27+ Things I Learned in 27 Years.

After almost three decades of sailing the pirate ship known as “Chiat/Day,” aka TBWA\Chiat\Day, aka TBWA, I’m making port.

And when you work at a place filled with so many smart, energetic, and creative folks on arguably the world’s best brands and clients, well, you learn a thing or two.

Here are some of the lessons from my pirate education that just might help you.

1. Show up

2. Listen more than you talk

3. Make the complicated simple and make the simple simply amazing. (John Hunt Theory)

4. If you want to get to a big idea, have a lot of ideas.

5. Just keep talking until something good happens.

6. Always write it down.

7. The idea is often in the room, you just have to listen for it.

8. Clarity before poetry.

9. Make it smart, make it beautiful and have fun. (Clow Theory)

10. Know the origin story of every brand you work on.

11. Go see your clients. Take the factory tour, listen and observe. The answer is there.

12. Prioritize: What’s Gold? Silver and Bronze are everything else. Focus on your Gold.

13. Always be one meeting ahead. (JMD Theory)

14. When all else fails, ask, “What would the Beatles do?”

15. Always leave ‘em wanting more.

16. Learn how to say “Yes,” “No,” “Mezzo, Mezzo” and “Beer, please” in most Romance languages and Japanese.

17. Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and merchandise. (Grandpa Mike Theory)

18. If they work for you, you work for them.

19. Praise publicly. Criticize privately.

20. Fall down 7 times, get up 8. (Samurai Theory)

21. The calculus for running a business: 5 clients for show. 5 clients for dough.

22. The calculus for winning new business: Be 70% right but 100% committed.

23. Clients buy words.

24. A business always comes down to 4 P’s: People, Process, Product, Profit.

25. There’s margin in the mystery.

26. The secret to advertising is: messed up picture, straight words. Or straight picture, messed up words. (Don McKinney Theory)

27. If your tagline doesn’t fit on a t-shirt, dump it. (Clow Theory 2)

28. Most people don’t read long emails, write accordingly.

29. It’s more fun to be a pirate than join the Navy. (Jay Theory)

30. No yellow type on white slides. (IYKYK)

31. Reinvention is the key to career longevity.

32. The world always has room for a good idea.