X&O

Change is here. If you see us at a smashburger, well, you most certainly did. ?? Special thanks, Smashburger The Bait Shoppe for making change happen. #activation #marketing #advertising #changeyourburger More at: https://lnkd.in/dNGUH7Zb

We get this question all the time from new folks in our network: "Will there be weekend work?" To which we always reply the exact same thing. Hell no. Why would we ruin a perfectly good weekend with work we could have - SHOULD have - done during the week? And more importantly, why are we so used to working weekends in this business? Why have we come to expect it? The reasons we work weekends are simple: - Inefficient process that drags everything out - Too many cooks spoiling the broth (and extending timelines) - Poor resource planning - Fear of saying no to clients - And my personal favorite: "That's just how it's always been done" Here's the reality: Weekend work isn't a badge of honor. It's a sign of a broken system. When you have the right experts focused 100% on the problem, when you remove the endless meetings and rounds of feedback, when you trust your senior folks to make decisions - guess what happens? The work gets done. Monday to Friday. And here's the kicker - it's actually better work. Because fresh brains beat burnt-out ones every time. So next time someone tells you weekend work is just part of the job, tell them they're part of the problem. Your talent deserves their time off. Your clients deserve your best thinking. Neither of those happen when you're sending decks at midnight on a Sunday. X&O ?? #agencylife #advertising #weekendvibes #worksmarternotharder

Good things come in threes. #marketing #advertising #businesslovetriangle

When time equals money, every moment counts. That's why we operate in days & weeks not months & years. #marketing #advertising #byebyeAOR

Our very own Brett Banker on turning Ideas into income and passion into profits, never for free of course ?? #advertising #marketing

How X&O came to be. An origin story from Eric Segal...

Anomaly eliminated the position of NY CCO (aka me) 2 weeks before the pandemic hit. I was reeling but saw the wide-open road in front of me. I had creative itches to scratch. Visions of traveling the world. Then I was told I couldn’t leave my house. After 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6) months of making heads or tails of life, I started thinking about my next career move. The agency world booted back up. I was offered a handful of CCO positions. Partner opportunities. But I couldn't go back. (Who knew I’d like owning my time and spending more of it with my wife and kids?) I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Only what I didn’t. I had lots of conversations ending in “no thank you.” “Are you sure?” they’d say. “I am.” I was. Then one asked, “Could you help us temporarily, maybe it turns into a permanent thing?” That question changed everything. Because my answer was clarifying. A foreshadow of the next few years and the foundation of X&O. “I’d love to help. I know I could. But the chance of it becoming permanent is zero.” “I appreciate the honesty,” they said. “We need someone permanent.” We hung up. They called back 2 weeks later. Things were different now. I stepped in as interim CCO, shored up rocky business, sold some great work, reshaped a department. Then I said, “I think I can do this 2-3 days a week.” “But it's a full-time job,” they said. “Then it's for someone else,” I kindly replied. We moved to 3 days a week. Things were different now. I did the same for another shop - Fractional Interim CCO. Shored up business, won business, sold work, shaped a department. Then - and here's where it got really interesting - I lead a big global pitch for a global agency. As a consultant. I was presented as ‘a friend of the family.’ An outside brain to help crack it. In the old days, it would’ve never happened. I’d have been asked to lie, say we’re 'still negotiating.' Things were different now. They needed big ideas, fast. And they didn’t care where they came from. I took a good look around. I saw the traditional agency model crumbling. I saw clients who couldn’t care less about employment status—only results. I saw CMOs seeking thought leadership more than ever. I saw a pool of exceptional freelance talent expanding by the minute. So I called up my pal Brett Banker. I said things are different now. We codified these observations and market shifts into a new model. A network of brilliant creatives, savant strategists, & visionary marketers—experts who’ve chosen freedom over the confines of the old world. We called it X&O, short for Experts and Officers and the X’s & O’s in sports—the game plan to win and put points on the board. A CMO secret weapon to tackle sticky problems and chase blue-sky opportunities, without the bloat of traditional agencies. Two years later, so far, so good. Moral of the story? Know what you want. Know what you don’t. Know what you’re good at. Know what you’re not. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.

When I was a CCO, there was a freelance Creative Director and writer I’d offered a job to 27 times. They said no 27 times. I didn't get it.. They freelanced for us frequently. Loved the team they often worked with. Dug the briefs they’d get. Tolerated me just fine. ?“You’re here all the time anyway,” I said. “You know I give you choice assignments. We pay well. What’s the problem?” After the whole non-committal thing and the whole flexible time thing, we finally got to the bottom of it. “I don't want to deal with clients anymore,” they said. Understandable. “And I don’t want to run a piece of business.” Ooook. “And I don’t want to manage anyone.” Hmm. “What if I could make that happen?” I asked. (I really wanted this person.) “That’s not possible,” they said. “Why not?” I asked them (and also myself.) What they thought was pretty much how it went in an agency. Once you become a CD and you get paid CD money, you have to do CD things. You have to be attached to a business, maintain client relationships, juggle 10 briefs, attend presentations, travel, manage a team of juniors and mids, et cetera. Yet as a super senior freelance Creative Director you can make that same money, come in to work simply to work, and attack briefs with full creative focus. “So that’s that then?” they asked. Frankly I could have left it there. It worked fine to have this brain come in on occasion for tough briefs and big assignments. But I wanted to pick that brain more often. “F*ck it” I said, “No clients. No management. You in?” And I cut my hand to shake in blood. “I want it in writing,” they said. Smart. So we wrote the very first employment contract of its kind for the agency. Did it work? I left years later. They’re still there. Why wouldn’t they be? It's a great job for them. It's the job they’re made for, like so many other great creative brains I know. And yet, we force those many other great creative brains to go a different route. To climb the ladder.? To become a manager. Become a diplomat. Become a leader. My advice to those looking for promotions, and to those doing the promoting, ask yourselves, what do I really want? Out of this job? Out of this person? Can we find excellence and growth (personally, professionally, financially) without following the typical path? Can we structure our teams differently to reward the strengths and talents (and desires) of those very different brains? It may take a little extra effort, some department restructuring, and begging HR to write new contracts, but the potential impact on the growth, retention, and the work is massive.

CPGet Real: You need nimble curated teams that make magic, not mediocrity. #marketing #advertising

It's high time we smelt that Iron Triangle.