Agency Journey Andrew Dymski and Gray MacKenzie

Ask any agency owner and they’ll tell you—growth doesn’t happen by accident. It takes strategy, systems, and support.
So how do you choose the right blueprint to guide your agency’s growth? What if that blueprint could help you smash through plateaus and scale your team 10x?

In this episode of Agency Journey, host Gray MacKenzie interviews Tyler Dolph, CEO of Rocket Clicks. We'll dig deep into how EOS(The Entrepreneurial Operating System) helped transform Rocket Clicks into the Agency that it is today.
Episode Insights:

How implementing EOS helped the agency establish clear roles, vision, and processes to enable growth
Why focusing obsessively on client retention, not just sales, fueled sustainable growth
The importance of Investing intentionally in culture like immersive onboarding and events strengthened their distributed team
Strategies to analyzing top clients revealed their ideal target market to focus growth efforts
AI offers opportunities to double down on human-centered strategies and relationships vs trying to compete
Resources and People Mentioned:

Rocket Clicks Website
EOS Website
EOS Tools
Traction by Gino Wickman
John LaFontsee's LinkedIn
John Morriss LinkedIn

Ramsay Innovations Website (Now known as EngineBI)
Avoma

Struggling to get your team aligned on goals and metrics? Wish your company culture was more productive and humane?
Mark Abbott, founder and CEO of Ninety, shares how and the importance to implement tools to empower employees and build a resilient organization. In this episode, Mark discusses the specifics of designing effective scorecards, setting targets vs goals, and getting team member buy-in and so much more.
Episode Insights:

Why companies are complex adaptive systems. The best ones are explicit, coherent and resonant with all stakeholders.
What mastery means being able to teach it to others - true understanding goes deeper than just reading a book.
How to have Leadership through agreements is better than old school "command and control." Scorecards set targets to avoid micromanaging.
Why having 3-5 KPIs per person (quality, quantity, process, show up) provides guardrails and autonomy.
The importance on having a quality, quantity, process and show up element that can be measured in any role.
Why focus on issues, not chasing goals. Green across the board but missing the target shouldn't require intervention.
How implementing scorecards quickly gets alignment. Trust people to know the right KPIs for their role.
Why great companies are extraordinarily productive, humane and resilient.
Resources mentioned in this episode:

Ninety.io
EOS
EOS Tools
Traction
The Great CEO Within
The E-Myth
Built to Sell

In this episode, Kuba shares his vision for ZenPilot Marketing. He details his strategy to transition ZenPilot's perception from merely a ClickUp implementation partner to a team of agency operations experts. Kuba emphasizes the importance of promoting the ZenPilot team and using platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn to highlight their expertise and unique personalities, fostering a more connected audience.
Kuba also offers valuable insights into "low-hanging marketing fruit" for agencies. He discusses the importance of investing in team development and leveraging their individual personalities to build a loyal audience. He highlights the value of using AI tools like ChatGPT for content repurposing, and encourages agencies to focus on creating high-quality content around crucial keywords.
In this episode, you'll learn:

Vision for ZenPilot Marketing
Low-Hanging Marketing Fruit for Agencies
The importance focus on creating one or a few pieces of high-quality content around important keywords.
Why you need to invest in developing your team’s personalities and give them a platform to share their expertise.
How your mindset as a leader trickles down to your team and agency.
Kuba’s Best Tip for Agency Operators: Work on Your Mindset
Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot
If you're an agency owner or leader looking to level up your operations and maximize your team's potential, then we have the perfect solution for you.
ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial and error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.
So, what are you waiting for?
Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.
Resources mentioned in this episode:

Jakub Grajcar LinkedIn
ZenPilot's Website
Gray MacKenzie's LinkedIn

Do you struggle to create work that truly resonates with your audience? The ability to craft stories and messages that forge meaningful connections is what separates good creators from great ones. In today’s episode, host Gray MacKenzie sits down with storytelling expert Jay Acunzo.
Jay Acunzo, The founder of the Creator Kitchen, a membership program helping you push yourself creatively. He's also an author, speaker, and host of the award-winning podcast Unthinkable, where creative people take us inside the unconventional choices they made to break from best practices.
In this episode, you'll learn:

How to resonate with your audience by crafting memorable stories
Learn about posture and practice and what it means as an creative.
The four ways to communicate with your audience.
What stories should be focused on.
How to practice crafting stories and work on developing your own narrative style.
What does the Creator Kitchen community look like
Jay's recommended people to follow
The Unthinkable Podcast Process
Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot
If you're an agency owner or leader looking to level up your operations and maximize your team's potential, then we have the perfect solution for you.
ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial and error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.
So, what are you waiting for?
Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.
Resources mentioned in this episode:

Unthinkable Podcast
Creator Kitchen's Website
Jay Acunzo's Website
Jay Acunzo's LinkedIn
Total ANNARCHY Newsletter
Playing Favorites Newsletter
Gray MacKenzie's LinkedIn

In this episode, Erika Zeigyte, CEO of a consulting & recruitment agency called Prosana. joins Gray Mackenzie to discuss the intricacies of hiring an A+ talent for your agency.
Erika also shares her insights into what makes for great agency candidates, how to build an effective hiring process, the benefits of using a recruiting agency, interview techniques, and recommended tools for recruiting.
In this episode, you'll learn:

What makes someone a good fit for an agency?
How to vet candidates for agency roles
How to balance candidate experience with thoroughly vetting candidates
The common positions recruited in an agency
Hiring challenges with junior candidates
The elements of a first-class hiring process
Prosana's hiring process
How to source and qualify candidates effectively
Ways to do an effective outreach to candidate prospects
Recruitment agency tech stack
When to consider using an outside recruiting agency (pros and cons)
Effective interview questions to ask a talent during interview
Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot
If you're an agency owner or leader looking to level up your operations and maximize your team's potential, then we have the perfect solution for you.
ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial and error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.
So, what are you waiting for?
Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.
Resources mentioned in this episode:

Erika Zeigyte's Linkedin
Prosana's Website
ClickUp
Asana
Jeb Blount
Gray MacKenzie's Linkedin

Misti Ferris holds the “Integrator” seat at digital marketing agency Roger West Creative & Code, which means she ensures that everyone is dancing to the same beat called EOS (even the creatives).
In addition to the Integrator role, Misti serves as Vice President of Operations, where her “3 M” mantra: marketer, minimalist and mom (of 4 daughters) is the driving force behind all things requiring structure, process and a firm yet loving nudge.
In this episode, you'll learn:

How EOS provides structure and discipline that still allows for creativity in agencies and marketing firms.
Why providing transparency into the company's vision and goals builds trust and helps employees understand the purpose behind operational changes.
How bi-directional feedback between managers and employees improves communication and relationships but takes time to implement fully.
What tools are available for managing EOS, so companies should evaluate options based on their needs and preferences.
Best practices on continuously documenting processes and procedures prepares agencies for growth opportunities like new clients, ventures, and services.
Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot
If you're an agency owner or leader looking to level up your operations and maximize your team's potential, then we have the perfect solution for you.
ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial and error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.
So, what are you waiting for?
Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.
Resources mentioned in this episode:

Misti Ferris Linkedin
Gray MacKenzie Linkedin
Roger West Website
EOS Website
EOS Tools