Does a True "Firm of the Future" Exist?
Agency life is one heck of a roller coaster. How do we shape our firm of the future? There’s only one way to find out—we blaze our own trail.
As a business owner and mother of two youngsters, I have endured multiple cross-country moves over the last decade for my husband’s career. Throughout our firm’s growth, it’s been during these whirlwind commutes of planes, trains and automobiles where I took a hard look in the mirror and asked myself a tough question – is this worth it? As a mother? Wife? Communicator? Mentor? Daughter? Friend? Teammate?
When I am sitting on a porch rocking chair 20 years from now (hopefully on the dock of a bay), I want to be proud knowing that myself, my family, and my team are not only surviving, but thriving. Don’t we all?
A Look in the Mirror
As a communications professional, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a working parent, a young professional who dreams of a career surrounded by sabbatical flexibility, or a renaissance personality who would likely thrive in multiple career chapters—communicators all have likely experienced a similar whisper asking ourselves, is there a better way?
Anyone in a communications agency setting would be lying if they had not had these harsh realities and reflection moments. The truth is – agency life is consistently ranked one of the most stressful career paths. Sure, we know it’s one of the most rewarding and challenging. But does the agency grind have to be a requirement or rite of passage to enjoy a fulfilling career and a healthy work-life balance?
My make or break “man in the mirror” moment came one evening during a long drive home on I-65 from Birmingham to Mobile. I fought the rain and dreaded interstate traffic while pumping, but I left Birmingham too late to see my son before he went to sleep. Why? I didn’t want to let my team down, so like any good teammate I stayed in town longer for an important late afternoon meeting.
I am self-aware enough to realize that, if I felt this way, many of my previous professional colleagues likely left agency life in the dust for a similar reason. The antiquated agency model of creating a burnout culture was no longer allowing them to live a purpose-driven life. It’s a common trend in our industry for agency professionals to call it quits and transition to a more predictable in-house position.
Is There a Better Way?
I decided right then and there that there must be a better way to operate an agency, even if it doesn’t exist yet. And since that moment, our team has been on a mission to figure it out.
One of Peritus’ most challenging chapters is ahead, and that keeps me going because I know what waits on the other side. As we embrace change and trust our vision, come hell or high water, our team is going to create a firm of the future that can inspire, train and sustain agency professionals for as long as it makes sense in their career journeys.
The workday of a traditional agency structure is flawed. There, I said it. And nothing will change unless all agency leaders commit to disruptive approaches by asking ourselves why not instead of why. To better serve our clients, we have to better support our teammates and meet them where they are, given today's 360-degree demands in the workplace culture.
Our team is determined to reimagine an agency workplace culture that isn’t out there. A culture where we can be the parents, volunteers, friends, travelers, coaches and side hustlers – these are the small sparks that define the best part of who we are.
The demand, the fire drills, the back-bending flexibility—most agency folks would self-admit we put ourselves last, and that makes it hard to thrive. The Peritus team is on a mission to create an environment where we allow ourselves focused time to take care of each other, grow smarter and do more impactful work. Most importantly, we are creating the type of model that will live past its founders and hopefully one day serve as an example for agencies around the world to walk the talk and sustain our industry’s best and brightest communicators.
I realize many of you may not aspire to start your own company or embark on a career change anytime soon, but I can guarantee you have a whisper telling you to make changes to strengthen your workplace culture or structure for the better.
I will continue sharing lessons from our firm of the future journey on Peritus’ blog, but would like to close with our most pivotal game changing moment.
We gave our team a seat at the table to develop the values which serve as our guiding compass. This process helped spark colleagues like Bella Tylicki, to not feel constrained by her age and successfully lead a retreat workshop for our team to collaboratively determine what our firm of the future looks like. This helped set the values we stand on and measure everything by today.
Our commitment to vision and value alignment has been steadfast since our 30A retreat last September. The rest is taking care of itself by leaning into the uncomfortable and trusting the process.
Our PUBLISHED By PERITUS Takeaway is this:
I challenge you, regardless of your company or agency role to help reimagine what a firm of the future looks like in your workplace.
Think about how your workplace can better contribute to CARE, GROWTH and IMPACT. If your company isn’t prioritizing these things, then maybe it’s your wakeup call to find a workplace committed to your well-being. Because when your career contributes to your whole self, your purpose is amplified.