Shows
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastOps Quickie: What the heck is a PSA?!New series alert: Ops Quickies — snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿We're kicking off with a big question wrapped in The Clunkiest Acronym: what the heck is a PSA ... or professional services automation platform?Harv explains why the name’s a problem, what this kind of platform actually does, and why service businesses need to start paying attention.If you've got any questions about ops tech, PSAs, or Scoro, drop me a message on LinkedIn. I'd love to hear from you – and might even turn it into a mi...2025-07-1502 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastBoard-Level Thinking, Sale-Ready Ops – with Sam WoodYour ops might be ticking along just fine.But what if your founder got sick tomorrow? What if your top client left? What if you had to make a big decision with zero visibility on the numbers?You might not be planning to sell your agency – but you should run it like you are.Because when you adopt that mindset, you zoom out. You stop firefighting. You start building a business that runs without you.This week on The Handbook, Harv sits down with Sam Wood – fractional COO and foun...2025-07-0740 min
The Agency Profit PodcastHow to Choose the Right Project Management Tool for Your Agency , With Carson PiercePoints of Interest0:00 – 1:14 – Introduction & Context Setting: Marcel introduces Carson Pierce, Parakeeto's Head Consultant, to discuss project management tools in the agency space and the fundamentals that remain relevant despite ever-changing software options.1:14 – 4:01 – Common Tools Used by Agencies: Carson outlines the most frequently used project management tools among Parakeeto clients, highlighting Asana, ClickUp, and Teamwork, and noting the emergence of all-in-one solutions like Scoro.4:01 – 6:02 – Complexity of the Tool Landscape: Marcel emphasizes the oversaturated, overlapping software market and categorizes tools by function—core PM, all-in-one, and emerging database-like tools like Notion and Airtable.6:02 – 8:20 – Evolution & Blurring Tool Categories: Discussion on how tool capabilities...2025-07-0236 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastThe ops CHEAT CODE: One year of insights condensed with Harv NagraIs your business growing, but it still feels messy?This solo episode from Harv looks back at one year of The Handbook podcast, and it’s a big one. Harv recaps what he’s learned from a year of speaking with ops leaders across the agency world. He packages it all into one whirlwind tour of the five core pillars of operational maturity: people, process, tools, data, and growth.If you’ve missed a few episodes (or want a cheat code to benchmark your agency’s ops maturity), this is your starting point. Or your reset.2025-06-1732 min
Делов-то!Россию затянула «Паутина», проект шоссе до Нарвы завалился в кюветВ студии главный редактор ДВ Олеся Лагашина, биржевой редактор Дмитрий Фефилов и журналист Алексей Шишкин. Служба безопасности Украины провела в РФ операцию «Паутина», успешно атаковав на аэродромах (в том числе в далекой Сибири!) дронами стратегическую авиацию противника. Означает ли это, что теперь с помощью технологий даже у меньшего по размеру и населению государства есть шанс противостоять более крупному и влиятельному? И как это меняет перспективы Эстонии?Готова ли медленная и склонная к бюрократии Европа к «дроновой революции»? И какие риски ей предстоит обойти на пути к технологическому прорыву в военном деле?Частный бизнес проспонсировал дальнейшую работу Fermi Energia — организации, лоббирующей постройку в Эстонии атомной электростанции. Среди инвесторов — Олег Гросс и Тийт Пруули. Снова обсуждаем, нужна ли нашей стране АЭС, а еще стоит ли спрашивать у граждан разрешения на строительство столь специфической штуковины? Ведь едва ли большинство участников потенциального референдума как следует разберутся о чем речь.Не стоит ли бизнесу вовсе отказаться от поддержки политических партий, инвестируя вместо этого деньги, в проекты, которые они поддерживаю? Может тогда вместо голых обещаний мы получим что-то более реальное, а жертвователи смогут голосовать точечно, а не за весь «идеологический пакет» сразу?Четырехполосное шоссе от Йыхви до Нарвы в новом коалиционном договоре не упоминается. Хотя партия Реформ прежде десятилетиями обещала его проложить. Это как-то связано с увеличившейся угрозой с востока? Или в казне просто слишком много дырок? И значит ли это что на инфраструктурных инвестициях в Ида-Вирумаа поставлен крест?В течение последних трех лет IT-компания Scoro активно продвигала идею четырехдневной рабочей недели как в Эстонии, так и на международной арене. Теперь она же прекращает эксперимент и сокращает сотрудников. Но мечта о том, чтоб работать меньше дней в неделю — жива. Что это, утопия или реальность?
