Notes
This is a place for thinking out loud, reflecting, and sharing ideas. Notes are a window into my process, thoughts, inspiration, and experiments. Explore visual gallery.
This is a place for thinking out loud, reflecting, and sharing ideas. Notes are a window into my process, thoughts, inspiration, and experiments. Explore visual gallery.
An exciting update we're in the process of rolling out across new retainer contracts (and eventually, existing ones) is giving them an end date. Yes, it's a small change, but we're optimistic about the impact it will have.
Over the years, we've managed retainers in various ways — cadence, pricing, etc. A shared challenge has been finding consistent opportunities to revisit the terms and make any needed adjustments. We've tried various tactics to prompt the conversation, but nothing sticks. Instead, simply adding a contract end date forces us to check in and say, "Hey Client, let's align on how to continue forward." One might say that we designed a system that was working against us.
Now, you might be thinking a never-ending contract is a good problem to have. In theory, a contract for X dollars per month that goes on forever sounds like a dream. Maybe for Planet Fitness gym memberships, but not in the agency business. Nothing is forever.
Another challenge with never-ending contracts is that we cast them as monthly recurring revenue (MRR) into the future with no set period. If anything changes (attrition, change in hours, etc.), our projections immediately look different - sometimes, this significantly impacts our outlook for better or worse.
A few months ago, we discovered that one of our clients was on a contract signed three years prior. Unfortunately, we learned that the number of hours they were paying for was... anecdotal. Not only were we under-invoicing, but we were also consistently over-budget. (Talk about an uncomfortable client conversation). A contract end date wouldn't have solved all of these issues, but at the least, we would have checked in to make sure we had alignment on terms!
Of course, much of this is a hypothesis. We won't know until we try, but I'm excited to try. So far, our approach is to start most retainers with a three month period with the option to renew for another three months or until EOY.
At the end of the three months, some other advantages we see are to:
In hindsight, I think we were partially afraid to prompt these conversations, thinking that staying quiet would keep contracts going. For one, that just didn't happen. Second, if a client is going to reduce budget (or hours), a conversation can only help bring it to our attention sooner. It will show we are proactive and want the client to get the most value from our collaboration.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 091 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
A little over a year ago, we created a new discipline at Barrel called Client Services, comprised of account managers and account directors. They would be responsible for managing and growing our client accounts while also overseeing the design process. The existing Production team (responsible for managing all aspects of a project at the time) became Project Management and focused on owning the development aspect of our projects.
We initially made the change to allow both teams to go deeper in their respective areas, envisioning better project delivery, profitability, and client growth and retention. While we saw momentum with Client Services managing client priorities and finding opportunities to increase our value-add, our process became disjointed and siloed. It felt a bit like single project teams were operating as two teams:
Despite our efforts to bring these teams together through joint check-ins and shared milestones, it was clear that our plan wasn't working out as intended. We observed it in projects, and then the team started providing the same feedback.
In late February, we were in an unfortunate position financially and faced layoffs for the first time in Barrel history. In conjunction with the changes to the team, we decided to consolidate Project Management into Client Services. We thought that by bringing these functions under one roof, we'd be able to re-unite aspects of our process while improving in the areas we initially identified: better project delivery, profitability, and client growth and retention.
Since then, I've been working with our Director of Client Services, Kate, to re-envision Client Services with Project Management as a function. I've enjoyed exploring this future vision through various workshops to one-on-ones with employees and industry colleagues.
Last Monday, we completed an important milestone. Kate and I shared the outcome of our roles and responsibilities workshops with the team: a diagram outlining the role of Account Management and Project Management within Client Services.
Here's a high-level look:
Account Management is the "Client Rep" who owns the client relationship. Their key responsibility is:
Project Management is the "Team Captain" who owns internal team collaboration. Their key responsibility is:
These concepts will act as a foundation for the structure of Client Services roles and account teams. As a next step, we will be writing job descriptions for the current Client Services roles. In the meantime, we hope that these concepts can help each team member understand where they fit and navigate any ambiguous situations. Over the next several months, our aim is that every role on Client Services is just as clear to the team as a designer or developer.
