I have some big news: I have decided to leave EchoDitto.

I have actually been in the process of leaving for a while, but its official now. I moved out of my office. I have set my email to auto-respond. And my clients and colleagues have totally forgotten that I ever existed (just kidding - sort of). Since I like to have the last word, though, I couldn’t resist sharing some final thoughts.

Why am I leaving?
Why would anyone willingly leave one of the most successful online communications agencies in the country, let alone a steady job in the midst of a crippling recession? Good question. For me, the reason is pretty simple — I have come to the conclusion that I am not an agency man.

Agency life is a grind. I spent nearly all my time selling clients on new ideas and projects — convincing them in many cases that the internet had potential to help in their work — and very little time working directly with clients to develop solutions and support successful campaigns. I traveled a lot. Most of my days were spent on the phone or in meetings.

I have spent much of the last decade building and working for different agencies - in public affairs, public relations, and online communications. I have worked with inspiring clients. I have been a part of exciting projects. I have learned a lot from my colleagues and my experiences. And I am hopeful that I was able to contribute back some knowledge and energy that served to support the work of my colleagues and clients. Every agency is different, and EchoDitto’s approach is certainly better than most in my opionion — they really are focused on helping clients “to amplify and unite grassroots communities online through the creative use of emerging and established technologies.” But, no matter how you look at it, EchoDitto is an agency. And agency life just isn’t for me.

What will I be doing?
I am going rogue! Well, not exactly, but I will be out there now on my own. No more agencies. No more working for ‘the man.’ I can help groups to listen, and educate, engage, and ultimately mobilize people around their goals — taking advantage of media, and technology, and the tools that are widely available online, or emerging every day. I don’t need a team of designers, or developers, or anyone else to have that kind of impact. I don’t need to build or launch anything to be successful.

As it has always been, my focus will be on what impact technology and the internet is having on society and how that changes how audiences get and share information, what organizations must do differently in terms of their planning, operations, and certainly outreach and ongoing support of audiences/customers. The tactical stuff remains important — websites will always need to be built, blogs launched, applications developed, ads served, and the like — but that will not be where I will spend my time. That is not where I can offer the most value. That is not where I believe organizations must focus their energy first if they want to be successful.

A few thoughts and lessons
Wherever I have worked, I have always tried to push new ideas about how technology and the internet are changing our world, and our work. Some ideas fell flat. Others sparked creative new campaigns and successful movements. Before I sign off from EchoDitto, I wanted to share a few final thoughts — they will serve as the foundation for some of my work going forward, but hopefully continue to spark ideas here as well.

Here we go:

Everything is changing. I come to the conclusion that we must do more than simply log on or build out if we want to change the world. Unfortunately, many organizations - and the consultants who guide them - continue to look to technology as the solution to the challenges that our society faces. It is not. The world is changing all around us, technology is evolving, audiences continue to shift, and the implications of all these massive changes are just beginning to be felt and understood. Technology can, and will, be a critical tool in both understanding and managing what we do going forward. But, technology is just the facilitator of whatever actions are needed. Successful organizations balance their use of technology, and their plans and business models, with an ability to embrace everything else that is happening around them. Waiting for something to be proven successful or for case studies that demonstrate exactly how to proceed is not the path to greater achievement. Organizations must consistently provide value and support their audience, while also innovating and looking for new ways to improve and evolve their work In short, we all have to do more to recognize how quickly everything is changing and what that means to our work. And we all have to do more to embrace change and adapt our behavior accordingly.

We need a reset. We need a reset. A total, complete, top-to-bottom, reset. We don’t need a plan - that’s too short-term, we need to think bigger/broader. We don’t need a model - we have never done what we need to do now, so there isn’t anything to emulate. We don’t need a strategy - this isn’t about developing some roadmap and acting on it. We need to change the way we think, act, and organize. We need to change the way we talk and listen. Everything we know, and how it is applied, must be reconsidered and re-applied. This applies to our economy, our government, our educational systems, our culture, and our lives. Everything is in need of a reset. Here is a blog post where I start to play around with this idea.

But ‘must read’ or you won’t be read at all. I am a content guy. I think information drives behavior. If you offer good information, the rest will fall into place. If you don’t, stop now. The standard for good content I like to apply is whether something is a ‘must-read’ (or must-listen, must-watch, must-attend… you get the idea). There is something about being a ‘must-read’… and that something holds the key to the future of media (and everything else too). Being a ‘must-read’ is more about about the quality of the information or experience, and less about the format or mechanism for delivery. That seems obvious, but it re-affirms my belief that media isn’t the only way that ideas are communicated or influence is applied, and that technology doesn’t completely answer the question of why people do, or do not, get and share information the same way they used to. You see, if something achieves that must-read status, people will pay for it, pass it around, make time to consider it, and the like — at least enough people to create a marketplace, or shift thought, or drive changes in behavior. That’s a big deal. Figure that out and everything else will fall into place.

Collaborate or Die. Innovators (and entrepreneurs in particular), whether they are for-profit or non-profit, in the political space, or anywhere else, are taught to do things on their own. Ideas are kept close to the vest and details are rarely shared. Competition is valued above all else, even if it means that the quality of an idea or the success of a venture is less likely as a result. But that system no longer works, particularly in today’s increasingly connected society Few organizations can do everything well. There are a fixed number of people interested in any issue or opportunity and tremendous competition for their attention and energy. There is also a limited amount of investment/support and so the seemingly endless number of concepts and campaigns won’t all find sufficient funding. Fortunately, there are more and more opportunities for collaboration every day. Our culture is shifting so that teamwork is encouraged. That’s not just online, where sharing and developing solutions together has been a key element of growth. Its true offline as well, where communities are coming together to solve complex problems. Competition and proprietary-ness will always be a part of entrepreneurship and innovation; competition will drive a lot of what we do online, and offline, especially in business. But I know, successful ventures in the future are going to need to embrace collaboration and the concept of community, and those who do will thrive.

That’s it. Bye.