The four briefs we say no to, and what we used to do instead
We used to take work we could deliver but could not make succeed. It paid, it went badly, and the pattern was clear enough to write down.
Four: work with no owner inside the client, fixed prices on unmeasured scope, campaigns that cannot report a business outcome, and anything where the real request is to look busy. Each one of those we have taken before and each one ended the same way.
No named owner on their side
A project without somebody inside the company who is accountable for the outcome does not fail loudly. It drifts: decisions wait, feedback arrives from three directions, and the work is eventually judged by whoever is least invested in it.
We used to accept a steering committee as an owner. A committee is not an owner. It is a place where ownership goes to be discussed.
A fixed price on something nobody has measured
A fixed price on unmeasured scope is not certainty, it is a risk premium you pay for. We price the measurement, then price the work, and the second number is fixed because by then it is known.
Campaigns that cannot report an outcome
If the only available number is a platform conversion nobody in the business recognises, the engagement will be argued about rather than judged. We would rather build the reporting first, even if that delays the spend.
Where the brief is to look busy
Sometimes the actual requirement is a project on a slide. It is usually recognisable within one call, and taking it is a way of charging somebody for a problem we know will not be solved.
What to take from this
- 01A committee is not an owner
- 02A fixed price on unmeasured scope prices your risk into their fee
- 03Build the reporting before the spend, even when that delays it
- 04Recognising the fourth one early is a kindness to both sides
Ask the question directly
- Do you ever make exceptions?
- On the first, occasionally, if the client agrees to name an owner as the first deliverable. On the others, no, because the failure is structural rather than a matter of effort.
- Is this not just turning away revenue?
- It is. It is cheaper than the alternative, which is a paid engagement that produces a reference we would not want anybody to call.
Related answers
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