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Join Wendy Coulter and marketing strategist Hanna Jernigan as they discuss the concept of the Hummingbird Effect, where small innovations in branding can yield big results. The episode features an in-depth interview with Sherry Mitchell from Atticus, who shares her journey in marketing, her experiences with branding, and how seemingly minor changes can lead to significant outcomes. Discover insights on team dynamics, strategic planning, and innovative approaches to annual meetings and trade shows. Learn how Sherry's background in big agencies and her current role in agriculture have shaped her strategies for impactful marketing, showcasing a real-world example of the Hummingbird Effect in action.
00:00 Introduction to Branding Power
00:53 Meet the Team: Wendy and Hanna
01:32 Special Guest: Sherry Mitchell
03:10 The Hummingbird Effect in Action
06:02 Sherry's Journey in Marketing
09:10 The Impact of Small Changes
13:46 Team Dynamics: NASCAR vs. Indie
22:57 Navigating Team Dynamics
24:19 Impact of Annual Meetings
28:39 Strategic Planning Insights
29:47 Innovation and Nimbleness in Ag
34:17 Trade Show Strategies
41:45 Effective Communication and Collaboration
48:30 Conclusion and Contact Information
Creators & Guests
Host
What is The Hummingbird Effect with Wendy Coulter?
Welcome to "The Hummingbird Effect," a podcast dedicated to uncovering the subtle yet powerful ways that small innovations can transform your business. Hosted by Wendy Coulter, CEO of Hummingbird Creative Group, this show delves into the stories and strategies behind successful brand building.
For over 25 years, Wendy has helped CEOs and business leaders redefine their brands through innovation and compelling narratives. In this podcast, she shares the insights and lessons learned from her extensive experience, exploring how a strong brand orientation can significantly increase the value of your business.
Each episode features engaging conversations with industry leaders, business advisors, and innovators who have harnessed the power of branding to make a substantial impact. Discover how focusing on core values, mission, and vision can drive your brand beyond mere marketing tactics, fostering a culture that resonates with your audience and enhances your business's reputation.
Inspired by the concept of the Hummingbird Effect—where small, adaptive changes lead to remarkable outcomes—this podcast aims to help you understand and implement the incremental innovations that can elevate your brand and business.
Join Wendy Coulter on "The Hummingbird Effect" and learn how to evolve your brand, attract more customers, and ultimately enhance the value of your business through strategic branding.
[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Wendy Coulter and I help CEOs and marketing leaders unlock the power of their brands. For years, business leaders have focused on marketing tactics, but what truly matters is building a strong brand. Think of it like the Hummingbird Effect.
[00:00:40] Wendy: Small innovations in branding and marketing can lead to surprisingly big results in other areas of the business, like increased valuation, a stronger culture, and a marketing message that resonates. Today I have our marketing strategist from Hummingbird with me, Hannah Jernigan. Good morning, Hannah. Good morning, Wendy. How are you doing? I'm doing good. How are you? I'm doing good. I enjoyed coffee with you this morning. I did, yes. It bring me. It brought me joy. It brought me a lot of joy. So what brings you joy in your world
[00:01:11] Hanna: today?
[00:01:11] I think my Starbucks cup might even say joy on it. Or maybe that's not this year, but maybe you can write it on it. Right? I'll in a little blank area, right there is a little, little blank. I'll bring it for everybody. There's a little blank area, um, that was bringing me joy. I got something different. I let the lady pick it for me.
[00:01:26] She was excited to do that. So.
[00:01:29] Wendy: That was joyful. Awesome. Awesome. Well, so today we're going to interview one of my favorite people in the whole world, who I've known a very, very, very long time. Yes. Sherry Mitchell with Atticus
[00:01:41] Hanna: and Sherry. I've heard a lot about all good things, don't you worry. Um, and pretty much every great story that Wendy has has Sherry in it.
[00:01:51] So whether that's personal or in marketing or in business. So I know that she could probably tell a lot of. Embarrassing and fun stories about Wendy and maybe even her husband. Um, but tell me a little bit about how you guys met and your, your story together.
[00:02:09] Wendy: Well, I had told Hannah that you and James worked together.
[00:02:14] So James is my husband that you and James had worked together on campus at NC State during college, and then. He had mentioned to you maybe that I had started Hummingbird? Yes. Yeah. What, what's that story he was
[00:02:30] Sherry Mitchell: telling me that his, I think girlfriend at the time because, and I know for sure that now because I was actually in the wedding, um, but his girlfriend at the time had started her own business.
[00:02:41] He showed me the business card. He was like, you should watch for her because she's gonna need to hire people at some point. And I was like, oh, that's great. Now I was still trying to graduate and I've worked for him at the C-store. And then a couple years later I was looking for a job and I saw an ad and I thought that hummingbird sounds familiar.
