What do planners need to be in 2023? #2

The Eleven Miles planning team has been thinking ahead to 2023: Where can we add the most value? How can we take ourselves out of our comfort zone? What do clients need from us now? In our December series, each 11M planner muses on the single word that sums up what 2023 could hold for them.

Above all, planners next year will need to be visible.

“Put yourself out there and let your curiosity get the better of you.”

Sometimes it isn't easy for marketers to work with agencies. They are dealing with multiple shops each with a different team that they need to get up-to-speed; and although the core client services team remains the same, they are introduced to lots of different experts and specialists along the way, depending on the job at hand. A whole host of faces from different departments jumping in and out on a rolling basis.

Luckily, this is where Planners are primed to offer a lifeline. After all, we know your brand, team, and problem inside out. Plus, we’ve spent countless hours together in workshops and on Hangouts unpicking and refining our strategy.

Yet, despite being perfectly placed to offer rolling support, and being involved from the start, getting Planners to cooperate isn’t always straight-forward.

It’s not unreasonable to suggest that most of us tend to be reluctant to join non-essential meetings (read ‘ones not just about planning’), or that jumping on for a quick chat about an undisclosed subject makes us somewhat panic. 

Personally, the reason I think these moments fill some of us with dread is that we’re just not used to free-styling. We’re solitary creatures who are taught to listen, research, and pull every decision apart before we’re ready to commit. 

We habitually go through divergent (exploring lots of stuff) and convergent (narrowing and focusing) phases. Then, when we think we’re almost done, we spend countless hours building a narrative - armwrestling just the right words out of our brains and onto a page to create a bulletproof argument and eloquent story that makes sense and keeps people’s attention from beginning to end.

Finally, a solid Planner's natural instinct is to seek the truth, which sometimes means asking some uncomfortable questions. Even loose plans or casual suggestions will naturally be analyzed, dissected and debated, which means cautiously navigating conversations to avoid offense.

Put that all together and it’s easy to see why stepping in blind is unnerving.

But in 2023, I think it’s time for the perfectionist in every planner to take some time off. Well crafted arguments have a place and having something smart to say is important, but being a colleague that’s visible, vulnerable and open to open conversations (that might very well go sideways) is invaluable, and proving your passion for every project (away from a presentation) is essential. 

Clients want and need us to work together and to be a consistent part of their team, not just someone who comes in at the start then exits stage left - which means stepping out of your comfort zone. 

Luckily, the humbling truth is that your way of thinking is as valuable as your answer. Being a good strategist means having the courage to think deeply and deliberately about what someone hopes to achieve, and having the nerve to objectively question and unpick what is already accepted by most. 

With that in mind, be brave, put yourself out there, let your curiosity get the better of you, and be ready to not have the right answer to everything.

Nicky Smith, Planning Director