As AMIN Americas President, I often ask myself a slightly terrifying question:

What am I doing here?! How can I help lead a group of some of the smartest, most talented agency leaders on the planet?

As we kick off a new year, I finally landed on a simple answer:

I’m here to help build connections.

I want you to learn, grow, and love what you do. I want you to build a business—and a life—bigger than you imagined. I want you surrounded by people who lift you up and remind you how lucky we are to do this work. Because leadership is lonely. Even with strong teams, ownership can feel isolating.

I often feel like a baby bird learning to fly, some days soaring, others face-planting from exhaustion or failure. But every day, I try again.

Why? Because even on my worst days, I remember this: We get to be creative. We get to be cutting-edge. We connect dots, shape ideas, listen deeply, and influence outcomes. We help move businesses, and marketing itself, forward. That’s not nothing.

So where does AMIN fit?

AMIN is more than a group that meets a few times a year. We are business partners fueling one another’s success. We don’t all share clients or projects. But without this network, we’d have fewer minds to rely on, fewer experiences to learn from, and far more face-plants than we’d like to admit.

As we look ahead, each of us has a choice: Where do we invest our time, energy, and development dollars?

I belong to many organizations. I attend conferences. I work with coaches and mentors. All of that matters—but none of it replaces AMIN. I don’t invest in this network just because I like you (though I do). I invest because AMIN has agency. Agency people decide what they want, do the work, and help others believe in it.

You don’t just know marketing, you know leadership, influence, and business. So my commitment is to lead us forward into new territory. And in return, I’m asking you to lead me, too. I don’t want more “AMIN should do this” ideas.

I want to know: What are you going to do with AMIN this year? AMIN doesn’t work by waiting. It works when people lean in.

Is there an idea you haven’t shared?
A call you’ve been meaning to make?
An agency you’d love to collaborate with?

None of that happens by magic. Not by me. Not by the board. It only happens by you.

Here’s my challenge:

In the next 90 days, do three new things with AMIN. Phone a friend. Log into the OC. Talk to your ambassador. Submit a GLOBEY. Send your people. Show up more yourself.

Just do something. I double-dog dare you.

And here’s what I’ll do in return.

If you fill out this link and tell me what you did—or what you want to do—I’ll personally reach out and offer something of value. A connection. A conversation. A coaching moment. I won’t stop until I’ve given you more than you expected.

Afterward, I’ll share what we learned—what sparked momentum and what’s possible when Allies take action. So don’t fill out the form yet. Go do the things first. Then come back and tell me what happened. I appreciate every one of you. It’s going to be a great year—but even better if we do it together.

Let’s go. Allies in Action.

—Misty