Never liked the idea of writing publicly, especially in the first person. I come from the school of thought where advisors should be invisible. The client is what matters, not us. But Simplicity turns 10, and I felt like breaking the rule.

Here are my answers to the title—and by coincidence, there are 10 of them.

1. Be happy with what you do. It sounds obvious, but it’s so hard. Since we founded Simplicity, we set happiness as a goal. We even wrote a manifesto about it in our company’s constitution. Our lawyers gave us strange looks, but why can’t happiness be legal? The beauty is that when you enjoy your work, everyone benefits, and magically, everything flows, including better results for clients. Happiness is contagious. A funny Argentine once told me, “Look, you have to check the emotional return rate of business.”
2. Like a rugby team. I spent an important part of my life playing rugby. One of the things I liked most—besides the third half—was that everyone had a place in the team. It didn’t matter if you were small, big, or slow. Everyone had their position, their role, and their unique skill was added to a collective goal: winning the games. Today at Simplicity, we bring out the best in each other, and all our wonderful diversity and unique competencies serve the team and our clients. We don’t want stars or chosen ones. No one is better than all of us together.
3. Advising people. When you connect with the client—any client—work becomes so much more enjoyable, and the results improve. It’s a joy to advise friendly, smart, funny people who think differently, are free, or aren’t afraid. When we started Simplicity, we were excited about having the opportunity to choose our clients. The question was: how do we achieve that without going bankrupt? We’ve been around for 10 years, and we’ve turned down some clients and kindly let others go.
4. The right to make mistakes. Falling is part of the process, and before starting Simplicity, I honestly didn’t understand that. I was always fighting to win, to avoid defeat; for everything to be “perfect.” Losing wasn’t a learning opportunity, it was just LOSING. How wrong I was. As Galeano said, “Perfection will remain the boring privilege of the gods.” It’s so radical that, thanks to several “losses” over these 10 years, we’ve become the first Chilean communications company with an office and operations in the United States.
5. Not everything is work. There’s no magic recipe for success, but I’m clear that to achieve it, you have to work hard. Simplicity is one of the leading companies today because we worked our butts off to get where we are. Nobody gave us anything; it was worth it, and I don’t regret it. However, I’ve understood for a while now that not everything in life can be work, so we decided to balance things better without neglecting what our clients expect from us. Today at Simplicity, this is corporate policy: we are entitled to four weeks of vacation a year, one month of paternity leave, and Friday afternoons off, among other benefits.
6. Different solutions for different challenges. I’ve always thought it’s very 90s to consider media appearances as the flagship service of our industry. It might be important in some cases, but it’s completely insufficient as a general rule. You can’t solve all problems or challenges with that ingredient alone. That’s why, in these 10 years at Simplicity, we’ve pioneered developing a working model that integrates various communications disciplines into the strategy: advertising, digital, branding, public affairs, and crisis management. All in one place with expert teams.
7. Give it your all. Whether working on a high-profile complex case, a startup, or a foundation, we bring the same level of commitment and effort. We may succeed or fail (hopefully succeed!), but clients notice the dedication, loyalty, and passion. In the end, they appreciate that we leave everything on the field and work without fear. That’s why they recommend us, and thanks to word of mouth, we’ve grown year after year. Our promise is “We take responsibility” and we try to fulfill it every time.
8. One or several steps ahead.I’m one of millions who admire Elon Musk. He’s amazing—he’s moved the boundaries of what’s possible and achieved the impossible. One of my favorite quotes from him is, “Timing is all.” To give top-notch advice, one of the most important factors is being able to anticipate, and ideally, have several moves ready. This intelligence isn’t necessarily achieved through a Harvard degree (respectfully), but by knowing what’s happening on the street and having the ability to process that knowledge. This is critical when recommending to clients whether to do A, B, or C. At Simplicity, we’ve been preparing for what’s happening in Chile today for all these years.
9. The best company FOR the world.Everything you do (or don’t do) has an impact, always. Whether good or bad. We’re not interested in being the best company in the world, but the best company for the world. That’s why we were the first communications agency in Chile to be certified as a B Corp, and we committed—by statute and with evaluations every three years—to the best social and environmental practices for our environment. We also run periodic mass social benefit campaigns and take on pro bono clients every year. As Bukowski wrote, “I don’t have time for soulless things.”
10. Living Simplicity. Our name isn’t just because it sounds cool (though it does!), but because there’s a philosophy behind it that, as I mature personally and as a team, makes more and more sense. Being Simplicity is, among other things, focusing on what’s essential, without fanfare, confident in our abilities but not full of ourselves, not wasting time or energy on nonsense, traveling light, speaking clearly, and looking people in the eye. And, even though it sounds like a contradiction, achieving this is the hardest thing.

In 10 years, I’ll write something again.

Thanks to everyone who, in one way or another (including those who aren’t our biggest fans), has helped Simplicity become what it is today.