Having agency

When I started my first agency, one friend said I was crazy to leave my 'safe' job at the BBC.

Since then, he's been made redundant twice, and is wary that a third time might be on the horizon. In between, he's had bad bosses and crazy corporate decisions.

So, in reality, we both faced risk in our professional lives — but in a job you have very little control over how to prepare and respond, while as an entrepreneurial business owner you do.

In other words, by running our own agencies, we have agency.

In social science, agency is defined as "the capacity of individuals to have the power and resources to fulfil their potential."

So think of your agency as not just a creative services business for your clients, but as something that provides you with the power and resources to fulfil your potential.

It's particularly important to remember this at a time of heightened complexity and risk, that requires us to make many big decisions.

Own your agency and have agency.