Regular consumers of my articles, podcasts, and videos know that I have no shortage of opinions that I’m not afraid to share.
If you’re going to stand up for yourself, your agency, and your beliefs, you can’t be afraid to express your views and hold firm to them.
But how you do it matters. A smile and a good measure of diplomacy go a long way.
I’ll explore this more a bit later in this week’s newsletter, but first let’s look at what Jen has rounded up for us this week.
— Chip Griffin, SAGA Founder
Weekly Roundup
Below are some articles, blog posts, podcasts, and videos that we came across during the past week or so that provide useful perspective and information for PR and marketing agency owners. While we don’t necessarily endorse all of the views expressed in these links, we think they are worth your time.
— Jen Griffin, SAGA Community Manager
Latest from SAGA
- Avoiding your agency’s own AI bubble (Agency Leadership Podcast)
Articles & Blog Posts
- Struggling to focus or even care? You aren’t alone. (The Bureau)
- History Repeats: Leadership Lessons in Crisis (Spin Sucks)
- Getting Started on the Big Things (Punctuation)
Podcast Episodes
- Counting the Cost of Transparency in a Rage-Filled World (Solo PR Pro)
- Scaling Past 50 Employees: How SEO Plus Built a Global Agency (The Digital Agency Growth Podcast)
- Peter Lang, Digital Agency Business – Buy, Don’t Build! Using M&A to Scale Your Agency (Agency Bytes)
- How to Increase Your Price, with Casey Brown (The Agency Profit Podcast)
Video
- What’s the best approach for screening a prospect who is probably unqualified? (The Sutter Company)
AI in focus
- How the PESO Model© Helps You Avoid AI Bubble Burnout (Spin Sucks)
- Turn AI Disruption into Agency Opportunity, with Leslie Carruthers (The Innovative Agency)
- AI broke your hourly pricing. Here’s what to do now. (Sakas and Company)
- What Will It Take to Stop the Slop? (For Immediate Release)
The power of diplomacy as an agency leader
In the course of my long career, I have seen a little bit of just about every communications style in business. From the quiet mouse who enables others to run roughshod over them to the obnoxious voice that speaks with absolute certainty at a volume that drowns out anyone else in the room.
Like many advisors, I counsel my clients to hold firm to their own beliefs and build a profitable business that accomplishes the goals they have set for themselves.
That means not allowing prospects, clients, or employees to steer you into making decisions you aren’t happy about.
But how you stand up for yourself and how you communicate it to others makes a difference in the outcome.
Most people who have worked with me over the years will tell you that I’m pretty direct about what I think. More often than not, however, I communicate my perspectives pleasantly and respectfully.
I can only think of one occasion in 35 years that I have raised my voice in a professional setting, though I confess that on occasion I have expressed myself rather undiplomatically — and almost always regretted it.
But being polite is different than letting yourself be walked upon.
We need to separate what we say from how we say it.
The trouble is that standing firm gets misinterpreted for volume and forcefulness of language.
As your volume increases, the tension in the conversation usually does too.
Escalating language makes it harder for either side to find a viable off-ramp.
Unless you are looking to blow up a relationship, it rarely makes sense to climb that ladder (and even then you should think twice before being OK with burning bridges).
So by all means stick to your guns, express your candid opinions, and don’t accept outcomes that don’t work for you.
But tap into a bit of diplomacy and smile a (genuine) smile at the same time.
You may just find that you end up with better results.
