Will [not] work for free - Constant improvement measures

I just got back from vacation and it was a full detach for me.  Honestly one of the first vacations i have had since i went into business for myself over 6 years ago. Now, don't cry for me Argentina...most who know me, know I take time off all the time. But, i have become the king of the 4-day weekend.  This is not the same as a vacation.  Those of you with busy lives and businesses probably have similar stories and feelings.  So, my vacation was great...thanks for [not] asking.

Anyway, the holiday could not have come at a better time because the last 2 quarters have been break-neck for all involved in Fuze.  All cylinders have been singin' a throaty rumble. We have a couple mega projects launching this month...over 6 months in the making, and boy are we in need of some breathing room to look internal at our business and breathe a bit.

We were actually supposed to make December a down month to work on our 'stuff'.  You know...Christmas gifts that we probably wont complete, holiday messages we will forgo in favor of getting client messages out, a new website long overdue, etc, etc. Obviously we wont fulfill all of these.  On the other hand, I am living vicariously through my pals in Leeds at Carsonified who decided to take 10 days off to work on their business (right on the heels of their rebrand). As always, Ryan's story is interesting to follow.  Really has me thinking about our business and some of our shortcomings which we are improving (competition read on):

• As of recent, we seem to be having some trouble working on our own stuff, and at the same time, we are troubled with wrangling clients and keeping some of our larger projects on a fast track.
• We've grown, and are managing more people, projects, and clients as well - need to keep all VIP's VIP's...no bad seats here.
  
• Our processes & Project Management systems have had light shined upon them and both need to evolve. 

All not lost, just a rant. Hopefully folks appreciate the honesty. We get things done, but with some process & system improvements, we would have more capacity and would provide an even better customer experience so things are a changin'.  While I'm at it, i am re-evaluating a few other things.

Like most good agencies, we get all too frequent requests/pipe-dreams asking us to do free work for our friends-of-friends, good causes, bad causes, etc.  I am a sucker for the most part when it comes to charity and community service which is why we have contributed, in 2007 alone, the equivalent of nearly 1000 hours of pro-bono services & donations. You do the math on that...it's a lot for an agency our size. I have always been a believer in giving back so we will certainly keep helping folks out pro-bono wise, i think that our criteria for selction of charities may well change.

So, pro bono will be re-focused, but we are going to start waving off another type of freebie here for 2008.  I am not a believer in trade out, and we have far graduated from a need to do "portfolio work", spec work, trade for ownership, etc.  Can't. Won't. No mas. To support this philosophy, I came across this funny animation (courtesy of Stefan Lucut) that i found fitting so i will share:

[click to view animation full size]

The animation got me thinkin': I think some people believe all we do here is draw pictures and play on the computer, and as a result, think that we are fully available to goof off for them - as if our time has no value. We don't have a lot of agency 'fluffers' here at Fuze, everybody is a contributor (not typical of an agency, but it works for us) so we don't have a scrub team we can throw on freebie side projects.  Hell we have 100's of ideas internally we would rather work on than someone's "build me a ..." job thats lobbed over the wall unsolicited. 2008 will see these requests get highly scrutinized before we consider them.

So my holiday resolutions are:

• evaluate client roster - make sure we have good fits
• visit with clients more often - sometimes I lose touch
• keep the projects good ones - no bad work
• don't waste time - don't waste money
• build new & better processes for all workflows
• narrow pro-bono to engagements where we can really make a difference
• expand client base into target markets & industries
• continue our community involvement
• continue to grow
• LAUNCH NEW G'DAMN WEBSITE(s)!
• ...

...well, this wasn't supposed to be a year end wrap up, so i will stop and save that for December 31st, but one thing i can guarantee is that, much like 2007, you can expect a new look and feel for everything Fuze in 2008. Ever forward...as always. Pardon our dust till we take the covers off...

WBV