It’s human nature to think in terms of opposites. Right and wrong. Slow and fast. Big and small.
In today’s business climate, the enemy of great is not bad. After all, bad has immediate and dire consequences that we can all recognize and understand, including unhappy customers with plenty of options for where they buy their goods and services, resulting in lost market share.
On the heels of lost market share are declining revenue, increased expenses, eroding profit margins and vulnerability to competitive threats — things that usually get CEOs fired.
Hidden from plain sight and lurking in the shadows is the true enemy of great, which is good. Good may appear to be a far cry from bad. It’s certainly better than fair. But good lulls you into a false sense of security. Who among us in a moment of haste or impatience hasn’t exclaimed, “It’s good enough.”
Stay sharp
Good breeds bad traits such as complacency and a satisfaction with the past and present. In turn, this creates a defense of the status quo, a perverted happiness in the daily routine of wash, rinse and repeat.
Great organizations with great leaders have a healthy insecurity when it comes to continued success and an unsatisfied hunger for doing things differently. In fact, former Harvard Business School Professor Dr. David Maister, who authored several leadership books, including “Managing the Professional Services Firm,” says the best business strategy is simply, “The ability to continually reinvent yourself to remain relevant.”
Reimagine the possibilities
This past year, the shop that I’m grateful for leading, Fahlgren Mortine, implemented the biggest reinvention in its 57-year history in an effort to stay ahead of a long list of worthy and rabid competitors.
In our quest to be great, we:
- Changed ownership from the founding Fahlgren family to Eastport Holdings to fund growth through acquisitions and bring access to a broader suite of services.
- Consolidated the staff and clients of SBC Advertising to diversify our client mix and bring additional expertise in brand strategy, creative, media, analytics and client engagement.
- Amicably parted ways with a 40-year client that ranked among our top three largest clients.
- Reimagined our service offering and way of solving problems for clients.
- Aggressively competed for and won notable new clients of record.
Without question, the reinvention brought moments of unsettled stomachs and sleepless nights. By not settling for good enough, that anxiety quickly turned to exhilaration when we tripled revenue from eight years prior, improved operating margins, maintained enviable client satisfaction and net-promoter scores, and, most important, reimagined what great looks like in our future.
Neil Mortine is the president and CEO of Fahlgren Mortine, one of the largest Ohio-based communications and creative services agencies, with 11 offices in the U.S. and affiliate relationships overseas. Neil recently was recognized as the nation’s Outstanding PR Professional of the Year and Fahlgren Mortine was named Global Agency of the Year by leading industry trade publications.
