I’m writing this post as I sit in the backseat of a Ford pickup on my way to Nevada…Missouri. It’s pronounced Ne-VAY-dah around these parts. Don’t ask – it’s a “Missoura” thing. I’m going snow goose hunting. It’s late winter. The temps are trending up. And the birds are moving north for the Spring. It’s Tuesday. I left work early. And I’m not going to the office tomorrow. Or Thursday.
I know what you’re thinking. I’m one of THOSE “bosses.” A real “work from the golf course” type. And you know what? That assumption is fair this week. I think my employees would agree with me when I say it’s not the norm though. But this week – I’m putting my trust in them.
You see, with each hire we’ve made at Gorilla, we’ve made ourselves stronger. Not stronger in the sense that we can only take on more work and spread tasks out amongst more folks, but stronger in the sense that we have the right people in the right seats as well.
When Joe and I started Gorilla, it was just the two of us. I wrote. He designed. We both serviced accounts. We wore lots of hats. And while most of them fit, they didn’t all fit the way they should. For instance, project management. While I’m a relatively organized person, I wouldn’t put myself in the category of being detail obsessed. Which is an issue when you’re managing a big website build. Joe, he could hack his way through code, and even did at times, but again, not an area of expertise or passion. We were wearing the hats. And lots of them at that. But we didn’t look good in them. They weren’t our style.
Today, our roles continue to evolve. Sure, I’m trained in writing; however long-form isn’t my specialty. But our writing team – they excel in this format. So our clients are much better off if their content is written by one of our writers than if it was written by me. Furthermore, our clients benefit if I can keep an eye on their strategy from a macro level, as well as make sure that their Gorilla team is happy, well-trained and up-to-speed on best inbound practices and technology. That’s where my time is now best spent.
So even though the day-to-day of the founders / owners has changed, Gorilla still marches on. The copy is still being written. And it’s better than ever. The design is still being done. And it’s stronger than ever. The accounts are still being managed. And in a more organized fashion than ever. Joe and I are focusing our time on making this place better each day. Our goal is to become the absolute best industrial marketing agency in the land. We’re pitching work, negotiating contracts, building company culture, training employees, modifying curriculum, coordinating client strategy and even still taking out the trash (a duty that, believe it or not, I want to keep until the day I depart from Gorilla). We’re running this agency in the manner we best see fit and we’ll do whatever it takes to build the best, strongest Gorilla in the industrial marketing space.
Fast-forward a few days
As for the snow goose hunt, not a bad trip at all. I kept up with email from the field and came home with a cooler full of fresh, organic, farm-to-table eats. All while trusting my team every hour I was out of the office and in the field.
