Vital playbooks for agency CEOs, at every stage of your agency's life.

From the hands-on work during your start-up phase, through to leading a team and stepping back from being a practitioner, there's playbooks here for all you need to know to cut a dash in the CEO hat, and lead your business iwth confidence.

Agency Playbook

Measuring staff engagement

Gain a more objective view on the business that can help to see the trends over time.

Agency Playbook

Agency Owners Retreat

Once a year the agency owners should meet up for a day to think and talk about the business.

Agency Playbook

Agency Owners Mandate

Once a year the owners agree a set of guidelines to provide to the CEO about their expectations and wishes for the business.

Agency Playbook

Problem scouting

In the earlier stages of the agency lifecycle you pretty much have to deal with problems as they come up, but from the Smarten-up phase onwards you have to get ahead of things more.

Agency Playbook

The Pyramid of Purpose

The most important thing an agency leader can do, especially as the agency grows, is to clearly communicate the culture, strategy and purpose of the agency.

Agency Playbook

Agency Evolution — Introduction

A healthy agency needs a process to enable it to evolve and adapt.

Agency Playbook

One-to-Ones: supporting your team

The most important part of your work as a leader is to support your team in their work and in their professional life as a whole.

Agency Playbook

Notes: Giving and receiving feedback

Giving feedback well is a vital part of any leadership role. But it's also really important that you're able to share your plans and ideas and consult on them — soliciting feedback from key people or the entire organisation.

Agency Playbook

Employing people across borders

As agencies grow, or simply try to find specialist talent, there is often a wish to hire somebody who happens to be based in another country.

Agency Playbook

Covid-safe Workplaces

What is needed so you can return to office work as a team safely and effectively?

Agency Playbook

Step-up stage: case study

Paul Bellows, CEO of Yellow Pencil a digital agency in Canada, sums up the Step-up stage brilliantly.

Agency Playbook

CEO role: Step-up stage

At the Step-up level, it's the CEO role that most needs to evolve.

Agency Playbook

The Step-up stage: overview

In this stage the agency is taking the first steps to grow up. But this needs a change in leadership approach, and a bit more structure.

Agency Playbook

The Screw-up stage: overview

Most agencies have some period of crisis in their history. Don't panic, just work through it step by step.

Agency Playbook

The Start-up stage: overview

At this stage of the business, it's mainly about just cracking on with sales and project delivery. But it is important to ensure you are working towards a clear direction and making progress towards that.

Agency Playbook

Dilemmas: Should I really hire this person?

If you're asking this question, even just quietly in the back of your mind, there's probably a good underlying cause that needs to be examined.

Agency Playbook

Healthy Recruitment process

A guide to the healthy recruitment workflow, with links to the details for the key steps in the process.

Agency Playbook

Background screening

It's wise to conduct background screening of new recruits.

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Agency CEO

Measuring staff engagement

Agency Owners Retreat

Agency Owners Mandate

Problem scouting

The Pyramid of Purpose

Agency Evolution — Introduction

One-to-Ones: supporting your team

Notes: Giving and receiving feedback

Employing people across borders

Covid-safe Workplaces

Step-up stage: case study

CEO role: Step-up stage

The Step-up stage: overview

The Screw-up stage: overview

The Start-up stage: overview

Dilemmas: Should I really hire this person?

Healthy Recruitment process

Background screening

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