In this episode of the Fully Managed Podcast, we play a marketing improv game called Market Me This, where guest Anna-Vija McClain is tasked with building a go-to-market strategy for an imaginary product: a “deadline candle” that burns for a specific time to help users manage productivity. What begins as a light-hearted challenge quickly turns into a deep, vulnerable, and inspiring conversation about leadership, mental health in the workplace, and building a culture of honesty and longevity inside creative agencies. Anna-Vija McClain, founder of Piccolo Marketing, shares how her commitment to happiness, teaching, and grace as core values transformed her agency into a place where people actually want to work—and stay. She opens up about painful lessons, including letting go of her right hand after five years, and the vital mindset shift every founder must make to survive long-term in business.
Three Things You’ll Learn:
How to build a people-first culture by centering core values like happiness, transparency, and growth—even if it means slower revenue growth.
Why every employee will eventually leave—and how accepting this truth can help you lead with more clarity, compassion, and systems that scale.
How to foster psychological safety in the workplace so team members feel empowered to grow, leave, or fail—without fear of retaliation.