Letter from the Founder 2024

Chantelle Little, Founder & CEO of Tiller, shown in various places in the office at once, representing transformational change.

Chantelle Little

Founder & CEO

It’s that time of year again, and as always, it’s tricky to choose a focus for this letter because a lot happens in 12 months — especially this year. I spent some time reflecting on the theme of this year, and it all boils down to one word: transformation.

Incremental vs transformational change

Earlier this year I stumbled upon a new book called The Agency Secret by Anthony Gindin, written for agency founders and CEOs like me. While I had many takeaways, one particular topic stood out to me: incremental vs transformational change. Anthony referenced a 2020 research study by KPMG that highlighted that 92% of CEOs believed their business model was in need of significant change within the next 3 years. As the world changes rapidly (almost at a compounding rate), most organizations feel they’re behind in some way.

“Is this book reading my mind?” Those were the very thoughts keeping me up at night. But I felt an odd sense of relief in this research, knowing that I’m not the only one who sees the need for transformation.

So if transformation is necessary, the next natural question is: How do we make it happen?

The book goes on to explain, “What holds most organizations back is the way they approach change: tackling problems one by one, year after year, at a pace of change that fails to mirror the world around them. This practice is called incrementalism.” This practice often leads to working through a never-ending cycle of attempted change that doesn’t drive company-wide alignment or get you to your desired destination.

“Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy”
- Nicholas Negroponte

I learned that if you have a growing list of things you want to change, incrementalism is not the answer. In a world where most organizations feel they’re behind, there’s only one way to get ahead and stay competitive: transformational change.

So what did I do? My team and I took a step back, analyzed every aspect of our business, mapped out an agency-wide change process, and then started executing on all of the changes I knew we needed to make. The key? We’re doing it within a single year.

The messy middle

On May 24th, I stood in front of my team and announced that this year would be our “Transformation Year”. Despite how daunting this all felt, I was excited about the transformation we were embarking on. I was also keenly aware that I was choosing to ramp up the short-term discomfort based on a belief that intentional transformation now will lead to a brighter future faster. My vision for the future was clear, but I knew getting there would test my team in ways we’d never been tested before.

Over the months to follow, we experienced big breakthroughs and big setbacks. As with most things in life, starting is pretty easy, but creating lasting change is hard. And it almost always gets messy along the way.

On the wall in my office, I have a quote:

“What do you want – The pain of staying where you are or the pain of growth?”

I hung this on my wall back in 2020 when we moved into our new office, and I’ve lost count of the number of times that quote has helped me adjust my mindset from seeking comfort to seeking growth. I needed this quote more than ever in 2024. I feel as though I’ve had to be in 10 places at once and have had to remind myself daily that the discomfort is worth it.

I truly believe that a leader’s battle starts in the mind. You have to win there before your team and business can win. Great leaders:

Find ways to inspire and motivate their teams, even when they’re feeling uninspired and unmotivated themselves
Destroy limiting beliefs knowing that they hold teams back from discovering what they’re truly capable of
Still experience imposter syndrome, but find ways to overcome it
Crave feedback, even the stuff that stings
Know that earning their teams’ trust isn’t a one-and-done; it’s a daily investment that is needed in extra measure during seasons of great change

So, what’s changed?

How long do you have? 😉 Here are a few highlights:

We treated ourselves like our own client and got to know our competitors better than we ever have before. Our research helped us identify some clear opportunities for further differentiation and competitive advantage. That’s all I’ll say about that right now…

We also talked to our clients and identified ways we can unlock more value for them. We did some of this ourselves and we hired a third-party consultant to conduct additional interviews so we had an objective opinion.

Based on all of this client discovery and competitor research, we revisited:

Many layers in our growth strategy, including our marketing strategy, positioning, value proposition, messaging, visual identity, website, and content strategy. We even hired 15 CMO strangers to give us objective feedback on our changes, and the feedback was gold. Note: we recently wrote an e-book about supercharging your messaging and marketing with Voice of the Customer. Download it for free here.
Our entire service offering, including what we sell and how we sell it. Asking clients, “What is the one thing you wish Tiller could help you with?” led to the launch of our Marketing Science Lab which extends our offering to include Conversion Rate Optimization and Paid Media. These services enable Tiller to better influence pipeline and revenue growth for our clients. This has been a significant investment but one we believe is key to driving more value for our clients. As one of our clients put it (paraphrased), “Tiller is uniquely positioned to do both well because of their deep understanding of brand and storytelling.” This also included the repackaging of our services and a shift in our pricing strategy, moving the focus towards a long-term partnership model where we work closely with customers to deliver on outcomes, not hours.
Our operational model, including roles and responsibilities, delivery process, new reporting mechanisms, and more. All to make our work more effective, efficient, and scalable. I’m sure if you asked anyone who’s worked at an agency, you’d hear that it’s not for the faint of heart. At times it feels like running on a hamster wheel. But I’m confident that the changes we’re making are creating a win-win: More exceptional value for our clients and a more scalable, sustainable delivery model for our team.