Position Papers

We give away a lot of content on this site, for many reasons:

Our Paid Services are expensive, and you deserve some insight into how we think while we preserve our own commitment to not applying it to your firm until we are engaged.
Holding your intellectual capital close to the vest so that competitors can't copy it is like wetting your pants in a dark suit: you get a warm feeling, but nobody notices you. Good ideas are a dime a dozen and the world doesn't generally need more of them. The spoils don't go to the smart but to the disciplined and courageous.
The field we serve (small marketing firms) is desperate for sound business practices, and we want to raise that bar.

So here's how we think on a few topics--we'd look forward to applying this to your unique situation specifically.

Avoiding Marketing

A one-page description of the three reasons why we avoid marketing.
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Four Essential Marketing Ingredients

A two-page description of the four things common to firms that are successful at marketing their services.
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Bringing Balance to Your Creative Services Firm

A seven-page review of how to move your firm back to a more balanced (and sustainable) position (in terms of internal emphasis).
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Creative Burnout

A three-page article on what creativity is, what burnout is, how managers kill creativity, and how employees do the same.
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Saying "No" and Caring Too Much

Two-page perspective on caring so much about the wrong things that you take clients that aren’t a good fit, lessening your ability to fill the roster with clients who allow you to make money, have impact, and enjoy the relationship.
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Cashflow vs. Profitability

A two-page explanation of why cashflow issues are often simply profit issues in disguise.
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Changing Client Perceptions

A three-page paper on how client perceptions are formed and five specific recommendations on earning respect from clients.
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Commission Structures

A one-page presentation on how to think about sales commission structures and then a list of the eight possibilities.
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Common Struggles in Firms

A one-page analysis of the three big things that most principles seem to struggle with.
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Doing More Effective Work: Separating the Consultative from the Transactional

A two-page treatise with five suggestions on how to get paid more for your thinking and do better work in the process.
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Don’t Always Listen to Your Clients

A one-page clarification that only certain clients are worth listening to.
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Navigating a Downturn

A three-page look at what happens in a downturn, how to avoid your four primary instincts, and then staffing in particular with some useful benchmarks.
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Safeguards Against Embezzling

A one-page introduction to the context for embezzling, and then one simple suggestion to prevent it.
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End of Year Employee Bonuses

A one-page quick reminder of the three reasons why end of year employee bonuses are not a great idea.
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Facility Watersheds

A two-page examination of why facility changes often prompt significant introspection, and then three guidelines on making smart choices.
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Free Agents: An Interview with Dan Pink

A fascinating six-page interview that David C. Baker conducted with Dan Pink after a speaking engagement at one of our conferences. It discusses the new “free agent” mentality among owners and employees.
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Advantages of a Downturn

A two-page reminder on the eight good things that can come from going through a downturn.
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Handling Capacity Issues

A one-page checklist leading you through the five questions to ask yourself before growing.
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Hobby, Job, or Company

A two-page reminder of the difference between having a hobby, a job, or a company, expressed in financial terms.
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Rethinking Hourly Rates for Marketing Firms

A two-page discussion of how hourly rates are positioning (vs. financial) tools, when and how to talk about hourly rates, whether your rates should be tiered or blended, and how to set the correct rate.
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If I Could Change Just This One Thing

A two-page reflection on why you really need to quit whining and fix what you have.
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Understanding the Marketing Chain

An eight-page treatise on what we don’t know about marketing, how to avoid planning errors, and how to avoid execution errors.
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What To Worry About in the Near Future

A three-page projection on what you’ll need to be concerned with in the next few years, including three things to watch out for in particular and three helpful suggestions.
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Enforceable Non-Compete

A two-page clarification on what provisions might make your non-compete agreements with key employees fairer and thus more enforceable.
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You Are Not a Public Company

A two-page explanation of how your firm shouldn’t emulate a public company, in four respects.
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Rethinking the Potential of Pro Bono

A two-page primer on how to make your pro bono work more effective and strategically valuable to your firm.
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Qualifying Clients

A one-page checklist that includes eleven suggestions on what makes a good client.
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Raising Your Prices

A two-page examination of how/when to raise your prices, including three important ways to think about it and then six suggestions on actually doing it.
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Reasons to Market

A one-page reminder of the thirteen reasons why steady marketing should always occur.
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Recognizing Growth Pains

A one-page list of the seven things that indicate whether or not you may be growing too quickly.
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Reducing Your Tax Bill

A one-page clarification on what doesn’t work to reduce taxes, and six things that do.
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Sad Fade of Branding, and When Sustainable Isn’t

Four-page treatise on how “branding” as a named activity has ceased to be a differentiator, and how “sustainability” might be headed down the same path.
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Screening that Prospective Employee

A two-page background on how to screen employee hires well, including twelve important questions that will help you dig deeper.
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How Staffing Strategies Change

A two-page reminder with a discussion of three early impulses and three later realizations as you staff your firm.
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Being a Thought Leader: Writing/Speaking

A three-page explanation of the role of thought leadership, how to start with writing and then speaking, what venues are appropriate, and then how to develop content.
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Positioning Challenge: Combining Strategy & Execution

A four-page description of the challenges in doing both strategy and execution work together, with particular attention to preserving your positioning in the process.
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Promoting Timekeeping Compliance

A two-page look at why timekeeping compliance is important (for now, anyway), and what practical steps you might take to achieve compliance in your firm.

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The Truth about Making Money in a Marketing Firm

A three-page recital of the lies we tell ourselves to justify the lack of profit, as well as some suggestions on facing the truth and getting on with the business of fixing the real issues.

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The Impact that Comes with Control in a Marketing Firm

A two-page study of the real source of your control in client relationships, and how having enough of it benefits you and the client.

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Making an In-House Department Respectable

A four-page collection of suggestions on how to position your in-house department for greater impact and control.
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