“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… “We’re afraid of a diet of just one thing.”“We’re afraid that focus means we’ll be passing up […]
Why a Narrow Focus is Key for Your Agency
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. Starbucks is narrow—coffee—but it certainly isn’t small. Intel is […]
Your Clients and Employees Need You to Change Your Agency’s Operating Model
In a previous post, I shared that many agency leaders feel that it’s become increasingly tougher to maintain and grow their business. For some, their agency’s financial performance has plateaued as a result of their growth. For others, they feel their quality of work, speed, and culture isn’t what it needs to be. If this […]
4 Strategic Questions Every Agency Leader Should Be Able to Answer
Quick, can you describe your agency in an interesting, relevant, memorable, and differentiating way — in 30 seconds? If not, you haven’t devoted the necessary time and energy to defining your agency’s positioning strategy. The competitive environment for agencies has changed dramatically in the last few years. We have large volumes of talent leaving agencies […]
2 Causes of Undesirable Agency Performance
Leading An Agency Is Hard As an agency leader, you’re often faced with the challenge of juggling competing interests. On the one hand, 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. At the same […]
Redesigning Marketing and Creative Teams to Keep Ahead of Our Evolving Market
One of my favorite quotes about company culture comes from Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer of Netflix. She says: “The most successful organizations will be the ones in which everyone, on every team, understand that all bets are off and everything is changing – and thinks that’s great.” The culture Patty describes is one that welcomes constant change. This kind of environment is especially relevant for marketing and creative teams.
