52 weeks, 52 words: Week 23 - Achievement

Earlier this week, my agency was named as a Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) 2020 Top 100 Agency. It was a tremendous honor and a recognition of dedication and hard work by many individuals and representative of not just one 12-month period of time even if the point of reference for their honor was based on work in 2019.

The recognition swelled my heart and my eyes got a little dusty because I know the achievement was a tremendous one and, amongst the diversity of agencies profiled, many were not medical communications focused. This was the first instance in Symbiotix’s 21-year history that we had cracked this auspicious list and one that I had longingly looked to as an accomplishment.

So, with that as the backdrop, I realized there are some bigger lessons to draw on the topic of achievement, the word for this week’s essay.

It is a rather ephemeral thing, if not continually matched with purposeful intent.

I have often felt like our very med comm existence was sometimes teetering on the edge of a precipice or hanging by a thin thread over a fiery cauldron. Mostly understood, though occasionally spoken outright, the med comm milieu is one where you are only remembered for your most recent experience. In that churn of “what have you done for me lately?” psychology, you can feel as though your toils are futile and your opportunity for growth is stunted.

Countless clients over the years have lorded it over us with threats of bringing business elsewhere without much explanation as to if there are deficiencies that could be addressed. The politics of having to constantly justify your existence and vocalize your value proposition aside, having a recorded archive of your achievements seems to substantiate the place and worth we seek.

Sort of.

Achievement is a rather fickle thing, too, when you only view it through the lens of external validation or in terms of accolades.

In as swift a moment as you ascended to the pinnacle, you can find yourself rolling backwards on your backside if you don’t forcibly engage with the energy due the moment in efforts to sustain that level of success. Complacency can unravel the exertion should you seek rather to find repose in the shade and not do the little things, the un-glamorous things that are required to maintain that position.

As you know, I am a lover of language and from a liberal arts background I arrived at the idiom to “rest on one’s laurels” through the evolution of my thinking this week. The etymology of that phrase from classic Greek literature is perfect for the dichotomy I described above.

The origins of the phrase lie in ancient Greece, where laurel wreaths were symbols of victory and status. As to the phrase’s contemporary meaning, to “rest on one’s laurels” isn’t considered at all a praiseworthy strategy – it suggests a decline into laziness and lack of application. It has come to stand for a sentiment of being satisfied with one’s past success and to consider further effort unnecessary.

That’s not the original meaning.

When “rest on one’s laurels” or, as it was initially, “repose on one’s laurels” was coined, it was invariably part of a valedictory speech for some old soldier or retiring official. Initially, once those crowned in laurels had finished their careers, they could retire and “rest on your laurels,” meaning they had earned their retirement and could be satisfied with a successful life.

Now, it has taken on the negative idea of complacency because you’re too busy basking in the memories of former glories.

If a cumbersome client can kill us with a death of a thousand paper cuts, then perhaps our own psychology can be improved by celebrating micro-achievements – the little things along the way that contribute toward a greater sense of victory or accomplishment.

It may be in the pristine MLR submission that sails through a review, or in the clever moment where innovation meets application in precisely the right way.

These may not make the headlines of MM&M or be brag worthy in a capabilities presentation, but their accumulation in your agency psyche can have an exponential effect and could be the fodder for a seismic shift in culture within the organization. So, ask yourself, are you complacent in general or possibly complacent in the sense of being distracted only by the shiny hardware?

That is not to say that we should be taking things for granted with this recent recognition. Actually, I could argue that it is the increased focus in small achievements, the socialization of those “wins,” and the rising tide of that sentiment in the agency that ultimately translated to an outward acknowledgement. And a reason all of this tastes that much sweeter.

The MM&M theme this year was “Channel Your Inner Rock Star.” On many levels, both personally and professionally, I am working and will continue to work toward NOT becoming a one-hit wonder. None of us want to end up like Right Said Fred or Vanilla Ice, simply remembered for a moment of pop culture admiration.

No, we will have to be back at work in the studio, collaborating and striving toward the pursuit of excellence on a daily basis, whether anyone else notices or not.

But, by virtue of the fact that we are committed to celebrating those internal victories, chances are the rest will fall into place on its own.

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