Blair frequently tells his clients, “You reinvent the firm one new client at a time.” So looking ahead to the new year, he has five areas where principals can be looking to upgrade their agency’s culture through the next new client.
Tim Williams, The Unscalable Business Model
Jim de Zoete, Don't Pitch Your Mental Health
Maintaining the Expert Position...After the Sale
Slapping Down Your Childlike Glee
Everything Can Change in One Conversation
While discussing eight ways creative firms can do pro bono work better based on an article David wrote recently, both he and Blair discover a couple new profound insights together.
“Maximizing Your Pro-Bono Contributions” by David C. Baker at Punctuation.com
Blair recognizes how a Confucius quote is really bad business advice, but is still moved by how a highly principled creative firm in New Zealand continues to thrive by prioritizing their creative practices and client fit over new business strategy.
LINKS
"Attending the Way" article by Blair on WinWithoutPitching.com
David frequently gets hired to help resolve issues at firms between multiple principles when it comes to who does what and how much each should get paid, so he’s come up with a 7-point framework he can use in each unique scenario.
David interviews Blair about his recent article in which he takes a lesson from investing with compound interest to understand the increasing returns we can receive from our relentless pursuit of knowledge over time.
“The Time Value of Knowledge” article on WinWithoutPitching.com
David looks at the current data and weighs all the pros and cons of continuing to have staff who work from home in our post-pandemic economy, which makes Blair wonder if he would even survive if he was starting out in his profession today.
Blair sees too many creative firms talking at prospective clients using sales scripts instead of having a series of wide ranging conversations on their unique issues and objectives that set the tone for the potential long-term engagement.
Blair’s latest obsession is bounded rationality, in which he sees too many creative firms failing to make “rational” decisions because they choose to bind their businesses with outdated and overly-constraining ideals like the 80/20 principle.
“The Great Convergence is Upon Us” by Blair Enns for Win Without Pitching
Award-winning “Unapologetically Human” ad campaign by Kruger and BHLA
Productize: The Ultimate Guide to Turning Professional Services to Scalable Products by Eisha Tierney Armstrong
David shares his thoughts on some bad advice he hears involving the focus on pursuing personal passions in business.
Blair weighs in on this year's Forrester report, which shows the ridiculous amount of money agencies have been wasting on pitches.
LINKS
"Are These the Last Days of the Pitch?" by Blair Enns for Win Without Pitching
"A New Forrester Report Urges Brands and Agencies to 'Ditch the Pitch'" by Olivia Morley for AdWeek published on 4 A's
David addresses another frequently asked question, looking at what creative firms should budget in terms of both money and time for their website, SaaS/automation, PR, content creation, and social media.
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