John "Steady" Steedman, the current executive director and interim CEO of WPP AUNZ, was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame at the 2018 Agency of the Year Awards.
Here is his acceptance speech in full (headings added by AdNews):
Thank you Robbo (Alan Robertson) for your kind introduction.
I distinctly remember the day Robbo interviewed me for the role of Media Group Head on the Kellogg business when I was 21.
It happened, as much of those things did back then over a beer and this was at the Lion Hotel in Adelaide. It was simple, he said to me so mate, when can you start? My response was, don’t you want to know a bit about me? His response was nope, I know enough from the industry so, when can you start?
I started 4 weeks later after relocating to Sydney.
In one of my first meetings with Kellogg the then Chairman of JWT, Paul Jacklin was in the room. He said to Robbo, who is that child running the Kellogg media business? He said John Steedman. Jacklin told Paul to get me to grow a beard, to make me look older and so I did. The moustache is all that remains.
I feel honoured to share the same stage as the likes of John Singleton, Dennis Merchant, Peter Clemenger, Harold Mitchell, George Patterson, Rob Morgan, and the two Toms from last year. I am overwhelmed to say the very least.
I think it’s important to give you all an idea of what was going on in the world when I started in the business back in 1971. It was the year before Australia officially ended conscription for the Vietnam War. John Lennon’s hit “Imagine” was the biggest selling record and The Apollo 14 landed on the moon.
It was the year the electronic calculator was invented (you had to plug it into a power-point), cigarette advertising was banned from television at the same time colour television was launched. It was also the year of the 1st International One Day Cricket match.
And there was one guy in the media department at McCann’s who was still using an abacus. And, no I am not joking.
Looking back, I am very happy today to say that I would not change many things about my career which has spanned 48 years. (well maybe the Mediacom issue a number of years back). Although it did give me loads of experience in crisis management with much thanks to Kieran Moore who runs all of our PR businesses for WPP AUNZ for her guidance. That said, I could do without the same again. I might add that Mediacom is now in a great place under Sean Seamer and now Willie Pangs leadership.
A despatch boy
From starting as a despatch boy with absolutely no idea of what an advertising agency did; to setting up Mindshare in Asia Pacific with a great team of people back in 1997. And to what I’m doing right now which is jointly running WPPAUNZ with a talented Leadership Group. This so far, is the highlight of my career.
During my time I have had a number of mentors. And, some are sitting at my table including, Genelle Sharples, Rose Herceg and Robbo.
Thanks to all of them for helping shape my career.
My success throughout my career has been driven, almost entirely by the people I have worked with. To quote David Ogilvy, "Employ people better than yourself – in the end, they make you look good." And, my words now, not only do they make you look good, they make us all better.
How to get ahead
So, what’s the secret to longevity in this industry? And what are the hardest traits to master?
The first is to listen. None of us are good at it – we are not strong in terms of listening whether it be to our clients, to our people or to ourselves. My experience tells me that 70% of clients switch partners because of our inability, or unwillingness, to listen.
And in order to really listen, we must be able to suspend our agendas, and connect. We need to suspend our ego and actively listen if we are to truly understand and help solve our clients’ problems.
We then need to be honest with our counsel. We need to have confidence to and say what we think, not what we think others want to hear.
Never cover up mistakes as they only magnify a situation. We must always show respect to everybody regardless of their position. And we need to be able to tell a story and not just relay a raft of power point slides. We need to rediscover the directness of speech, the clarity of thinking and the conviction of our ideas.
We need to stop watering down our point of view. We need to stop sitting on the fence. We need to reclaim the magic of our industry.
And then what?
We need to live in a world of continuous feedback. Good or bad. And, we need to be adaptable to change and always work on being part of an incredible team. Nobody got very far in this business by flying solo.
The world has changed significantly since my humble beginnings and so has our market model. As an industry we are going through significant disruption and we have all been too slow to evolve.
There are new competitors who are literally eating our lunch. We need to embrace change and create a model that our clients want and need and where the best and brightest want to join and grow their careers with us.
We need to collectively and individually transform. We need to reconnect and once again become our clients’ trusted advisors.
Transform from the inside
Which bring me on to my final point. As an industry the fastest and smartest way we can transform is to do it from the inside. That’s why I am a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion.
At WPPAUNZ we have put in place a target of 50:50 women and men in leadership roles by 2021. This is a fundamental step to ensure that we have the depth and breadth of thinking that we need as we undertake this transformation.
I am calling on my other industry colleagues to also put in targets and quotas for diversity and inclusion. There are a number of other initiatives surrounding inclusion and diversity we are addressing including age and cultural and linguistic diversity, and we have a way to go. But we have to move fast on gender parity in our leadership. And then maybe, the next person who lists the hall of famers before me will be able to quote a woman in the ranks.
So, to all those clients who have entrusted me to deploy millions of dollars of their marketing spend over the years - thank you.
To all those who have helped guide me throughout my career, I am indebted to you all.
I have retired twice in the past 15 years - as they say three strikes and you are out. I have no intention of letting that happen. I love this business too much.
To Jess and Dylan thank you for being wonderful children. And to my husband to be, Kae, thank you for your support and love.
Thank you all for listening to me and for this recognition.
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