We always have choices

I’ve been recording the video lessons for our new Foundations Mini-Course (for agency owners in their first 5 years of existence) and I’ve noticed that there is a recurring theme woven into a lot of what I am teaching.

Choice. And for every choice, there is a consequence.

I think we forget how fortunate we are to have as much control as we do over our own destiny.

We sometimes respond or act as though the world is whipping us around and we’re not able to get what we want. However, often our failure to achieve our desires is a result of the choices we’ve made.

We decide:

• If our agency is back at the office or still working virtually.
• Who our agency serves.
• The kind of people we hire.
• How much money we make (are you going to enforce change orders or be overstaffed?, etc.)
• If we’re closed for the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
• How robust our 401K program is.
• If we have enough prospects in the pipeline (never forget — this is a choice).
• If we as owners truly disconnect from the business while on vacation.

You get the idea. We talk about many of the above items as though they’re being done to us. I think it’s healthy to remember that we actually control how things play out in our shops. If you don’t like an outcome — odds are you need to do or decide something different.

Now, choice does not come without the little sister — consequence. Every choice we make yields a new consequence and sometimes more than one. I am not suggesting this is simple or easy. But I am reminding you (and me too!) that if there’s something we’re not happy with inside our agency, odds are we are one or two different choices away from a better/new outcome.

Don’t let COVID, the recession, the election, or anything else make you feel like you are not the master or mistress of your own destiny. It’s actually one of the biggest and most valuable perks of being an agency owner.

We get to decide.

Drew McLellan, with Agency Management Institute, produces a weekly newsletter with updates, tips, and market information of value to marketing agencies, owners, and employees. If you'd like to receive the weekly newsletter, follow this link to subscribe.