Do you want to show up more creatively for your clients and your colleagues, your family, and your friends?
Do you want to default to thinking about opportunity versus focusing just on problems?
Discovering Hope is full of proactive steps you can take right now, to achieve a more positive mindset or to help maintain the positivity you already have
Getting Positive reveals that more optimism is close at hand
Identifing an Employer Who Values Strategy/Planning
| When you’re in demand, you might be told things that don’t entirely resemble the reality of the culture or the work/It’s not always straightforward knowing whether a would-be employer, truly values what you do. Below are some questions (open-ended typically provide more information for you) that I’m sure many of you ask, but there might be one or two that you don’t, that could get the clarity you need. Q’s about department size/growth/effectiveness What is the ratio of strategists to employees?What has been the principal cause of the growth of the function (strong leader, client demand, other)Does the business enter/and or win effectiveness awards? Q’s about the seriousness with which strategy is taken.What role does the CSO play as part of the leadership team?How does the CSO or other department head, advocate for planning?Q’s about training/development What off-the-job training is offered to strategists in addition to on-the-job training?How is mentoring carried out for strategists? Q’s about work processIs there an ECD sign-off for a brief/Is strategy a core part of getting to great creative work Q’s about agency outputs and the role of strategy to deliver themWhat types of pure strategy projects do clients request?Can you provide examples of the types of projects clients request? Typically how long are these engagements? Q’s about business development and the role of strategyHow involved are strategists in the process of pursuing new clients? Q’s about clients/How they value strategyDo clients request strategy or is this something the agency insists on as part of its process?Are there any clients requesting not to have strategic input? If so, why?What do clients see as the role of strategists? Q’s about creative outputHas most if not all work that has won creative awards been based on strategic input?And a few others:What are the biggest challenge for strategic work here?How many strategists have worked on this account in the last year?/Since the agency had the account?What is the turnover rate for strategists here/For the agency in general? What other questions would you ask to know whether the job on offer was a career-defining one for a strategist? All the best,Stuart | |