Reviewing the "Surveillance Footage"
There are seven patterns that almost all principals are guilty of. When David and Blair point them out, it leads their clients to say, “you must have hidden cameras in my office!"
Jul 18, 2018•27 min
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Conversations on the art of creative entrepreneurship with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Episodes
Hacking Heuristics
Blair leads a discussion on how clients tend to take mental shortcuts in making business decisions, and how we can nudge clients without manipulating them to make a decision that is in their best interest. Links Rory Sutherland Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein "The Dark Arts of Leveraging Cognitive Biases" by B...
Jul 04, 2018•41 min
Collaborating with Competitors
David and Blair compare each other's competitiveness, and then offer some specific ways principals can actually collaborate with their competitors as a part of building beneficial business relationships. TRANSCRIPT BLAIR: David, today we're going to talk about how to crush your competition, is that right? DAVID: Instantly I got very excited about the concept, that's really not what we're going to talk about, but I love that idea. Oh my God, I'm just too competitive, but that's actually the oppos...
Jun 20, 2018•27 min
Four Segments of New Business
Blair and David come up with descriptive words that help clarify each of the four parts of what David calls the "pantheon" for new business: positioning, lead generation, sales, and pricing. Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour Mastering the Value Conversation podcast episode
Jun 06, 2018•28 min
Using Assessment Instruments in Your Firm
David and Blair explore the big topic of personality assessment tools that can help firms “get the right people on the bus.” Not Your Typical Personality Types →
May 16, 2018•34 min
Thoughts on Partnership
Blair and David dive into a discussion on ownership structures, looking at the results of a survey that David did recently about partnerships.
May 02, 2018•35 min
What Good Clients Are Really Looking For
Listeners on Twitter wanted to know what clients actually want from creative firms, so David makes a list based on his experience of what good clients want, while Blair's reaction is "who cares what clients want... all they wanted was a 'faster horse.'"
Apr 18, 2018•34 min
Mastering the Value Conversation
David gets Blair to expound on his statement that “the value conversation is where value pricing theory goes to die,” and how crucial that conversation is within the sales framework he lays out in his new book, "Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour."
Apr 04, 2018•35 min
Defining Success for Creatives
David and Blair take a stab at answering the complicated question of what success looks like for each of them personally, as well as what it means for their clients.
Mar 21, 2018•31 min
Words That Make Us Wince
Blair and David try to wind each other up by going through a list of phrases they hear from their clients way too often.
Mar 07, 2018•34 min
Positioning Cheats
David is bothered by the notion of helping people cheat, especially at positioning. So Blair discusses 10 ways firms could succeed even if they either aren't ready or don't believe in the idea of tight positioning. You’ll feel dirty.
Feb 21, 2018•32 min
Words We Try to Define
Expertise, selling, marketing, entrepreneurship, branding, positioning, and consultant. Blair and David do their best to come up with definitions for terms that they use regularly with clients.
Feb 07, 2018•38 min•Ep. 27
The Business of Expertise - Part 3, Live from London
Blair revisits David's new book, " The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth " in front of a live audience in London, who get to ask their own questions.
Jan 24, 2018•29 min
Pricing Creativity
Blair talks about his new book, "Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour," and the process it took to write it. David gets him to share three of the main rules laid out in the book that firms should apply in order to see significant increases in profit.
Jan 10, 2018•28 min
Planning for the New Year
David and Blair each share some goals that they have for their clients and themselves for the upcoming year, which turns into somewhat of a therapy session.
Dec 27, 2017•32 min
Valuing and Selling Your Firm
Blair and David discuss why, when, and how principals sell their firms, and Blair reveals he is skeptical about selling his own firm.
Dec 13, 2017•35 min
The Complexities of Commission Culture
David picks Blair's brain about new business compensation, and what principals need to consider in finding their firm's place on the spectrum between full commission and salary with no incentives.
Nov 29, 2017•36 min
The Role of Profit in a Creative Enterprise
Blair has some questions this week and David has answers. The topic is profit - what it is and the targets firms should be setting.
Nov 15, 2017•28 min
Mea Culpa
David offers to help Blair remember all the times he's been wrong over the past couple decades. Then Blair says he'll be happy to reveal all of the places he's wrong now but doesn't even know it yet.
Nov 01, 2017•32 min
The Science Behind Structuring Roles
David reveals some of the science behind the extensive research he has done over the past couple decades to develop a key part of his Total Business Review . Blair asks him to explain the three roles principals cannot let go of, along with the three roles they should give up first if they want their firms to really thrive.
Oct 18, 2017•34 min
The Business of Expertise - Part 2
Blair revisits David's new book, interviewing him on the two chapters that cover the important topic of positioning: "Distinguishing Between Vertical and Horizontal Expertise," and "Principles for the Less Exchangeable Positioning of Expertise."
Oct 04, 2017•35 min
Seven Words You Can't Say in Business Development
David and Blair discuss a list of words Blair came up with that you should avoid to keep you out of trouble and in control of the buy-sell relationship.
Sep 20, 2017•32 min
Paid Time Off or Earned Time On
Blair needs a vacation. And David is blown away by how little time principals take off.
Sep 06, 2017•27 min
An Introduction to Blair Enns
David asks Blair to describe his work and his passion for the creative entrepreneurial community, and they discuss how where he lives has such a huge impact on what he does.
Aug 23, 2017•19 min•Ep. 15
How to Drive Your Employees Bat Sh*t Crazy
The issue of how principals manage their employees continues to pop up for David year after year, and Blair is worried that he might have this problem in his own firm.
Aug 09, 2017•28 min•Ep. 14
Being Like Everyone Else
Blair restrains himself from going off on a rant about who his clients choose to learn from.
Jul 26, 2017•30 min
An Introduction to David C. Baker
Blair interviews David about who he is and why people should pay attention to what he has to say - if they should at all...
Jul 12, 2017•20 min
How Much Should You Write?
Blair lays out a year-long experiment where he significantly increased his writing and online publishing commitment .
Jun 28, 2017•30 min
The Business of Expertise - Part 1
David Baker wrote a book! And Blair asks him about his authoring process, publishing, and the book's topic.
Jun 14, 2017•33 min
What Happens When You're Away
David and Blair list good and bad things that can happen when the principal steps away from their creative firm for a period of time, which is based on David's blog post on the matter .
May 31, 2017•34 min
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