Jeff Swartz
CEO and Founder at Ethic Advertising Agency
Website Address: ethic-ads.com
Each week on “Legacy of Leaders,” our host talks to media experts across the country. This week our host speaks with Jeff Swartz from Ethic Advertising Agency. To learn more, check out ethic-ads.com.
What is your company Elevator pitch when talking about your company?
We are a hyper targeted digital advertising and creative development agency working with direct advertisers and other agencies who have a $50k-$2mm annual ad budget.
What excites you the most about your industry?
I’m personally most excited about creating successful situations that is enjoyable for all involved. My company is big on our core values (respect, kind boldness, progress, efficiency, and quality) and leveraging these truths to ensure our clients, team, and vendors all have a good experience with us…and a good experience needs to be financially and emotionally fulfilling. I’m excited about share how we work in the advertising space with others.
How do you go about making difficult leadership decisions, both big and small?
Step 1: Gather all needed information/sides to the story efficiently and quickly.
Step 2: See if there is a clear decision that is aligned with our mission statement and core values. If so, that’s the answer, and 9 times out of 10 that’s all I need to do. If not, I’ll sometimes consult with my business coach, entrepreneur peer group, and/or leadership team.
Step 3: Implement a resolution that is clear, explained, and put in place quickly.
Step 4: Follow up on the solution/decision. Was it the right thing to do/does it need altered.
Also, most difficult decisions can be avoided if you are proactive. We have clear culture guidelines, individual and team goals we hold each other accountable for, annual reviews, I do monthly or bi-monthly one on one with each team member to ask the same 4-5 questions and focus on how they are doing, we have monthly team meetings, weekly leadership meeting, and more. Proactiveness, moving fast, but efficient and fair, and clear processes result in a massive reduction in problems.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enhance their leadership skills?
Invest in yourself and learn from others’ successes and mistakes. Read, take classes, join entrepreneur groups, get a coach/mentor, etc…
What is the biggest challenge you think you or your organization is going to face in the upcoming year?
Scaling while maintaining our core values and culture. We’ve created something that attracts clients and keeps our team happy, so we want to make sure we don’t loss that as we grow, and our growth is happening more and more rapidly. This is a challenge that I’m excited about and enjoying facing.
