In my opinion, the single most important factor for success in the small- to mid-sized advertising agency business is maintaining a high energy level. High energy transcends almost everything… skill, knowledge and creativity. There are any number of stories telling how a young, energetic group of dedicated, inspired agency people beat the pants off an established, more complacent agency.
Energy is also a scientific term. In physics, it is the capacity for doing work; the more energy you generate, the greater the work potential. The other fact I’d like to express is that over years, everything has accelerated… the speed of business, technology, changes to operational needs, employee turnover, client turnover are all rushing along at ever-increasing speed. You have to speed up to keep up, and really get the afterburners firing to get ahead. I offer a metaphor based on a Newtonian equation where, to double your speed, you need to invest four times the energy.
All in all, with the increase in work’s cadence on the one hand, and the limited energy-capacity of most people, you need to keep an eye on your agency’s energy “grid” to avoid big problems down the road.
As an agency principal, you are in charge of your agency’s “energy management.” Energy management comes in two flavors: energy generation and energy conservation.
Let’s look at how you might accomplish both in your agency. Think about the following energy generation (building) techniques.
- Set work goals for your staff that make them stretch, but make sense.
- Try to make an environment where the job itself becomes a turn-on.
- Cultivate a less-political environment.
- Keep your staff informed of what’s happening in the agency.
- Solicit accounts that are not "crazies."
- Encourage exercise programs.
- Encourage good eating habits.
- Pay for some of these things, if necessary.
- Encourage outside interests, expanded education, travel, etc.
All these things lead to more energetic agency employees. But, in order to keep all that energy centered (and not flying off into outer space), try the following energy conservation (efficiency) techniques.
- Build daily operating systems that really are reengineered.
- Computerize, computerize, computerize.
- Get rid of negative people in your agency immediately.
- Teach your people not to resist change as a bad thing, but rather to embrace it as a virtue and an opportunity.
I do believe that energy is the most potent force in the universe. If you manage the energy process in your agency—in other words, channel it properly—I believe you will do better in the future, and these demanding times will begin to make more sense to you.
