Year in Review: Three Things That Brought Out the Best in Our Agency in 2019
I’m a believer in setting and accomplishing big goals. When I launched Approach Marketing in 2010, I had a vision for what I hoped it would become. Fast-forward to 2019, on the brink of our 10th anniversary year, and all I can think about is how my former self never could have predicted the spectacular ways this agency would evolve.
When I look back over the past year, I believe our success is the direct result of bringing out the best at Approach – the best in our agency, our team, our culture and each consultant’s professional and personal lives. Our agency is now the largest it’s ever been, and I am proud of the way this team thrives on tackling challenging goals and cheering for our clients and each other along the way.
Here are three key ways we brought out the best in our team this year:
We adopted EOS.
As I said, I'm all about setting big goals – for myself, for our team and for the agency. But as Approach Marketing grew, the fast-paced expansion made it difficult to step back and work on the business instead of just in the business. Adopting the Entrepreneurs Operating System (EOS) this year has been a game-changer in helping our leadership team establish and commit to our short-term and long-term vision for the agency. EOS also gave us a proven framework for setting measurable goals and holding ourselves accountable for meeting those goals. While we have always followed dedicated processes to be efficient and effective in our work, EOS has inspired us to place deeper attention on these areas and identified the right individuals to lead those initiatives.
We defined our core values.
We have always placed a high priority on culture at Approach. But until this year, our “culture” had been loosely defined. Earlier this year, we spent a significant amount of time distilling what makes Approach special into four unique core values, which we officially unveiled at our spring Annual Meeting. I am so proud of how our team has embraced and rallied behind our values to care personally, roll up our sleeves, deliver on our promise, and hold ourselves to the highest standard. At Approach, these are more than just words. They are the way we do business, the way we work with each other and with our clients, the way we hold ourselves accountable and the way we celebrate success.
We doubled down on our virtual model.
With a rapidly expanding client and consultant roster, another organization might consider bringing their team together under one roof. But I founded this agency on the idea that you can have a big job and a big life too. I firmly believe that when you love your job, you go the extra mile. Time and again, we’ve proven this virtual model is what keeps our consultants so happy and, in turn, what makes our client partnerships so successful. I’ve never seen a group so committed to delivering ROI, so passionate about client service, so willing to do whatever it takes to make good on our promise. And the client wins every time.
I’m so proud of the growth we have achieved this year and am grateful for the opportunity to work each day with amazing clients and this incredible team.
August of 2020 marks our 10th anniversary. I can’t wait to continue bringing out the best and see what the New Year brings for all of us. Cheers to another year of doing great work together – thank you for being a part of our story.