When we set out on this journey in March, it was important for Kate and I that the Client Services team felt involved in the future we were creating. Last Monday, it felt great to hear multiple team members share this sentiment, remarking on how these concepts feel like a surprise but an accurate synthesis of past conversations.
Between the changes on Client Services, improvements to how we work, and new systems for managing accounts, I'm eager to see where we are later this year.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 090 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
This week, we're putting the final touches on a proposal for an exciting website redesign opportunity. When I joined a call with the team the other day to review progress, I heard them talking about our chances of winning, knowing we are up against a handful of other agencies.
Winning new deals is top of mind for everyone for a few reasons:
For more context on #3, one of the prospective clients chose an agency they've worked with before; the other went with a smaller studio that they felt fit better with their small team. And yet, both clients told us they were happy with our proposals, pricing, timeline, etc. Although we were unhappy to lose out on these projects, I don't think there was much more we could do to improve our chances.
The reality is that we can't control the outcome of a proposal. The choice is not up to us! While we want to win, fixating on it won't get us anywhere. Instead, there's a question I like to ask: Are we putting our best foot forward?
As much as we'd like to treat going after new business like a game, it's not. We all have strategies, but there are no rules. There are wins and losses, but the opponents rarely know each other is in the game. So, for me, worrying about winning isn't worth the energy.
The question, "Are we putting our best foot forward?" prompts us to look inward and focus on what we can control. It asks us to think more deeply about our approach vs. getting distracted debating what we think might lead to a win.
To put our best foot forward, we must uncover:
With this information on hand, putting our best foot forward means that we've decided we can deliver on the client's outcome within their budget and timeline while maintaining our target margin. If we don't know the budget and the timeline is loose, we must be confident that our approach will deliver value.
From here, the process ahead can be full of bumps and turns, emails and calls, but ultimately, ends with a proposal. Throughout it all, there are some guiding questions to ensure we're putting our best foot forward.
If we can answer "yes" to each question, we can go to sleep knowing we did everything we could with the information available to us. Whether we win or lose, we can take the feedback (aka new information) and decide how we might consider it in future proposals.
Although I've written this through the lens of new client proposals, most of it applies to growing relationships with existing clients through new projects. I shared some thoughts in last week's newsletter about better aligning our Business Development and Client Services teams.
Before I close out, I'd like to share a post I wrote back in March 2021 called "Always Perform Like You're In An Arena." It centers around advice my Dad used to give me when I performed. It talks about the many aspects of performance in our lives and the importance of harnessing our inner drive:
"It didn't matter if there were two or 2,000 people in the audience; what mattered was that I gave it my all."
I can't help but see the parallels to "performing" for our clients, putting our best foot forward, taking the feedback, and getting better along the way.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 089 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
I'm excited to get our Director of Client Services, Kate, more involved in new business over the next few months. This initiative has been on my mind for a while but was not a priority. I have a feeling that as this collaboration grows, we'll look back and wonder how we ever operated before.
In an agency (and probably many other businesses), I often see tension between the Sales and Delivery teams. If Sales is doing their job, they're listening to the customer, providing solutions that will help them progress on their goals, and in the end, scoring new business. The tension is not with any of this; it is when those deals land on the delivery team's desks and the questions pour in (sometimes, only in our minds).
Why did Sales commit to this approach? We haven't done this before.
Why did we commit to this timeline? We have no time.
How is this going to help the client's business?
While the Sales team attempts to innovate and better serve customers might be working, the Delivery team feels stuck figuring out how to deliver on those outcomes. Here lies the gap.
Over the years, we've come at this in many different ways, from improving project onboarding to inviting the team into scoping projects to folks like myself working with the team to evolve our process. Some of these efforts have been more successful than others, but I'd argue that few have gotten to the source of the tension.
At Barrel, our Business Development (aka Sales) team's responsibility is to connect with prospective clients, learn about their business, and sign work with them. The purpose of our Client Services team is to provide top-notch service to current clients, understand their business, and increase our value-add through new work.
