I finally walked out of a client meeting in downtown Austin last Wednesday

They wanted me to add three more reporting layers to a campaign that was already drowning in data. I said no for the fifth time and the account manager started talking over me like I wasn't in the room. Packed my laptop, told them they could find a new agency if they wanted a yes man. Has anyone else had to just leave a meeting to get people to listen?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_terry27d agoMost Upvoted

Did you get any pushback from your own team after walking out? That took guts, honestly. I had a similar thing happen once where I just stood up and said "I'm done here" and walked to the elevator. People usually don't know how to react when you actually leave. It's wild how some folks only start listening when you show them you're serious.

leebrown27d ago

God, I feel this so hard. It's like the only way to get them to realize you have a spine is to actually leave, which is insane that it has to come to that. Good on you for sticking to your guns, seriously, because that's way harder than just nodding along and hating yourself later. Hopefully that was the wakeup call they needed, even if it meant losing the account.

taylor_barnes591d ago

You said "people usually don't know how to react when you actually leave" and that's the part that gets me. Nobody talks about what it does to you after you walk out, like the guilt that can creep in later. I had a friend who did this and she said the next morning she felt like she'd broken some unspoken rule, even though she was totally in the right. It's almost like we're trained to feel bad for standing up for ourselves, even when the other person was the problem. Did you ever get that hollow feeling after you left that elevator, or was it just relief?