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Pride or prejudice: Are you proud of your agency?

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By Richard Draycott, Managing Director

August 14, 2012 | 4 min read

I always thoroughly enjoyed it when as a child or young teenager my parents would pose the question “are you proud of yourself?” Inevitably, my usual reply was “yes I am, very”, after which I would have time alone in my bedroom to reflect upon the consequences of my actions. Well, I had my Spectrum+ and Horace Goes Skiing to keep me company, so needless to say little reflection was ever actually completed.

But on the subject of pride, research figures quoted on the BBC this morning showed that 80% of Brits now feel prouder to be British than they did before Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, Sir Chris Hoy and co did their stuff during the Games, which got me to thinking what pride actually means in a business and whether it can it make a tangible difference. My thoughts actually led to more questions than answers, but nonetheless, questions that all agency owners should be asking themselves regularly.

As an agency owner, can you say that 80% of your staff feel proud to work for your business? Do you see them strutting proudly across your office, chest puffed out with pride to work for the business that you have created? Can you see the pride in their work? Can you hear the pride in their voice when they talk to clients and potential clients on the telephone? A proud workforce is a committed workforce and therefore a more productive workforce.

Another question. Do you think 80% of your clients are proud to be working with your agency? Do 80% of your clients actively talk about your business to other potential clients? Are 80% of your clients proud to be an advocate for your business?

One final question. Are you proud of your business? Really? Are you proud of the work that your business creates? Are you proud of the results that your agency achieves for clients? Are you proud of your staff? Are you proud of your management team? Are you proud about your agency’s performance at the latest awards dinner?

Pride is a very important emotion in business, but one which often gets overlooked in favour of more tangible factors such as turnover, profits, assets etc. Pride is a very hard emotion to quantify. Can you feel a bit proud? Can you feel very proud? Can you be a bit pregnant? Have you ever had anyone tell you that they are very pregnant?

Pride is pride and it’s an essential component in any successful agency. If you are an agency boss and you are reading this and don’t feel genuine pride in what your business is doing and achieving then it's my contention that you will never be truly successful.

What would make you proud of your business? Better financial results? Larger profits? Better creative output? A stronger management team? More awards in your cabinet? Opening an office overseas and adding the global to your agency website? Being part of The Drum’s Power 100?

Before you can be a successful agency you have to be a proud agency. And not only do you need to be proud you have to let the world know that you are proud and what you have to be proud about.

I have spent time in hundreds, maybe thousands, of agencies over the last 15 years and you really can feel and sense when you walk into a proud agency. Pride breeds confidence, confidence breeds success and success breeds happiness.

So, are you a proud agency? If you are then let the world know what you have to be proud about by entering this year’s MiAwards, which specifically recognise great marketing agency businesses in the UK across the entire marketing spectrum. MiNetwork members receive a number of FREE entries to MiAwards and non-members can also enter to tell their story.

For more details visit the MiAwards website and enter before the deadline of 7 September.?

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