When you look at it this way, Business Development and Client Services serve a similar purpose and should operate in harmony.
Given Client Service's experience in seeing through the deals that the Business Development team lands, there's a huge opportunity to connect the dots, bringing lessons learned to new projects that will create smoother engagements for our clients and team. Beyond that, getting Client Services involved earlier will continue to streamline the transition for new clients as they get acquainted with our ways of working.
As enthusiastic as I am about Kate's involvement, I'm reluctant to prescribe how to get involved. Kate, Dan (Director of Business Development), and I agreed that having her shadow the process, for now, is a good starting point. I look forward to seeing where we go from here.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 088 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
Last week, I began new programming to continue preparing for my first Strongman competition in July. The first workout on Tuesday was tough enough that I went to bed asking myself why my legs were so tired.
I thought back to the workout just a few hours before and started doing the math. Of the workout's four parts, the first was deadlifts for five rounds, six reps each. My fatigue started to make more sense when I added it up - that's 30 reps at 275 lbs (for context, just shy of 2x my bodyweight).
I laid in bed, wondering how I would have perceived the workout if I went into it anchored on completing 30 reps instead of pushing through five sets of six. It wouldn't have been any tougher, but there's no doubt that my mind would have made it out to be that much more ambitious.
Tuesday's workout reminded me not to get intimidated by the big picture, and instead, focus on the progress I can make by anchoring myself on the small steps. Whether I'm working on an ambitious project at Barrel or have a lot to get done at home, I'll always gain more by asking myself where to start rather than looking at everything, fearing that I won't make it to the end.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 088 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
Progress on agency process enhancements can feel like an uphill battle when it seems like every moment of the day is consumed by client work and meetings.
We say, "if only there were more hours in the day." We work late. We try to shift the team's schedule to make time. It's taxing on ourselves and the team, but we keep trying anyway.
After going down a similar route one too many times, I've learned that having this kind of time is a luxury, and the chances are that if the core team has that much of it, the agency is likely on the wrong path.
So, what do we do? Never evolve our process?
There's a lot to gain through controlled experiments rather than trying to create time for the team to go into a corner and design the "perfect" process.
During my time leading the Design team, I used this approach to change our process several times. I'd take the time to get feedback from team members to identify the most critical opportunity for change. I'd point the team toward the vision and work with them on the next client project to give it a try. We'd take any learnings to our next client project and so on.
Sometimes, it only took us weeks to have a new, tested process that most folks understood and could now get documented for the rest of the team. Contrast that with months of trying to find time to "work on our process," only to come out on the other side with something that no one has experienced yet and may not deliver any value.
We're currently in the midst of many changes to how we work. I've been keeping this approach top of mind, taking our time to think through solutions but being bold about testing in the real world.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 087 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
These days, I'm more involved in new business conversations with clients than I have been for a while. It's been fun to get back in action and work closely with Dan, our Director of Business Development.
After a call last week, I had a few observations to share with Dan that I thought might be helpful for him on future calls. While Dan and I have been through a lot together, I wasn't sure how to share this feedback without coming off the wrong way — despite them being short, specific points.
Upon further thought, I realized that Dan probably had observations that would be helpful for me. I've gotten feedback in the past, but it was often shared with his manager, our CEO Peter, and then shared with me. Sometimes, Dan and I would talk it through, but not always.
It was late Friday, so I decided to send Dan an email (and let him know ahead of time on Slack) with the notes. Here is an excerpt from my email:
It turns out that Dan did not only agree with my comments, but he had notes for me. He shared that he'd wanted to share them in the past but wasn't sure how to present them. All of Dan's notes were helpful for me to keep in mind for the future. After all, the best way to get feedback is from those who observe us. We can't always see what others can.
I'm excited to continue this practice with Dan and grateful for the feedback so far. I only wish I'd made this move sooner!
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 087 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
In late February, we were in a difficult position and had to downsize the team to move the business forward. (Read Edition No. 077: Facing Tough Decisions) Over the last couple of months, we've received feedback about the team's perception of the layoffs, mostly in one-on-ones and through our Team Leads.
