There once was a time in the history of modern advertising, when mad men were actually mad, and the industry produced characters larger than life. People like Charles Saatchi (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Charles_Saatchi), Ed McCabe (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Ed_McCabe), Bill Bernbach (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/William_Bernbach), and George Lois (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/George_Lois), who in particular once said, “I know what the fuck I know, and you know what the hell you know, and I’ll tell you what I think, and you tell me to fuck off.” Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) knows the things that made these characters larger than life can make you successful too. You just have to find heroes worth following.

On Sunday I went to see The Damned United (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=LYzsswqPk6s). It’s a film about one of the most charismatic men in English football, the late Brian Clough (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Brian_Clough).

The only person I can compare him to is Don Draper from the TV show Mad Men.

Like Draper, Clough did not tolerate fools very well. What made him successful was a combination of his love of the game and sheer bloody mindedness.

These are characteristics you need to have too.

Of course you can have a career without them, but you’re going to need them if you want to get to the top.

Clough took a lowly team to the pinnacle of English football. And he did it his way. He broke rules, he ignored advice and he did whatever club management told him not to.

At the peak of his success he left and took on a new job at a bigger club. 44 days later he was sacked.

Did he let this stop him? Of course not!

Clough loved the game. And he believed in himself. That is an unbeatable combination.

If you have that combination, you too will succeed. But you need to steel yourself in order to succeed. Because the road to the top is tough. But it’s definitely a road worth travelling.