3
It started with a fascination with the number three.
Did you know? Rule of threes are what some of the greatest speechwriters work with to make a speech memorable; designers work with rule of a third when they compose their work; it’s even said that commando units operate in groups of three.
Closer to home, we find that the most rewarding client partnership almost always have the same few characteristics:
They have access to and have the eyes and ears of a group of specialists within the agency whom they work closely with.
Each project presents a perspective from these specialists, which makes it foolproof.
Because there each of these projects is collaboratively put together, everyone is committed and accountable for the outcome.
And, because people are committed to the outcome, and they know they have each other to depend on, they are more fearless about trying new things, challenging the norm, going out of the box.
This happens only in a tight team and guess what? The optimal number is – three.
Pods
Very early on, we already knew we wanted to replicate this tight, intimate servicing structure with our clients. We called them pods.
Each pod is made up of 3 specialists. Typically, the three will be made up of a business person, a creative lead and a media lead. We might switch this up, it all depends on the nature of who the pod services.
You can think of a pod as a micro unit within an agency. It is self-regulating, self-managing, and self-directing. Our clients have direct access to each of the pod members (no need to wait for a message to be relayed, or cross hierarchies to chat about ‘strategy’ – that’s for another article). Pods also ensure that all of our work passes through more than one perspective before they are presented.
When needed, pods will draw from the larger agency pool or our network of partners to deliver projects. They scale, shrink, run as fast as our clients need them to.
Pods enable us to become intimate with our clients’ organisations. It allows us to be agile, and most importantly, it lets us present our best work because, the best strategy is the synthesis of perspective, not vested in one person or title.
It’s not rocket science, pods. It’s intuitive, even. In fact many sound business rules are. Yet we find the simplest things the hardest to keep pure, the hardest to construct and stay on path.
So pods. It’s the next best thing. It’s the simplest thing, it’s also the hardest thing. Get in touch and see how we can make it work for you.
