Andrew Robertson (BBDO) | How to Power Up Your Organization
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
This episode features Andrew Robertson, longtime leader of BBDO Worldwide and author of "The Creative Shift," discussing his journey from selling insurance in the UK to becoming one of the advertising world's most respected creative leaders. Robertson shares insights from his new book about how organizations can systematically unlock creativity by shifting from unconsciously suppressing it to consciously enabling it. (10:36) The conversation explores his leadership philosophy built on trust, respect, and affection, his "run toward fire" mentality for tackling difficult challenges, and practical strategies for fostering creative cultures within large organizations.
- Main themes include transforming organizational cultures to enable creativity, building trust-based client relationships, and developing leadership principles that multiplicate rather than diminish team potential.
Speakers
Jim Stengel
Jim is the host of The CMO Podcast and former Global Marketing Officer at Procter & Gamble. He has helped hundreds of major brands discover and activate their purpose, working extensively with Andrew Robertson during his P&G tenure to develop breakthrough creative campaigns.
Andrew Robertson
Andrew Robertson served as President and CEO of BBDO Worldwide from 2004 to 2024, during which the agency was named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions a record seven times and crowned Network of the Decade in 2020. He was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 2022 and in 2025 became a bestselling author with "The Creative Shift: How to Power Up Your Organization by Making Space for New Ideas."
Key Takeaways
Define Problems with Precision to Unlock Creative Solutions
Robertson emphasizes that poorly defined problems are the biggest barrier to creativity. He demonstrates this with a call center example: instead of "reduce waiting time," the better problem statement is "reduce perceived waiting time." (21:20) This simple addition of one word - "perceived" - opens up entirely new solution possibilities, from playing comedy during hold times to avoiding repetitive messaging that increases perceived wait times. The key is spending more time defining the right question rather than rushing to solutions.
Build Trust, Earn Respect, Create Affection
Robertson's relationship-building philosophy follows a clear sequence: first establish trust by acting in the other person's interests, then earn respect through competence and reliability, which ultimately leads to affection and deep partnership. (16:46) He demonstrates this with his AT&T relationship, where acknowledging mistakes early and consistently bringing external perspective built a partnership that extends far beyond marketing to CEO-level strategic discussions.
Treat Creativity as a Process, Not Just Inspiration
Rather than viewing creativity as random flashes of inspiration, Robertson advocates treating it as an operational process with the same discipline applied to other business functions. (28:05) He references research showing that 98% of five-year-olds test at genius level for creativity, but this drops to just 2% by age 20 due to organizational pressures to conform. The solution is consciously engineering creativity into operations rather than unconsciously suppressing it.
Run Toward Fire for Accelerated Growth
Robertson's "run toward fire" mantra means actively seeking the difficult problems and challenging situations that others avoid. (49:31) This approach accelerates career growth because solving big problems creates significant value for bosses and organizations. He emphasizes learning to love problems since leadership roles increasingly involve problem-solving, and those who embrace challenges position themselves for rapid advancement.
Let Teams Define Their Own Cultural Language
When Robertson needed to articulate BBDO's culture, he gathered the agency's top 20 performers and asked them to identify the characteristics of people who succeed at BBDO. (36:16) In just 40 minutes, they created a list including "radiators, not drains," "hand raisers, not finger pointers," and "we, not me." Because the team created this language themselves, it naturally infiltrated the organization and remained relevant for twenty years without forced implementation.
Statistics & Facts
- George Land's NASA creativity research found that 98% of five-year-olds tested at genius level for creativity, which dropped to 30% at age 10, 12% at age 15, and just 2% by age 20. (25:41) Robertson uses this data to illustrate how organizational pressures systematically suppress natural creative abilities.
- BBDO was named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions a record seven times during Robertson's tenure as CEO from 2004-2024, and was crowned Network of the Decade in 2020. This demonstrates the sustained creative excellence achieved under his leadership approach.
- The Snickers "You're Not You When You're Hungry" campaign ran for over a decade in more than 80 countries and took the brand from number seven to number one in the market without any product changes. (53:10) Robertson considers this BBDO's most significant contribution to advertising in the past twenty years.
