One of the first lessons that I learned as a Dad is that while my words mattered, my actions trumped those words every time. My daughter watched every choice, every action and inaction, every moment – and whether I liked it or not, mimicked me. The realization that I was a constant learning lab actually [...]
Here’s the ad agency structure kernel of truth you’ve been denying for too long. You can’t own/run a successful, scaleable agency and still be in the weeds of client work. You just can’t do it. I work with 200+ agencies a year and whether they’re small (1-15 people) or large independently owned agencies (100+ people) [...]
Building client relationships and working with other agencies can be challenging, but it is vital for your agency’s long-term success. In fact, one of the agency/client trends that is toughest for most small to mid-sized agencies is learning how to and accepting the idea that you’re going to have to work with other agencies. The [...]
A recent article by Blair Enns has re-ginited an age-old question: should agencies be re-inventing themselves? My answer is that question is -- of course. But this isn't a new business development strategy. Agencies have been re-inventing themselves since they started. Grants, the pace is very different but how an agency works and how it sells [...]
I know you think you’re a good communicator but I’d bet you $100 that, when it comes to setting employee expectations, you aren’t as clear as you think you are. No matter how good you are -- you could be better. It’s not entirely your fault. You have several strikes against you. Agencies tend to [...]
I've been spending a lot of time with agency owners and their leadership teams over the past month or so, talking about agency metrics and strategic planning tools. I'm always a little surprised but in almost every instance, there is a missing component that gets in the way of the leadership team really working cohesively and [...]
My wish for you -is that 2015 is your year of action! I don't know about you but as much as I love the holidays, I look forward to this time of year as well. The slate is clean and for the first couple weeks in January as things rev back up -- it's the perfect [...]
As a CEO, you’ve built your business to be strong and competitive, you’re proud of your successes, and you’ve probably learned a few lessons along the way. One of those lessons probably is that you can’t do everything yourself. But what should you actually do? When is it important to delegate and when should you [...]
