Maintain a Positive State of Mind
While teaching adults karate, I often hear people say, “I’m too old to do that” or “My body just can’t move like that,” and so I spend a lot of time trying to change people’s belief systems. If you start out thinking you can’t do something, you probably won’t be able to. The power of the mind is extraordinary. When I am sitting in a room in front of several clients presenting new work, I have learned that my own state of mind plays a huge role in determining the outcome. I know that when I feel passionate or excited about something, it shows and it’s contagious.
I have been in a situation of presenting television spots where every type of technical glitch that could possibly occur has. My natural reaction was to get nervous and flustered, but if I have the presence of mind to stay positive and upbeat, then I know I can turn any situation into a positive one.
Positioning Is Everything
In martial arts, your positioning determines your success; your first move or strike sets up everything that comes after. I thought of this correlation recently while our team was developing a new campaign for one of our clients. We had come to the conclusion that what differentiates the company is not how they do what they do, but why they do it the way they do. We decided to focus our positioning around one attribute that the company already delivers very well: courtesy. Once we did that and kept our eyes on the ball, everything seemed to naturally fall into place. As we continue to work on this campaign, I am witnessing firsthand how positioning really is the key to great work.
Know Your Opponent
Nothing seems more challenging at times than teaching a six-year-old boy to focus in a room full of loud karate students. As an instructor, I have to understand how that child processes information and know what buttons to push to motivate him. I think the skill of being able to listen and empathize is one of those things that sounds easy but can be truly challenging. Understanding various perspectives is undoubtedly one of the most important skills that an account person can have. An account person must be able to relate to an art director’s take on a job, roll it together with the media planner’s point of view, and then understand how a client will perceive it all. This skill seems so crucial, especially in an advertising landscape that is continually changing.
When I am teaching Kenpo, I utilize the three basic modalities: visual (learning by seeing), auditory (learning by hearing), and kinesthetic (learning by doing.) People are usually stronger in one modality and will respond better to one. When I am communicating a problem to a client, a copywriter, or even the IT director, I try to keep in mind that we all respond differently to information. After all, some people love numbers, some pictures, and others just love listening to a good story.
Relax
Let me tell you from personal experience that when you see a punch heading right at you, staying relaxed seems really counterintuitive! But, of course, staying relaxed is the best thing you can do — it helps you to stay focused and respond quickly. When we tense up, we tend to literally stop breathing and move like Frankenstein. I know that I’m at my best with clients when I am relaxed. I’m not saying it’s easy, but you’re sure to get better results. I love watching presentations when the speaker is really excited about what they’re communicating. When I watch Steve Jobs give a presentation, I am always blown away. He makes it seem so easy and effortless, and he always seems so relaxed.
Dig Deep
Undoubtedly within the first few months of class, a new karate student will get incredibly bored doing the same routine exercises over and over. What they don’t realize is that they are developing muscle memory and, more importantly, that they are learning how to dig deep. When a student gets bored, they are not seeing potential for growth. By repeating an exercise over and over, however, we often end up learning some nugget of information that we hadn’t considered before.
At McKee Wallwork Cleveland, the account team has an informal book club; we read books on advertising and meet each week for discussion. I have to admit that sometimes reading for our book club feels like one of those routine drills, as many of these books seem to summarize the same basic principles. In reality, though, (and what’s pretty cool about book club) is that somehow I always walk out of our discussions learning a little something new about a client or project. Sometimes I need to remind myself that there are no boring tasks in the world. If you have the right state of mind, everything can be an opportunity.
So, just as many young executives today turn to the concepts of old military strategy in business management, I try to utilize the lessons my sensei has taught me to stay on track and continue to improve my skills as an account supervisor.
