Six years ago today, the ad industry was in disarray. The pandemic upended spending across the industry, leaving agencies shedding headcount at rates not seen since the 2008 recession. For Greg Hahn, the period proved to be the perfect time to open an ad agency in conjunction with Canadian network No Fixed Address. The agency’s work became a fixture in headlines and segments across broadcast news, national consumer and business publications, as well as the trade press. Mischief quickly shed its “stunt shop” label thanks to brand building work with Tinder, and has since become one of the most effective ad agencies on the planet, according to The Effies. It recently took home 15 Effies for eight clients, including the Iridium for the World’s Most Effective Marketing Campaign, which the agency scored for eos Products.On its sixth birthday, Campaign asked the seven agency partners what was the most important decision each of them made over the course of the past six years that shaped the agency?Greg Hahn, co-founder and CCO: “Wow, I guess I’ll go back to the beginning, and say naming the agency Mischief. I think names are important. I wanted to set the tone right off the bat. Mischief serves as a filter, an ethos, a guiding star. And it looks good on a t-shirt.”Kevin Mulroy, ECD and partner: “Never outsourcing our recruiting efforts. It’s not a decision I made on my own, but one that came naturally to me and Bianca. The people we hire shape everything about the agency—the vibe, the tone of the work, the personality. Bianca and I look for talent, of course, but equally important is bringing in people who are too talented to act like assholes.”Bianca Guimaraes, ECD and partner: “To build an agency that works for the people, instead of asking the people to work for the agency. Most businesses are built around systems. People are expected to adapt to them. Kevin and I tried the opposite. We don't have rigid rules around who works on what. A lot of the time we let people choose the kinds of projects they want to spend their time on. If a team is happier doing fewer things, we give them fewer things. We let them work on what’s right for them versus what their title says is right. We don't assume the same structure works for everyone. It sounds chaotic on paper. Sometimes it probably is. But you can never go wrong by doing what’s right for people.”Kerry McKibbin, president and partner: “Never running our finances from a place of fear. Saying no to revenue if the partnership isn’t right and trusting something else will come. Rejecting traditional pricing, despite being told we'd never be able to compete without it. Being super transparent with senior business leaders because I wanted them to think and act like owners. And nearly every decision I was told would hurt us has become a source of strength. We didn't follow the old agency playbook, we built a new one.”Jeff McCrory, CSO and partner: “Choosing to prioritize effectiveness within an agency built around creativity. Being dogmatic about defining success and the metrics that must move to achieve it. At Mischief, the effectiveness of the work is our permission slip to be creative. God that sounds like such an egghead planner's answer…”Will Dempster, EVP head of production and partner:“It was almost automatic to hear what couldn't be done in production if it didn't fit the traditional mold, no matter how good the creative work was. From day one at Mischief, the decision for production was always filtered through the lens of, ‘What if this could work?.’ Six years later, that still stands tall, supported by a great team of talented producers who will always find a way.”Oliver McAteer, head of development and partner: “Treat the agency like a brand.”