5 Things Learned in 6 months

 In your daily work, you will make mistakes.

Here at Banyan Creative we are always learning.    Learning from mistakes.  Learning from success.  Learning new tools.  Learning what's new.  Learning what's old and no longer effective.  The creative process is full of learning, repeated failure and repeated effort to come up with business solutions that drive engagement.     

In 2016, if you call yourself a digital marketing professional you need to love to learn.    So we try keep learning amidst our client work, knowing that the thirst for knowledge and how to implement that knowledge is what is going to help our client's succeed and stay top of mind with their current customers and future customers that are soon to discover their services or products.   

Every once in awhile we have to take a half day off to pause all daily activity and deliverables to reflect and write down on the whiteboard what we are learning.    This past few months has been full of learning opportunities.   

Here's the top 5 Things We have learned in the last 6 months:

1. If you aren't enjoying your work, either change what you do or change how you do it.   We work with so many companies doing great work in so many ways.   Don't get stuck doing something you hate because you are afraid of changing your daily work.   Learn something new.   Just do it and watch your brain (and your vision) open up.  

2. Treat people kindly, no matter who they are, and it will always reward you.   They may never reward you.   But the process of being kind and gracious always drives the health of long term relationships.    You may lose a dollar today over it but gain respect long term.  And you can't buy respect.  

3. Know your weaknesses and find people to do what you'll never do well.   You can't do it all.  Nor should you.  We were made to work in teams.   We were made to be good neighbors.  We were made to be good co-workers.   Do your best to find work that allows your to flourish in your strengths rather than languish in your weaknesses.

4. Create a bold vision that doesn't just make make you better off, but makes others better off.  Your work is not about you.  Did you hear that?  Its not about you!   Great work makes other people's visions come alive.   Don't be so fixated on your own all the time.   One of the greatest joys in our daily work is participating in the success of other's goals. You may find when you need help realizing your own dreams you will have others that just may return the favor to you down the road.

5. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. You'll never succeed if you're not risking them.  Newsflash:  In your daily work, you will make mistakes.   People you work with will make mistakes.  People will miss deadlines.  People lose track of emails sometimes.   Own your mistakes.  But remember being gracious and then pushing for excellence next time is what creates an environment for innovation, growth and great work. 

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About the Author:  Sam Casey is the Managing Partner and Chief Mistake Maker at Banyan Creative.  A small business marketing agency based in Matthews, NC.   Sam has tried a few different careers in the past making a few mistakes, failing repeatedly, yet learning and coming back for more each day.   He can be found in downtown Matthews or sometimes out on the roads or trails on his bike.