Jan 13, 2020
Summary:
Bob Hutchins, Brad Ayres, and
Ken Ott discuss the practice of setting a purpose and direction for
your agency this year. In a world where you’re always worrying
about your clients, it’s important to take the time to be
intentional about your own business.
Resources
Mentioned:
Top 3 Curtain Pulls in
this episode:
- Ken’s word for 2020: GO. Go
Public with your purpose, mission, and work. Be intentional with
your purpose and share it - boldly!
- Brad’s word for 2020: CLARITY.
Gaining clarity about the 5-year snapshot of your agency and who
you want to be is vital to long-term growth and success. In an
industry that is being disrupted every day, gaining clarity on your
services, value proposition, and mission and pivoting accordingly
is a must.
- Bob’s word(s) for 2020:
TRANSFORMATION and LEAP. In keeping with the forward-thinking
trajectory of this episode, Bob speaks on having the bravery to
transform your business and take leaps into new
territory.
About The
Guys:
Bob Hutchins: Founder of BuzzPlant, a digital agency that he
ran from from 2000 -2017. He is also the author of 3 books. More on
Bob:
Brad Ayres: Founder of Anthem Republic, an award-winning ad
agency. Brad’s knowledge has led some of the biggest brands in the
world. Originally from Detroit, Brad is an OG in the ad agency
world and has the wisdom and scars to prove it. Currently that
knowledge is being applied to his boutique agency. More on
Brad:
Ken Ott: Co-Founder and Chief Growth Rebel of
Metacake, an Ecommerce Growth Team
for some of the world’s most
influential brands with a mission to Grow Brands That Matter. Ken
is also an author, speaker, and was nominated for an Emmy for his
acting on the Metacake Youtube Channel
(not really). More on
Ken:
Show
Notes:
[0:52] What’s the 1 word that will be your focus in
2020? What word do you want to define YOU and your company this
year?
- Ken:
“For me and for Metacake, our word is GO… the reason is that for
us, we’ve been really good at creating concepts. We’re
traditionally more reserved when it comes from shouting from the
rooftops. 2019 was a big push towards syndicating our message about
our services that we provide… and now we’re boldly, publicly,
talking about that message.”
[8:00] Going Public with Metacake’s unique
purpose:
- “The
number with any business or anything you’re doing is to figure out
the why and purpose behind it… when you do have that, you have true
genuine raw human nature fire underneath what you’re doing… it
allows you to enjoy what you do and push you through the hard
times… money and success only fulfills you so much.”
[10:00] Go Public with Purpose means being intentional
about your message regardless of the
circumstances
- “We’re talking to brands and trying to help
them become healthier organizations and grow in healthy ways… Your
ability to push through roadblocks is only relative to the why and
the reason behind why you’re going public.”
- “We
have a purpose and our purpose is greater than just the services we
provide…
- “Helping those brands be just 1% better with
their message, their mission, their success in a healthy way… has
an exponential impact on the world in a positive way.”
[11:12] Metacake Store / 2020 T-Shirt
- If
you want to see our 2020 theme team shirt, you can check it out
here: store.metacake.com
[15:35] Brad’s New Years word: Clarity
- “We’re in an industry that is hyper-disrupted
at this point. Two years is a lot of time for change.”
- Brad
speaks on the value of integrating new products and services with
the next 5 years in mind, thinking about how to keep his company
valid and current along with the changing industry. Getting Clarity
on the long-term vision as the industry
shifts.
[17:44] Bob
Hutchins reflects on his past in running an agency and fighting the
same mental battles.
- “There’s a difference between goals and
priorities… We can have goals for the new year, but those only go
so far. If you don’t integrate them into your priorities for your
business or don’t have clarity about what’s really important… Those
goals just become another service that you perform. They don’t get
integrated into who you are.”
[20:00] Ken on aligning your business with a purpose
regardless of the business beginnings.
- “Some
of the struggles of being in an agency is that, without realizing
it, you didn’t necessarily start it with a purpose or out of a
need.”
- When
your USP (unique selling proposition) is based on services, the
true scope for competition is decreased. But from a business
strategy standpoint, having a mission and a vision and a purpose
and capturing that passion with the way you run a business- this is
the key to long-term, impactful success.
[22:45] Brad asks Ken what he does to measure the
effective success of a yearly mantra or vision.
- [23:50] “...it influences the actions and the
vision and priority. Maybe not of everyone in the entire company,
but certainly myself and the tip of the spear.”
- “I
have to be completely bought into the idea and have it come from a
genuine place and that influences other people, but most likely my
actions more than anything else.”
- “In
2020 with greater intention, we’re going out and booking speaking
engagements and conferences.”
[27:00] Bob speaks on how the mentality of the leader
impacts the entire team.
- “I
think what you guys are talking about- Brad with clarity- as you
push into that, you’ll see that with your team.”
[28:10] Bob references The Big Leap by Gay
Hendrixson.
- “The
upper genius- what’s that ceiling that keeps you from breaking
through? They get it, but then somehow sabotage it. He talks about
how to leap and get over these things.”
[30:17] Bob’s words for the New Year: Leap and
transformation
- How
do you stay in the transformation process continually while also
making leaps and strides forward, always?
- “Where do I need to be placing my skills and
abilities?”
[31:45] Ken asks how Bob will make this happen in
2020.
- “I
can take those lessons of human personality and business and
management and technology and… it’s a wide open universe to apply
those kinds of things and explore and be willing to explore than in
the leap when needed… not everyone has the freedom or luxury to do
it and maybe it’s not about the highest paying gig but the most
purposeful.”
[35:00] Sometimes taking a leap means a leap of faith-
having the guts to leap and trust that the net will
appear.
[36:25] On the importance of receiving advice and
feedback:
- “It’s
important to get advice and feedback from people you
trust.”
[40:00] Ken’s reflections on the true role of a
leader
- TD
Jakes quote “As a leader your job is often to be crushed while
being consistent.”
- There
is a delicate balance between the pressures of the outside world
and the inner workings of a business. The leader has to be able to
honestly portray risks when taking a Leap, but also fortify their
team with confidence that they can lead properly and with
enthusiasm about the risks and rewards of the Leap.
[45:00] Diving into transformation with confidence also
means having the right team around you.
- “Loyalty can be the best thing in an agency,
but it can also be the worst thing in an agency. You’re an entity,
and you’re only going to grow as an entity. You can grow all you
want as a leader, but if people aren’t following then there’s no
point.”
[48:09] Brad speaks on clarity
- “For
me, clarity comes with time to isolate myself, to be able to focus
and get away from the day in, day out stuff. So part of my clarity
is protecting my time so that I can get clarity, number
one.”
- Spending time alone to compare notes with
yourself, take stock of ideas, and bounce ideas off of those that
you trust means gaining clarity of your purpose, which then equips
you to better lead your team and inform them of the reality of the
work that they’re doing.