t know what the indicator lights were — what I should look for on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis that would tell me if the firm was heading in the right direction or towards financial disaster. 

I learned every one of these things through reading, listening to others who had been there and done it, and through very painful mistakes. I learned at the feet of Tony Mikes at Second Wind and through wonderful mentorship from the likes of Wes Spiker, Howard Klatzky, Cindy Maude and others as a member of the Bucksnorts (terrible name; wonderful ad agency owner support group!). And I learned from some key industry consultants: David Baker, Blair Enns and Tim Williams. 

I learned two very important things about how to grow a great business, and I learned them from my friends in the Bucksnorts and from David Baker: 

• Be the best you can at one thing. 
• Surround yourself with people who are better than you at all the other aspects of that one thing. 

These both fall into the definition of “easier said than done.”  

Ad agency people are, by nature, curious about EVERYTHING. We feel caged in at the very idea of committing to focusing on one thing. And we tend to have an inflated sense of self-importance: there couldn’t possibly be anyone better than me at anything! 

Mistakes and missteps have a way of beating that notion out of you. And results have a way of making focus feel really great. 

Thankfully, I’ve had the benefit of both. And while I haven’t found the perfect book yet, I’ve figured out that a singular focus and great people are both the ingredients for a successful business AND the way to have a lot of fun in the twilight of your career. 

Now, I’m not going anywhere. But I am pivoting.

The most fun I have any day at work is when I’m on a conference stage, sharing our latest insights and our POV on how any company can get full credit for its work in sustainability — and drive business value as a result. I come from a long line of teachers and attorneys, and I genuinely love engaging people, building an argument and opening eyes to a new way of seeing things. I hope every time I speak, I’m giving folks in the audience new reasons to fully commit to sustainability and fully reap the business rewards. That’s a win for everybody, and I love being at least a small part of it. 

The second most fun I have at work is working directly with passionate sustainability people and clever comms and marketing people to figure out the “how” — how can we drive business results? Is it through an industry/consumer behavior change campaign? Is it through a new sustainability story for the company? Is it through insights to drive new product and service innovations? Or is it through reimagining sustainability reporting and comms? 

So that’s what I’m pivoting to. I’ll now be spending my time at work doing the two things I enjoy the most! 

But it takes way more than that to lead and manage a successful marketing communications agency. I’m so grateful I learned the lesson about surrounding myself with people who are better than me! Kris Hesson and Casey Ward are veterans of Shelton Group and are now elevating as the capable co-leaders of North America ERM MCA. Emily Luscombe came on a year and a half ago as the leader of the EMEA Comms Agency and has built a thriving practice in short order. These three will lead and manage the growth of ERM MCA in the years to come, and I could not be more thrilled. They truly are better than I am at so many aspects of the business, and they are the right leaders, in this moment, to nurture and build our people, our work and our impact for clients. 

So, I’ll see you at conferences and in conference rooms where we can work together to untangle wicked sustainability marcomms problems and opportunities. Casey, Kris and Emily will do the heavy lifting of turning those ideas into strategies and tactics and leading the team to get it all executed brilliantly. 

Onward!