Build a collaborative culture
Collaboration begins with the structure of 72andSunny’s headquarters — literally.
The aforementioned executive office is the only office, which leaves the rest of the floor plan open. Employees cluster together at long tables in lieu of individual cubicles.
“That, in itself, just structurally forces people to interact with each other in different ways,” Jarvis says. “We don’t sit people by function like most agencies do. Usually at most agencies, there’s a creative department. I’ve always thought that was the craziest thing; you’re in this creative business where you need the best idea and then you’re relegating creativity to a single department.”
Of course, the building alone won’t create a culture where ideas flourish from every level. You need interaction within that setting.
Because employees watch how the partners interact, it starts with the example set by leadership.
“It’s really a three-legged stool from a management standpoint,” Jarvis says. “Anytime we start talking about roles and responsibilities, it does change a little bit day to day — who’s on vacation, who’s busy with other things.”
Instead of each partner holding a narrowly defined role, the partners are collectively responsible for the performance of the organization in terms of client satisfaction, financial health and a vibrant culture. They rely on transparency, honesty, integrity and communication to keep overlaps from becoming obstacles.
The key to avoiding a free-for-all is that you set expectations in terms of generally outlined roles and tediously laid-out goals and strategies.
For example, employees are organized into teams by their core functions to ensure that skill sets on each team are balanced. Each team consists of a design-oriented creative director, a creative director with a writing background, a brand director serving as the business leader and a strategy director with a focus on research and analytics. On larger projects, the teams can scale by adding more people to each function.
“It’s important that just because you have the strategist title doesn’t mean that you’re going off in your corner writing a strategy,” Jarvis says. “The strategy is a product of a conversation between all those people. Now ultimately, you’re accountable for the strategic product and you’re accountable for bringing these people together and building consensus, but just because you’re the leader doesn’t mean that others don’t participate.”
