The nudge we needed?

- Hey everybody, Drew McLellan here from Agency Management Institute. This week, I am coming to you from the AMI studio suite. Three weeks ago, it was a guest bedroom but today it is now a fully tricked-out studio. The reason why I made that change is because like many of you, I have been feeling this push on my back from the pandemic to have to figure out how to do what I do in a different way. So in some cases, I had to figure out how to deliver content that I used to deliver in person in ways that allowed people to access it if they weren't ready to travel. I have been creating all kinds of new courses and video content and, honestly, what I was doing was I was sort of scrambling around and improvising studio space in my house. And finally, I was like, this is crazy. I need a dedicated space where I can close the door, the dog can't knock things over, break the cameras, things like that, but also because I recognize that even after the pandemic is gone, I'm going to keep doing some of the things that I have innovated during the pandemic. We've all lost a lot during the pandemic. It has cost us personally and professionally, but I also think it's given us some gifts. And I've been watching AMI agencies reinvent and reinvigorate the way they do business. They're offering new product lines and services to clients. They're delivering their work in different ways. They are serving different audiences than they've ever served before. They are not allowing the pandemic to squelch their creativity. And in some cases, I think it's actually pushing us to do things that maybe we wouldn't have done before. I'm not so sure I would have tricked out a guest bedroom to be a complete studio, but now it's awesome and it's allowing me to produce content and helpful pieces of information much faster that I can get out into the marketplace and I can help more people. So as you're thinking about the pandemic and as we are approaching the end of 2020 and everyone is hoping for a different, better 2021, I want you to stop and think about what you have done differently because of the pandemic. I want you to just take a minute and be grateful for and celebrate the fact that you were able to pivot, to innovate, to create something different, and maybe it wouldn't have happened without this global slowdown that we've all experienced. If you haven't jumped in yet, if you haven't created something new, but there's been something in the back of your head, now is the time. Now is the time to leap out and to create something new. I would love to hear in the comments, by email, what you've done to innovate or pivot or change your agency to serve your clients and your employees better. I want to celebrate all the things that we've done as a result of this, because I do think there are things that are worthy of celebration. All right? I'll be back next week. Go innovate!