A stage of relished suffering.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." — Peter Drucker.

Advertising is hard.

It's a business where million-dollar decisions are made, largely based on imprecise judgment derived from incomplete data provided by imperfect tools. Layer on egos, power politics, unpredictable economic conditions, and some good ol' malevolence, and frankly, nothing ever feels easy.

That being said, there are particular clients who are known to be especially difficult (ironically, usually positively correlated with how many millions they have to spend). Working on which the frequency and intensity can only be described from the agency's perspective as a form of sustained suffering.

Those new to the situation inevitably undergo three stages of such suffering:

Stage 1 is simply the WTF phase. A blend of befuddlement and exasperation, where you're just trying to understand why nothing makes sense. Decisions feel random, processes seem arbitrary, and you glance left and right, checking if you're the only one feeling this way.

Stage 2 is validating that, in fact, you're not the only one struggling. While this provides some comfort (group therapy!), it also makes the situation feel more desperate, systemic, and inert. You realize that daily dynamics are built upon a collective toil with a madness everyone acknowledges, feels, and resents.

Stage 3, the final stage, is what I term "relished suffering." In order to get up every day, drag yourself to work, and return home without tears—you (and everyone around you) establish a culture of denial.

After a disappointing client meeting, you say, "It is what it is."

During interviews, you warn potential new hires that, "It's not for everyone."

Or my personal favorite, during particularly tough moments, you whisper, "We're like Navy SEALs."

As if, those who can't endure are at personal fault.

And those who can have a special resilience.

Ultimately, you start to believe that only an elite few can handle such elite toxicity.

In Stage 3, no degree, level, or sophistication of strategy, creativity, or talent breaks the cycle.

The culture becomes so entrenched with twisted pride, self-soothing deception, and warped positivity that everyone gives up on improving it. Everyone is simply trying to survive.

By far, my biggest mistake was perpetuating a Stage 3 scenario.

Wearing it as a badge of honor rather than recognizing it as a disease.

The truth is, no matter how stressful, disheartening, or unfair advertising can be, it's not a war, and we are not warriors. We're not curing cancer. We're not lifting heavy objects. No one dies due to a missed deadline.

On an average day, the people we're attempting to reach ignore our work.

On a good day, they might notice for a split second before moving on.

By any measure, advertising just isn't important.

Perhaps a capitalistic necessity, but more like industrial grease than high art.

It's a livelihood, not a spiritual journey.

Creating, placing, analyzing, reworking, selling, approving it is never worth suffering over. Never mind, relishing.

At the heart of every great culture is the belief that 'better' is always possible and an impulse to make it so for those around you.

Change it or be complicit.

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