[00:03:03] And I applied, and then it was Wendy and I knew. That it was supposed to be in some form or fashion. And so yeah,
[00:03:10] Hanna: a small hummingbird effect before you even knew it. There you
[00:03:13] Wendy: go. Yeah. I think we have a big hummingbird effect. I think I do when I think about all of the places that we've interacted and then what that's led to outside of.
[00:03:25] Business, but what that's led to for the business as well, because, um, Sherry is responsible for things like three letter codes and three number codes that we used to have, um, at Hummingbird and a lot of process as well, because she was working in big agencies when we first met. Right. So she brought a lot of.
[00:03:49] Process to the table for me. We would meet and she would tell me things. And then I think maybe even insight, positioning, big idea, which is a more recent thing that we do at Hummingbird, came a little bit from Sherry's background with a bigger agency and talking to me about how they really create great messaging for big brands and.
[00:04:15] Um, I just loved always learning from my friends like Sherry who worked in big agencies, things that I could do at Hummingbird for smaller companies that would really make a big difference in their business. Um, 'cause that's what hummingbird's always been about,
[00:04:30] Sherry Mitchell: right?
[00:04:30] Wendy: Um, but then, you know, I think that leads to Hummingbird having its own hummingbird effect.
[00:04:37] 'cause without that, we wouldn't be the agency that we are today at all, and we wouldn't be. In the profitability area that we are in. Um, and, and Sherry's more responsible for that than probably she knows just with some of the relationships we've had with you as a client as well. And so I just thank you for being a part of the journey.
[00:05:02] It's been very joyful for me.
[00:05:05] Sherry Mitchell: It's been so much fun to be a part of it and to watch and the changes over the years and. Um, Wendy's just been somebody that I've admired her diligence and, um, her drive and all the things that you've done with Hummingbird has just been amazing and, um, I remember more than once, um, phone calls, I think, I think I need to.
[00:05:31] Regroup. I think I wanna, let's, let's, sounds like Whitney. I look and I'm like, we can do this. And the brainstorming sessions of what can we, what can we do, what can she do? What can hummingbird, what's the next evolution?
[00:05:43] Wendy: Well, and I have to say like Sherry and my brainstorming goes beyond brainstorming with anyone else.
[00:05:51] Um, I think when I need like a creative shift, you're the first person that I call. So I appreciate that support over the years. Ah, it's so much fun. It's always been
[00:06:01] Sherry Mitchell: a blast, so,
[00:06:02] Hanna: well, I'm definitely excited to learn more about these shifts in the creativity, but before that, can you just share a little bit about your journey?
[00:06:10] How you've gotten to where you are now and anything else you want the listeners to know?
[00:06:14] Sherry Mitchell: Sure. So I went to NC State, um, in the School of Design. That's what it was called back then. Um, my degree is in environmental design with a concentration in graphics and then a minor in. Business, um, marketing advertising.
[00:06:28] Mm-hmm. Um, my first job, I jokingly say that I've worked for the largest advertising agency in North Carolina, in the smallest advertising agency in North Carolina. I started out with McKinney and Silver right outta school. Okay. Um, and learned a lot of process. I started there as a designer and before long they told me I needed to be on the account side because I asked too many questions.
[00:06:49] Um, so over time, um, my career has. Kind of taken a very wavy path. I went to work with Wendy. Um, it was small at the time. Yes, my clo, my office was in a closet. Um, but it was wonderful. Mm-hmm. Um, I've worked for a lot of different agencies over the years. Midsize, small, big, um, some based in Canada, but I worked out of the us I also worked, um.
[00:07:22] In kind of in-house agency style with the White Tech Community College. I helped them with their graphic design curriculum when they started that program. And then I did in-house with their as a PR director in marketing there. Um, along the way I made some contacts in the agricultural industry and.
[00:07:44] I got a phone call in 2012 asking if I was interested in coming to a company called New Farm and working there. And I said, I do not know agriculture. And if you, that business, um, that industry, most people grow up, right? And they go into it right outta school and they never leave. And I was, so, I'm like halfway in my career and I'm like, Hmm, I don't know about this.
[00:08:09] But my colleague there that I had worked for before, he said, I need somebody who knows marketing and communications. I can teach you the ag side. So I went there and I worked there for a while and I've been in ag ever since. But I joined Atticus last in August of 23. And when I was doing the interview process, the owner of our company wanted was toying with the idea of bringing everything in the house and.
[00:08:37] Um, we had a great agency. Mm-hmm. Traditional ag agency. Um, but true Atticus fashion. He felt like we could maybe do things, um, quicker and more on brand, um, if we brought it in-house. Mm-hmm. And at that point, the first half of my career, in the second half of my career kind of merged together. And so having running kind of an in-house agency as a communication director for an ag company.
[00:09:05] Made perfect sense. So that's where I'm now.
[00:09:07] Hanna: Wonderful.
