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In this article we break down Patrick Lencioni’s three key fears that can sabotage the success of an agency and why we love to Get Naked, AKA vulnerable, curious and assured!
-- Disclaimer: we remain fully clothed during all working hours! --
In the agency world, there can be a certain uniform expected: polished presentations, guarded language and the constant fear of saying the wrong thing.
At instinct, we prefer to live by a different philosophy – one captured perfectly in Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni. Written as a business fable, it follows the journey of Jack, the head honcho at a large and prestigious consultancy firm, who’s been tasked with integrating their latest acquisition, a small yet hugely prosperous consultancy with loyal clients.
Lencioni argues that the most successful professional services firms are those who are willing to be vulnerable and transparent (“naked”) with their clients. We call it being human and bold.
Fears that hold businesses back
We’ve all been there when a client walks in and knows exactly what they want…but you know it won’t work. Do you go ahead and agree to a weak strategy just to win the contract?
Our discovery sessions are designed to delve deep. If our client is sure they need a TikTok account just because “everyone has one”, but their target audience are 45-year-olds (12% of TikTok’s user base) then we will kindly challenge the assumption and move to strategies proven to work. If the client still wishes to work with an agency who will develop a TikTok presence 'just because’, we will wish them the best. We prioritise working with the right “fit” of clients, knowing that when we’re aligned, the outcomes are significantly better.
Maybe it’s being parents that’s really helped us embrace this fear, because let’s face it, parents are “sooo embarrassing” and there’s not much we can do about it.
BUT, when it comes to our work life, this can look like the reluctance to admit mistakes, ignorance or playing it safe. How can we get better if we don’t learn? How can we innovate if we think we know it all?
We approach each project with curiosity, not arrogance. We want to work with your in-house experts to soak up their knowledge and understand the intricacies of the challenges the business faces. This helps us look beyond the solution, at why something failed in the first place. This deep understanding helps shape an agile marketing strategy that targets several outcomes, both externally and internally.
The final fear Lencioni addresses is the fear of inferiority which can often manifest as agencies feeling the need to appear smarter than the client to create a sense of value and need (hello, jargon, industry terminology and overly complex frameworks!)
“This may be a silly question, but…” has sparked countless fantastic discussions and even campaign ideas. We’re not afraid of speaking up when we don’t know the answer and honestly? We’re all a little nosey and just love to learn more about our clients, their industries and what makes them tick.
Getting Naked demands action and adaptability. It means we have to be honest enough to challenge assumptions and agile enough to test, learn and adapt based on results. We don’t just want to be an agency, we want to be the partner who cheerleads our clients, make their budget work harder and achieve results through a professional partnership built on trust.
If you’re ready for an honest and effective conversation about your marketing, we’re ready (and fully clothed).
