"Your Best Effort"

My recent "head buried in the sand" epiphany is that parenting isn't easy. The wife will chuckle and say "no $*@!" when she reads this, as her challenge of running our household is one I could never undertake. But I don't mean not easy in the sense of dealing with crying kids, cleaning up messes, school pick-up and drop off, etc. We knew that would be difficult going in. Instead, what drove this recent epiphany is the realization that I have to accept the genuine best effort my kids give to school, sports and household chores at face value. Praise them for trying their best, help them get better where possible, and live with the results - no matter how frustrating they may sometimes be.

In business, however, "your best effort" doesn't always cut it. Wins and losses are black and white. A campaign works or it doesn't. You win the business or you don't. You get the job or you don't. While, in spirit, doing your best will generally produce better results, it doesn't guarantee success, client satisfaction or job security. Kinda like the old adage about horseshoes and hand grenades.

If you are leading a team or at least managing others, "your best effort" is actually one of the best measurement tools you have available.

"Your best effort" for one person can mean greatness, while for someone else can mean relative mediocrity. If someone's best isn't good enough, you need to have a hard discussion as a manager and either redirect their talents more appropriately, or let them go.

If your agency's best isn't good enough for your client, you'll either be let go or you'll have the opportunity to shore up weak areas and get better. You generally don't get the opportunity for the latter.

We all should have a keen understanding of where our "best effort" is at an individual, team and agency level. Calibrating such a gauge involves an extremely honest, disrobing examination. Peer reviews, work audits, industry audits, client reviews of the agency. These are all great tools.

The most important concept to grasp, however, is that "your best effort" should not ever be a defined place. Successful people understand it's an ever-moving target. The key is to always make sure you're moving towards the target.

Lessons from a MadMan

Last night I had the chance to see Matthew Weiner, creator and lead writer for MadMen, speak in Fort Worth. While I disclose that I'm a huge fan of the show, anyone would have both enjoyed and greatly benefited from listening to his story.

He was one of the most engaging and eloquent people I've had the pleasure of listening to. Eccentric...yes. All over the map...no question. But just when you'd think he was wandering off to a completely irrelevant point, he'd tie it back to his overall message.

The theme of his story was about the creative process as it related to the show. He showed several different clips and touched on the inspiration for each. All were classic moments any MadMen fan would recognize:

•Don asking Roger "what women want" in his office
•Don asking one of his mistresses "what women want" and getting an inspiring answer
•Don on the phone with another mistress who says "I like being bad and going home and being good"
•Betty shooting at the birds in the backyard
•Don's presentation of the Kodak Carousel campaign

As brilliant of a writer as Weiner obviously is, where I think his true genius lies in his innate sense of always being open to outside inspiration. His curiosity factor is off the charts. He engages in conversation at the drop of a hat. He's personable. He wants to hear stories. He's thirsty for interaction.

The results spoke for themselves, as each of the above scenes was based on an observation or interaction Weiner had with someone else. The mistress' quote was from a lady he sat next to in an airplane. The "nostalgia" element of Don's Carousel pitch was from a class lecture during high school. Betty shooting the birds came from a personal story by someone on his writing staff.

Weiner's creativity (and, by extension, livelihood) literally depends on how well he's observing what's going on around him and collaborating with others. It was, in my opinion, a humble admission. Not one you'd expect from an A-List Hollywood writer.

Our business sometimes propagates a crap assumption that all account people have blinders on...oblivious to anything other than what their client tells them. And I understand stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason. No doubt, we need to know our client's business better than they do. But any diligent account person can do that.

The best account people I've known were amongst the most externally observant people in the business. Thirsty for knowledge, eager to learn, always on the lookout. Knowing they would improve if they would take time, listen and infuse their work with the contributions of others. Instead of clients having to ask for new ideas or different thinking, it came their way from these account people in a steady stream of observations, unexpected presentations and inspiring recommendations.

Those are the account leaders who didn't lose clients, but instead grew their business. We need more of those.

It also wouldn't hurt if a few of us could channel our inner Don Draper for presentation purposes...dude can sell ice to Eskimos.

Leadership Lesson from the Family Dinner Table

One of the rituals I most treasure is Sunday dinner with my family. Although we eat together as often as possible, it's usually the one time I know my wife, three kids and I can sit, eat, and enjoy each other's company. Hectic school, practice and homework schedules make it tough during the week to do anything other than a quick meal for the kids before they go to bed. Time just doesn't allow for anything more substantive.

This past Sunday, as the kids were cracking up at my jokes (more like me laughing at myself), I realized how infrequently opportunities like this exist at the office.

Time for laughing, getting to know people, asking about life outside the office, what their dreams are, what makes them tick...these are things any leader should know about his or her team. And you simply can't learn that within the normal work environment. Everyone is too busy and focused on their work (as they should be). Conversations are generic. Without truly understanding what motivates your team, your strategy and direction is going to be broad. You won't know exactly what buttons to push.

As a leader, these conversations can also provide insight into your employee's future. Do they really want to be doing what they are doing? Are they passionate? Do you see untapped potential? You can't get that during the regular course of the day outside of judging their current work product, which rarely tells the whole story.

You would be amazed at what 15 monthly minutes of genuine conversation over lunch, during a break, a scheduled meeting or after work can provide for your leadership skills. The person on your team will feel appreciated, and you will know how to better motivate them.

