Seeing in the dark

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Seeing in the dark

What is your view of the future like? How could you establish a regular practice of researching ahead and developing insights into your perspective on what's coming?

The true hope of optimistic pessimism

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The true hope of optimistic pessimism

I wanted to write about the weird optimism I feel, behind the pessimism about the global outlook.

The fast lane

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The fast lane

Part of attracting people to join is showing the benefits to their whole career of spending part of the prime of their working life in an agency.

High-altitude thinking

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High-altitude thinking

The agencies that get ahead are the ones who can see ahead.

From the heart, from the hip

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From the heart, from the hip

Coach yourself to take a few more steps out of crisis mode to be a more mindful, wise leader of a healthy agency.

Shock absorber

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Shock absorber

Agencies who have matured as they grow take a different approach. Their leaders mindfully design the agency to ensure continuous evolution is baked in.

On-ramps and off-ramps

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On-ramps and off-ramps

If you think of your agency as a smooth-running motorway, then there are on-ramps to bring talent into your agency, and off-ramps that talent takes to leave.

Ping

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Ping

It's too easy to get hooked on the dopamine hits from the 'pings' of new messages or people stopping by our desks, seeming to need our input urgently.

Look for the helpers

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Look for the helpers

There's a timely reminder in Mr Rogers' wisdom for us as agency leaders.

Punching yourself in the face

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Punching yourself in the face

What things in your agency are causing you pain? If you stop and think about them a moment, are any of them down to you doing or not doing something?

A learning machine

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A learning machine

The best agencies become learning machines. They consciously embed this constant learning into the way the business works.

You're the centre of a circle, not the top of a triangle

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You're the centre of a circle, not the top of a triangle

In a knowledge-based people-powered business like an agency, command-and-control type structures soon grind to a halt as the agency grows, or encounters volatility.

Your agency's own strategy

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Your agency's own strategy

Many agency owners are starting 2022 with a resolution to be more proactive and strategic and wanting to make big plans.

Taming your animal brain

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Taming your animal brain

After two years of crisis make this the time to mindfully navigate a route back into more normal, healthier ways of leading and running your agency.

Rest, reflect and re-energise

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Rest, reflect and re-energise

2021 has probably been the most intense year we've all experienced. That makes it even more important to rest over this holiday period. Hopefully you can also take some time to reflect and re-energise.

Because you're worth it

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Because you're worth it

Your board should be spotting issues like low prices and margin squeeze and challenging them.

The owner with two brains

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The owner with two brains

With risks of a new wave of the pandemic in the news, it's worth a reminder that entrepreneurial leaders — such as agency owners — need to master the art of having two brains running in parallel.

The million pound challenge

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The million pound challenge

Agencies have key points of transformation in their lifecycle. When they reach these points they have to make big changes or they'll hit problems and fall back.