Why you need to know Jonathan Ogle and Flip Croft-Caderao.
Because you will. Eventually. Whether it’s for creating the fastest-growing ad agency in Dallas, incubating the most culture-driven environment to...
Read More »I played Division 1 soccer in college. In pre-season, at its most miserable, my team had practice three times a day: at 5:30am, 11:30am and 5:30pm, along with a 2pm weight lifting session. Practices were held rain or shine, whether you felt a cold coming on, and long after you threw up from all the sprints.
For that, the expression “teamwork” is not lost on me, specifically because of what I experienced in that time.
As “punishment” for any of these offenses, you were benched while your teammates ran sprint drills for 45 minutes. 45 minutes. In those 45 minutes, while you sat on the bench and watched your teammates serve your punishment, you truly felt the weight of your decisions on other people. And had you – for a second – considered that your actions affected others – you could have made a better decision for the team. Your team.
I think sometimes here, we unknowingly commit similar offenses that others have to pay for:
In his book The Art of Client Service, Rob Solomon has a chapter titled “We are smarter together than we are alone”. He says, “the creation of advertising and everything that surrounds it – the plans, presentations, budgets, and schedules – is a collaborative process.
Effective collaboration is key to making great advertising. So why are so many agencies siloed? Why do departments within agencies – account management, creative, media – often act more like competitors than colleagues? Why is it that many agencies are characterized by turf battles, warring egos and petty politics?”
I think it’s because we forget that we are on the same side. We forget that our mistakes, dropped balls or lack of attention to detail cause a ripple effect that “punishes” someone else. We forget to work as one team.
I would hope that you are not willing to sit on the bench and watch your teammates serve your punishment with sprint drills.
I encourage you to just be better. How?