Does Size Matter When It Comes to Delivering Client Outcomes?

Too rigid.?

Need flexibility.?

I want something smaller.?

Don’t move fast enough.?

Slow.?

Could be me at the gym, but…..?

Be honest–sound familiar? I am ready to bet that we have all heard this at one time or another from a client or even a prospective client. And I am ready to bet that some of you are struggling with this issue right now.

And, I am ready to bet that some of you hear this criticism when being compared to a smaller, not nearly as well-resourced, strategic, or connected agency (in your view) that has made flexibility and speed their competitive edge.

Further, I am ready to bet that because these small competitors are not as “strategic” or “connected”, your view is that the client has gone tactical and just doesn’t appreciate the value that you bring…this, of course, launches a discussion on money and ROI and cost-per-whatever, and a scramble on your part ensues to justify yourself and the scope of your engagement.

?Frankly, I know it's true. I’ve been on all sides of this—the ultra-big, the large, the medium, and now, the small. And, over time, I’ve employed every argument to justify each category, and BTW…now that I’m small? There is always someone smaller…as there is also always someone bigger.

The key lesson? Big…small…smaller…whatever…it’s about how you approach the problem at hand and what you deliver at the end, not about David and Goliath…although, I do love the metaphor for selfish reasons.

This whole conundrum got me thinking about the world and natural predators and competitors—whether flexibility, speed, and outcome were really a function of size and scale.

When we think about slow, we often think of snails and turtles. For the most part, they are small…as they slowly and painfully navigate their environment. Steady and slow, but always with the goal in mind…whatever it may be. Not flashy perhaps, but the Hare did lose. N’est-ce pas?

Think fast and agile and the great cats come to mind; elephants can run and turn quicker than we can; some whales are true Olympians and it’s posited that some of the big dinosaurs were not as lumbering as we believed.

I will also point out that clearly many early mammals were small and fast…why they survived when the dinos hit the skids…but so did cockroaches…small and fast as well, so there ya go.

Bottom line: big can be as fast or faster than small. So where does that leave us?

Interestingly, among the true competitive advantage of many of these species seems to be their ability for coordination, synchronization, and harmonized management. In short, these exemplary members of the animal kingdom seem to have a plan.

But wait—don’t you and I have a plan for when we engage clients? A plan based on our heritage; our knowledge; our deep use of resources; best practices—you get the picture.

Ergo, if we have a plan and size has been shown not to be a natural barrier to speed nor to success, we should all be quicker to market with better ideas and programs than any mere tactical player no matter their size.

In other words, whether a herd of elephants or a den of mice, no one really has a size or speed advantage.?

What gives?

Seems to me the plan might be the problem. Listen to this:

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower

Think about this...?

We plan. And we create plans. What we create, we hold on to. And what we hold on to is hard to change.

See the point.

We take a process and make it a procedure. We take guidelines and make them immutable. We take strategy and make it the law.

How many times have I heard a client say, “I will not be hostage to your way of doing things?” Or worse, how many PowerPoints have we created with little arrows and boxes and sub-routines that we show clients and fervently describe as THE way to work when we have no clue as to their needs or issues—or worse, even after we know and still don’t listen?

In the Army, I had a commander who taught us that in battle every plan was merely a platform for change…the key differentiator between planning and a plan. In fact, I suspect that this little thought is what drives the behavior of the Lion Pride or herd of elephants. Deeply and forever embedded in their DNA is the notion that nothing is static—no two animals run the same way, no two paths are alike, and the wind and the weather are constantly changing. Imagine if they ran every play by the book….

We all have the advantage to be the fastest; most flexible; most agile player in the market because we have the ability to plan and to change and to plan and to change and to plan again…plan as a platform for change…not a monolith for engagement.?

Planning is about figuring out how to get from A to Z, and knowing that the answer has infinite possibilities. Each possibility will have a different trajectory, and each trajectory has multiple pathways…you get the picture.?

And, again, we need to know that plans themselves are only of the moment at best…

Be a planner—think; be open; use the tools and resources at your command. But don’t get locked into a plan. Ever see how quickly an elephant turns…?

Now that I’m “small” again…just me, two partners, and amazing people and resources we bring to the table as the solution warrants, here are some lessons from the front:

• Your cleverly named process for delivering strategy or creative or whatever is really no different than anyone else’s. It’s not the name…it's how and what you deliver.?
• The length of the presentation and the number of pages of charts about your unique process add zero value to the outcome.
• How collaborative were you in development? How sensitive to the changing “wind” and “terrain”?
• What’s really worth falling on your sword for? If anything…

And finally, how open and flexible is your solution…is it a platform for change or a launching pad for your own idea?

I’ll never be the gym rat (hard when your daughter is a rockstar trainer), but I did learn that flexibility and changing it up is the key to workout success. Never get locked in…

Clients…never get locked in…Whale…elephant …mouse or snail…all can be useful, helpful, and add to your success…just don’t get locked into anyone else’s plan…you are accountable for the planning!!!

Your thoughts?