[00:09:08] Sherry Mitchell: That's a
[00:09:09] Hanna: perfect ending. ?
[00:09:10] Wendy: So Sherry, can you share a instance, specific instance where a seemingly small change in marketing or branding um, led to some sort of unexpected result in another area, the Hummingbird effect.
[00:09:27] Sherry Mitchell: Um, I think probably the most recent, and there's so many things over the years, but one of the most recent one, um, is at Atticus. We do an annual company meeting and we always have a theme for that meeting. And this past year, we just finished that in October. It's a lot of fun. We bring everybody in and we do a state of the business and we kind of kick off.
[00:09:50] Our fiscal year begins October 1st, so kind of kick off the next market year. Recap the year before. So the theme for this past year was torque Empowered. So in working through a theme, you know, you always look at your event location, your guest speakers, um, all the things related to it to be as cohesive as you can.
[00:10:13] So our location was at rush hour carting and so, which is fabulous, um, if you haven't been there and. The, so obviously there was gonna be a racing element. And then with, um, our organization, we move quick. Um, we make a lot of decisions. We pivot a lot and thus while we're in-house agency, um, so we were looking for an opportunity to have a guest speaker that correlated with the, um.
[00:10:43] The racing, the torque, power and theme. So we started down this path of maybe an engine builder because there's different types of torque related to engines. I don't really know all that much about engines, but we did some research. But in my research, I found this guy, his name is Andy. Papa, I see you.
[00:11:02] That took a bit of practice. A lot of practice. You had to introduce him to a few people. Yes, I did. And I did text and ask for, can you text me it? How to say it? I don't wanna know how to spell it. Wanna know how to say it. It, um. He was the first NASCAR pit crew coach. Cool. Awesome. And so, yes, it was such a cool story.
[00:11:25] So, and I won't tell his story, but you should look it up. Mm-hmm. 'cause it's really good. But, so he came out and not only was he able to come out and give our keynote speak, um, or be our keynote picker, but he also, we were able to wrap a NASCAR. Car and he brought it out and they, um, put us in teams and we were able to change tires in and out.
[00:11:49] And of course, that activity went with his theme and all that. So obviously wonderful, wonderful company meeting. Everybody enjoyed it. It all worked together. Now, where does the effect come in? So he, um, talks a first about the difference between an indie pit crew and a NASCAR pit crew. And he shows the whole information about an indie pit crew is already on the track.
[00:12:16] They're in their locations, ready to go. The car comes in, it stops within two to three. You know, inches mm-hmm. Of where it was supposed to be. So the crew members are already out there and they adjust a bit to the crew, to the car, but they're over the wall per se, not behind the wall. A NASCAR crew, pit crew has to be on the other side of the wall because a NASCAR doesn't come in straight.
[00:12:41] In fact. The car that's crew is down to the left, may come in through your pit crew area before it gets to theirs. So it's definitely not safe to already be out there. The other thing, so an NASCAR crew has to, they're not as, um, repetitive and precise as an indie crew is. They have to be on one side. They have to jump over the wall and be ready to go.
[00:13:07] Um, they have. They still have lots of assignments. Everybody has a name. They do their job, but even with one job and it's the hose, the guy who runs the hose that takes the lug nuts on and off, right? Mm-hmm. So he's in charge, but three other people have to hold and touch that hose at different times during this 22nd.
[00:13:30] Change of tires, flipping the hose one direction or another. So somebody doesn't jump over it. They have multiple, um, responsibilities. Um, obviously a lot of his concept is around teamwork. Um, but one of the things that he talked about is at first you have to know what kind of team are you on? Are you on an indie team or on your, are you on a NASCAR team?
[00:13:56] Um, this resonated huge for me because an agency oftentimes, um, has to have both, right? You have to have an indie. Crew members and you have to have NASCAR crew members that that different mindset because there's certain people that need to be very precise, very specific, and then there's others that you have to have that go with the flow.
[00:14:20] You kind of react to the situation. What this was able to do, because I told you we started, I started in August of 23. When I started in August of 23, we only had two or three. We had three and a half full-time members on the communications team at Atticus. We now have a nine and a half or eight and a half full-time members, and um, I make nine.
[00:14:45] There's nine, there's nine. Um, so, but. That took a lot of changes and evolution just in the last year and a half to evolve to where we are and, um, working on our team culture and the nascar applies to Atticus across the board. Our, we are definitely a NASCAR oriented because we respond quickly, things aren't always duplicatable.
[00:15:12] Um, we have to, um, we respond to EPA, we respond to the marketplace. We respond to a lot of different things. Um. But in order for our team to work really well, we have to have a balance of the two and everyone understanding what their role is and how and where, what their environment is, um, has been amazing and we've been able to really use that.