While we thought concerns were addressed in one-on-one conversations, the Team Leads recently shared that they felt there were still gaps worth addressing team-wide. A common theme was that the layoffs seemed sudden. There are aspects to these situations that will always come as a surprise to the team; however, the Partners and I were curious about what opportunities there might be to educate the team.
After chatting through the Team Lead's concerns, we agreed that outlining what led to the layoffs from a business perspective would be helpful. While we're transparent with the team about the agency's finances through quarterly updates, we hadn't explicitly connected the dots between the layoffs and our financial performance.
In our April Monthly Team Meeting on Thursday, we used a portion of our time to dig into what led to the layoffs through the numbers, showing how delayed projects, over-serviced accounts, and rising freelance costs are a recipe for disaster. It's always hard to tell how folks receive these conversations, but a few people shared appreciation as we closed out the meeting. I also sent out a feedback form today for any additional thoughts or questions.
Helping the team understand how our business operates continues to be important as we grow and evolve as an agency. Some folks may write off business concepts as unnecessary for those steeped in the day-to-day work; however, we believe it is valuable for everyone from the CEO to interns. Down the line, we hope that these efforts will help our team see how daily decisions can impact the agency's trajectory and growth.
We can't expect a single presentation to close the gaps, but it's a step in the right direction. I am eager to create more opportunities to discuss similar topics as a team down the line.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 086 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
If I ever catch myself daydreaming about a world where all clients are happy and all projects are frictionless, I remind myself of the valuable lessons I've learned from client feedback and project setbacks. Call me crazy, but I'd rather grow through tough moments than become weak over time without any friction.
All that said, I'm happy to report that last week ended strong with a win on a project marked by a series of ups and downs. Without getting lost in the details, this project is a website for a new brand. Throughout the process, it has been easy to point at the client's growing team and evolving brand as reasons for delayed progress.
"Client feedback isn't consolidated."
"Client keeps changing their minds on requirements."
"Client is not aligned on the purpose of this website."
I commend the team on all we've done to support the client on these roadblocks. While we've made incremental progress, the design process has felt like climbing a mountain that grows steeper with every step.
About a month ago, I prompted a call with the client to get their take on our collaboration thus far. Though they acknowledged their internal challenges, it was clear that they were not yet happy with our work. I met with the team to discuss, and we came back with revised designs, but in the client's words, the list of feedback kept growing longer, not shorter.
A couple of weeks ago, a different stakeholder reached out to chat. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I mentally prepared for every scenario. On the call, the client asked if we'd be open to switching the designer on the project. I listened as they described the diminishing energy on client calls and the feeling that they were on the brink of trying to dictate the designs. The good news is that they believed in us and wanted to make it work.
I'll cut to the chase and say that we onboarded a new designer a week ago, scrapped the designs, and presented new concepts early last week. To quote the client, the designs "helped us to see how our brand can shine through, and they inspired us to see the possibilities of what we can build together."
While this project tale has a happy ending, I always find it helpful to take stock of the lessons. In this case, there's a bunch.
As a team, it's led to conversations about client communication, our design approach, and how to handle tough client and team conversations.
As for me, there are a few personal lessons I'll be taking with me.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 086 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
Last year, we shifted our entire team to Asana, consolidating SmartSheets, Basecamp, and other tools. We saw the move as a way to streamline collaboration and create efficiency. While Asana has proven to be an effective tool for the team, there have been challenges in how we collaborate with clients. Some will say they understand it but then ask for information that already lives in Asana (deadlines, links, etc.). Others are allergic to even signing in.
In re-envisioning our ways of working, including how we use Asana, I keep coming back to the idea of a project plan. What does a client need to know? What do they care about most?
I remember the buzz when Domino's first introduced the pizza tracker in their app. Customers loved knowing the progress of their order and when it would be ready. As an agency, I don't see our client's needs that much differently. They want to know where their project stands at every step, when to get involved, and when it will be ready to launch.
