Commentary

Clout Schmoute!!! Part 3

This last essay has nothing to do with large or small agencies. It has to do with the agency of one - ourselves as individuals.

Many say that the late Ayn Rand is the "patron saint" of the Internet, based on her view of individualism as the best hope for democracy and culture in the modern era. Regardless of which side of the fence you're on relative to Rand's theory of objectivism, if you're an experienced interactive media strategist, you know first-hand that during a negotiation you must look at every sales proposal and sales person individually.

I've been very lucky in my career and have managed to never work for an agency whose culture could be the prototype for Pink Floyd's "Animals" album. Roger Water's nightmare tribute to the animalistic tendencies of corporate cultures categorizes corporate types as Dogs, Pigs or Sheep.

"You've got to be crazy, gotta have a real need, gotta sleep on your toes and when you're on the street, you've got to be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed."

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The last agency I was employed by represented the best an organization can do in supporting its employees. During my time there, I saw first-hand a concerted effort on the part of management to keep it real and to be fair and equitable to employees as a group and as individuals. As a result, it's known as one of the most creative shops in the world, annually.

"Then, moving silently downwind and out of sight you've got to strike when the moment is right without thinking."

The key to leveraging clout is directly tied to strength, not size. Strength in the ability to be honest with yourself and with others. Perhaps because we’re selfish creatures who do things for our own happiness, we flock to people with strength of character. Thankfully, sometimes we also envision our own happiness as we give of ourselves, selflessly.

It's one of those things that are impossible to describe, though as the expression goes, "we know it when we see it." It has less to do with the size of the agency and much to do with the respect and track record its culture has with being honest and with telling the truth, between management and staff, equally.

"Then after a while, you can work on points for style, like the club tie or the firm handshake, a certain look in the eye and the easy smile."

We also know it when we don't see it. People within an organization are less likely to behave in an ethical way when they see their supervisors misbehave. If management has an "I've got mine, the hell with everyone else" mentality, so will everyone else in the agency as this attitude permeates over time. That also works to our collective effort when people see their supervisors demonstrate bravery and strength. As the expression goes, "we'll go through walls for them."

If a creative organization's soul becomes all about materialism and money, it no longer creates. It actually begins to feed, mostly on itself and then on everything else around it. Financial success must therefore be a by-product of an agency's efforts, not the driver itself. The soul of the organization must be about the work. That's easier said than done. It requires exhibiting very difficult behavior, such as keeping your word and telling the truth, all the time. And - get this - with everyone!

At the beginning, middle and end of the day, none of us has clout personally. Clout is awarded to us. Each of us awards positive and/or negative clout to each other on a daily basis, with almost every interaction. Positive clout is awarded to those we feel we can trust or have proven to us they are trustworthy over time, same as we award negative clout to those we feel are untrustworthy.

These awards are often unspoken and take place below the surface of the actual discussion. Therefore, in a truly dynamic media negotiation, after "the deal is done” both buyer and seller should have reversed roles, potentially several times. Many media veterans understand that this dynamic continues for as long as they are in the business, certainly much longer than the length of one media buy.

For all the whiz-bang technology we have, if our goal is for marketers to believe in interactive marketing as trustworthy vehicle, we're all going to have to go forward being more honest and truthful, and to identify duplicity when we see it.

Marketers ran for the hills when it was clear that interactive professional service firms over-promised, then under-delivered. We also saw who was more motivated by generating cash than by generating clout. Those companies that fell apart were not awarded clout by the marketplace. Those that were awarded cash, probably earned it by working very very hard.

What's the moral of the story? Perhaps that one should look carefully beyond the conventional wisdom of what passes for clout and authority in the marketplace. As Hall of Famer Bill Bernbach said when he opened up his own small agency over 50 years ago, "the future belongs to the brave." That’s as true today as it was in 1949. Thank goodness!

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