[00:15:33] Not only, like I said, it applies to the Atticus team culture, but it really applies to our team culture. We call ourselves Comm Z. Within Atticus, of course, we brand everything at Atticus. And yes, so it stands for communication zone, which is somewhat of a military term. And we have a little bit of a, a military warrior spirit in our branding.
[00:15:56] And so that aligns perfectly. Mm-hmm. But it helps define who we are as a team within a team and how our team can truly have some of both types of members together. I can promise you that going into designing the theme and identifying the speaker for this company meeting, I had no idea it was gonna help me truly define the team culture of com z inside of Atticus.
[00:16:26] Um, but it's been amazing and it's really helped with our communication, um, with each other and improving our processes. 'cause, you know, I'm all about processes. Um, and so it's been really cool.
[00:16:38] Hanna: Did you make a indie versus NASCAR team within your team? Like do you know who's the ready to go for certain things in the more slower, not slower, creative push the boundaries sort of
[00:16:51] Sherry Mitchell: people?
[00:16:52] We were able to quickly identify those. Um, and so I have a creative director and. I am, if we were to divide and lead two teams mm-hmm. I would lead the NASCAR team and she would lead the ND team. Um, as much as I love processes, my processes, um, are about being able to strategically pivot. Right. And her processes are more about.
[00:17:19] Crossing the T's and dotting the i's and we have to have them both. Right. And so we actually are moving forward with using those, um, those themes and um, those kind of distinctions to help our team know when they have to be consistent and when it's okay to pivot. Right.
[00:17:38] Hanna: Have you seen, I know it's fairly new mm-hmm.
[00:17:40] But have other people in the organization, not just your team, noticed this, have they implemented it or is it still.
[00:17:47] Sherry Mitchell: Brand new. It's fairly new. Um, but everyone has, um, accepted, recognized, and accepted where we are as an NASCAR team. And I think one of the things that we've also realized is that if you're a very, if you're naturally an indie type of personality mm-hmm.
[00:18:11] Um, you might think that that's much better. NASCAR and both of them get the job done right? Both of them have means to improve their time. Even though if you actually look at the time for an indie pit stop, it's much, much shorter than that for a nascar. But there's still opportunities for improvement for, um, skillset training, and um.
[00:18:38] Just growth in both. So it's not one's better than the other, it's just identifying and, um, knowing where you are, what you are, and what your opportunities are to improve.
[00:18:49] Hanna: I think that's a. Great way of thinking about it. And it also helps you, and it's nice that you've accepted that there can be two different team members.
[00:18:58] I think that sometimes people say, okay, well, you don't fit into our NASCAR changing kind of environment. Or you're, you're, you're questioning too much. And you kind of mentioned it earlier that you had someone adapt to you asking questions. So you've had this change all along and it's awesome that you can accept both kind of people and make your, I don't know what.
[00:19:20] Car team yeah. Comm Z, right? Um, make that an even better place to be and more efficient and just better for all your employees and all your clients and everyone.
[00:19:32] Wendy: Jerry, are you able to put some metrics in place as the result? With the team now that you have this understanding and how does that play out?
[00:19:42] Sherry Mitchell: Yes, I think so. We, um, because we operate like kind of an in-house agency, we operate already using tools that different agencies might use. And so we have a job project, job tracking tool, um, and then we have, um, planning and calendar tools and things like that. What. So we were already kind of down that path.
[00:20:06] What we've been able to do though, is identify which projects might need to go through every step and which ones can skip a few steps and identify for those who are, um, who prefer. Every single step of a project, um, identifying why it's okay to skip some of those.
[00:20:31] Joe Woolworth: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:31] Sherry Mitchell: So that is gonna help us improve things a little bit faster in our, um, in getting projects done on time.
[00:20:38] Um, otherwise metrics, I think it's, it's more about the, um, the comfort level of the team and their comfort of. Letting go and being okay with some of those projects, skipping those steps. So
[00:20:54] Wendy: you're making the PMPs heads spin around right now with the idea of skipping steps in a process. And you know, I think the fact that you come from the agency world that you come from kind of.
[00:21:08] Um, helps you see the reality of that and be able to bring that to your team and, um, probably help ease everybody's minds as much as you can around that.
[00:21:21] Sherry Mitchell: Exactly. Um, I. So we do have, um, our sales enablement, um, specialist is a PMP. And so, yes, it's funny that you say that because that does, that is challenge.
[00:21:33] And so we do for her, um, and for some others then we have to have, um, kind of the, if it's like a journey, right? Right. Mm-hmm. And so we have the if then scenarios. So our flow charts have to. Her mind have to have decisions that allow us to skip the steps. Mm-hmm. Right. Um, but that's okay. It works out. And as long as we see and we recognize it and, um, what the team is realizing is that we are never gonna know all the answers when you go into a project.
