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The final week of Squared has been one of review and reflection. It’s been a great opportunity recall our successes and failures and how we’ve learned from each of them. Sharing the experiences of our placement weeks has been invaluable—many of us have been overwhelmed by the acceptance and curiosity we’ve encountered at the highest levels of our agencies. Equally, we’ve been able to support and advise each other on ways we can continue to disseminate our learnings when we return to our roles for good. Reconnecting with work during this week has been hugely motivating; it’s reminded us that we have attended Squared at our agencies’ behest, and they are actively seeking to embrace what we can bring back to them.
The interviews we conducted last week for the industry report were a great way of connecting with senior colleagues and talking to them about Squared. The report itself was compiled in little over 24 hours; entirely written, produced and distributed by the Squares, it shines a spotlight on key trends that disrupt our industry. Thanks to Squared we now have the confidence and skills to manage this disruption, and harness it to move forward. You can read the report here (illustrations by our very own Seth!).
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This week has also brought us some truly inspirational speakers. Nicola Mendelsohn, the first female president of the IPA and Chairman and Partner of Karmarama, spoke about the importance of driving your own development whilst maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Rory Sutherland, Executive Creative Director and Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather UK, was an absolutely treat and utterly engaging well beyond his one hour time limit! We also had sessions on Change Management, Graphic Design (visual documentation), Legality & Ethics, and more! The final day consisted of alumni-led workshops, where we split into groups to develop visions for the future of Squared and define goals the network can strive to achieve. The day ended with a graduation ceremony where our agency bosses joined us to celebrate the achievements of the past six weeks.
Returning to our agencies and getting stuck in to the business of change management will not be an easy task, but it’s one that only Squared could have prepared us for. This exciting and challenging program has taught us to boldly embrace the new, to take risks and learn from them, and to take charge of our development in an environment that is constantly changing and evolving—whilst empowering those around us to do the same.
We have to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to those at JWT who put us forward on this incredible journey which has only just begun. We’ve loved writing this blog and sharing what we’ve learned week-by-week. Watch out for future updates of how we get on back in our roles as Account Executives at JWT London.
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Sam:
I think it’s going to be difficult to sum up the Squared experience in a few hundred words since the past six weeks have exposed me to much more than I could ever have imagined. I’ve learned so much about digital—and more importantly, how much more there is to research and get to grips with—but also about team-building and leadership. I can safely say Squared has been one of the most interesting and valuable experiences I’ve had in my career. The program has been fantastic at keeping us on our toes—from the Foundation Week in which we were all flung quite quickly out of our comfort zones to the three Project weeks, every aspect of Squared has driven us to becoming more effective leaders and team members. What I’ve enjoyed most about Squared, and the reason why I think it’s going to be such a valuable experience in years to come, is that I have been able to spend six weeks in the company of some of the brightest and most articulate people I’ve ever met. I’m sure I wasn’t the only JWT grad to be a little choked up at the thought that we might never work as closely with our fellow Squares again.
My favorite part of the final week probably sums up the whole Squared experience. We’ve been fortunate enough to hear from some of the industry’s most remarkable figures—Sir John Hegarty and Jeremy Bullmore to name just two—and on Thursday we heard from Rory Sutherland, Executive Creative Director and Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather UK. Rory gave an extraordinary speech: nothing, not even a few wobbly moments with the technology (and as a grad, it’s always greeted an immense relief to see the best in the business sometimes struggle with PowerPoint) slowed him down. He spoke for two hours on the widest range of topics possible, from the behavioral science behind traffic regulations in Minnesota to the McGurk effect and speech perception, and in the process made advertising seem the most exciting, innovative industry in the world. In two hours he gave me more to think about than I could have ever expected and that, in essence, is how the whole Squared program has been—providing such an incredible amount of stimulus that it might take years to digest it all. Rory also happens to be the only man I’ve ever seen smoking an e-cigarette and still retain his cool—and that, along with everything else, is a hell of an achievement.
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Jassmine:
So after 6 weeks of Adwords, analytics, mobile, social, inspirational speakers, personal development, team work models, energizers, pitches, change management workshops, a work placement week and writing an Industry Report, we’ve reached the end of the Squared training program. During our final week at Squared, we took some time as a group to make a timeline indicating what we had done in the last 6 weeks—every group task, presentation, lecture, toolbox, etc. and reflected on what had been the biggest learning experience and the biggest challenge. What struck me was how much we had packed into 6 weeks—no wonder I’m so tired! It was very hard to isolate any turning points or highlights because, in all honesty, I’ve gained something from every single task and speaker. I have learned either side of all of those opportunities—how much I’ve learned from my fellow Squares. With a mix of Creative and Media agencies as well as a variety of work roles, we were able to share our own skills and experiences with each other and I feel much more aware of the industry as a whole. I also feel very fortunate to have been able to form such a large and varied network so early on in my career. I have no doubt I will frequently come across my fellow Squares professionally as well as socially and be able to draw on our relationships and shared experiences.