When I look at our process today, we're expecting the client to follow along with the recipe, not track the status of their order.
I'm excited for the most recent developments on process changes. Overall, I see a huge opportunity to simplify, narrow our client's view, and deliver on what's important.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 085 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
It's hard to believe it's only been six months since we created the Executive Sponsor role on accounts. In my October 2021 note, I described the role like this: "[Executive Sponsors] are a designated Barrel representative to periodically facilitate one-on-one conversations with the client's key stakeholder, typically C-Suite. In some ways, the Executive Sponsor can act as a third-party participant, offering a unique perspective without being caught in the details of the day-to-day. They are there to listen and offer up ideas on how to strengthen collaboration."
Establishing Executive Sponsors took some time, but at this point, it's hard to imagine our work without them. There are plenty of opportunities to evolve the role; however, I've been happy to hear positive feedback from the team and clients alike. Both sides share the same sentiment: it is helpful for someone to take the time to pull out of the work and look at the collaboration as a whole.
As an Executive Sponsor myself, one of the aspects I've valued most is getting real-time feedback from an array of clients. Rather than guessing what we can do to improve, I've enjoyed jumping into conversations head-first and asking the tough questions. From there, I've been to identify themes across clients and work with the team to make changes that can create a real impact. Many of these are currently in motion.
After weeks like last week, I'm especially grateful that we recognized the need for this new channel with clients. Unfortunately, one of our clients has been unhappy with a piece of our work, but luckily, they reached out to me, and we now have the chance to work through it. In another case, a client shared some of the challenges they're facing and ideas on how we can help them succeed.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 085 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
On Monday, I attended our Design Director Christine's first 2022 Upward Feedback session with her team: the Design team. We run this process twice per year. After a manager's direct reports submit feedback via Lattice, the manager runs a meeting to review the comments openly with the entire group. Since experimenting with this format last year (read: Conducting My First Upward Feedback Survey), these sessions have been a powerful tool for managers to capture feedback themes and identify opportunity areas for their performance.
One of the themes highlighted in Christine's session stood out to me. Her team shared that while she's great at creating space to provide feedback on the agency, they don't always feel in tune with company-wide initiatives and how or if their feedback has contributed.
This feedback got me thinking about my time leading the design team before Christine took over. As Creative Director and Partner, I would naturally share updates (from my conversations with the other partners) with Christine and the Design team. It didn't matter if these updates were ideas or future decisions; I would give everyone a heads up on whatever seemed important enough. Looking back, this channel of communication helped keep designers in the know.
While Christine's Upward Feedback session surfaced the topic, I take it as valuable for all the Team Leads and a good reminder for me as Chief Experience Officer, now managing the Team Leads of our executing teams. As a Partner team, we often focus on writing team-wide memos and touching upon updates in team-wide meetings. I still believe these are important, but I see an opportunity to mentor our Team Leads on their communication, closing the gap between conversations with leadership and conversations they have with their teams.
The Team Leads are the glue between the Partner and the executing teams. It is up to us to share a vision and invite them to take part in shaping where the agency is going, but it can't stop there. While the Partners may interface with the executing team, the Team Leads are the guide. Helping them communicate agency progress and vision will be critical for us to work as one, or as we say, one Barrel.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 085 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
About a week ago, our Design Director asked me for input on where I see their role end and begin. Over the past year, their involvement on the team has evolved with our growth as an agency. Without a job description, there are times when they feel unsure where to focus and pulled in different directions.
Our Design Director has been with us for years now, initially joining us as a Designer. It's interesting what happens when an employee grows along with the agency. As new roles are unlocked, current roles evolve. That often means distributing responsibilities and sharpening the scope of each role. That was the situation here. We both understood how the Design Director role fit in but hadn't zoomed out to articulate that and align on it.
Initially, I tried writing a formal job description, but it felt cold and detached for someone I've worked with for so long. I thought back to my motorcycle training course where we were asked to take a pledge after each lesson. Committing to the lesson learned hit much harder than a simple review. I wondered how this could apply to job descriptions.
