The Agency Advisory

I’m continuing the theme this week of exploring culture – specifically around meetings and the systemic problem of the “distracted mind”. It’s a concept that I’m sure will resonate, as will the important topics of leadership, business strategy, client services, content, the use of AI and what the heck does ‘brat’ mean. Wrap this up with a look at radical candour, and we have quite the variety in this week’s newsletter.

?Thank you as always to the creators who have taken the time to share their wisdom, ideas, thoughts and opinions.

Have You Got a Meeting Charter

I’m sure Advita Patel ’s post on “Distracted Minds” will strike a chord with most. She cites research that suggests a lack of focus in meetings costs the UK economy ￡19.9bn a year and provides a short case study of work she’s undertaken to help a client on a transformation programme. In short, her observations on the number of meetings, the lack of focus in meetings by participants multi-tasking and the impact this has on leadership are similar to what I am sure takes place in agencies everywhere. That’s why I highlight her simple meeting charter as a means to effect change in the meeting culture we all seem to suffer from.

Do you have "distracted minds' syndrome in your business?

?What Clients Really Think - The Report

Thank you to Jo Rogers for sharing some of the key highlights from what sounds like a great podcast hosted by Agency Hackers with Jonathan Kirk from Up to the Light talking about the latest report on ‘What Clients Think’. Jo’s summary of the danger signals agencies should watch out for provides a valuable checklist for any agency that is enjoying growth. The takeaway from all of this is to ensure your existing clients still feel loved and valued – as much as they did when the relationship kicked off. I’ve seen too many agencies pursue growth of new clients at the expense of great client service and retention.

?Are you keeping your existing clients happy?

The Theory of Radical Candour

While at Hotwire working under the leadership of Barbara Bates , we followed a system of radical candour. This gave permission for anyone at any level to provide direct feedback on an issue that affected them. As Alex Brogan captures in this carousel, the concept of radical candour is not brutal honesty but a thoughtful and helpful way to show you personally care by giving feedback to a co-worker. Alex steps through the approach to be taken with sage advice on how to use it, both professionally and personally. If you’ve not come across radical candour before, I strongly recommend it. As concludes: “It’s the practice of being transparent, but human.

?What do you think? Go on - show radical candour

Where Does AI Fit into Your Content Strategy

?The question of finding time to post and getting inspiration for content is an issue for us all. I’ve shared thoughts on this previously and so was interested to read Richard van der Blom ’s ‘confession’ that he uses ChatGPT as a support aid to his content production. He has shared a useful checklist (source: Pete Huang ) explaining where he uses it as his secret assistant. His post also includes a useful ChatGPT cheat sheet which is worth a look. ?

?Where could you use ChatGPT to turbocharge your content?

Why Re-posting Your Content is a Smart Move

This is something I’ve noticed from a lot of top content creators – the tendency for re-posting content in cycles. It’s something I’ve considered given the nature of the LinkedIn algorithm and it seems it’s an accepted way of working. Hence Katie Street ’s post was of interest. In it she provides good advice around creators being smart about re-using content for the simple reason that sometimes your post doesn’t get the traction it deserves. And that’s not because it “was a pile of poo ??”. ?Katie quotes the marketing rule of seven which is a great takeaway and reason why we all should not be afraid of re-using our hard worked content.

Take a peek at Katie’s advice here:

?What Does ‘Brat’ Mean to You?

?If you, like me, are many generations removed from Gen Z (ie. old!), then you might be in the dark about the significance of Kamala Harris' rebrand using the 'brat' banner. Indeed, I'd never heard of the phrase nor Charlie XCX! ?? ?All is explained in this great blog post from Purpose Union's Kenza Essalama, who goes on to highlight the influence of Gen Z on the US election and explains this generation's relationship to social purpose.

?(Disclosure: Purpose Union is an ongoing client of Westofcenter)

?Learn about ‘Brat’, Charli XCX and Purpose here

The Path to Success is Never a Straight Line

?So says Spencer Gallagher in his post describing how a good few agencies have performed well over the past two years despite the tough trading conditions. In it, he shares the secret of agencies that are in the high-performance bracket – citing specialism, sector immunity and geographic spread as factors that explain their success. He acknowledges luck has a part to play (doesn’t it always?) but leaves us with sage advice to play the long game and to constantly innovate. It’s wisdom based on real life experience so worth a read.

?Read Spencer’s post here

Shorts

What Makes a Great Leader

?Super short post from Sarah Brougham with 13 leadership tips that might just help you or a member of your team become better leaders. I particularly like tips 4 and 6 – check them out to see if you agree.

Read the 13 tips here:

?The Strategy Pyramid

This is one of those educational posts that I love to read. Igor Buinevici introduces the concept of the strategy pyramid first shared by Wendy McGuiness. It’s the foundation for leaders to articulate the purpose of the organisation, develop a strategy to achieve its goals, and to execute effectively.

?Take look here:

Meeting Madness

I posted about meetings last week and here we are - Justin Mecham provides us with more great advice on how to end the meeting madness. He cites tips from the world’s best business minds. It’s got to be worth looking at what they have to say.

Make your meetings count – check it out here:

When Selling, Do You Make it About Them?

?Such a useful reminder from biz dev leader Florian M. Heinrichs for agency salespeople to drop the “me-me-me messaging”. I’ve seen this so often. Florian’s straightforward advice is “make it about them”. So true. Try it. I promise you, your bottom line will thank you for it.

?Take Florian’s Advice Here

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