2bobs - With David C. Baker And Blair Enns

David lists eight truths about money that he's identified in his efforts to help entrepreneurs make better business decisions.

Blair addresses the internal struggle for margin that happens in many firms between delivery teams and business development teams due to their lack of distinction between cost and price.

David wants entrepreneurs to live with tension in various aspects of their business, using it to their advantage in making important decisions instead of just worrying about resolving the tension itself.

Blair offers some ways to help prevent over-excited new business people and principals from giving away the shop and appearing unprofessional.

David draws a picture for Blair about the implications of this statement he hears almost all of his clients and prospects say about being able to close new business.

Blair shares the tradeoffs creative firms have to deal with when pursuing firms of a particular size, and David gets Blair riled up again about procurement.

As agencies are trading their big city offices for working at home during the pandemic, Blair wants to know if David thinks he should get into real estate.

David thinks firms have too many meetings and offers some solutions, and Blair pushes back.

David torches Blair's highfalutin notions of timekeeping and offers four instances when timekeeping can actually be used without polluting your pricing.

David articulates five fears that tend to shape management style and impact decisions principals make for their firms.

In part two of their specialization coversation, David and Blair address six arguments they have heard from certain clients who toyed with the idea of broader positioning for their firms.

David and Blair have experienced a backlash against experts, expertise, and specialization thanks to David Epstein's book, and they disagree on whether or not it's worth reading.

Blair and David discuss three tiers of inbound and outbound marketing that firms should be using for new business development.

David and Blair address a listener request to go over the challenges that principals often go through once they decide to reposition their firm.

Blair wonders if he's made an error in his efforts to prevent agencies from going into presentation mode during the sales process.

Blair predicts when we are through the COVID-19 pandemic and business is approaching normal (whatever that means), agency principals will look back with some regrets about the things they did not do, rather than the things they did.   LINKS "Four Regrets You’re About to Have" by Blair Enns "Play the Game of Constraints" by Blair Enns

Blair and David, as two white business leaders, try talking about the traumatic and emotional yet very necessary changes happening now to end systemic racism. As they listen and allow space for the voices of diversity that need to be heard, they also struggle with when to speak up as examples, owning up to their mistakes which will hopefully help lead the way for real change.   LINKS “How I’m Trying to Process Things Right Now” by David C. Baker “Speech and Systems” - episode 186 of Exponent podcast A Statement from the Founders of Monday Night Brewing  

David is frequently surprised by how many new business people have trouble answering five particular important questions about their jobs and their firms.

Blair gets David to share a part of his upcoming book about how all client relationships have a cycle of love-hate-love that we have to be prepared for and push through.

David expects to get in trouble discussing Blair's topic about the role of friendship in business—between sales people and prospects, account people and clients, and principals and employees.