My ultimate failing and the ultimate truth.

After about 20 years in the public relations agency business, I now realize the thing I must constantly work on, the thing that is my ultimate failing.

It is not a great epiphany but at the end of the day it is the ultimate truth.

By the very nature of the business, you're only as good as what you've done lately.

You can have deep relationships with clients, they can become your friends and confidants, you can go to "war" with them and have success but at the end of the day, things change.  Their business model changes, they leave to go somewhere else, their personal situation changes, they hire or bring in someone new who you now report to.

For the account lead, the agency principal, the members of the team this is the hardest part.  While you have had success, been to war, shared the spoils, etc., these new folks have not.  It's not their fault, it just is.

We as the agency and partner have to resell our capabilities, our successes, etc. to them.  They have no experience with us.  We have to get them over the "humps" all over again and while we'd love them to take our history of success into account, they rightfully want to be sold all over again.

I have to admit, publicly which might scare more than a few folks, that it is this part of our business that I care for the least but is perhaps the most important.  It is what makes most businesses, and I'd like to think our businesses in particular, extremely successful.  The ability to keep most relationships alive and successful over a long period of time as we have, but adding new relationships at the same time is what fuels growth and success.

It is not an easy part of our business.  No one likes to justify themselves all the time, especially when you and your group has done great work over a long period of time.  But it is necessary and true especially as your clients' world is constantly changing.

Do I like it?  No.  Does it sometimes frustrate me?  Yes.  Do I try to view it as an opportunity?  Constantly, as that's how I trick myself to get through it.

How do you "get through" it?  I'd love to hear from you.