9 Lessons Learned from 2024

What a year!

2024 was packed with plenty of twists and turns, but at a minimum, there were lessons to be learned.

I recommend everyone create their own list so you can document your wins for whoever needs to read them (including yourself). Here are a few of mine in case they help the greater good.

1. Lifestyle Over Revenue

I grew up believing that success required relentless effort, often at the expense of personal time.

After years in the army and then as a CEO, I realized that my family was missing out on time they could never get back. This realization led to a shift: instead of chasing rapid growth, I chose to build my business intentionally, prioritizing a lifestyle I wanted now, not later.

This is what directly led to my focus on Agency Design. We start a business to achieve the life we want, but often just delay getting there. We should be aligning our work with our ideal lifestyle now. That’s what makes growth sustainable and fulfilling.

2. Embrace Positive-Sum Games

Traditional business wisdom often focuses on competition, but I’ve found that collaboration, even with competitors, can create greater value for everyone.

By partnering with adjacent services and referring clients to others when appropriate, I’ve grown my business while contributing to a stronger community.

Initiatives like Agency Forward, the Agency Job Hub, and the Dynamic Agency Community are about elevating the entire industry, proving that one plus one can equal three.

3. Let Data Drive Decisions

Gut instincts can be misleading.

Whether it’s optimizing a website or making life decisions, relying on data yields better results, yet, so often we claim “to know what’s working.” In reality, we’re just guessing.

When I got back to noting more of the data points when attracting clients, I could see a clear path to focus on. I now know that speaking on stage and at events is the best lead generation opportunity for my business.

When data isn’t readily available, prioritize collecting it. Decisions rooted in evidence are far more reliable than those based on assumptions or feelings.

4. Mondays Don’t Suck—Your Work Does

If you dread Mondays, it’s likely a sign of misalignment in your work. You’re not doing something that feels fulfilling.

Once I began focusing on work I genuinely enjoy, Mondays became exciting. I now crave that Monday morning start.

I know what I’m doing has an impact on the clients I’m working with. I’m also more closely tied to the feedback loop to see what’s working in my own business, so I can benefit from smaller wins as I get close to the targets I’ve set.

Plus, going back to the “lifestyle over revenue” lesson, I don’t have to fully sacrifice family time Monday to Friday, so I can enjoy my entire week more. There’s less reason to dread Monday.

5. It’s Rarely Personal

Many of us take negative interactions personally, but most of the time, they have little to do with us.

I’ve been in multiple LinkedIn threads where people became overly combative. Thanks to some unrelated work in therapy, I know it’s likely because the person has some underlying issue. Maybe they’re just grumpy. Maybe they just received bad news.

Rarely, though, is it that they want to make me as miserable as they can.

This is incredibly freeing, and while I’m still working on it, I get through most days without the stress of worrying about what some comment may have meant about my character.

6. Expand Your Zone of Tolerance

Life is full of ups and downs. Entrepreneurs especially ride a rollercoaster of highs and lows.

The key is to expand your “zone of tolerance.”

Imagine a chart with a wave. There are peaks and troughs that represent the extremes in emotional changes. Across the center is a rectangle that represents the zone of tolerance. Everything within that zone has minimal impact on you. So, the taller you can make it, the more likely you are to stay in emotional control.

The little waves stop bothering you, and you can spend your time focused on only the bigger problems that hit you.

7. Creativity + Data = Success

In marketing and beyond, success lies at the intersection of creativity and data, like a beautiful Venn diagram.

Some people excel in creative work, while others master analytics, but the true winners are those who blend both.

Especially on LinkedIn, I see people who lean into one side or another. All of their content comes through the lens of their specific side, and they refuse to see the complete value the other side provides.

And I say complete because the data nerds know they need an asset, but I don’t believe they understand all the creativity that needs to go into the asset. Just like the creatives don’t understand the full importance of all the numbers.

Regardless, one thing feels pretty certain. As technology evolves, this balance will only become more critical.

8. Hard Work ≠ Meaningful Work

For a long time, I’ve had this belief that if the work didn’t feel hard, it wasn’t worth it. But this neglects the years I’ve spend honing different crafts to make it feel easy.

I was ignoring wins at work (and limiting some opportunities) because I didn’t think the tasks were hard enough.

Turns out when I got into some of the things that felt “easy” for me with clients, that’s where I was able to produce the most results.

Sometimes, the easier work is where we should be spending our time. Not because it’s easy. But because we’ve gotten the reps, we can more quickly see the patterns to bring greater results. That’s why it’s easy.

9. Seek Ungovernable Curiosity

Re-reading some Ogilvy and I saw the phrase “ungovernable curiosity.”

It’s the perfect way to express what we need as human beings. In business, yes. In relationships, yes. In our own emotions, yes.

Curiosity opens doors to deeper understanding.

I used to spend time challenging people’s opinions. Not to prove them wrong, but to help strengthen their argument. This was hit or miss.

Now, I just ask a lot of questions to truly understand why they have the opinion. Usually, this helps them strengthen their argument anyways, but I also get to learn a lot more.

Curiosity fuels growth, both personally and professionally.

Collecting Lessons for a Better Future

These are just a few of the lessons I’ve picked up over the year. But doing this exercise actually has me wanting to write a Friday post about the things I’ve picked up that week.

Stay tuned for more on that front.

If you’re an agency owner looking for actionable insights, meaningful growth, and a community that supports your journey, I encourage you to check out the Dynamic Agency Community.

It’s a space where we dive deeper into topics like these—how to design your agency for the lifestyle you want, build positive-sum collaborations, and balance creativity with data for lasting success. Together, we’re not just building better businesses; we’re building a stronger, more connected industry.