Harden vs. Stockton: There’s No I in Team, But There Is an AM

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There’s No I in Team

To celebrate the looming spectacle that is March Madness, I thought I’d give today a basketball theme. If you aren’t an NBA nerd - I’m not, but my sports obsessed early 20’s son is, so I have a plethora of NBA trivia and insight at my fingertips when he is around.

We were talking about how well the Boston Celtics have been playing (I am a nerd for Boston sports…), and we were marveling at their teamwork. I asked my son who the least “team” player in the NBA is. Without a beat he said, “James Harden - there’s no I in team, but Harden puts a capital I in ISO.” (For you non-basketball folks, that when a player wants the ball on their own and is going to make the play alone.) Then, like a touch pass, we started talking about the definition of a team player, the NBA all time leader in assists, John Stockton, and how Stockton was more focused on drawing defenses to him so that he could find an open teammate for an easy 2 (or 3).

In a transition you were just hoping for - are you James Harden, or John Stockton? TBH, in most agencies, at the beginning, you’ve got to be Harden - asking for and keeping the ball. But in order to unlock growth (and to give you a little sanity) you’ve got to become Stockton - seeing the floor and the opportunities and letting the person best able to score take the shot.

How Do You Give Your Team The Ball?

Giving your team the ball is hard. There is a lot of fear involved. Your team might do something differently than you might and you are unsure if it is as good as how you would do it. They might make a mistake. They might say the wrong thing and gasp, a client leaves…

Are these real fears? YES
Are these VALID fears? I dunno - some of it depends on your team, but more of it depends on YOU.

But in order to build an agency that is “bigger” than your talents, you have to give your team the ball. They, usually have the open shot.

Start thinking of your team this way: teAM. Because you want everybody to stop thinking like James Harden (you know - gimme the ball, this is my shot, I don’t work on that, etc.) and you want everybody to remember I AM part of this team. I AM a teammate. I AM here for everyone else.

So What F*ck Do You Need to Do In Order To Stop Playing ISO & Start Playing teAM?

Here’s the deal - you are an entrepreneur - you were made to figure out problems and build teams that deliver solutions. Your team is different. While they may be entrepreneurial, they are working with you because they believe in you and believe in your vision. Everybody joining the agency didn’t join because of the exorbitant pay…they joined because they wanted the opportunity to say, “I AM part of the <insert company name here> and I trust in <insert your name here>’s vision enough to join the teAM.”

Building a teAM starts with CLARITY. You need to be able to explain the visions that you have in your head:

• The vision of what it is like to be a client of the teAM.

• The vision of what it is like to be part of the teAM.

• The vision of the standards that the teAM hold dear.

• The vision of how the teAM gets better.

• The vision of how the teAM gets bigger.

• The vision of how the teAM accomplishes higher impact.

These all seem like ephemeral things that have no meaning, BUT, in order, those visions explain:

• Account management expectations

• Company culture

• Execution and accountability

• Continuous refinement and learning

• Company growth

• Company differentiators

When you explain all of these things clearly, they become the mental model that your team has of what’s expected. This becomes the destination of their efforts. As they start to build processes and team accountability, it becomes a MUCH easier task to be able to take action with the idea that you take the actions that get the situation closer to the vision and don’t take the actions that moves the situation further away.

Your CLARITY is the key to giving your team the ability to handle autonomy. And autonomy to take action that brings the situation closer to the vision is essential to grow the impact, capability and cohesiveness of your team.

Player/Coach to Coach/GM

At the very start of your agency, you are most likely THE PLAYER, and you have some helpers. As you start to grow and you are able to teach your team the basics of how you think and how you approach the challenges your clients face, they start to become your teammates. You are a player/coach. You are integral to the team being able to do anything. You take the ball down the court, you direct everyone, and you are coaching them along the way. For lots of agencies, this is where things stop. Your agency is run by a player/coach who has built an effective team.

But what happens when the player/coach wants to go on vacation?

The player coach has no leverage - they are the tactical driver and the strategic advisor. They are in on EVERY SINGLE PLAY. (It’s exhausting.) If the player/coach goes on vacation, nothing new happens. The team runs the same plays over and over again, regardless if they are winning or losing.

You need to become the GM of your teAM.

The general manager makes the decisions about the players, makes decisions about the coaching staff, and makes sure that the team has adequate basketballs, snazzy high-tech shoes, and all of the things that they need to compete. When the team is winning, the GM tries to amplify the success & when the team is losing, the GM makes changes to the personnel, to the direction of the team, right down to what style of play best suits the situation. What the GM doesn’t do is play the game. The GM lets the team do that part. The GM is watching closely, conferring with the coaches on the floor and doing everything to help the teAM win. They aren’t a player, but they are part of the teAM and celebrate the victories and take actions to improve after defeats. The GM doesn’t tell the point guard how to pass, or give a forward tips on shooting a 3 from the corner. The GM watches how talent develops, makes choices they think will help get the team closer to their vision of a winning team, and prevents problems before and as they arise. But the GM never plays in the game. They give the players the autonomy to play the game and the authority to make in game choices that judge to be right.

That’s how you give your team the damn ball. By defining what winning looks like, hiring all of the people and creating all of the resources that the team needs, and then letting them play the game.

Here’s A Playbook To Start - GEN+

I have a program called GEN+ that is a team-driven demand and lead gen way of thinking that allows you, the founder or CEO, to be the organizing force behind marketing and lead generation, but the playmaking and scoring is done by your team. You define the messaging, and the team creates the content, does the promotion & reaches out to customers. All you need to do is define what the definition of “the right message” is, and then let your team of creative, intelligent people who have bought in to your vision do their thing.

A recent graduate of the program said, “I can’t believe it…when the team has a few free minutes, they go grab some kind of marketing task of the big giant list and they go and do it! Even if they aren’t “marketers”! It’s amazing…and we landed 2 new clients this week.”

Check it out - it comes in group and 1 on 1 flavors.

Here’s an Entrepreneurial Playbook (its an ad from Hubspot…sorry)

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News & Notes

I am linking to pdf versions of two emails I got this week. Neither has an online archive that I can see, but they are worth a read:

Cody Plofker: If you don’t know him, he is the CEO of Jones Road Beauty and a FANTASTIC marketer. In his recent newsletter talking about how to build an anti-fragile DTC brand, he outlines a ton of challenges that DTC marketers are facing right now. If you serve ecommerce clients, READ IT. If you don’t serve ecommerce clients, READ IT. Rarely does someone on the client side talk frankly and openly about challenges like this. It will help you meet client and prospect needs better. Subscribe to Cody’s weekly newsletter - it is something I read every week.

Promethean Research: Nick Petroski is the founder of Promethean Research. He is a data nerd - and he does tons of surveys about agencies and his stuff is always insightful. This morning, he sent a preview of his State of the Agency Report for 2024. Notable in the data was:

• Growth is tough to come by.

• Nobody made more money by lowering prices and selling more.

• Adding new services is a key growth driver

• Agencies that serve larger clients grew significantly faster

• Agency headcount declined, so more contractors/freelancers are being used.

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