Fellow advertising friend, Aaron Grando, wrote a wonderful piece in response to yesterday’s post. Aaron is a tech/creative for an advertising agency and has more experience than me on client-facing situations, as well as what it takes to lead a team, and fight the good fight in producing quality work. Below are my favorite excerpts from his post – I think they are helpful to all.

1. If you know a deliverable is too quick, say so. Ask why the deadline is set like it is; sometimes you can find some wiggle room. Most timelines are created as ideals, not as realities.

2. With trust, people will understand that when you say something takes X days, it actually takes X days, not X-1 or X-2 days, or worse.

3. [Culture is] it’s the air of the place. It’s how things get done, how you feel when you get in, leave, and stay late. And it’s the shared history that you and your team mates are contributing to. Culture happens, it’s not created or molded. It’s the day-to-day feeling of things, not team-building exercises or company retreats or happy hours. The best thing anyone at any level can do for their company’s culture is to be a good, open, honest person.

4. At work, don’t make it or take it personal. No shitheads, remember. Professional disagreements and head-butting happen, but that’s how work gets done.

5. Sooner or later, after building up some trust and experience, you’ll have influence on it. That’s a big benefit of sticking around. It’s something to look forward to.