Strategy & Planning

What is the going rate for freelance strategy directors in NY? (12+ years experience)

Does your agency “define” and have an approach to strategy work? Is there an expectation to have processes, templates, tools?? I mean, I know them and have them, but is there a need to push them in yo… more

Sweat head or Julian Cole finishing school? Which one do you think is worth it.

What’s the going hourly rate for a (freelance) senior strategist?

What’s the going hourly rate for a senior strategist? based in a major metro (eg NY/ SF)

Any advice on going in house? I am so tired of the agency grind but I never get any interviews for in house roles. I feel like my titles don’t translate to marketing and brand management titles and so… more

A lot of doom and gloom in the other bowls about ad jobs. Is this just impacting creative? Or is it tough out there for strategy as well? (Context: returning back to work after a long hiatus)

Interviewing for a comms/connections planning director role. Worried it will limit career options bc I’m a brand strategist now. Anyone made the switch? Then made the switch back? / have experience bo… more

“The biggest sign of inefficiency is a lack of initiative.” -Momenul Ahmad

Looking to connect with someone who’s helped shape or implement an account planning framework within a marketing/communications agency. I’m evaluating ways to strengthen planning and visibility across… more

What are some signs that show you are ready for a senior strategist role?

I’m leading strategy at a decent sized indy but apart from our president and CCO, who push me quite a bit, there’s not a tonne of people to learn from - how would you go about finding an external ment… more

Some days I feel like my full-time job is just updating people. Between stakeholder syncs, weekly status decks, async Looms, Slack recaps, and steering committees, I’m spending more time communicating… more

I’m curious how many people have a side gig as a strategy consultant. I’ve been doing some work on the side as a cushion should layoffs hit soon with everything happening at Omnicom. Nothing that woul… more

I build every plan with a buffer, risk scenarios, and escalation paths because I’ve learned the hard way what happens when things go sideways. And yet, when the launch slips, the fingers point my way.… more

Does anyone have a brief template that you’d use to brief a design team at a best in class design studio like JKR, Wolf Ollins etc. they’d be willing to share? Maybe it’s basic stuff. Just curious to … more

I felt weirdly guilty taking my birthday off this week even though it was PTO I’d already earned, and nothing was on fire. I kept checking Slack, half-expecting someone to need something, or worse, qu… more

Lately I feel less like a strategist and more like a human decoder ring. Leadership drops phrases like we need to future-proof our value story or elevate the emotional arc, and suddenly it’s my job to… more

We just spent $40K on a strategy consultant who told us things I literally said last quarter. But this time it came in a glossy deck with a logo on the front, so suddenly it’s brilliant and actionable… more

I've been working around the clock to deliver a brand platform and a campaign, which means I haven't had a real weekend for two weeks and I have often kept working till 11pm.
My profile is a b… more

Please talk me off the ledge and tell me it gets better. Been looking for a job since January 2024. One year in 10 months - the longest that I have not been working in my entire life. Please tell me t… more

The head of my department has no traditional strategy experience, and doesn’t find it important to teach the juniors. How have you managed a lead who actually doesn’t care about the craft but about ef… more

Saw a slide in a deck this week that looked oddly familiar. It's because I made it three months ago. Same insight, same framework, but now with a different font and way less clarity. The kicker? I… more

I thought this job would be high-level thinking and long-term vision. Instead, I’m the human buffer for everyone’s panic. I’m supposed to bring calm, but I’m exhausted from managing fire drills, prior… more

I used to think alignment meant consensus. Now I’m just relieved if no one is actively undermining the plan. The last project I led had 5 teams and 3 execs, and I still found out someone launched a co… more

Why ask for research if you’re going to ignore the results? We did a 10-week sprint with interviews, surveys, competitor analysis, etc. The insights were clear. Then leadership skimmed the summary and… more

I spent six weeks building a Q2 plan. That's a eep dive into market data, resourcing strategy, launch calendar, the works. Then a new SVP came in, looked at it for 10 minutes, and said, “This feel… more

I used to think a great strategy was about making the perfect call. Now I think it’s about creating space for better decisions to emerge. How has your definition of “strategy” evolved over time?

I love scenario planning, but I swear some of these “worst case” exercises are just group catastrophizing. How do you keep contingency work realistic without feeding anxiety?

Does anyone else secretly love a reorg? Yes, it’s chaos, but also it’s the one time you can get buy-in for bolder shifts. What’s your go-to move during the “strategy power vacuum” that always follows … more

Said yes to a “quick strategic consult” on a brand plan. Four weeks later, I’m running the whole workstream. How do you set boundaries when being the strategic brain means you constantly get pulled in… more

I’m trying to sell in a slightly unexpected name in to a startup in a stodgy/traditional category. Can you think of any fun/expected brand name examples from traditional/boring/serious categories?

Off … more

I love scenario planning, but I swear some of these “worst case” exercises are just group catastrophizing. How do you keep contingency work realistic without feeding anxiety?