If you’re experiencing pain in your business—feeling stuck, frustrated or out of sync with your team, it could be a signal that your business operating system needs a reboot. But how do you know what’s working and what’s not—and what to do about it? It can be hard to define your strengths, weaknesses and next steps, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Luckily, peers, experts and business frameworks such as EOS® can help show you the way. We caught up with Tom Barrett, a Bureau of Digital subject matter expert and Professional EOS Implementer™, for an inside look at the Entrepreneurial Operating System®.
Colin Ellis is a man of well-cut suits, pocket squares, Old World tastes and future-forward business savvy. A project leader for more than 20 years, Colin has a signature style that blends old-school etiquette with a laser focus on the future of business, specifically the people leading digital transformations and evolutions. Looking forward to his keynote at the Digital PM Summit, we caught up with Colin for a glimpse into the human side of digital transformation and the behaviors needed to do it successfully.
Attend a Bureau event, and you’ll notice how open and generous people are in sharing their ideas, insights and experiences. People you’ve just met become trusted friends and allies. Each month, we pull together the top resources shared by the Bureau community. Here's the roundup of favorite tools, articles and resources shared in May.
Business development is a tricky business. Generating and vetting leads, building trust, selling solutions that don’t yet exist, balancing the desire for new and exciting work with the need for cold, hard cash…It’s a lot to think about, and a lot of work. Different shops take different approaches. Regardless of approach, there are some shared challenges…and opportunities. Joe Rinaldi, Owner of That was Clutch, joined us on The Bureau Briefing to speak to a few of these, and offer firsthand insights.
As a digital agency, there are a number of ways you can be impacted by GDPR: as a controller with regard to information provided through your corporate (or brochure-ware) site; as a processor for your clients, and as an agency designing and developing websites and applications. In light of this whole GDPR thing, we’ve made a few updates to the Bureau Standard Agreement Statement of Work, which is being released as version 1.2, and is available for download. Read on.
It's hard to believe June is just around the corner, and soon we'll be working through Q3/Q4 on our way to the holidays and a new year. Here's a rundown of opportunities to connect this year, and events we’re currently planning for 2019. Join us to learn, network and collaborate with new friends and allies who share your same goals and challenges. Read on.
Ever ask yourself, “How much money should I have in the bank?”, “Should I be reporting cash, accrual or tax?“ or “What’s the best way to prepare for company growth—or safeguard against mistakes?” If you’re curious how to structure your reports, calculate key metrics and analyze how your digital shop is doing, this encore presentation from our friends at Summit CPA is for you. Tune in for an overview of four financial focus areas and key metrics.
What are digital leaders reading, watching and thinking about these days? Hint: GDPR. Check out our recap of top reads, resources and tools making the rounds in the Bureau community.
No doubt by now you’ve heard of GDPR, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation that takes effect on May 25, 2018. You may already be taking steps to ensure compliance with the legislation, or at least you have it on your radar. Worry not, we’ll get through this together. Read on to learn more about what digital shops are doing to prepare for May 25th.
Aloha! There’s no place like paradise to reset, recharge and find new inspiration. At Design Leadership Camp Koloa, design leaders were sharing insights, discussing challenges and strumming tunes on ukuleles gifted by InVision. When the topic of books came up, there was no shortage of recommendations. If you're a design leader at a product shop, digital agency or global brand, read on for titles shared by alumni, and chime in with your favorite design leadership books.
What stops us from empowering our people? Is it fear, a lack of trust…or something else? Traci Barrett, President and Founder of Navigate the Journey, knows it can be tough to loosen the reigns and entrust your business to your team. As a leadership and strategic consultant, Traci has helped teams big and small to create environments of shared ownership and mutual success. Traci joined us on The Bureau Briefing to outline steps you can take to foster a culture of empowerment. Read on for six ways to help empower your people to improve morale, productivity and business gains.
You know something is off. Revenue is down, margins are small, biz dev seems to be taking an awful long time to close and there’s friction in your team over who’s billable…and who’s expendable. As an owner or operator, you want to start pulling levers—but which ones? The answers lie in KPIs and business dashboards.
At Vodori, a digital marketing firm in Chicago, their business performance is on display, for everyone to see, with metrics unfolding in near real time. Read on to hear how they got started, and how you can too.
Traditional agency, web shop or software company, we’re all looking for ways to do things faster, better and more profitably. As Dave Prior, Senior Consultant at LeadingAgile, tells it, process is easy. It’s culture that gets in the way. Dave joined us on The Bureau Briefing to outline some steps to help move your team and mindset towards Agile. Read on for ways to get closer to Agile to increase client satisfaction and improve relationships.
Collaboration between digital agencies has the potential to alleviate many issues shops face. But better days won’t come without a lot of thought, discussion and preparation. So what are the secrets to making collaboration work? Whether you’ve tried before or you’re just now considering the plunge, read on for best practices shared by shops in The Bureau community—they might just make you a believer.
Sometimes business development reads like a fairy tale. A hero (you, obviously) fights the good fight, beats the odds and brings back the golden goose. Other times, biz dev feels more like Oliver Twist—clinking a spoon against a sad, empty bowl, begging Mr. Bumble for some more unfulfilling gruel.
Whether you’re killing it or still working on it, read on for some biz-dev-approved books and articles to supercharge your efforts.
What makes the perfect pitch? That was the question posed at Biz Dev Camp, with Joe Rinaldi, Coach/Owner of That was Clutch, facilitating the discussion. Drawing on the collective experience and know-how of the group, we landed on several takeaways to up the ante on your next pitch.
Read on for a walk-through of the ideal pitch, play-by-play, using insights gleaned from Biz Dev Camp.
The digital services industry is changing. That is beyond doubt. What it meant to be in the industry in the late ’90s and mid-2000s and what it means to be a part of it today are hugely different. And every year, someone decides that the end is near. Sometimes it’s a member of the old guard, and sometimes it’s a member of the new.
But we’re still here. Not because they were wrong, which they were, but because we are resilient and strong. We learn and we adapt. And the digital services industry is maturing. Where will it end? We don’t know. But we do have some insights into where it’s going.
So read on!
Of the hundreds of people I’ve met who started a digital agency, almost all of them stumbled into it. But the two people on today’s show saw the web as a way to improve their lives. Living in a small Northeastern mill city, a tanking economy and failing health were taking its toll on the young couple. And then a friend told them about working in tech in Atlanta. Sherri and Reuben Johnson never looked back. Listen to part one of The Fly Media Origin Story. Listen to this episode now!
Post-Summit blues are a real thing. But in a good way. It’s sad to turn the page, but exciting to get back to the day-to-day with a fresh perspective, set new intentions and start putting takeaways to work with the team. And there’s always the promise of next year.
Read on to find out more about Owner Summit in 2019!
Imagine walking into a room of 200 people. People you’ve never met. People who don’t know you from anyone. Now imagine you have to figure out how to get them all to work together. And not just work together, but work together effectively. Because your job depends on it. Where do you start? How do you know who’s a team player and who’s a problem? And how do you answer questions from your boss like, “how long is this going to take?” and “how will we know if it’s working?” Well, that’s exactly what Garci Inigo did when he accepted a job with the National Bank of Canada.
Listen to this episode now.