Over the course of a year, just 15 minutes a month would equal three hours of conversation focused on the individual outside of the daily grind. Say you have 5 members on your team. That's 15 hours of time you've dedicated to getting to know them better. If you upped it to 15 minutes a week, you'd be at 65 hours a year.

Talk about time well spent...

Resolutions worth fighting for

I enjoy my daily morsel from Copyblogger. The site is a consistently solid resource that can help develop your writing whether you're a sage scribe or an aspiring blogger.

What I found most inspiring about the linked post above is the idea of fighting for your ideas. The hard part of that premise is understanding which ideas are truly worth fighting for.

As you look towards next year and put together your list of resolutions, try not to be so customary. Be selective and only list goals that really are worth the sacrifice. If improving your work situation is a goal, are you prepared to make the necessary sacrifices? Work more hours, look for employment elsewhere, let an employee go, give someone another chance, fire a client? Is your goal worth that kind of sacrifice? Does the end justify the means?

Goals worth achieving involve sacrifice. Great achievers understand the sacrifice that's required before the set their goal, and believe it's truly worth fighting for.

Think hard about what's important to you for next year, what's worth fighting for, and understand what will be required to get you there. I guarantee you'll be more likely to get where you really want to go.

Mother Client Pays if Forward

In celebration of the holiday season, I'm including a brilliant piece that captures our human capacity for goodness. Mother's $10,000 spent on a Christmas message will no doubt leave an indelible impression among thousands more people than could have received a card for that budget.

As always with Mother, you see an interesting twist on a common theme. What a great way to show that among all the disingenuous clutter in our life, there are a few real nuggets that matter, that penetrate, that make a difference. We can't be so numb not to realize that.

A wonderful message for all to remember...to give is a far greater reward than to receive.

Have a happy and safe holiday season.

The Power of Relationships

Tis the time of year in the college football world where coaches with a string of less than stellar seasons start receiving pink slips in their stockings. While my Sooners haven't had the year we all had hoped for, I take solace in the fact that we have a great coach who has not only a proven track record, but also a fantastic relationship with his Athletic Director, President, players and fans.

Before I write on, let me state that (as of this moment) Stoops has resisted temptation to take the Notre Dame job. If he changes his mind, I'll be crushed, but the lessons here still apply.

I'd like to focus on relationships. At the end of the day, it's relationships that get teams and partnerships through challenges. Eventually a bad string of results will rightfully result in necessary change, but there is something to be said for those that don't overreact, make minor adjustments and stay the course with their team.

I'm lucky enough to work with two account managers who have done a phenomenal job with establishing a great relationship with one of our new clients. Fortunately, everything has gone exceedingly well in terms of planning, execution and results. But nobody (and no relationship) is perfect, and there will be times where we have to lean on the power of our relationships and the trust we've banked to help get us through a challenge.

Great relationships aren't just about your clients. Creative, media, digital...every separated discipline has it's own unique relationship needs. Good account people understand the nuances of building relationships with each group and give them focus.

I would also reiterate that "good relationship" isn't about being buddy-buddy with someone. A good relationship is based on personal trust, proven performance and the freedom to be honest.

If you are part of an account team, remember to assess the strength of your relationships with each key constituent group. Focus on repairing any cracks and it never hurts to reinforce areas that are already strong.

Most of all, don't take them for granted (like a few too many of my fellow Sooner fans do these days).

A gem of a thought on social media from a guy who would know

Mullen Was a Shoo-in: Grasping Zappos' Culture Key to Shop's Win

Boston Agency Also Saw That You Can't Tack Social Media on as Afterthought

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via adage.com

"Embarking on a social-media strategy to help with marketing is like embarking on a facial muscle strategy to help with smiling."

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (@zappos) tweeted this gem while in the final stages of his company's review.

Kudos to Mullen out of Boston for winning the business. Not since Crispin's Microsoft win will work be more anticipated than when Mullen's first Zappos campaign hits in early 2010.

As fascinating as the story of the pitch may (or may not) have been, I kept gravitating back to Hsieh's comment. It was a great way to explain how intuitive social media has to be to your company's core. If you only use it as an add-on tactic intended to attract new business and not to better your shop’s competency, learn and share, you are driven by the wrong motives.

Companies that generally excel in social media are their own case study. While not everyone can have enough news said about them to generate and populate an entirely social media-driven site ala Crispin, any company can engage expose themselves to the outside world. Joining in conversations, starting conversations, avoiding sales pitches and instead conveying great thoughts, ideas, contributing without expecting anything in return (which, by the way, is when you tend to see the greatest returns).

A smart marketer (whether they are socially savvy or not) can smell sales bullshit from a mile away. They can also see the real thing for what it is. Account Mangers, take account of your company’s culture and see what level of social engagement you have. Who has blogs? Who tweets, is on speaking panels, engages in online discuss forums, etc.? You may not realize how social your agency is until you take inventory. Be sure your company’s website and blog (if they are different) aggregate every social media element related to your shop. Make it visible enough that business prospects can easily run a litmus test.

To Hsieh’s point, don’t do it as a thought to help with marketing. Let what’s done socially be visible, and let your social efforts be done with the intent of adding substance to conversations. In a time where only great work gets shared, those kinds of contributions will market themselves without pretense.

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