At the age of 22, I packed up my Honda Accord on a sticky, humid North Carolina day and headed north toward the big city and my first real job. When I arrived in DC that July to start work at Burness, a few things quickly became clear: 1. I had a mountain of things to learn about communications, 2. I loved the energy around creating new projects and ideas, and 3. somehow and some way, swampy DC was hotter and stickier than home.

It has been nearly a decade since I made that trip and started my career in communications at Burness. And, I’m lucky enough to have worked with some of the brightest and hardest working communicators on behalf of inspiring people who are tackling poverty and improving health — the “almost famous,” as Andy Burness likes to say.

And so, at the very sincere risk of being a preachy thirty-something grandpa, I thought I would share some accumulated “wisdom” that could help people — whether you’re a recent grad, an aspiring communicator, or someone who may need a little affirmation that this world is for them.

Learn from your colleagues

We don’t make widgets. There is no shopping cart on our website. Because, when you’re in communications, you’re in the ideas and execution business. And that means it’s all about people. The team around you — and their cumulative experience, perspective and taste — is your organization’s “unfair advantage” (hattip StartUp).

Your first job is to absorb this experience like a toy-growing crocodile in a sink full of water.

Read past proposals and strategy memos, follow your colleagues on Twitter and see what they share, learn everything you can about the team’s biggest, proudest wins. Then, talk to people, informally and one-on-one, about their successes, what they wish worked better, and where they need help.

Every organization has processes that could be improved, promising ideas they haven’t had the time to explore, and places where a little extra help could make a huge difference. For a newbie like you, each one is an opportunity to learn from your colleagues and make your team stronger.

Always question the standard approach

When I started at Burness, I spent three days per week scanning through the printed copies of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY for stories related to our projects. At the time, there was no better way to make sure you caught every story. But as newspaper websites and LexisNexis improved, we knew this archaic exercise that made my hands black each morning was redundant. So we questioned it, offered data about the time we’d save while maintaining quality, and changed the status quo.

We are a nimble company, and constantly improving processes make us a better partner for our clients.

Every innovation to the way we work — from sophisticated email tracking and social media analytics to tools like Basecamp and Slack — has been driven by someone questioning the standard approach.

If it’s broke, fix it.

To read the rest of the post, check out “Always Go To Dinner, And Six Other Things I’ve Learned From A Decade In PR,” originally featured on Medium.