Looking back, a year at Ammunition
About one year ago, I made the decision to leave Corporate America. Although it would be a couple of more weeks before I officially gave notice to my employer at the time, I knew that my time was soon coming to an end. Although I had a well-paying job leading marketing for a startup business at a major multi-national corporation, I increasingly felt the need and the desire to do something totally different.
That’s where Ammunition came in.
Where it’s by coincidence or an act of divine intervention, the opportunity to join the team was something I couldn’t pass up on. Looking back at that fateful decision, I realize how grateful I am for that opportunity and for diving in and making the most of it. In the year since I left Corporate America, I learned a bunch of new things, which I wanted to pass along to (1) any client-side marketer who’s thinking of going to a startup; (2) any client-side marketer who’s considering a move to the agency side of the table; and (3) anyone else who might find this interesting for their own professional development. The top three lessons I’ve learned in the journey thus far are listed below:
“People — Product — Process”: Anyone who’s worked with me has heard me say these words. The meaning of this is as follows:
- First bet on people
- Then get the product (service) right
- Finally, develop the culture + environment + processes that best delivers the first two
These words couldn’t be more true having made the transition to startup agency. How did this come to life? First, by working with people who share my passion and values about business, marketing, leadership, and life. Each person on the Ammunition team in Atlanta shares these values, which makes going to work a lot of fun and invigorating.
Second, we were super choiceful about what we were going to do. As I was taught at P&G, marketers need to make choices — sometimes tough ones. In Ammunition’s case, we deliberately decided to focus on the home building industry (for a variety of reasons). That decision and focus has enabled us to scale up really quickly, while also being viewed as someone who’s in it for the long haul. Nothing says you’re dedicated to a space like betting your company on it!
Third, we’ve been relentless about our culture, which is centered around ownership, effectiveness, and efficiency. Whether it’s our offices in a WeWork to our strong bias for action and ownership, we’re maniacal about delivering our value to our clients each day both efficiently and effectively. Take decision making — we quickly look at given situation, discuss a recommendation (based on the facts on the table and our collective experience), and make a decision. No long-winded pre meetings to meetings where you discuss and come to no clear cut path forward. Our collective impatience with each other and our desire to get shit done comes from a desire to consistently add value to our clients — it’s something that drives us everyday. It creates a culture that’s not for everyone, but for those who share this passion and desire to nurture and serve the brands we’re fortunate enough to work on, it can be a calling. For me, this mindset has been cultivated by years in brand management — first at the traditional shops like Gillette and P&G, but more recently at the “scrappier” shops like RB and Pinnacle Foods — where “what have you done for me lately” and being accountable for everything about the brand was the mantra.
All Hands On Deck: The work I do at Ammunition is relatively similar to the work I’ve been doing in my entire brand management career. The biggest difference is that unlike in Corporate America, there’s no room for siloing. Yes, you have your core job to do. But, should a situation come up where you need to dive in and help the team, you have to do it. There’s just no other way. It’s not like there’s a team of folks that will step in. Either you embrace this or you’ll get frustrated really quickly.
It’s all about partnerships: When you’re on your own at a startup without the big brand name on your business card, you realize that you’re only as powerful as the partnerships and connections you make. Pick a cliche about this — it’s all true. You can’t do this alone. For me, these partnerships helped me when I first considered making the move — the phone calls to former agency partners who worked for me — to starting things up back at the beginning of the year — and the constant check-ins, phone calls, and dinners about the business, industry, marketing, and life in general. Those connections and your ability to help others along the way truly bear its fruit in these situations.
So as I head into the Thanksgiving holiday and look back at the past twelve (12) months, I have much to be thankful for. Whether its to the team at Ammunition to our clients and partners or to my mentors (you know who you are) or to my family for bearing with me during this journey, I just want to say “thanks”.
There you have it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Time to prepare a turkey, have a lot of family and friends over, and watch a ton of football!