Instead of "Oversee the team's work assignments. Your goal is to create an environment for your team to do their best work and drive results for our clients," I wrote:
This hit differently and once I got going, the rest of the list nearly created itself. On Friday, our Design Director and I reviewed the list. I asked them to read each statement aloud, ask questions, and give feedback. They commented on the feeling of ownership as we analyzed every word.
In the end, I am so glad this conversation took place. Our Design Director and I talk daily. If they hadn't brought this up, I would have continued helping them manage priorities and day-to-day experiences without seeing the big picture. This experience was a good reminder to create space to zoom out and make sure not to miss the forest for the trees.
I look forward to seeing how this approach might roll might fit in more places across the agency, likely starting with our Team Leads.
***
Funny story: I was deleting photos on my phone this weekend to create space and came across handwritten notes mapping out the future of the Design team (4 or so years ago) before the Design Director role existed.
Very cool to see where we are now and how closely this tracks with what I shared on Friday! I'm not sure why I never digitized this or made it a thing? Who knows, but I'll take it as a sign from the Universe that we're headed in a good direction.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 083 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
Since merging the Project Management and Client Services teams, there have been questions about how we're differentiating the Account Director, Account Manages, and Project Manager roles.
While I have ideas of how these roles can function, I worried that swooping in with a solution would be disruptive, and I may not be solving the real issues.
I've been very forward about my perspective with the team. I wasn't sure exactly what steps to take, but I felt that focusing on projects first was the right place to start. In essence, rather than making a team-wide change that impacts every project, I aimed to find success on every project, identify the common themes, and then crystalize a team-wide structure.
After several one-on-one discussions with the team, I decided to start facilitating 30-minute workshops to review roles and responsibilities with the Account Leads and PMs on their projects, one at a time. The first two workshops took place last week.
In the workshop, I started by creating a column for each role in FigJam. In the first session, I asked: In one or two sentences, describe what your main value-add is on this project? The answer proved difficult, so we moved on. As we listed each person's desired activities, I invited them to forget what they knew and share how they'd ideally like to be involved. Within 15 minutes, we had a solid list, uncovering opportunities for each person to collaborate in new ways.
At the end, I returned to my earlier question, and now, the answer came more naturally. Together, we synthesized each role in one sentence. I thought this piece would be a good way to give each person a clean statement to lean on for clarity if anything out of the ordinary popped up down the line.
I'm only two sessions in, but the feedback has been positive. One of the attendees even asked to set up a workshop for another project. I'm excited to continue these sessions with Kate, our Director of Client Services, for another couple of weeks before locking in a clear structure for the team.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 083 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.
Several years ago, my good friend Kyle introduced me to a friend of his brother Eric, Joe. Years later, Joe moved in with Kyle down the street when I lived in Brooklyn. During that time, I enjoyed getting to know Joe.
Joe and I share a love for music and a desire to spend time exploring ideas. It took me time to learn the latter, though. You wouldn't know it when you meet Joe, but he quietly works on all kinds of side projects in his downtime. I admire his passion and curiosity.
Last year, Joe asked me to contribute to his latest project, an online mixtape club called Green Bananas. I was pumped but admittedly a bit nervous — I hadn't curated a mixtape since the age of Winamp media players, LimeWire, and stacks of blank CDs.
It took me a while (read: months) to decide on a theme, but with winter in full swing, I noticed I was spending more time than usual curating music to set the right tone with the highs and lows of the season, often returning to songs I hadn't listened to in years.
My playlist, entitled "Den," hit Green Bananas last week. You can check it out here. Den is an eclectic collection of 15 songs that capture the essence of my Winter experience.
I had a lot of fun working with Joe over email and even more fun taking the time to find the right cadence of tracks. The experience brought me back to curating setlists when I was performing regularly.
Joe probably has no idea how grateful I am for this simple ask. It's brought me closer to music, while subconsciously, I think it also inspired me to start featuring tracks in this newsletter.
Thanks for the opportunity, Joe.
This post originally appeared in Edition No. 082 of my newsletter. Subscribe here.