Top tips for staying sharp over summer

Longer days and warmer weather mean a much needed break for most of the industry over the summer break. But while you are enjoying some R&R, how can you ensure you’re staying sharp and are ready to hit the ground running? We asked Andrea Martens and a few ADMA members how they recharge their brains over the summer. Check out some top book, TV and podcast recommendations here.

What good reads can you suggest over the festive season?

Thomas Duffy, Personalisation Manager at Kathmandu, is currently reading a book called ‘80,000 Hours’ which dives into careers and industries that have the largest positive social impact and solving the world’s most pressing problems, based on research from Oxford.

“It’s an interesting way of viewing career paths, industries and topics that are valuable for the world. Marketing is touched on, but it’s more a broader look at careers, so it’s not specifically a marketing book. Published by a non-profit, Effective Ventures that relates to evidence-based career advice.” Duffy adds.

Paul McCrory, Group Industry Director at Meta cites ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’ by Viktor Frankl and Mark Manson’s daringly titles “The subtle art of not giving a F###” as his top summer reads. McCory explains: “‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ has been incredible for perspective and taking control of the things I can control. I recently read ‘The subtle art of not giving a F###’ for the second time and loved it even more this time around!”

Mark Coad, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Australia says his penchant is for non-fiction books, and recommends ‘Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life’ by James Kerr, an inspiring read for leaders in all fields. Legacy dives into how the New Zealand All Black’s built a culture of high performance and how they turned a vision into action, which Coad says resonated with him and his business goals.

“It touches on one of the fundamental beliefs of an All Black, which is that ‘I don't own this jumper; I just get to use it for a while and it's incumbent upon me to leave it in a better place.’ That really resonates with me, and it's something I've tried to do in my career and something that really struck a chord with me,” Coad says.

Natalie Linsdell, Digital Campaign & Content Specialist at Australian Pharmaceutical Industries says that reading-wise, she’ll look at what people are recommending on LinkedIn for articles. Her book recommendations come from presentations or publishers from her network.

She’s currently consuming the audio versions of books by Brene Brown, Simon Sinek & Seth Godin. She also recommends ‘Powerful’ by Patty McCord, Netflix’s culture guru, as a good summer read.
 

Thomas Duffy  |  Mark Coad  |  Natalie Linsdell

What is your go-to podcast or documentary?

ADMA CEO Andrea Martens points to two podcasts from two quite different, but equally inspirational coaches. The first is ‘Dare to Lead’ from Brene Brown, where she adds “a particular favourite is the episode with Drs Emily and Amilia Nagoski who share what causes burnout, what it does to our bodies and how we can move through the emotional exhaustion – and complete the stress cycle.” Two quotes which particularly resonate with Martens: “stress is not bad for you, being stuck is bad for you” and “If you don’t want to burnout, quit living life like you are on fire”. Both are concepts that she feels can be applied individually, to leaders of teams and within families.

Martens other go-to podcast is Aussie performance coach to executives and the stars Ben Crowe’s Mojospresso, which is also cited by Meta’s McCrory. It is a monthly shot of inspiration and perspective offering practical advice for living life to the fullest. McCrory notes: “I love this podcast as it just makes so much sense, and it reminds me that being me is more than enough to go and have a crack at life.”

McCrory also lists ‘Changes’ with Annie McManus as a top listen podcast. “I grew up listening to Annie DJ and followed her through her formative BBC Radio years and many gigs. This is her transition into something creative and different, and exploring the impact that change has on our lives and how we can manage through it,” he comments.

The Art of Rave with Becky Hill is McCrory’s third summer podcast, which he calls a “fun listen”. On the podcast DJ Becky Hill’s guests bring along three records that mean or say something to them, with McCrory explaining: “This podcast takes me back to the stories of the people who set the scene for all types of electronic music. It explores the weird and the wonderful and just really makes me smile.”

Zoe Adanan of RAC cites her top podcast recommendation as ‘The Perth Business Podcast’.

On why she enjoys it, Adanan says: “It’s produced by a colleague of mine, and it features great conversations with professionals within Perth. It’s a really great listen, particularly for a small market that’s a bit isolated from the rest of Australia.”

Duffy’s podcast go-to is ‘Pivot’ from Vox Media, hosted by NYU Professor Scott Galloway and journalist Kara Swisher. The podcast tackles the biggest news and trends in the business and tech world and offers sharp, unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in tech, business, and politics. “It’s an entertaining way of keeping up with what’s happening in business and tech around the world,” Duffy says.

Mark Coad’s top summer recommendation is the Netflix documentary ‘Pepsi, Where's My Jet?’ which explores the 1990 Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc. court case, a truly bizarre cautionary tale for anyone in marketing.

Paul McCrory  |  Andrea Martens  |  Stuart Tucker

What are good ways to recharge over the break?

Stuart Tucker, Chief Customer Officer at Hipages, stresses the importance of taking time out to refresh over the festive season. Tucker also expresses the value of using the summer break to reorganise your life so you don’t feel immediately overwhelmed in the new year.

He says: “I think a lot of people working in organisations, including marketers and a lot of other jobs, are feeling ground out of it and feeling tired. It doesn't mean you shouldn't find a way to get that balance back, but also use the time to get your thinking straight for you. Because in 2023 everything is going to happen pretty quickly.”

Tucker also recommends using the first quieter weeks back in the office to get on top of your workload, and to find out what’s happening in the markets globally and what the top 2023 trends are forecast to be.

He comments: “Just browse the websites of your competitors for customer reviews. Spend the time thinking about customers that normally you maybe don't have when you're in the daily grind. So don't let yourself waste that extra time.”

ADMA’s Martens says spending time with her family and catching up with friends that she has not seen for far too long - due to COVID, is a top priority in her downtime. She is also looking forward to doing some horse riding over the break, and regular riding sessions are one way she “completes her stress cycle”. Indeed outdoor activities are high on the priority list. “I love spending time with the family and getting outdoors, connecting with nature and switching off from the industry for a few days,” she explains.

In terms of staying in touch with what is happening she says keeping up with the latest in the trade press, locally and internationally, is a good way to keep tabs on things - while she is also planning to have some in-depth conversations with some of ADMA’s advisory board members over January to get their read on the year ahead, which promises to be eventful again.

To recharge for a new year, Duffy makes sure to prioritise rest and spending quality time with family and friends. “To hit the ground running in 2023, you need to reflect on the year so you have enough motivation to plan for the new year,” he says. Duffy also advocates getting outdoors for a hike or run in the wilderness, to clear and reboot the mind and to get some fresh air and exercise.

Before McCrory leaves the office for summer, he makes sure to clear his desk of any and all work for the year, to ensure that he can take a nice long break to disconnect and relax with friends and family: “At the end of the day, work is one of many components to a happy life. The summer break always reminds me of that. Beach mode on!”

McCrory also lives by the motto of ‘win the morning, win the day’. “This involves getting myself into the correct mindset, watching the sunrise, exercising, or perhaps having a video call with Mum back in Ireland. When I focus on this, I always have a much more balanced day. This ensures that I'm much better at managing my day.”

To stay fresh and sharp over the summer break, Linsdell will regularly read through daily newsletters from Australian trades such as Mumbrella, B&T, and AdNews. “I like to flick through publications such as AdWeek and the Ad Contrarian, plus a couple of news publications such as Crikey, the Squiz, and Google news alerts” she says.