The ones that got away

Photo: Joel Rosenbaum

Every once in awhile I get wistful for an old project, one that didn’t turn out quite the way I had hoped. At A Hundred Monkeys, we take on somewhere between 70–85 projects a year, which means we probably consider around twice that number of projects. We are working on being pickier. Every year, we get better at taking on the right projects. There’s always more to learn.

When I’m talking to a potential client, our conversation is a chance for me to learn more about what they’re working on and see how we can help. It’s also an opportunity for them to understand our process and ask any questions they may have.

One of the questions I’ve come to expect from people goes something like this: What happens if a project isn’t successful? I’ve written about this before. But I don’t think I’ve ever shared what I say in response. And I think it’s worth looking at, because there’s actually quite a bit of nuance to what it means for a project to be successful.

We’ve been naming companies and products for the last 30 years. If our clients weren’t happy with the outcome, I don’t think we’d still be in business. Most of our work is with ongoing and returning clients, or through referral. So we put a lot of thought into our process, to do everything we can to build the kind of relationships that ensure projects go well.

But here’s the thing. A client might feel the project is successful without our team feeling the same way. For us, success doesn’t simply mean that the client walks away with a name, any name. A project is only successful in our eyes if the client is excited about a viable name and we’re also proud to showcase the work. Beyond that, based on mutual respect, good communication, and shared values, we’d be happy to work with that client again.

So, what are the things that get in the way of success?

1. Too many stakeholders
2. Incumbent name they’re holding onto
3. The decision maker is not involved in the process
4. The decision maker is not well suited to the role of making decisions
5. New stakeholders added into the mix partway through the process
6. Priorities shift and the project is put on hold partway through the process
7. Company goes out of business abruptly partway through the process
8. They say they’re different, but actually want a name like everyone else

Some of these challenges we can spot from a mile away. But others can strike when we’d all least expect it. No one thinks their company is about to fold momentarily—or they wouldn’t hire us in the first place. We put a lot of thought into understanding which challenges we can identify ahead of time, and which challenges we can actually influence.

We can make sure there aren’t too many participants, we can advocate for working directly with decision makers, we can advise against bringing new people into the mix, and we can remind our clients again and again that their name should help them stand apart from their competition. But at the end of the day, the decision is not ours to make. Some of our favorite names have never seen the light of day.

When someone is afraid that their project won’t go well, they usually put it in these terms: What happens if we don’t like any of the names? But liking or not liking names rarely has anything to do with it. If you’re going to let fear enter into the equation, you might as well be afraid of the right things.