A Guide to Surviving Business

I didn’t write these down on a whiteboard. I figured them out the hard way — through bad meetings, wrong calls, jobs I should have left sooner, teams I should have supported better, and the occasional thing that actually worked.

These ten principles aren’t a framework. They’re the things I’ve come back to again and again across 15 years, at companies ranging from four people to four thousand, in roles from junior executive to Marketing Director.

If you’re somewhere between your first job and a director role, this is the advice I’d give you on day one.

How this guide works

Each principle has its own page. Every page follows the same structure:

1. The principle, and why it matters
2. A real story — something that happened, without the polish
3. The mistake I see most often
4. One thing you can do tomorrow

Start anywhere. But if you’re new, start with Principle 1.

The ten principles

Principle 1 — Be Curious The single habit that separates people who keep growing from people who plateau. Not asking questions to look smart. Asking them because you genuinely don’t know, and that bothers you. Read Principle 1 →

Principle 2 — Be Seen Doing good work that nobody notices is the same as not doing it, from a career perspective. This principle is about the difference between visibility and self-promotion — and why most people get it wrong in both directions. Coming soon

Principle 3 — Understand the Data The difference between people who get promoted and people who don’t is often their ability to tell a story with numbers. You don’t need to be a data analyst. You need to know what to ask for and what it means. Coming soon

Principle 4 — Manage Up Your relationship with your manager matters more than most people admit. This principle is about how to make that relationship work — without becoming someone who just tells people what they want to hear. Coming soon

Principle 5 — Build a Team, Don’t Just Lead One There’s a difference between having a team and building one. One of them means you show up, run the meetings, and review the work. The other one means you actually change what the people around you are capable of. Coming soon

Principle 6 — Know When to Move On Staying too long in the wrong role is one of the most common career mistakes I’ve seen. This isn’t about job-hopping. It’s about recognising the moment you’ve stopped growing — and being honest with yourself about it. Coming soon

Principle 7 — Learn Your Own Way Not everyone reads well, retains information the same way, or sits still for three hours of training. This principle is about understanding how you actually learn — and building around that rather than fighting it. Read Principle 7 →

Principle 8 — Keep Up Without Burning Out The pace of change in marketing right now is real. But so is the fatigue that comes from trying to be on top of everything. This principle is about staying relevant without losing your mind doing it. Read Principle 8 →

Principle 9 — Navigate the Politics Every organisation has politics. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make you principled — it makes you unprepared. This principle is about understanding how decisions actually get made, and where you fit in that. Coming soon

Principle 10 — Do the Actual Work Somewhere along the way, a lot of marketing people stopped doing the work and started managing the perception of doing it. This principle is a reminder of why that matters — and what it costs you when you drift too far from the output. Coming soon

Where to start

If you’re new here, start with Principle 1 — Be Curious. It’s the foundation the rest of this guide is built on.

If you’ve been in marketing a while and want something more immediately practical, go to Principle 4 — Manage Up (coming soon) or pick whichever one describes the problem you’re dealing with right now.