Lego Their Ego

So last week I saw Nina DiSesa come speak.

A little background to her ascent up the Mt. Olympus of Advertising. Nina started at a small ad agency writing radio spots in Virginia and yadda yadda yadda she is now the first female chairman of McCann Erickson.

So now that you're caught up. Nina came to talk about survival in the ad industry. Specifically she spoke a lot about being a woman in an industry filled with men, but there were a lot of things that apply to everyone.

The biggest thing I took from her talk was how to deal with everyone's ego, because honestly there are a lot of people in the ad business who like to eat at their own buffet. And ironically she said the way to deal with these types of people is to not fight it but turn the other cheek. I find this interesting but it makes sense because the ad industry is a "relationship" industry and as long as your own image isn't affected it doesn't hurt to be supportive and smile even when it hurts.

So beware of the chest pounding, lords of the ad business.

I highly recommend seeing her speak or read her book "Seducing the Boys Club". I skipped over a lot of important things she said because you just have to here how she says it.