There will always be uncertainty in life. Instead of pining after a “normal” that probably wasn’t as rosy as you remember, embrace uncertainty and the perspective it brings. In this piece I recently contributed to Forbes.com I discuss how to embrace uncertainty to become stronger and the three steps you can take to get you on the right track.

As I was racing to turn in my copy for next week’s social media & email marketing campaign and getting the last approvals to my book editor, I found myself at a crossroads and wondering: are these activities going to help me to achieve peace of mind? Even I, who have the best laid out plans, question sometimes if the outcome will result from this effort. Tell me, are your efforts helping you to achieve “peace of mind?” It’s important for you as a leader to ponder this and see, feel or know what it is and are you doing the purposeful work to help yourself and the team you lead to achieve “peace of mind.” Since “peace of mind” is deeply personal, let me show you what it looks like to me and perhaps in my personal experiences, you can reflect inwards and realize moments when you’ve realized “peace of mind.” I’ve shared with you many times before through The CEO’s Compass, that in business, we seek true North where everything is running with precision such that you can step back and know your leadership has left a legacy. Your legacy is not in the numbers. People will remember you for how you made them feel, all moving forward toward a common outcome that exceeds individual results.  Here are a few examples of my own “peace of mind” moments: Experiencing moments of uncertainty, but having clarity to know they will find a way: The day I dropped my eldest son off at college, I was saddened when I looked at him looking left and right for someone to connect with as we left him in front of his dormitory. He looked lost, but it [...]

By taking the time to understand what values and expectations guide internal behaviors, you can strengthen the outward image you portray. In this piece I recently contributed to MediaPost.com I discuss how pinpointing and capitalizing on the aspects that affect your culture, you can strengthen your brand and people’s perceptions of your company.

You can't lead a team effectively until you take steps to regain your confidence. In this piece I recently contributed to Entrepreneur.com I discuss ways to overcome self-doubt and restore your confidence.

If we’ve ever met or you’ve ever watched any of our weekly videos, you know that I love baseball.  For those of you who think it’s boring or slow — we should chat. But stick with me through the analogy.  Ty Cobb ended his baseball career in 1928 with a career batting average of .366 over 24 seasons.  That’s the highest career batting average of any baseball player in the games history.  Other players, like Ted Williams have had single seasons that were higher (Ted Williams — .406 in 1941) but you get my point.  The absolute best professionals in the field were successful less than 50% of the time.  Because it’s hard to hit a tiny little ball that is being hurled at you at 90 MPH.  It’s equally hard for agencies to win new clients. Ted or Ty would have been a rec softball team’s dream player.  And they would have ruled the league because they were too good to play there. If you tell me (which many of you do) “if we can get in the room, we always walk away with the business,” I’m going to suggest you set your sites higher.   You are playing rec softball and you’re good enough to play in the big leagues. (It could be the client is too small, your prices are too low or some other factor). But if you’re in the middle of a losing streak (which every single agency experiences sooner or later)  the way to get out of that slump is to keep getting up to bat. I say that flippantly but I want you to know (because my agency has been through slumps too) that I get how difficult [...]

Convenient transactions are great, but feeling like an “insider” is even more appealing. People want to be a part of a VIP community with exclusive access to products and services. In this piece I recently contributed to Forbes.com I discuss the allure of subscriptions and memberships goes way beyond convenience. What people really appreciate is how companies with this model treat and care for their customers.

If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve heard me say it 1,000 times — it’s tough to be a generalist out there. In simplest terms, it means your competition is everyone from the 16 yer old kid who builds websites to every freelancer, to 99 designs to every other agency within your prospect’s knowledge base. I am a firm believer in positioning your agency (see solocast #190 — positioning your agency)  and then leaning heavily into those niches. When you have a depth of knowledge in a particular space (industry vertical, audience or problem you solve, or in rare cases — a specialty offering like crisis communications) you can begin to build an authority position.  Key to claiming that position of authority is creating content that demonstrates your expertise by teaching your audience what you know. (More on all of that in later newsletters!) But who should be that voice of authority?  Many agency owners I see ask, “do I really have to be the one who writes all of the blog posts", or finds all of the podcast guests or whatever your creation demand is based on the channels you want to build out.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  Who should be the voice/face of your authority position is not the same question as who should create all the content.  But let’s put a pin in that for now. If you are like some agency owners, the idea of being in the spotlight (literally or metaphorically) is pretty unappealing.  And you’d like to have one or all of your employees step up into that role.  Not an awesome idea.  Why?  Because like the Coca-Cola logo or PMS red — if you do [...]

I know it’s a rare individual who can weather the rocky road that is agency ownership.  After spending more than a decade working with over 250 agencies a year (and doing it for my own agency for 25 years) I know it’s not easy.  The highs are glorious and nourishing.  But the lows — man, do they suck.  Whether it’s a tough streak of new business losses, a spiteful review on Glass Door, or an accounting error that impacts your taxes — it can be disheartening during those rough patches. One of the traits I admire most about agency owners is your tenacity. No matter how tough things are at the moment, you know that there’s a better day ahead and you are willing to power through to get here.  The reality is, like all businesses, there are cycles or seasons.  No agency is always on top.  No agency bats 1000.  But what stands out to me is how agency owners show up even when they are scared, hurt, or frustrated.  You refuse to be beaten back.  It’s a rare and potent combination of optimism, tenacity, and as my mom used to accuse me of often — sheer bullheadedness.  But it works. I will never forget the agency owner who stood in front of her peers at a network meeting and announced that they just been handed loss #12.  Her frustration was so palpable.  She finally exploded and said, “we just need a f’ing win.  I don’t care who it is or what it’s for.  But we need it.”  If you’ve owned your agency for more than three years, you know what she was going through.   Flash forward a year later.  Her agency was [...]

As the pandemic fades, many agency owners are breathing a sigh of relief. I understand the urge to take a break and slow down but now isn’t the time. The agencies that remain flexible and continue to invest in business development initiatives will capture the clients who are eager to rebound from 2020. In this piece I recently contributed to Forbes.com I discuss three client trends that emerged over the past year that I believe will affect agencies for the next 12 to 18 months

Marketing campaigns take a lot of work. From scoping and strategizing to executing and reporting, even small campaigns can involve multiple moving pieces and lots of planning.  With so much work involved it’s important to understand if those efforts have been successful or if they need to be reworked for next time. No one wants to tie up resources in campaigns they’re not confident will get results. Whether that’s new email addresses, brand exposure, or new leads, implementing the right tracking from the start will make repeating winning campaigns a breeze.  5 Tips for Measuring Marketing Results Setting yourself up for success starts long before any campaign assets have been created. Understanding what will need to be tracked and how is the first step in tying tracking back to marketing. Ensuring there is a process in place for planning campaigns can help avoid any loopholes in tracking. Tie in these tips when creating your strategic process and you’ll be good to go! 1. Establish Your Goals Upfront The hallmark of any good marketing campaign is having established goals right from the start, along with measurable Key Performance Metrics (KPIs) for those goals. When it comes to setting a marketing goal, there are usually only a handful of options. The goals are usually one of three things: lead/sales generation, brand awareness, or fan base growth.  Unfortunately, there are many metrics that will help track any of these three broad goals. Deciding which marketing performance metrics are the best for a campaign will come down to the details. For example, working to increase email signups probably means that the most important metric to track would be growth of the email list. However, if you’re using a freebie [...]