The other day I was laid up in bed with a stomach bug, which I do not wish upon anyone, and I ended watching the new Netflix documentary, “America’s Team – The Gambler and His Cowboys.”
Let’s set something straight here, I do not like the Cowboy’s, I hope they never win another Super Bowl…Go Birds!
Ok, I got that out of my system, and I feel better.
The gist of the entire documentary is that Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboy’s, struck it rich in Arkansas drilling for oil, made 100 million dollars, and then bought the Dallas Cowboys in the 80’s. He took a team that was falling apart, hired a great head coach in Jimmie Johnson and then went on to win three Super Bowls in the 90’s; inevitably making them known as America’s Team.
The downfall of the Cowboys started when Jimmie Johnson left. It fell even further when Michael Irvin got in legal trouble, and then Tory Aikman had four concussions in 14 months, and then Emmit Smith left for Arizona. They have been through numerous head coaches, offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, starting quarterbacks, and every other change you can think of. The one thing that has stayed the same, however, is Jerry Jones is the Owner, President, and GM of the team.
I won’t get into the semantics of how I feel about his inability to win – he is actually my favorite owner because he doesn’t win – but I will speak to culture and leadership and how this relates back to you as the business owner.
Let me ask you this…
How many sales managers have you had? What about project managers? Marketing managers? Marketing companies? How many times have you hired a different leader for the same position and gotten the same results?
When I was in high school I dated a lot of girls; this is not a brag…just give the story time. I would date for about two months and then out of nowhere they would break up with me – cry me a river right?
I went to my mom after getting broken up with again, and my mom, being the loving mother she is, asked me what I thought the problem was. I immediately went in to blaming the girls I was dating and how horrible they were.
My mother then, as only a mom can, asked me this question, “well, son, what is the one common denominator in each relationship?”
I responded, “I don’t know!”
“Well, son…YOU! You are the only recurring theme in each of your relationships!”
Thanks for that mom…still hurts 20 years later.
What my mom was getting across to me was that I was the problem; and what I am telling you is that maybe you, the owner, are the problem!
If the only common denominator in every situation is you…then it’s YOU!
Maybe it is time to take a look internally and try to figure out why your marketing agency is always getting it wrong. Are you asking the right questions? Tracking the right metrics? Marketing in the right areas?
What about the sales manager position that keeps turning over? Are you doing the right personality tests to see if they are a fit? Does your interview process need to be different? Are you measuring the wrong metrics for success?
We do this at Lion and Panda often – what can we get better at? If I were to lose a sale to another company, I would go and ask the client why they chose the other company. I need to know how I can get better.
To sum it up…
Ask yourselves the right questions if you are having issues with your marketing agency or any position that seems to turn over consistently.
Unless you are the Cowboys…keep up the good work Jerry
