what twenty-five years in agencies teaches you about client strategy

Running an agency means you are simultaneously the strategist, the salesperson and the person who signs the lease. It removes any romance about strategy that doesn't pay for itself.

Speed beats polish, once

Clients don't buy the beautiful version of the answer. They buy the version they can act on this quarter. Agile, efficient, effective isn't a discount offer — it's an acknowledgement that a decision made in six weeks beats a perfect document delivered in six months.

Local knowledge is not an obstacle

Global and regional experience is only useful if it respects what the local team already knows. Fresh points of view earn their place by being tested against local precedent, not by overriding it.

Accountability is the actual deliverable

The consultant who leaves before implementation gets to keep their theory intact. The one who stays learns which recommendations were real. I'd rather be the second one.