Friday Field Notes: 3/21/2025
Happy Friday, folks.
Can we talk about delegation for a second?
When I was an Infantry Officer, I got to lead teams of all sizes. As a Platoon Leader, I had 36.
As a Battalion Executive Officer, I was second in command of a unit responsible for over 1,000 soldiers.
Interestingly, delegation always came easy.
Then, I joined an agency.
As the Head of Operations, I struggled to not put my hands on everything.
Here’s why I think this happened:
In the Army, I literally couldn’t do everything.
I couldn’t command troops while driving a Stryker, while calling artillery, while firing a sniper rifle.
I had to trust everyone to do their jobs because it was impossible for me to do it myself.
In the agency, I could do it myself.
Now, let me clarify: The result would be shit.
And to get that shit result, I’d burn myself out and hate everyone in the process.
So maybe the better way to phrase it is: I thought I could do everything myself.
And this is the same thing I see agency leaders doing all the time.
They haven’t felt the complete destruction that comes with never delegating. And they’ve never felt the pure bliss that comes from delegating appropriately.
This is a skill second only to decision-making.
Well, my friends at Vivid Impact Partners are hosting a workshop to help agency leaders improve their delegation skills.
And I’m using this week’s Field Notes to put it on your radar.
(No, there’s no financial incentive for me sharing. I just know this’ll be a great workshop.)
Lessons Learned This Week:
1. The questions you refuse to ask determine the problems you can't solve.
We find ourselves continuously getting sucked into the rhythm of our day-to-day and repeating what works. Often, we don't even know what questions we should be asking.
Taking some time weekly to reflect on all the questions for how you can grow and improve and then looking at which ones feel the most uncomfortable is a great way to identify where you refocus.
2. Praising specific behaviors works better than praising people's character.
I’ve noticed this with partnerships specifically. Shifting from, “I appreciate you,” to “I appreciate how you did X,” drives more of the similar behavior.
While I’m still going to ensure people know I appreciate them, sharing why feels incredibly helpful for everyone.
3. Customer relationships degrade by default and require active maintenance.
I’ve seen a lot of agencies that have a client on the books for YEARS and are in a rinse-and-repeat cycle of work. They start to take it for granted and don’t spend time actually improving the relationship.
When this happens, they’re often surprised when that client moves to another vendor.
Take care of every client relationship with the importance it deserves. You may even find opportunities to expand accounts as you do.
Content I’m Enjoying:
Nick Petroski has some interesting data around agencies in today’s market.
The data supports the idea that more agencies are hiring contractors to save costs while maintaining value.
More reason to start boutique agencies that can serve other agencies, if you ask me.
Quote That Slaps:
“Genius marketing leaves you thinking you found it, not that it found you.” - Kendra Pennington
I love that feeling of finding something and wanting to tell everyone about it. This is the best form of marketing, and I think we often don’t realize that the behavior was intentionally directed by a marketer.
Content Roll Up:
Have a great weekend!
Comment and share any of your learnings this week!
