Secrets of my Success: Martin Smith, Managing director of Millennium.

I don't suppose there can be many more unlikely beginnings to a career in marketing than joining the army from school at the age of 15.

The world of a young royal engineer recruit in an army apprenticeship college is about as far removed from the complexities of consumer communication as you can get.

However, there are basics that you have to adhere to in both arenas if you want to get on. Discipline - and I am not talking about the bawling sergeant-major variety, as I don't think the creative department could take it. Simply being organised means you can be focused on the tasks before you. This applies in all walks of life. Having said that I could name a …