One highlight of our final week that particularly stood out for me was a talk from Nicola Mendelsohn. If advertising can be a lot about juggling, Nicola seems to have got this down to a fine art balancing being President of the IPA, Chairman and Partner of Karmarama, Director of The Fragrance Foundation and Board Member of Cosmetic Executive Women, Trustee and Board Member for charities and, of course, mother of four. Some of her successes she credits to ‘chutzpah’, a Yiddish term meaning self-confidence, gall and sheer nerve, which has served to win her places on pitches as well as job roles. She also highlights the importance of nurturing your network—something I will strive to do post-Squared. Being able to prioritize her time is a necessity for Nicola to be able to fulfill all her roles and responsibilities. She gave an example when a clash in her diary meant she was going to have to let one client down. No matter what level you are in your career, it is inevitable that things don’t always go as planned and often there won’t be anything that you can do about it. What is in your control, however, is how you deal with the situation. Nicola’s advice for when things go wrong was to be upfront and honest, and to always offer a solution.
So Monday morning I will be back at JWT London. Following the Squared program, I will be presenting back to my team key learnings from the Squared experience and I’m looking forward to putting it all into practice.
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Seth:
So it’s all over. Wrap-up week has been signed-sealed-delivered, and I’m back at my desk in JWT London for good, faced with a heap of new challenges. But I’ve never felt more ready for the future. While it was sad to say goodbye to some fantastic new friends and a working environment where we truly got to take the reins for ourselves, Squared has given me a real confidence and enthusiasm about returning to work.
Looking back over the past 6 weeks is bittersweet to say the least. From day one, we were challenged to step outside our comfort zones, but it was in doing this that led to the formation of strong bonds so quickly throughout the program. It felt completely natural last week to be thrown into brand new teams once again to put together our State of the Industry Report, aggregating and analyzing research everyone had collected from across their agencies. I was in the Design team, which gave me the opportunity to try something completely new: liaising with the editorial and distribution teams to agree formats and messaging, and ultimately coming up with a design which would position the report as the second installment in a series with its own identity. It was an amazing opportunity to get creative and see our vision come to life, and especially satisfying as I got to scribble down all but one of the illustrations myself! The Industry Report is a fantastic testament to all our hard work—something tangible that we can learn from and come back to over the months to come.
The week was topped off by incredible talks from Nicola Mendelsohn and Rory Sutherland, who wowed us with their knowledge and excitement and reassured us that there’s nothing to stop us continuing to learn and grow as we pursue our dreams. As Hegarty said, surround yourself with interesting things and interesting things will happen. Squared has given me enough interesting things to last a career and a half, and most importantly, it’s inspired me to be my best and to make my own life interesting.
Over and out (for now).
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Katie:
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Squared has been life changing. We’ve learned so much about what drives ourselves and others and how we can capitalize on this to work efficiently together. We’ve learned to be comfortable with change and innovation, to see them as necessary products of an efficient way of working that always strives for what is better, and therefore what is unknown.
Returning to our agencies as agents for change is an exciting and daunting task. Searching for one sentiment to keep in mind which will tie the myriad of learnings from the past six weeks together, I found inspiration in Nicola Mendelsohn’s words as we kicked off the final week of Squared. What impressed me throughout Nicola’s speech was the degree of responsibility she has taken for her own development at every stage of her career.
From her days as a BBH grad scheme applicant, investing a huge amount of time and effort into researching the industry and finding a way in, to her career in New Business (a memorable moment of which involved accosting Sir Philip Green outside his Oxford Street store to secure a place on the BHS pitch list), Nicola has been firmly on the front foot throughout her career. Her experiences reinforce that when we take control and create opportunities for ourselves, we can achieve real and meaningful change.
I am extremely grateful to JWT for giving me the opportunity to attend Squared, but I am doing my agency a disservice if I view this training as a finite body of knowledge to take back with me, rather than a springboard to a new approach and mindset that I can continue to refine with the skills and knowledge I acquired throughout the process. It’s especially worth bearing this in mind when we consider that training budgets are the first to be squeezed in leaner times; those who recognize training opportunities in the everyday are those who will learn and add value the quickest.
It’s a question of recognizing that no experience needs to have an end—instead it can be amplified and extended as our experience on the job grows. Squared has given us an incredible network of enlightened peers, the self-knowledge to work better both independently and collaboratively, the courage to instigate change, and the confidence to believe in where all this might take us… and to get there.