Develop Radical Agency, How to Win at PR - Tactician: #0097

With radical agency, I've started bringing a fog machine to work.

Why?

Makes every entrance epic. 'Did you finish that report?' 'I don't know, but I just appeared out of a cloud, so let's talk about that.'

11/04/24

Develop Radical Agency

Why Read:

• Learn practical strategies for developing and leveraging agency - a crucial skill for overcoming challenges and driving success.

Featuring:

• Cate Hall, Co-Founder and Board Chair at Scout Dixon West

Link: 

• “How to be More Agentic”

Key Concepts and Tactics:

• Agency as a Learnable Skill, Not an Inherent Trait

  • Point: Agency can be developed and dialed up to compensate for other limitations.

    • "Over the years, as I've gradually grown dumber relative to my peers through a combination of aging and making smarter friends, one of the main ways I've compensated has been through dialing up my agency, which I think of as something like 'manifest determination to make things happen.'"

• Finding Real Edges Through Agency

  • Point: Radical agency involves doing things others are unwilling to do, often because they're annoying or unpleasant.

    • "In my way of thinking, radical agency is about finding real edges: things you are willing to do that others aren't, often because they're annoying or unpleasant. These don't always surface in awareness to the point one is actually choosing -- often they live in a cloud of aversion that strategically obscures the tradeoff."

• Courting Rejection to Build Agency

  • Point: Seek out rejection deliberately to learn to decouple it from surprise and dejection.

    • "If you have not yet learned the skill of absorbing rejection, court it deliberately: Apply for some jobs you really don't think you'll get so you can learn to decouple 'no' from surprise and dejection."

    • "I sent an email recently that I wouldn't have dared try a few years ago, something along the lines of 'I'm planning to start an organization similar to yours; would you consider letting me run yours instead?' The response? Crickets. Maybe that person thinks I overstepped. But it doesn't matter, because a similar pitch delivered to someone else put us on a path to start a new organization together, something much cooler than I could have managed on my own."

• Seeking Real Feedback for Self-Improvement

  • Point: Get honest, anonymous feedback from people who know you to identify areas for improvement.

    • "It's hard to overstate how overpowered this one is. If you aren't trying to get real feedback from people who know you, you're cooking without tasting. This is, like, the lowest hanging fruit for self-improvement, but few people really try to pick it."

    • "To get honest feedback, you want to make it as comfortable as possible for people to give it. You also want to make it easy to find -- I have a link to my feedback form in my Twitter bio, and get a few comments a week through it."

• Assuming Everything is Learnable

  • Point: Treat supposedly fixed traits as malleable and learnable through deliberate practice.

    • "Most subject matter is learnable, even stuff that seems really hard. But beyond that, many (most?) traits that people treat as fixed are actually quite malleable if you (1) believe they are and (2) put the same kind of work into learning them as you would anything else."

    • "Many other supposedly fixed traits can likewise be altered. Some other things you can learn: confidence, charisma, warmth, tranquility, optimism."

• Learning to Love the Moat of Low Status

  • Point: Embrace the period of low status when learning new skills, as it provides an advantage to those who can cross it.

    • "The moat of low status is one of my favorite concepts, courtesy of my husband Sasha. The idea is that making changes in your life, especially when learning new skill sets, requires you to cross a moat of low status, a period of time where you are actually bad at the thing or fail to know things that are obvious to other people."

    • "If you can learn to thrive in the moat, it's incredibly liberating. I once played a hand in a big poker tournament so badly there were news stories about it. I'll never entirely get over my embarrassment about the hand, but I still look back on it with great fondness, because it's when I realized I'd crossed some threshold of unflappability."

• Avoiding Burnout to Maintain Agency

  • Point: Set boundaries and avoid overworking to prevent burnout, which kills creativity and agency.

    • "Burnout is the ultimate agency-killer. This is so true that I've learned to identify a reduction in agency as one of the first signs of burnout, one that shows up even before I consciously realize what's happening. A switch flips and I start looking for ways to rule out ideas and actions, to conclude they won't work or aren't necessary, rather than chasing better versions."

    • "These days I set boundaries that would have made me ashamed at earlier points in my life: I'm offline at 6 p.m. almost every night, and rigorously observe a Sunday Sabbath where nothing with the flavor of effort is tolerated. These will seem like small things to some people, but like a mortal sin to others in the communities I run in."

How to Win at PR

• Why Read:

  • Learn the importance of effective storytelling and media relations for driving business success.

