It’s the start of February, but still not too late to share with you the things that I hope for this year as it relates to our agency and the industry.  And applying the best practices of presentation and short attention spans, I’ll be brief.

To quote Stephen Covey’s, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this is the year of “Sharpening the Saw.”  Taking what we know works and making it even more effective in serving our clients, building their brands, and delivering results.

Here are the four things that I look forward to and am hopeful for as the year progresses:

1. Agility
   It’s one of the personality pillars of our agency, but more and more, we are operating in a world that requires quick response and real-time finesse.  In a highly competitive industry, we find that our ability to turnaround or launch quickly is a quality that distinguishes us with clients.  And it allows our clients to rest easy in knowing they are in good hands.
2. Urgency
   Yes, urgency is tied directly with agility, but the real application for us is in eliminating complacency.  Doing all things thoroughly and with a driven sense of purpose and passion in a timely manner.  We won’t wait to react.  We will challenge ourselves each and every time, being proactive in keeping ahead, taking the lead, and maintaining momentum.
3. Empathy
   No “Ready, Shoot, Aim”.  No assumptions.  No running down rabbit holes. We will continue to take the time to best understand our clients’ business and goals and relate it back to the insights and strategy that drive our solutions.  We will take the time to pause and ponder; looking through the filters of ‘why’ vs. ‘what.’
4. Consistency
   We are committed to continuing to grow our agency talent, expand our offerings and provide effective creative solutions, but not at the expense of professionalism or quality.  We seek to deliver quality output through our products and services which means ensuring that our agency values and standards align with our clients and are consistent in every aspect of operations, creative, and service.

So, like I always tell everyone at our first agency group meeting each year, “Six months from now you won’t recognize this agency.  Change is inevitable.”  This year, I look forward to those practices and the mindset that manifests into continued positive change and growth for our agency and clients.