[00:22:03] Right. And we, we know that. Um, but those who are, tend to want those, um. They, they can struggle with that, but we, we know that we're not gonna have all the answers. We know that we may get some of them along the way so we can figure out what steps can we do without getting too far ahead mm-hmm. And having to redo and what steps do we need to wait on.
[00:22:26] And so, but now that we're all speaking kind of the same language right. And we're understanding, um, the different steps and where we are in the process. 'cause you have to have a process to know where you are. Right. Um, I've, I've spoken about, I think you and I have had this conversation before. It's kind of like a railroad track and there's ties and some people want to step down each step.
[00:22:50] Railroad tie down the road. Then some want to skip down,
[00:22:54] Joe Woolworth: jump
[00:22:55] Sherry Mitchell: and jump and um, down those. And then some of us are okay running halfway down and then coming back and taking a few steps at a time and then running down and coming back. Not everybody can do that. And so those of us who, like myself who are fine just running and back and running, um, will drive those that are walking down each individual one insane.
[00:23:19] So as a leader of a team of people who are all on the same track going at different paces, we have to be really careful. The challenge is when your team's on one track and another team's on another track, um, 'cause you've got a regulatory team and we've got a product, product development team, and we've got commercial teams, is making sure that everybody's merging like they're supposed to.
[00:23:43] And so what I'm seeing at Atticus is. Our team inside of a team is working, so are other teams, and they're taking this application in different ways mm-hmm. And applying it. And then we all as an organization are trying to make sure that those things all merge correctly. Um, and so ultimately, yes, I think we'll be able to see a lot of, um, improvements.
[00:24:13] How we work with the other organ groups within the team, not just within ourselves.
[00:24:19] Wendy: So, so do you think it's bigger than that, Sherry? I mean, I think it's awesome. You get to, um, as marketing and communications plan this amazing annual meeting and you always want that to be something that. Encourages more teamwork, encourages the group, um, to figure out how to work better together and all that, that would be part of an annual meeting.
[00:24:43] It sounds like you picked an amazing speaker to do that. Do you think that it's, you know, I know with your team and some of the other teams you've seen some impact. Have you seen impact at like the leadership level as well? I know you're, you're part of the leadership team there at Atticus, right?
[00:25:01] Sherry Mitchell: I am.
[00:25:02] And I do think. I think it's still early on, but I definitely think that there's this opportunity for it, not only the themes and um, the lessons that came out from the speaker, but just the entire, the unity that came out of the meeting. Um. I'll be honest with you, we're already talking about next year's and I'm struggling a little bit like, how are we gonna beat this?
[00:25:28] Because all the pieces fell into, into play so well, the where the company's going, the speaker and his message, and you know what a speaker's gonna bring to the table, but you never know how it's really gonna affect your team. Um, the activity and everyone getting involved and playing different pieces and roles around the tire, changing the competition elements of it.
[00:25:57] Mm-hmm. Um, and the things that you can learn from one team to the other. Um, the whole organization really benefited from, and it. It allowed the messages that the leadership team was bringing to the meeting to be absorbed even better because of the mindset that everyone was in, um, from the guest speaker and then that buy-in at the meeting.
[00:26:24] Um, and the terminology is carrying on. Um, and I've already heard and seen that throughout the organization. I think that we'll be able to use this NASCAR team element even more so now we won't be rebranding to a NASCAR team from our Warrior spirit. Um, but it definitely is something I'm hearing throughout the organization.
[00:26:51] So it sounds like you, you'll probably change your approach a little bit just based on the success. What do you think you've learned about how to approach I. This type of thing, or maybe even other things, um, in a different way from this experience.
[00:27:36] Sherry Mitchell: So when you go into a company meeting, most of the time you're focused on the branding, the creative, the, the look and feel of everything. Um, you know, do the, do the giveaways go with the theme, right? Um, the speaker also, you want it to integrate and then the activities.
[00:27:56] But this one fits so nicely. And then when you, when we go back, the message that everyone took away was. So much more than just a theme. So I think now it's gonna be more about starting with that true takeaway and working backwards to what that is. Now, we already have a theme for next year. Of course you do.
[00:28:21] But yes we do. And um, but really thinking through that in a more holistic manner rather than. The individual pieces lining up and matching
[00:28:33] Wendy: right.
[00:28:34] Sherry Mitchell: So, um, that will definitely change. It. It also. You know, my belief on strategic planning. So, and we do strategic planning at Atticus. Um, but my thoughts on that is that you, you wanna spend time and energy, um, having and creating and investing in a strategic plan, but more importantly, you wanna be able to be strategically prepared because oftentimes organizations, I think, spend.
[00:29:03] Way too many hours and dollars on a strategic plan. And then they set it aside. They check the box and then everything pivots. And if you have a plan, but then you're strategically prepared, then you can continue to check into that. And this is the same kind of thing with this meeting. I want us to really.
