Gauging Client Relationships

"Your agency has delivered upon what we've asked. You've met our timelines and budgets, and we appreciate the great work you've done. You are a trusted partner that understands what we want and gets it done"

If you conduct a client review and get this response, you would likely be satisfied that things are running smoothly and you are meeting the client's demands. But notice that the feedback is based on what's being asked...the basic deliverables. The agency was presented a challenge and they delivered the solution. Again, not bad by any stretch, but compare it against this:

"You've helped me realize that my company and our brand can be much more than it is now. Thanks to your agency's help, we see potential far beyond where we could before your agency came along. You've done what we asked, but showed us problems and opportunities we didn't even know existed"

If you ever receive this sort of praise from one of your clients, print it out and frame it. Use it as the model by which all other client relationships should be judged. Clearly, the agency that gets this feedback delivered much more than just on the "requirements." These guys inspired their clients.

Think about some the most memorable agency-client relationships in history. Bernbach and VW. Apple and Chiat. They revolved around an agency that didn't just meet the demands of a contract, but inspired the client organization.

Leaders of great account teams and great agencies project their visionary abilities towards their clients. They unlock insights, are unafraid to present bold ideas that change the game. They sometimes fail in spectacular fashion, but they aren't afraid to do it. They know that, while failure is a possibility, spectacular success is just as attainable. Success lies not only in sales growth, but in the passion and enthusiasm you can inject into your client's organization.

So the next time you solicit feedback from your client, gauge their response against what's been asked of you vs. what hasn't been asked of you. If are you going above and beyond, you should see much more of the latter.

A call to Account Managers for simplicity

"I don't know how many lives we've lost, but it will be more than we can bear"

That's a quote from Rudy Giuliani a day or two after 9/11. Of all the memories sketched into my mind about that horrific event, his line always seems to bubble up. It's the best example I've seen of how a simple statements can be extremely powerful.

It's the same way in our business. Simple thoughts and statements are often the most motivating and profound communications we encounter. I see more examples of this from Account Planners than anyone else. It's easy to tell the quality of a planner by reading one of their creative briefs. First, it usually fits on one page. Second, you leave with a clear sense of purpose about what to do, how to get there, and ways to make your work great.

Damn, they make simple look easy. And simple in our business isn't easy. Especially for Account Managers. Communicating simple ideas that are emotional and persuasive is a talent that separates many adequate managers from future agency leaders.

Look around your shop. I'm willing to bet the most effective managers and leaders are the best communicators. They set clear direction with a sense of motivation and purpose. Their vision is easy to understand. It's human nature to rally around simple ideas.

But don't take simple to mean simplistic. Simple (in my mind) is about a concept that easy to grasp, but may be enormously difficult to achieve. Simplistic, on the other hand, implies an idea that hasn't been thought through, doesn't reach for deeper meaning, is often unoriginal and isn't motivating.

Here's an example of the difference, using Southwest's brand position from a simplistic and simple point of view.

Simplistic: More affordable airfare
Simple: Democratized travel

Both are concise, but which is deeper?

Challenge yourself as an Account Manager to communicate simple, powerful thoughts in all of your communications. Be it a team meeting, client presentation or even daily email correspondence.

You will be amazed at the impression you can leave.

Setting the Service Leadership Example

I was always excited about field trips when I was a kid. One reason was obviously to get out of school, but another was that it always seemed like I would pay more attention and absorb more when taken out of my daily routine. I think the same holds true for my work road trips, and it has never been more evident than a recent excursion to Cincinnati.

I had the opportunity to visit one of our sister agencies while working on a joint client initiative. While the Executive Creative Director was taking us on a tour of their office, he talked about an example they use in the spirit of Service Leadership.

Their rule is to hand over the leadership of a project to the person who produced the main idea, regardless of where their "rank" was on the team. While it sounded risky on the surface, the approach was inspirational as he explained further. Everyone else, from the office leadership down, gets behind the project leader to mentor them along the way. The approach provides real life training for more junior level colleagues in how to lead teams, think big picture, present and understand start-to-finish ownership.

The approach works from a team-building perspective as well, as those who are following the leader understand how to follow and play their respective roles in promoting the team's success.

These were some of the smartest, most well credentialed people you could ever meet in our business. The executive leadership was more than capable of taking lead over every project and demanding all others fall in-line in support. Their humility really hammered two principles home with me:

1) Hire great people at every level and give them what they need to do their very best work
2) Never forget that you are training tomorrow's leaders every day, both by the experience they gain and by the examples you set.

I'm truly appreciative to have witnessed service leadership in action and look forward to imitating the philosophy in our halls.

