“Whatever you want, dear.”
“How high did you want me to jump?”
“Of course, of course – my mistake – you are right.”
“No, really, we are very close.”
Have you ever been there?
You know what I mean – I think…
A relationship where you just pander.
A relationship where you just say yes, take orders and deliver like Pizza Hut.
A relationship where you are subservient – not equal.
We all have – I imagine. At one time or another.
Either in business or personal – we have all, or most of us anyway, played that role.
And, in my experience, sometime before the ax falls, those memorable words are uttered – “No, really, we are very close…” And then BOOM!
And what a boom!
“Unexpected,” hurtful” – full of recriminations and such.
BOOM! “No, really, we are very close.”
Listen:
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” Sir Winston Churchill
Feed the croc at your own risk – it will eat you – eventually. No, really!!!
What do you think?
Who’s dream is one going to live, yours or others ? its a difficult path …
Some clients expect flattery/appeasement from their agency. We don’t love these clients, but flattery/appeasement probably extends the relationship. That is, it’s still a profitable enterprise. Some clients will treat us like whores, others like partners. The trick is to distinguish the johns from the righteously disgruntled and happy partners, convince Finance of same, and nurture the relationships which will ultimately prove to be profitable. As I often say: Account Management — the toughest and most thankless job in advertising.
Great quote…but from my experience the level of appeasment and willingness to work as a team, is highly dependant on the culture and country in which you operate. Sometimes you just need to keep feeding your crocodile and hope he chokes !
asks you to draw a thin line between what is needed and what is wanted. the kind of business we are in, one can never shy away from the fact that personalities and relationships play a key role. Whether they play a more important role than business, is a debate i think the worlds second oldest profession is trying to answer for a while. distinguish…and therein lies the skill.
Remember Captain Hook in Barrie’s Peter Pan? The “Tic-Toc” Croc gave off a tell tale sound that warned Hook of its approach…how can we apply that…????