[00:29:25] Think more strategic about our annual meetings and how it truly will set us up for the next year. But the theme be a progression of what we learned last year.
[00:29:37] Wendy: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:37] Sherry Mitchell: And not just a brand new theme for fun.
[00:29:40] Wendy: I think that brings us to like being nimble. Mm-hmm. And also innovation. Um. Talk to me about that.
[00:29:48] I mean, I know innovation in ag is kind of an interesting conversation anyway, but, um, I think innovation in marketing and communications within this kind of company is kind of where you play. And so how does being nimble and being innovative play into your plan going forward? Sure. Um,
[00:30:10] Sherry Mitchell: being nimble is a must because, um.
[00:30:14] When, when you're expected, when the, the reason your entire department was created for the most part or expanded upon, was to be able to meet the needs, um, quicker and more on message, then you have to be ready. Also with an organization, um, like ours, we've, um, doubled. In the last, we've been around for 10 years, but doubled in the last two to three years.
[00:30:42] Um, there's lots of growth, growth in people, growth in areas and expectations. So to keep up with that growth, definitely being able to pivot and being nimble is key. Um. And it's interesting because we are a post patent company. So what that means is we, we sell generics, we're our chemistry. Um, we didn't, we're not proprietary chemistry.
[00:31:08] Um, when a, when it comes off of patent, then we re-engineer it, figure out how to make it, and then we bring it to market. But the active ingredients is something that's been around for years. We call them battle tested chemistries. Um, but how we function. How we bring those things to market faster. Um, how our back office supports our growing commercial team, um, is, has to be a lot different.
[00:31:38] Um, so we have to be prepared for what's coming next when we don't know what's coming next. There's an idea, 'cause patents have an expiration date. There's a lot that has to lead up to that date. And if and when we can take things to market. We also work with the EPA and so we have to wait. We register things and then we wait.
[00:32:00] And when things are registered and we've been saying they're coming, then we have to quickly respond to get things turned around, ready for the team and out the door so that they can go to market. Um, so there's a hurry up and wait. Mm-hmm. Aspect to our, um, industry. And then how do you service in-house clients?
[00:32:24] As well as you would service external clients when you're also the in-house client. Mm-hmm. Um, so that's an interesting thing because, um, and balancing that, um, having, maintaining the priorities, um, keeping people up to date as fast as things move. Um.
[00:32:50] You can't service an in-house client quite like you can an external client, um, because let's be honest, part of it with an external client, there's an hourly rate or there's an agreed upon number of hours. We are at our teams beck and call, right? And so we do have budgets and we have allocated spend, um, but we also have expectations.
[00:33:17] And, um, when opportunities arise, then we're there to, to respond. Um, and so we do have to shift a lot. So you have a plan, you have regularly scheduled meetings, but then you shift. Um, and so having an in-house tracking tool. What's new for everyone on our team because no one, or for a lot of our team, probably 75% because they didn't come from agency.
[00:33:47] And it's definitely new to the organization as a whole. So understanding why we want for our company to understand why we want them to talk to one person if they're in on our agricultural side, and one if they're on our eco core side. Um. This a shift was just reaching out to whoever is the vailable instead out, instead out to
[00:34:10] Hanna: whoever.
[00:34:11] Wendy: Yeah.
[00:34:11] Sherry Mitchell: Um, is a shift. Um, so there's some education there too.
[00:34:17] Wendy: Um, so I'm gonna go a little bit different direction with you because, um, I absolutely have always loved doing trade shows with you. Ah, right. Um, so another type of event, and you are. Probably more than any other director of marketing I've worked with much more concerned generally about a theme that gets activated in every possible way within a booth.
[00:34:44] Um, just to make sure that people have an experience beyond, I'm at a trade show when I'm walking up to a booth. Mm-hmm. But what is my experience when I'm here that I'm gonna remember? So that I remember this company and, um, I, I get activated potentially as a customer or in some way. So like I love that about you, but I'm hearing you talking about the annual meeting theme in a little bit different way, in the way that you would go forth because one, it didn't exactly tie to the company theme.
[00:35:21] And two, you feel like it's giving you these insights that, um, will make you approach it a little bit differently next time. So have you thought about that when it comes to trade shows at all? We've thought about
[00:35:37] Sherry Mitchell: it some. Um, so yes. Event, um, originally the trade show concept, for me, it really was it, and it is about the experience and being re memorable.
[00:35:50] Um, 'cause oftentimes, depending on what, what your, um, focus is at that trade show, it may or may not be new, right? You may not have a new product or you may not have, um, or they may not know who you are. And so the whole point was, what is that? Without being gimmicky, but what was that opportunity to tie the experience to the giveaway, to the company, to the message.
[00:36:18] So it's still kind of that all inclusive, but it was, and it still is. Um, or has been very. Show specific, right? Mm-hmm. And part of that obviously is because of the target audience, right? Every show has a different target audience. They have different, um, and it has a different feel for that show. And you have to know what does the show feel like?