Service Leadership

Funny that I can talk about myself much easier via this blog than in front of others. Probably because there aren't any people watching me type. Ironically, if you are a popular blogger, your work is much more public than almost any presentation you could give.

With that background, 35 colleagues and I were asked to respond via group discussion to a self examining question. How do we see ourselves as a leader?

My answer was a servant leader. At least that's what I hope to be. In my opinion, to truly lead is to selflessly serve. And real service is giving someone what they need. It's not about pampering, not about waiting on someone hand over foot, not about always wanting to please.

From an internal team leadership perspective, service leadership is about giving honest, real-time feedback. Telling people what they need to hear. Initiating necessary action. Rock stars need to be developed and promoted. A young art director may need a chance to present for the first time in front of an important client whether they know it or not. Someone else may need to hear that their talents would be best served with another company. Yet another under-performing person with incredible potential may simply need a good kick in the pants. If you are truly focused on leading a team, you should be focused on making sure everyone gets what they need.

Externally, client service (and leadership) is ALL about giving clients what they need. Any agency can deliver on a request at various levels of quality. Not every agency, though, tells clients what they need to hear or brings them ideas they didn't even know they needed. That's the kind of leadership value that cements relationships with clients beyond their current position. Knowing how short the average CMO tenure is (less than two years), a solid relationship is not only a current business keeper, it's a future new business generator. Service leadership is a lifetime relationship builder.

I'm not anywhere near the servant leader I want to be. I start every day at work with that thought in mind. Before I leave, I ask myself how good of a servant I've been. Did I give people what they want or what they need? The more of the latter I can answer, the closer I'm getting.

Some day...

Wasted Gifts

Some of the most disappointing stories I hear from colleagues are about the loss of a valued employee to another agency or client-side position due solely to the fact that the leader wasn't able to provide an environment allowing the employee's strengths to shine and develop.

I view it as a wasted gift. Someone's talent is a gift to share with those around them. If recognized, utilized and developed, it's a treasure that benefits many. When wasted, it's like the Christmas present from two years ago still in the plastic wrapper. Only later (or sometimes never) do you realize the gift for what it could have been.

Talent development is a two-part responsibility...

First and foremost, the employee must have an intrinsic motivation to excel. You can't teach passion and desire. But a leader can certainly stoke that passion or squelch it.

With a motivated employee, a leader's aptitude for talent development is critical. Specifically:

1) How well does the leader recognize what the employee does (or doesn't do) well? A leader shouldn't just evaluate the end results, they should also understand the how. Seeing how employees operate should quickly reveal his or her talents.

2) Once an employee's talents are discovered, how much of their job accentuates said talent? I'm a firm believer that, instead of shoring up weak spots, leaders need to focus on strengths. You can't develop a talent if you aren't in position to focus on it.

3) What kind of a career path does the leader provide for the employee to help them understand where their talents can take them? It's not enough to recognize the talent and help the employee develop it. He or she needs to understand the upside in their abilities. Being able to enjoy the job is great, but knowing how an employee's talent can benefit their career long-term is also critical.

As a leader, don't be weary of those bearing gifts. As long as they are passionate and dedicated, their talents will bear fruit, not only for themselves, but also for the entire team.

Inspiration from Amex

I've always been a huge fan of American Express' branding work. The beauty in their brand's positioning is in the simple idea that possibility is only as limited as your aspirations. Which creates a very seamless transition to their cause marketing work.

Taken at face value, the new work for the Members Project intuitively belongs with their general campaign work over the past few years. Digging deeper (as the typical Amex target customer will), you see some amazing stories about people with a passion to make a difference in their corner of the world.

As cause marketing becomes a more prominent part of our client's communications portfolio, this is a great lesson in how important it is to make sure that the cause and marketing execution are tied to the brand's essence.



By the way, if you're looking for a good blog on cause marketing, I'd highly recommend Good Concepts. My good friend Brian Powell has a passion for cause marketing that we could all learn from (not to mention he's one of the smartest people I know).

I don't wanna grow up

I love listening to kids express what they want to do when they grow up. They dream big. No boundaries. Parents encourage, reinforce their aspirations, tell them anything is possible. Trouble is, some parents play along just to be nice. Too few actually believe in the encouragement they provide.

Skepticism. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing our industry. I equate too many account leaders to the skeptical parents above. People who grew up in a communications world that no longer exists. Unwilling to encourage exploring beyond the norm, avoid predefining the solution to the problem, trust the talented people they employ and tell them anything is possible with conviction.

I'm willing to bet the most creative, most game-changing work out there comes from agencies and leaders who, at heart, still haven't grown up. I sure as hell hope I never do.

Dream on.