Good help is hard to find. You want people you can throw in the deep end on day one and can trust to make smart decisions and understand the context and impact of their choices. In other words, you want strategic thinkers. I work with hundreds of ad agencies every year, and they describe this [...]
Some things creep up slowly in life, like global warming and receding hairlines. Now you can add to that list: The reign of a digital team in agencies. As digital advertising continues its double-digit growth, more and more agencies routinely rely on tech-driven campaigns to keep the lights on. And as web, mobile, and social [...]
For every agency the team you’ve assembled has a huge impact on your bottom line. You absolutely want to hire skilled, smart team members. You also want to have every player enhance the culture of your shop. But at the end of the day, you need them to work within your agency’s system and contribute [...]
Think you understand the Millennials in your agency? You might be surprised. Think you know what motivates your employees? You might be surprised. Think you know what your best employees want and need from you? You know the answer – they just might surprise you. Here’s the good news – we can give you a [...]
I was co-teaching a workshop on managing a multi-generational agency this week and one of the topics we covered was "interview questions for millennials" but I'm here to tell you -- these are killer questions for candidates of any agency or potential position. Remember to be a better interviewer, you need to be a better [...]
From the dawn of time, agencies have worked hand in glove with their media partners. They are a vital part of how we serve our clients and the relationship we have with them is one we absolutely need to protect. When you/your client has a strong relationship with your media partners, you get: Added value [...]
Why is communication important in leadership? If you’ve been struggling to work with some of your team members, odds are you have not embraced the idea that employees need clarity. Truth be told — most agency leaders struggle with this, especially if they are offering constructive criticism or even tougher — disciplinary action. Agency owners [...]
One of the most heartbreaking realities in agencies today is what I call stale employees. These are employees that usually have been on your staff a long time and were a wonderful fit for your agency back in the day. But today, they really aren’t pulling their weight, their attitude is slipping or you just [...]
Can you run an agency without any employees? You're about to find out. Recently I received an email which in essence asked how feasible it was to run an agency without employees. I thought it was a worthy discussion to share here. Here's the question I was asked: In the last year or so I've [...]
I recently had an AMI agency ask me which 2016 content management conferences for agencies I would recommend they consider putting into the budget. First -- bravo to the agency for actually baking professional development into their budget. Most agencies underspend in this area and it costs them their best talent. A recent survey showed [...]
