How to Leverage Agile to Ace Scope for Marketing

Jack Skeels is a thought leader, researcher, writer, speaker, podcast host, coach, and two-time Inc. 500 entrepreneur. He spent the last decade working with over 200 agencies, consultancies, and project-driven organizations to make them better, faster, and happier.

His current business is AgencyAgile.

Episode highlights from Jack Skeel Episode

• What AgencyAgile is focused on today
• Uh oh! What happens as an Agile agency as you get into richer marketing mixes
• How Jack adapted and updated the Agile model for his agency
• What “choreography” means for meetings
• When you should bring new info to a meeting – is it right away? (a questions that’s worth many hours of productivity!)
• What common system pitfalls may hit agencies
• What the deal is with underguessing scope
• How to bridge the gap in understanding of a project’s scope

Lightning Round with Jack Skeels

• Best advice: Told to Jack: “You need to write a book – you’re stupid if you don’t!”
• Habit that contributes to success: Wanting to be a Renaissance Man – broad exposure leads to seeing a broader picture
• Recommended tool: Google Scholar
• Recommended books: Ricardo Semler 7-Day Weekend or Maverick, or Joe Phelps’ Pyramids Are Tombs

Resources, plus connect with Jack Skeels

• AgencyAgile
• Jack on Medium
• TheArtOf.Management podcast
• Jack on LinkedIn
• Jack’s book – keep an eye out for its release!

Quotes from Jack Skeels Episode

• “We have this way of being myopic about it.”
• “We thought it was going to be 1,000 hours, but it turned out to be 1,200-1,400 hours.”
• “Scope is less knowable than we think.”
• “Handoffs are notoriously poorly done.”
• “The speed of knowing is different than the speed of understanding.”
• “People who deliver actually ask better questions.”
• “You and the client are equally ignorant.”

Takeaways from Jack Skeels episode

• Agencies generally undershoot the scope
• The sooner you can get your team to take complete ownership of a project, the better
• VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity

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