My conversation with Dee Madigan, co-founder of Campaign Edge and a recognised force in advertising and political campaigns, revealed fascinating parallels between persuasion in advertising, politics, and legal practice. After teaching and stint in property, a chance pub encounter with advertising professionals pivoted her career entirely. She initially viewed advertising as "artistic prostitution," a characteristically candid assessment that captures her humorous, no-nonsense approach. What transformed her perspective was the realisation that advertising, particularly political campaigning, could serve purposes beyond selling products.

The gender dynamics in creative industries formed a compelling part of our discussion. While Dee acknowledges the industry has changed, she remains concerned about women's long-term career prospects, particularly regarding flexible work arrangements that may inadvertently impact visibility and advancement.

We explored why negative political advertisements remain effective despite public aversion. These ads stick in voters' minds longer and stimulate emotional responses crucial for engaging disengaged swing voters. This insight resonates deeply with litigation strategy, where framing arguments around what clients stand to lose often proves more compelling than emphasising what they might gain.

Our discussion of modern work practices revealed Dee's nuanced perspective on remote working. She points out the visibility issue that comes with working from home, particularly for women and how it affects career progression. While acknowledging the work-life balance benefits today's workforce enjoys, Dee warns of potential long-term career impacts and emphasises the importance of in-office collaboration for skill development.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Dee. Whether it’s in advertising, politics, or law, we agreed that success hinges on understanding human emotion, making persuasive cases and maintaining integrity while pursuing ambitious goals.

Links:

https://campaignedge.com.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-madigan-73521318/

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My conversation with Deborah Mazoudier, a tendering expert I've worked alongside for over two decades, revealed why so many organisations struggle with competitive bids: they fundamentally misunderstand what tendering requires. Deb's transition from legal career to tender specialist began in 2000 within international aid, where she discovered her talent for winning bids and eventually built Tender Plus into a national enterprise. What strikes me most about Deb's approach is her belief that tendering is fundamentally an exercise in empathy, requiring deep understanding of client needs rather than reliance on broad statements or generic value propositions.

One critical insight from our discussion was the persistent misconception that tendering is merely administrative work. Deb advocates passionately for recognising tender specialists as strategic assets whose skillsets encompass strategic planning, project management, and persuasive communication. The most common failing in tender responses is lack of specificity, when organisations articulate what they do rather than demonstrating the actual benefits clients will receive. While acknowledging technological advancements in AI, Deb maintains that the human element remains irreplaceable in tendering. AI can support the process but it cannot replicate the nuanced understanding and relational dynamics that human specialists bring to aligning responses with client objectives.

Working with Deb has fundamentally shaped my understanding of client engagement and strategic communication. Her guidance taught me that success in competitive bidding requires the same discipline we apply to legal practice. This means meticulous attention to client needs, precise articulation of value and strategic positioning that differentiates rather than homogenises. For professionals in legal services and beyond, these insights are increasingly crucial as tendering becomes standard practice for securing significant engagements.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-mazoudier

https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

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My conversation with Steve Simpson, a veteran expert in workplace culture, challenged everything I thought I understood about organisational dynamics. Steve's concept of Unwritten Ground Rules (UGRs) cuts through the polished rhetoric of values statements and glossy brochures to reveal what actually happens within organisations.

UGRs capture the naturally occurring behaviours and perceptions that truly shape workplace culture. It’s the real-time dynamics that newcomers absorb when colleagues say, "What really happens around here is..." In professional services, these UGRs are particularly vivid and often problematic: poor behaviour tolerated if you're a high revenue generator, voices that matter only after climbing several rungs on the corporate ladder, hierarchies and tolerances that directly contradict stated values. Steve suggests that these unspoken rules can be more powerful than leadership itself. Leaders come and go but deeply entrenched UGRs persist, shaping behaviour regardless of who's nominally in charge.

The intersection of safety protocols and UGRs proved particularly compelling in our discussion. Steve's work in the aviation sector revealed how strong safety culture rhetoric often masks UGRs like "Around here, safety is a tick-box exercise." This disconnect between aspiration and reality exists across industries and functions, from safety compliance to diversity initiatives to client service standards. The path to realignment requires honest awareness of existing UGRs, which often differ drastically from stated values. Steve's methodology involves crafting clear "lead-in sentences" that open authentic dialogue which enables organisations to measure cultural health effectively rather than relying on sanitised engagement surveys.

What defines great culture, according to Steve, is remarkably simple: alignment between aspirational culture and actual UGRs. Transformative change occurs when there's minimal discrepancy between what organisations profess and what they do. Having witnessed firsthand how compelling this focus on UGRs can be, I'm convinced this methodology should be central to any serious cultural assessment and realignment effort. For leaders in professional services and beyond, Steve's work offers a framework for confronting uncomfortable truths about organisational culture, an essential first step toward genuine transformation.

Links:

https://steve-simpson.com/

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