[00:36:38] What are these, the expectations of the attendees, and how can we meet those or can, how can we exceed those? Um, which I love, and we still do that. However, the more and more, um. People, let's face it, consumers of all kinds, whether it's a B2C consumer or a B2B consumer, um, we're, we're educated. And so people know how to find products, right?
[00:37:08] Mm-hmm. So they know how to find products, they know how to do the research. And so it's more about the experience, it's more about the story. It's more about the relationship and how can you create and build that. And so I do think that we'll take this story of who Atticus is and Inre weave that even more into each show.
[00:37:36] As we can, and obviously, you know, you can't do it overnight, but there'll still be the individual show themes and or aspects for that target audience. But really leading with that story and that message, and less about just that one time experience. But how can we tell it as part of the overall experience, in fact, um, our purpose.
[00:38:05] At Atticus is enhanced daily life, and that sounds extremely, um, like you're shooting for the stars kind of big. Um, but when you take the products that we make and you follow them down the path, all the way to and end a consumer, not just the user of our products, but how our products are used and how those products are used, and then how they.
[00:38:34] Ultimately affect people. It's amazing. And so our goal is now to take that story and to tell it all the way through. Um, and so being able to use what happened with our company meeting and how the story of the speaker and his message really went all the way through. To how we act as an organization, as a big organization, and then min smaller groups within the organization and makes perfect sense.
[00:39:14] Mm-hmm. Is that, is that story from beginning to end and so is enhancing daily life, um, and really enhancing daily life is probably also an example of the hummingbird effect when we explain it. Mm-hmm. So just, um, at our, um, December meeting, we have, monthly company calls. Mm-hmm. Um, so we have our big meeting in October, but we have monthly company calls and in December we have our holiday party.
[00:39:43] So that company call is in person. We had that, I shared, um, one of our kind of infographics we'll be using to explain enhancing daily life. I'll see if I can get the numbers right. So it takes.
[00:40:02] In order to make 215 pairs of blue jeans, which we all love, a good pair of blue jeans, right? Right. To make 215 pairs of blue jeans, it takes one bell of cotton, which is also 480 pounds of cotton to make 40 to to come up with 401 bale of cotton or 480 pounds. It. It takes 32 ounces of product for that that Atticus makes.
[00:40:35] So our products that we make that farmers use on cotton and then their cotton that they use, that then accompany uses to make blue jeans that ultimately make a perfect pair of blue jeans, like my favorite ones that I'm wearing right now, enhances my life. 'cause everybody loves a good pair of blue jeans.
[00:40:56] Mm-hmm. And there's countless
[00:40:57] Wendy: stories
[00:40:58] Sherry Mitchell: like that mean you
[00:40:59] Wendy: have no idea what went into that. Exactly. You have no idea. You don't ever tie it back to Right. The product that was put on the crops. Exactly. Exactly. And so yeah, that's a great, that's a great example of a hummingbird effect in daily life. Right.
[00:41:16] And our
[00:41:16] Sherry Mitchell: goal for this next year is to identify as many as we can.
[00:41:21] Joe Woolworth: Yeah.
[00:41:21] Sherry Mitchell: And share those. So that they can be relatable at the trade shows. Mm-hmm. Or to just the general community about, and to our own team about how what we do daily affects everyone's lives.
[00:41:35] Hanna: That's a good example of being strategically prepared.
[00:41:38] To have put in your strategic planning. Um, I have a question, and sorry to bring us back to something we were talking about before. So you took the shift in your career, um, and you went into a strongly branded company who was willing to accept a little bit of a different approach from the warrior aspect to more of this nascar.
[00:42:00] And then you touched on your, um. Train, railroad analogy. Do you have any advice to it for anyone to accept, um, to see that it's someone on a different path or working with people or different organizations within your company that are on the different area of the railroad or moving on the railroad a different way?
[00:42:24] 'cause you also talked about. You've figured out the questions to ask, to know what you need to move forward and what you can get later, which I think is really important to lead your team, but how do you recognize those other teams and work with them? Well,
[00:42:38] Sherry Mitchell: sure. So yes, the transition is interesting and, and just making sure that I'm clear.
[00:42:45] Like I said, we're not gonna shift to nascar. Right? Yes. But we're using that terminology. Um, the warrior theme is definitely who we are and that's who our spirit is. But because of that, when you have a lot of, um, spirited teams mm-hmm. That are go-getters, um, you do have a lot of people going different directions on the track and kind of identifying and learning how the questions, part of it comes with time and it.
[00:43:09] Hanna: Mm-hmm. And,
[00:43:10] Sherry Mitchell: um, but also because I have. I've been in an agency world where I've worked in all different types of industries. And now in the ag for the second half of my career, what I've seen across the board is being prepared and asking the right questions is, is key across the board. Mm-hmm. It doesn't matter the industry that you're in.
