I interviewed Brian Russell, Managing Director of Function Growth, about why he turned to productization to overcome his firm's challenges, its impact on his team and clients, and his advice for other firms considering productizing their value. Here’s what he said.

While many agencies wrestle with the limitations of a time-based revenue model, other firms have been embracing alternative compensation structures that prioritize value, performance, and outcomes. Here’s what three agency leaders said about their transition.

Agencies that use a value-led revenue model may need help when negotiating with price-driven buyers. Here’s how they can use the power of AI to guide their pricing strategy and negotiations.

Labor-based compensation remains dominant in our industry, and most agencies remain designed to sell billable time. But this is about to change.

Modern revenue models do not rely on billable hours, so agency leaders ask, "How can we effectively manage engagements without timesheets?" This question will seem logical for anyone who has worked in an agency, but it's the wrong question.

Your agency is growing, but not well. Challenges are mounting. How can you take time to make needed changes to your agency when everyone is too busy?

Client-facing retrospective meetings are a great way to build trustful relationships with your client contacts. Here’s how to introduce this lightweight but powerful practice into your rhythm with your clients.

“We only debrief on a project if something went wrong on the project or with a client.” Wouldn’t it be better to prevent this? Here’s how.

Let’s eliminate all the ways your agency is wasting away its margins. Once you know what to look for, you’ll see this everywhere. “Waste” is anything in your agency’s processes that prevents or slows down the delivery of value to your clients.

“We’re afraid our creatives will get bored and leave us.” This is one comment I hear from agencies when I talk about focusing their business on just a few service areas or a market segment. I also hear…

Many agencies make the mistake of assuming that if they were to focus on a specific service area or market segment, they would limit their growth potential– that a narrow focus doesn’t scale and equates to a small business. While this seems logical, it’s not true.

“It’s just faster to do it myself.” A pair of Exec Creative Directors said this when I asked why they were finishing their team’s work rather than teaching them. It’s also why they were nearing burnout working weekends.

“I’ve told my employees they’re empowered, but I’m not seeing it.” I’ve heard this sentiment from a few CEOs, but to foster an empowering environment in your agency, make sure to add 3 other key ingredients.

For greater accountability in your agency, throw out your job descriptions. The average job description is prescriptive and emphasizes activities over outcomes, which limits a person’s potential.

Some agencies tell me they have an accountability problem– that creatives don’t complete their work by the deadline a PM assigned. What these agencies are really describing is a management-style problem.

“Too many meetings! No time to get any actual work done.” I hear this from agency staff quite often. This typically points back to 4 causes…

Every agency’s organizational structure and operating model are currently being stress tested. This points to a need for agencies to rethink how they work.

What do we mean when we say a hybrid work model? There are many ways to operationalize a hybrid model.

In a formal review meeting, managers will attempt to review 12 months of an individual’s performance AND their compensation AND to provide guidance on professional development planning. That’s quite a lot to cover in a 30-60 minute discussion.

As an agency leader, your clients want everything to be “better, faster, and cheaper.” On the other, your employees want the freedom and resources to do great work while enjoying a work/life balance.