Take One For The Team.

Today's Marketing Cookie is all about the honor of sacrifice.

I'm sure you've heard the cliché saying, "taking one for the team." Well, it takes humility and courage to put aside your ego and personal interests to do what is best for the company. We've had accounts that preferred specific characteristics in the team they would like to be working with, and we've made adjustments internally to ensure that we provided the best possible chemistry for our clients. For example, a client interested in global marketing might be given an opportunity to work with members of our team who were born and raised outside the United States.

This sounds like a good idea, and downright smart, right? Well, of course it is, except sometimes the person being shifted to a new account may not wish to be shifted. It could be that they aren't fond of traveling to Europe every month, or perhaps they just really love the assignment they were already working on. Perhaps they need to cover for someone and the project is below their "pay grade", or maybe they need to give a presentation to a board of directors and they are scared out of their minds. Whatever the circumstance, when they accept the new assignment, it is a selfless, ego-free moment when they "take one for the team."

There have been situations when our primary point of contact has made a major mistake, and we've stepped up to accept some of the blame on their behalf. Sure, it could result in losing the account, but taking responsibility for the well-being of the partnership is what good partners do. It allows our primary contact to keep their job, and by extension, we strengthen our relationship.

The truth is that our creative is why we win new accounts, but our approach to building a solid partnership is why our average client relationships last seven years or more. I'm really not sure what parking tickets have to do with marketing, but I do know what it feels like to rejoice because the system works.