TAKE ME OUT TO OUR BALL GAME
MODERN AGENCY MANAGEMENT MEETS A LOVE OF AMERICA'S PASTIME.
The "thwock" of a well-struck baseball, its ascent into the heavens, and the will-it-won't-it moment it crosses into the bleachers is the thrill that keeps me chill seven months of the year. As a lifelong baseball lover, those sunny afternoons fueled by hot dogs, easy-drinking lagers, and spirited debate about the not-so-opposed religions of analytics and old-school scouting flow naturally into my day-to-day life running Here Be Dragons.
When I do that mental mashup of how one plays with the other, the first thing I consider isn't who's on first. It's how to think about offense and defense—and how to build the right lineups to win at both.
DEFENSE WINS GAMES. OFFENSE WINS SEASONS.
In the agency world, that translates to how we approach new business versus existing business. New business (perhaps counterintuitively) can be a defensive endeavor. Building existing business is the offensive one.
The Pitch, as pop culture knows it, puts hopeful contenders on equal footing to vie for a client's adoration and dollars. Agencies run similar playbooks with flashy moves thrown in at the opportune moment. The main goal is fielding your opponents' attempts and preventing them enough runners so that you come out ahead. Winning often comes down to who out-hustled another and made the flashy plays that impressed the clients the most.
Once that potential becomes actual though, the offense kicks in.
There's some truth to the idea that the day you win a client is the day you start to lose them. That's why being proactive, aggressive, and opportunistic—traits of every great offense—is critical. Keeping clients engaged means stepping up to the plate, adjusting to their situation in the Now, and listening empathetically enough to find the biggest value-add opportunities. Sometimes that opportunity is nothing more than pushing the runner along with some timely contact so the client’s marketing efforts return results. Other times its swinging away in a big moment that can redefine that same brand’s fortunes. When you do both well as a team you score big.
Let’s move on to the team rosters themselves. For smaller agencies, this is a story of finding talent who fit the bill across both new biz and existing client biz. Organizations our size pitch with players, not special teams, so thinking about dual roles for people is critical.
BUILDING THE DEFENSIVE SQUAD (NEW BUSINESS)
On the new biz front, you want a pitcher/catcher combo that has no problem putting themselves on the line. Likely a senior account and creative team who can capture a prospective client’s ear, inspire them with ideas, and remind them of what they could be missing. The pitcher sets the tone. The catcher calls the game. Together they control the rhythm.
In the infield, you want quick thinkers willing to get in the way of hard questions—strategists, creatives, and subject matter experts who field tough grounders that take unexpected hops and turn them into easy outs. When a client asks the question no one rehearsed for, the infield makes the memorable out seem routine.
In the outfield, you want detail-minded operators: project managers, producers, analysts, core creatives. They cover a lot of ground and make sure nothing sneaks past the team. Their value shows up not in highlight-reel moments, but in the quiet prevention of disaster. (But when they make that highlight play, oh boy oh boy do we cheer.)
BUILDING THE OFFENSIVE LINEUP (EXISTING BUSINESS)
Your leadoff hitter is your day-to-day relationship owner—usually an account lead. Their job is simple but critical: get on base. Build and maintain trust, keep communication flowing, make sure the client feels heard, and inspire with possibility.
Second up is the connector. The senior person who understands both the client's business and the agency's capabilities, moving the runner along by identifying needs early and looping in key people and capabilities at the right moments.
Third is your most reliable hitter—often a strategist. The person who consistently delivers smart thinking that moves the business forward and answers the question "what should we be doing next?"
Fourth is your cleanup hitter. Creative leadership. The slugger who turns solid opportunities into something game-changing: new campaign platforms, breakthrough ideas that deepen the partnership, expanded capabilities that stretch the agency and increase client excitement about the relationship.
Fifth is the clutch hitter—more of a cross-functional thinker and “can do” personality. The problem solver who thrives when timelines compress and stakes rise. They turn pressure into ideas, compressed timelines into productivity, and secure the win without their name leading the award entry.
Six through nine is where winning teams separate from average ones. The grinders. The specialists. They may not headline the meeting, but they keep innings alive, deliver consistent quality, and make sure the lineup never runs out of opportunities.
THE MANAGER'S JOB
Great rosters can struggle to score without thoughtful and empathetic direction. That’s where agency leadership steps up as both on-field manager and roster-building front office. This team is charged with bringing on the right people, putting them in spots to succeed, knowing when to bunt versus swing away, and recognizing when a fresh arm is needed. It’s a delicate dance of addressing the needs of deeply empathetic humans, mining insights in data, and making the tradeoffs that merge arts and sciences for a uniquely human output.
A great leadership team takes all this and builds a culture of success. One that keeps morale up during slumps, channels clubhouse energy, and sets an expectation that players be the best they can be every day. Most importantly, this leadership balances the urgency for wins today with the understanding that it’s a long season and people perform their best when they’re given space to do their best.
FINAL INNING
Setting up a great agency team shares a lot with constructing up a team for the diamond. Start by knowing the game you’re playing, put everyone in the right role, and then set them up for their big moment.
Done with purpose, thoughtfulness, and positivity you will get to hear that perfect "thwock," watch the ball rise, and know it's headed straight for the bleacher seats with a crowd of clients roaring for you throughout.