Nobody warned me about the silence.
The deal was done. My business partner was out. I'd signed everything, shaken the hand, and gone home feeling like I'd finally taken control.
Then Monday morning arrived and there was nobody to turn to.
The Quiet After the Deal
Here's what I didn't price in. A partner is not just a name on the shareholder agreement. A partner is the person you wander over to when a big opportunity lands and you can't tell if it's brilliant or a trap.
Take that away and every decision becomes yours alone. Which client to chase. Which one to politely turn down. Whether the new service line is a smart bet or a distraction with a nice logo.
I'd like to say I handled it with grace. I didn't. I made calls slowly, then second-guessed them, then made them again.
Look at Who's at the Top
Since then I've noticed a pattern in the best agencies I meet.
It never shows up on a P&L, but it's almost always there. There are two people at the top.
Sometimes that's two founders. Sometimes it's one founder who has always had a sparring partner: a coach, a non-exec, a mastermind, or a handful of agency owners who meet regularly and go properly deep.
Gino Wickman wrote an entire book on this, Rocket Fuel, about why pairing a visionary with an integrator works so well. The principle travels. Strong agencies rarely have one brain making every call.
"But I Have a Leadership Team"
You might be thinking: I've got a board. I've got senior people. Isn't this their job?
Partly, yes. A good leadership team is brilliant. Mine used to give me real energy, especially on the days the right people were in the room.
But in my experience, they get you about 90% of the way.
The other 10% is the part that matters most when the stakes are high. Your team can be excellent and still not carry the weight of owning the thing. That weight changes the conversation. It changes what you're afraid of, and what you're willing to risk.
You can explore an idea with your team. With someone who has run a business, grown one, and knows what it takes to grow another, you can trust the answer. It carries a different kind of authority.
Disagreement Is the Feature
I have that now with Rob Craven. We are about as different as two people can be.
We solve problems differently. We run conversations differently. We usually arrive at a decision from opposite ends of the table, partly down to personality and partly down to experience.
Put us in the same room and it works. Every time.
We often start in complete disagreement, and neither of us minds. We're both comfortable with challenge and conflict, because we both know why we're there: to make a decision. And the decision that leaves the room is a good one.
Would I have reached the same place alone? I doubt it. I'd probably have reached a worse one, quicker, and felt great about it.
How I Found My Way Back
After the buyout I worked hard to rebuild what I'd lost. It didn't come from inside the business.
It came from a coach. Someone I trusted and worked with closely, who gave me a second shot at having a proper sparring partner.
He was my third coach, by the way. Make of that what you will. The first two weren't wrong exactly, they just weren't right for me, and it took me longer than I'd care to admit to work that out.
What This Means for Your Agency
If you have a thinking partner already, you know what it's worth. Protect it.
If you once had a business partner and now you don't, you've felt the gap. You know the quiet I'm talking about.
And if you've never had one, and the top of your agency feels lonelier than you'd say out loud, this may be the thing that helps you make big calls deliberately, and with some vigour, rather than in a panic at 10pm on your own.
If you want to see how other agency founders solve this, there's plenty more on gyda.co, including how our mastermind groups work.
So think about the last big decision you made. Who argued with you first?
Want to chat about it? Email me on Janusz@gyda.co
