The Methods
This is the full operational transformation I built across 200+ agencies over 15 years. It started as a set of techniques for fixing how agency work actually flows, and it turned into a four-level program that changes how an agency plans, communicates, delivers, and measures.
The methods became AgencyAgile. AgencyAgile became Better Company. The methods didn’t go anywhere. Many agencies still run the model a decade after I installed it. Organizations that have gone through the full program report 30–50% faster delivery, and the changes tend to stick because the teams built them.
This is the drag side of my work, and it matters more now, not less. AI speeds up the parts of the work that follow a pattern, but an agency full of handoffs, meetings and rework can’t turn that speed into results. The Workstream Program is how you clear the way.
The program has four levels. Most agencies start at Level 1 (some do a Level 0 leadership workshop first), and work through the levels over several months. Each level addresses a different layer of the problem, and each one stands on its own: you can stop at any level and keep what you’ve built.
For agencies of 60+ people
The Problem
Leadership doesn’t have a consistent understanding of how the agency actually operates, where the friction comes from, or what’s possible. Everyone has a theory. Nobody has shared data.
What We Do
A two-day leadership and planning workshop. Education, exploratory workshops, organizational audit and analysis, planning discussions. The goal is an informed and aligned leadership team with a going-forward plan, budgets, next steps, and clear roles and responsibilities. Ready to get started.
This level is optional for smaller agencies, but for shops over 60 people it’s essential. You can’t transform an organization if the leadership team doesn’t have a shared picture of what they’re transforming.
Where most agencies start
The Problem
Project success is rare because of inconsistent understanding of work scope by clients, teams, and management. Projects start with ambiguity and end with overages, rework, and blame.
What We Do
Communications training (the VAK model), Project Context briefings, Roadmapping, and Client Briefing. Roadmapping is usually the breakthrough: the whole team comes into the room at the beginning of a project, scopes it together, surfaces risks before pricing, and produces a shared blueprint. Clients participate. The ambiguity that used to generate rework gets resolved before the work begins.
The Result
Well-scoped projects. Reduction in project overages by 80% or more. Increased sense of ownership and client engagement. The most common feedback: “fewer surprises.”
Reclaiming productive time
The Problem
Productive time is scarce because of the multi-client, multi-allocated nature of the work, and the ambient chaos. People are interrupted constantly. Deep work doesn’t happen. The calendar is full of meetings that exist because nobody trusts the process to work without them.
What We Do
Flow, Noise, and Transparency training. Day Structure redesign. Check-in rituals. Kanban. Managerial style and communication coaching. The core move is protecting blocks of uninterrupted time (Flow time) and replacing status meetings with lightweight coordination rituals that take minutes instead of hours.
The Result
A tangible increase in productive hours in the day, usually 20–50%. Increase in the quality of work. Less chaos, fewer surprises, happier teams. People start protecting their Flow time because they can feel the difference.
The full system
The Problem
As the organization grows, teams become less effective, and workflow becomes over-managed and costly. The department-siloed, handoff-heavy model creates bottlenecks, communication gaps, and a culture where people identify with their discipline rather than their work.
What We Do
Agile Frame training. Workstream setup. Cycle-based activities including Cycle Planning, Grooming, Reality Check, Reviews, and Retros. This is the full model: small, empowered, cross-functional Workstream Pods replacing the department-siloed way of running work. Each pod owns its workflow end to end, with built-in performance metrics and capacity management.
The Result
An end-to-end system for planning, managing, and delivering work, complete with performance metrics and capacity management. Published in MIT Sloan Management Review. Still running in organizations a decade after installation.
Program Formats
All four levels, rolled out sequentially over several months. One workstream at a time, each rollout smoother than the last.
Levels 1–2 only. For agencies that need alignment and flow but aren’t ready for the full pod-based model.
The full program delivered online. Same content, adapted for distributed teams.
For agencies that went through the program previously and want to retrain new staff or sharpen practices that have drifted.
Every format starts with the diagnostic. The findings determine which levels your agency needs and how to sequence them.
The History
The Workstream Program was built under the name AgencyAgile, starting in 2011. Over 15 years and 200+ engagements, the methods were refined across agencies of every size and type: digital shops, creative agencies, consultancies, and project-driven teams inside holding companies and brands.
AgencyAgile became Better Company. The methods, the research, and the experience all carried forward. If you want to see where it all started, the AgencyAgile archive is still online.
Campaign US called me “The Fixer.” Read the article →
Learn more about AgencyAgile’s history →The diagnostic is always the first step. If the Workstream Program is the right fit, the diagnostic will make that clear.
30 minutes. No pitch, no deck. You tell me what’s not working; I’ll tell you what I’d look at first.
Book a Conversation →Prefer email? Tell me a bit about your agency and what’s on your mind. I’ll get back to you personally.
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