• Featuring:

  • Bessemer Venture Partners, venture capital firm

• Link: 

  • “PR fundamentals for early stage founders”

• Key Concepts and Tactics:

  • The Importance of Storytelling for Startup Founders

    • Point: Being a good storyteller is a critical skill for founders in connecting with various audiences and driving business success.

      • "Many people say that being a good storyteller is the number one job that you have as a founder. It impacts how you connect with your customers, teams, investors, and of course, the media. I've always had a phrase I've used, and especially I've been sharing it with folks, 'The story makes the market.' How you message and connect with your audiences really drives traction, shapes your reputation, determines your business future, and especially in all the crazy we've all been going through the last few years [...]."

  • Non-Negotiable Requirements Before Talking to the Media

    • Point: Founders must have a clear understanding of their company's story, be willing to share detailed business results, and have well-defined messaging before engaging with the media.

      • "My absolute non-negotiable requirement before talking to the media, I would say, is figure out your messaging. What's the hook? What's the narrative? What's unique about your journey and your story? That is going to make you stand out and make others want to learn more about what you're building." - Kelly Ferguson

      • "My non-negotiable is the separation of go-to-market messaging and press messaging. It's not that those two things live in conflict. Go-to-market messaging is really really important. But it's not your story." - John O'Brien

  • Crafting a Compelling Tech Story Pitch

    • Point: A good tech story pitch should focus on sharing detailed business results, addressing significant problems, and positioning the company as a thought leader.

      • "When someone comes to me and says, 'Hey, our ARR grew a hundred percent in the last quarter. And now we're at $3.5 million ARR, and we're gonna go out and raise our series A extension, or whatever, that tells me that that person is willing to talk about hard details, to dig into the nitty gritty, and to actually answer questions about the business itself." - Alex Wilhelm

      • "Instead of directly selling your product or service, it's more impactful to frame your pitch around a significant problem your company addresses. For example, instead of merely stating that our client, Lightmatter, is developing a photonic computing system, we highlight the broader context—how their technology could address the massive energy consumption projected for AI inference, drawing parallels to pressing global issues and industry challenges." - John O'Brien

    • The Role and Timing of Hiring a Communications Leader

      • Point: The decision to hire a communications leader depends on the maturity of the marketing team and the company's growth stage, typically between Series C and D rounds.

        • "I joined Claroty as the first in-house comms person when we were between our Series C and D rounds. I think we were maybe between 100 and 150 employees total. It's all dependent on the maturity of the marketing team. Is there a head of marketing, do they come from a Comms background? Do they have the chops and do they have the bandwidth to work with the PR agency, or work directly with the press to handle everything that comes with it?" - Kelly Ferguson

    • The Importance of a Long-Term, Consistent PR Program

      • Point: Effective PR requires a long-term, consistent approach focused on building relationships and brand awareness over time.

        • "The rolling thunder is where the magic happens. That's what makes a PR program worth doing in the first place. It's all about building relationships and getting your story out there. Any kind of brand awareness initiative is usually a long game. It's not a singular moment in time. There needs to be some level of consistency over a long period of time. If you're gonna take the time to invest in PR, you need to look at it as a long term thing, otherwise you're not gonna have the same impact." - Kelly Ferguson

    • The Pros and Cons of Founder-Led Communications

      • Point: Founder-led communications can be effective for high-profile founders or buzzworthy companies, but it requires a significant time investment and a willingness to engage dynamically with current events.

        • "The Comms world has been abuzz, especially after Lulu's manifesto, about the potential benefits of founders directly handling their communications. However, this approach typically favors high-profile founders or buzzworthy companies. It's challenging for lesser-known founders to manage their comms with the expectation of significantly boosting press, sales, and brand visibility. This strategy often confuses a single element with the entire solution. Success in this realm requires a founder's willingness to invest significant time and engage dynamically with current events." - John O'Brien

    • Balancing Authenticity and Preparedness in Media Interactions

      • Point: Founders should strive to be authentic and true to themselves while also ensuring key messages are communicated effectively during media interactions.

        • "It's a fine line and a difficult balance. You need to know the things you want to communicate. I will tell founders often, 'I don't care if the reporter just wants to talk about your shoes and your car, they're going to know these five things about your company, your product, or whatever.' But don't be someone you're not. It's really about being yourself while also ensuring the key messages get across." - John O'Brien

        • "And that's where the magic of good comms strategy comes into play. It's finding that perfect balance between being prepared and being authentic. It's a skill that can be honed over time with the right guidance and practice." - Kelly Ferguson

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