“It took me thirty years to learn that stress is a really dumb proxy measure for personal productivity. Just because you feel like crap doesn’t mean you’re doing a good job. What took me three decades and a series of panic attacks to understand, David’s book will teach you in a few hours.”
Rory Sutherland
TED Global Speaker, Author and Vice Chairman Ogilvy London
“F****** BRILLIANT. Finally the ‘pressure makes diamonds’ approach in our industry can be put to bed thanks to the Meikle Matrix. It should be an absolute joy to be part of the creative industry, surrounded by the brightest, most eclectic and colourful minds in the land. And by removing the unnecessary stress and pressure, we can once again be proud to be a part of it.”
Aimee Luther
Managing Director, The Liberty Guild
“This is an excellent book to help navigate the often highly pressurised environment that those working in the advertising industry encounter. Tuning Up is frank and honest about these challenges but also provides invaluable tools and insights to help navigate the modern creative workplace whether your new into it or have been in it for many years like me. A timely book right for the moment and another essential read from David.”
Pete Markey
Chief Marketing Officer, Boots
“For an industry that constantly seems to jam, Tuning Up is a brilliant handbook to get the best from its people. Tuning Up is simple but not simplistic, practical but not pedestrian, and a great read overall; one that can get people working and performing in sync and not playing on top of each other.”
Antonis Kocheilas
Global CEO, Ogilvy Advertising
“A good model offers explanatory power, helping you make sense of complex issues. A great model makes you feel as though you have discovered a secret view into how the world really works. Tuning Up delivers such a secret. It took me from “Holy sh*t!” to “Of course; it’s so obvious now” in only a few pages. It is now the lens through which I look at client-agency relationships and the role of marketing procurement in particular.“
Blair Enns, Author, The Win Without Pitching Manifesto &
Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour
“Tuning Up is a fantastic handbook full of lively stories and helpful tips for anyone working in the advertising industry who manages people and cares about their wellbeing. David unpicks the relationship between responsibility and control, and looks at what happens when the equilibrium is out of whack. The book explores the pressures faced by most individuals working in an ever-changing industry where the stakes are high, although as David quite rightly acknowledges, we’re not saving lives. The book also examines the most common stress-inducing situations and suggests ways in which people can approach them with a different outlook to help maintain perspective and remain productive in their jobs. David’s writing is engaging and lucid, and his advice is practical. This is a great read.”
Dame Annette King, DBE
Chair, The Advertising Association
“Tuning Up is an important book. It tackles head one of the key reasons we lose talent from our industry, which is unnecessary stress. If everyone understood the brilliant Meikle Matrix and acted accordingly, our industry would fast become a better, more sustainable one to work in. So, please read it and pass it on.”
Jamie Elliott
CEO, The Gate
“In contrast to many business books that are just bloated blog posts, Tuning Up never outstays its welcome. The core concept is simple but profound, and David deftly illustrates it through a range of complementary perspectives. It’s the kind of book you’d happily recommend, knowing that readers will apply the learnings for years to come.”
Robin Bonn
Marketing Week columnist and Founder, Co:definery
