Click here to watch Mistakes Agencies Make.

There's a Niels Bohr quote that I love: "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field." After ten years working as a development manager at web agencies, I feel like I've made more than my fair share. My talk would take a narrative approach to mistakes that I've either made or seen other agencies make in hopes that I might save my generous attendees the trouble of making them. In particular:

• Define growth, and talk about when growth can actually destroy value
• Debunk the American business myth, "Grow or Die"
• Offer strategies for retention, and talk about why it matters so much
• Discuss sales strategies for getting good clients, doing what you love to do, and making your work repeatable
• Regale the crowd with epic tales of agency success and failure