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The world of a young royal engineer recruit in an army apprenticeship college is about as far removed from the complexities of consumer communication as you can get.

However, there are basics that you have to adhere to in both arenas if you want to get on. Discipline - and I am not talking about the bawling sergeant-major variety, as I don't think the creative department could take it. Simply being organised means you can be focused on the tasks before you. This applies in all walks of life. Having said that I could name a few individuals who appear to operate in a state of constant confusion and still produce brilliant work.

After leaving the army, I got a job in security and during that time got a degree in economics from the Open University. A job in merchandising at John Collier followed and this quickly led to a more central role in marketing. Along with undertaking the degree, this was the catalyst that took me into marketing. From then on my career took a more conventional route.

Marketing roles at Damart and Saga took me further down the marketing road and taught me the importance of demographics and, in particular, the over-50s market.

It was this that in 1996 initiated the launch of Millennium as the first specialist mature market agency.

Having worked on both sides of the client agency desk, there is one element to success that is applicable to both parties - the satisfaction of building success. If you believe in something, it is easier to make it work, and if that involves people, then the accumulated effort and enthusiasm becomes a driver.

I am not talking about money. It is about creation - building something good that has positive effects at many levels. I think that is why in Millennium's 10-year history we did not lose a member of staff for at least five years. People feel part of it.

It is vital to not lose sight of the importance of creativity. It is easy to scoff at the suggestion but there is not an abundance of good creative work. Think about the amount of really striking direct marketing you have seen recently. And when was the last time you heard someone say the ads on television are better than the programmes?

My third piece of advice is to have good proprietary products. As an agency we have data, research, media buying and data capture divisions, mailing and fulfillment and a print shop. It means you fully control these functions within campaigns and do not have to rely on third parties. However, you do not push them upon clients. Knowing they are there and can be relied upon when necessary provides confidence, but they also operate independently within the group, earning their own income.

My last piece of advice again comes largely from an agency perspective and it is that you will not serve clients well by growing through acquisition alone. Admittedly, we have made acquisitions and have just bought charity specialist DMS, but it becomes part of an entity built on organic growth.

Natural growth, rather than buying in bolt-on blocks, is important if you want to perpetuate the ethos that generated success and togetherness.

In the same way that you cannot buy brand loyalty from consumers, you cannot buy wholesale expansion that genuinely serves clients. Certainly you can bring in new facilities but they must merge comfortably with the parent body.

Greater minds than mine have written volumes on people management. But common sense tells you that if you surround yourself with talented people, who believe in a common goal, then you are going to be successful no matter what fate throws at you. The sum of the parts becomes much greater than the whole.

CV Education: BA Economics, Open University Climbing the ladder - 1972-78 military service - 1978-84 marketing manager, John Collier Menswear - 1984-95 marketing director, Damart Group - 1995-96 direct marketing director, Saga Holidays - 1996 formed Millennium Secrets 1. Aiming to be successful for the sake of success or money rarely works. Build something you believe in 2. Never underestimate the importance of creativity in consumer communication 3. Create proprietary in-house support services 4. Base growth plans on organic expansion