Ad agencies are good at 3 things:

👏 Building brands👏 Driving sales👏 Making employees so miserable they would prefer to be literally anywhere else, almost as soon as they are hired. (Hence the industry-wide 33% turnover rate)

The James Agency in Scottsdale is quite good at the first two. But has failed miserably at the third. Many of their folks have stuck around for over ten years. The CCO has been there since the beginning, 20 years, with agency founder and today’s guest on the DesuckifyWork® podcast, Veronique James (known simply as V to most).

What is V doing wrong? Why is she struggling to live up to the precedent set by so many in our industry?

She didn’t get the memo.

You know, the one that says you should keep business details shrouded in secrecy, even from your top leaders. The one that says accountability is too scary and complicated. The one that says caring deeply about your clients and their business results isn’t important… just focus on the task at hand, brah.

V has this nutty idea that having a team aligned around shared values can make the work better. And make working better too.

Values like:🐱 Give a s**t🐱 Be yourself🐱 Aspire to be better🐱 Take action🐱 Contribute positivity🐱 Challenge convention🐱 Communicate honestly

Values that allowed the agency to avoid layoffs or pay cuts during COVID. And have led them treat RFPs like actual projects instead of just dropping them into the workflow like methed-up honey badgers.

Does this kind of wackiness actually work? Could other agencies follow their lead and see similar results?

Take a listen to V and see what you think.

(If you enjoy this episode, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

You can follow Veronique on LinkedIn. And check out her agency’s site at thejamesagency.com.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to dive deep into some of your own challenges at work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session, where we can explore new, desuckified possibilities for your future.

Bye, everyone!

Bonus question from V to our audience:What is the one thing that you'd ask your younger self now, knowing what you know about your business or where you are in your professional career?

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