One of the things I find amazing about adland is their inability to review what they just did … whether that was a pitch, a big meeting or just a campaign.
Basically, it things have gone well, they act like they are invincible.
And if things have gone less well, they either ignore it or blame it all on the client.
Look, I get that we have too many meetings.
I get no one wants to be the person who brings the energy of positivity down or make a bad situation worse, but reviews are super useful.
Not just for what you did wrong, but what you did right.
And yet so few agencies seem to do it …
Maybe part of it is that it can quickly turn into a blame game.
Maybe part of it is because people feel they can’t be honest, either for fear or reprisal or fear of hurting egos.
Or maybe it’s just because ‘reviews’ are so closely associated the ‘annual review’, people feel they can’t do it without masses of paperwork and 360 degree feedback.
But in my experience, an honest, objective review can make a huge difference – not just in personal performance but in terms of giving confidence to the team moving forward.
For me, there are a few key rules to do it well.
1. It can not be more than 30 minutes in length.
2. It has to happen within 48 hours of the event that justifies the review.
3. It has to involve all the people involved, not just the key players.
4. No comment can be personal, you win as a team and you fail as a team.
5. Everyone gets to say 1 thing they liked [about the process/pitch/work] 1 thing they’d change [about their approach to the process/pitch/work] and 1 thing they’ve learned [about how to improve the process/pitch/work]
That’s it.
Now I am not denying that a key element to it’s success is the tone of the meeting.
Too serious and it makes people nervous to say anything valuable.
Too light and no one takes it seriously.
But if you ensure there is an air of inclusion, positivity and the sense it’s being done to help everyone become even better, I find it is 30 minutes that people find genuinely valuable.
Of course it’s not just something for show.
All comments must be noted, distributed and then reviewed prior to the next situation where a post-review is likely … but once you get in the habit of it, those 30 minutes can have a lifetime of positive effect.
I wish more people did it … if not for the agencies benefit, but their own.
I promise I won’t write any more serious posts like this in the future. Sorry.