[00:43:30] And part of that is, um, we all think, especially in like my team's titled communications, right, we're communication zone. Um, but in an organization. Just because communications is our title, we're not the only ones responsible for communicating. And I think that's the key is in communicating with people and asking the questions.
[00:43:53] Sometimes we ask a question, we get an answer, and then we run down the track. And what we have to do is kind of anticipate some other questions, ask the questions and and manage your own expectations. When can we get this information? Is there things that we can move forward that's not gonna mess you up?
[00:44:11] Or should we wait? Because which of the answers are gonna shift how we do? And it's actually really talking through all of that. Right? Um, and I think a lot of times what we don't do is we don't ask clarifying questions or confirming questions. Um, we think we know because we got an answer. And um, so we have to double check and make sure and then say.
[00:44:36] These are, and present the scenarios, like I said, because we are kind of acting like an inside agency that's new to our organization. So our team across the board in all the areas, the rest of the org mm-hmm. Company, when they have a project or a need, they'll come and say, I need a one pager. And we say, what are we trying to solve?
[00:44:58] Um, because the solution in the past has been a one pager. Right. But we may have other solutions. Or they'll say, well, can you make these changes? And then I'll send it to the team and then I'll say, can you send it to the team and say we're gonna make these three changes? What other changes do you have?
[00:45:18] Because in their mind it's easier for someone to see it complete and, but what they don't understand is what that does to our team. Mm-hmm. Because of our processes, it's easier to make all the changes at one time and if there're changes that, um. We can speak to. Mm-hmm. And they can accept that we're gonna make them, then we can get, collect all the information.
[00:45:41] Um, and so, but not saying to them, no, I can't make those changes, but explaining why I can make those changes. But we'll have to stop these two projects, make those changes, or we can indicate that those changes are gonna be made. We've already caught that, but what else do you have? And send that through to everyone else and manage their expectations.
[00:46:02] So that's the shift that I'm seeing and how to work with others who aren't necessarily in our world mm-hmm. But are adjacent to our world. They don't have to understand us completely, they just have to understand how we work. And then, but then also the alternative to that is it might be that sometimes we do things for, um, co-branded things mm-hmm.
[00:46:26] For our customers. And they need to see it as complete as possible. And so in those instances then yes, the answer is, we'll make those changes. Right. Then the conversation shifts. 'cause then I have to explain to an internal team why I need them to stop and make edits to something that they're gonna need to open and make edits to again.
[00:46:46] Mm-hmm. But there's a reason, and most people what I find is if you can explain the reason. Then they get it. They may not fully understand it, but at least they know you're asking them to do it. You've thought through and you're not just asking them to do something they know they're gonna have to do again, and then everybody's on board.
[00:47:04] Um, it also saves time. It saves time to just go ahead and answer those questions that, you know, gonna be mulling in someone's mind. Right. Even though they would do the changes, but why am I doing these changes when I know there's gonna be more? Right. But, um, you go ahead and address 'em. So I think that's part of it, is just remembering too, um, just like NASCAR and Andy, not everybody thinks the same way, right?
[00:47:31] Other departments don't always think the same way. They don't always understand your world, and so clarifying the why, then that gives them the, they can still request it. They have a reason to understand what their request, they fully understand what their request is gonna do, and then they can back up why they need it.
[00:47:52] And I think that clarifying and confirming questions is just the biggest thing that I've learned over probably the last three to
[00:48:00] Hanna: five years of my career. It's me and Wendy were talking about that this morning and how hard it is to. Know that there needs to be a clarifying question, so I, I'm taking something from you and just providing it even when you don't feel like you should or you have to, because it could answer someone's question, so.
[00:48:20] Full circle moment for me this morning. I, I knew Hannah was, I knew
[00:48:24] Wendy: Hannah was loving your answer to that question, and you have so much amazing advice to give. Mm-hmm. So thank you. Oh, thank you so, so much for sharing your story today and what all is happening in your world. And yes, um, congratulations on more than tripling the size of your department there at Atticus to support growth.
[00:48:43] That's so exciting. Thank you. And I'm so happy for you. Um, and so I also want to thank all of our listeners today for coming on and hearing Sherry's story. And before we go, would you like to just share some contact information if anyone is interested in getting in touch with you? Sure. So I'm at Atticus
[00:49:07] Sherry Mitchell: and, um, so I don't know what all you guys.
[00:49:12] What's the website for Atticus? Okay, so I'm at Atticus, it's atticus llc.com and um, I'm, I go by Sherry Moss Mitchell. So on LinkedIn, that's the best way to find me. Perfect.
[00:49:26] Wendy: Okay, well thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. And now everyone learn from Sherry and go find your Hummingbird Effect. Have a great day.