Feedback is a gift.
It may not always be what we want to hear… but it can be the key to personal and professional improvement.
The key is to accept that feedback is a gift. A recent debrief call with an agency that failed to advance in a Mercer Island Group agency review was a reminder of how important it is to treat feedback as a gift.
Here’s what happened. A leading agency did not advance in a sizable media agency review we were managing. The feedback we shared, following our debrief with the client, was specific:
- The agency’s submission appeared to be “canned”
- The submission failed to focus on the client’s specific challenges
- The submission failed to make a case as to why the agency was well prepared for this specific client’s business and challenges
Pretty straightforward. Pretty disappointing.
That feedback was our gift to the agency. They could reassess their approach to the next review they participated in and provide a more compelling response.
Unfortunately, the agency leader was both defensive and rude. Perhaps the disappointment he felt in the moment got the better of him.
Regardless, that exchange provided quite a lasting memory. Instead of being grateful for the feedback and treating it as a gift, the agency left my team with a very negative memory.
Feedback is a gift! And being thankful for gifts is a good idea.
Steve Boehler, founder, and partner at Mercer Island Group has led consulting teams on behalf of clients as diverse as Ulta Beauty, Microsoft, UScellular, Nintendo, Kaiser Permanente, Holland America Line, Stop & Shop, Qualcomm, Brooks Running, and numerous others. He founded MIG after serving as a division president in a Fortune 100 when he was only 32. Earlier in his career, Steve Boehler cut his teeth with a decade in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, leading brands like Tide, Pringles, and Jif.
Mercer Island Group helps marketers and agencies succeed. Company leadership is as much at home with marketers and their C-Suites as in an agency’s boardroom. With marketers, Mercer Island Group is a top 5 agency search consultancy covering all types of agency relationships (creative, media, web, PR, experiential) and assists marketers with marketing organization structure, workflow and critical skill development (briefing, creative evaluation & feedback, etc.). The company also supports leading and aspiring agencies with positioning, pitch and strategy training and pitch support.