2025-06-0629 min
The Digital Project ManagerHow Project Managers Can Thrive In Evolving Agency ModelsThe agency world is undergoing major shifts, with evolving business models, leaner teams, and new demands on project leaders. While disruption can feel overwhelming, it also presents opportunities for growth—if you know how to adapt. As roles blur and responsibilities pile up, resilience and flexibility have never been more essential.Joining us is Harv Nagra, Head of Brand Communications at Scoro and host of The Handbook: Agency Ops podcast, to break down how operating models are changing and what project managers can do to stay ahead. From navigating uncertainty to leading with a growth mindset, this ep...2025-06-0342 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastAre you helping or hindering your delivery team? With Galen LowOps Leaders, are you unintentionally making life harder for your delivery team?Galen Low, co-founder of The Digital Project Manager and host of The Digital Project Manager podcast, joins us to flip the lens, and spotlight the real impact of operational decisions from the delivery floor up.Galen has spent years helping digital PMs thrive in chaotic environments. In this episode, he shares the signs leaders might be missing when systems break down and how to create structures that support people doing the work.Here’s what we dive into:How layoffs an...2025-06-0348 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastStrategic Ops, Unlocked: Manish Kapur’s Workshop PlaybookWhat does it really take to operate more strategically as an agency?Manish Kapur returns to The Handbook to help agency ops leaders shift from firefighting mode to future-focused thinking. If you’ve ever struggled to carve out time for the big picture while juggling the day-to-day, this episode is your playbook.Harv and Manish dig into how to run fast-paced, high-impact workshops that drive meaningful change – and how to keep momentum once priorities have been decided. They also explore how ops folks can step up as strategic leaders, driving these initiatives, especially as AI is f...2025-05-2051 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastGrowth Thresholds & Growing Pains with Marcel PetitpasGrowth is the goal for many agencies, but as your team hits certain size thresholds, your structure, systems, and workflows can start to break down.Marcel Petitpas, CEO of Parakeeto, has spent years helping agencies around the world clean up their operations, tighten up forecasting, and build financial systems that actually support scale.In this episode, Marcel shares what breaks as agencies grow, and how small optimizations can make the difference between momentum and mayhem. If your team’s growing fast, but your numbers aren’t adding up, this one’s for you.2025-05-0645 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastPricing, Profitability & Predictions with Karl SakasWhat if you could charge more, and keep your best clients happy?Karl Sakas has spent over 20 years in agency operations and consulting, helping more than 600 agencies shift from reactive to strategic. In this episode, he joins us to break down why pricing isn’t just about numbers – it’s an ops play, and one that can define your agency’s future.Here’s what we get into:• Why time & materials pricing is on the way out, and what to do instead• How to use “value anchoring” as a bridge to value-based pricin...2025-04-2248 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastWhy your tools aren’t talking & what it’s costing you with Ryan PearcyYour tech stack might be holding your agency back more than you think.Ryan Pearcy, founder of Digital Transformers and chartered accountant, has helped countless agencies untangle their systems and make smarter, faster decisions. He’s spent nearly 15 years helping service-based businesses clean up their systems, bringing finance, tech, and process together so leaders can make decisions based on reality.In this episode, he helps Harv troubleshoot three common (and all-too-familiar) agency tech stack scenarios.Here’s what we get into:Why disconnected tools lead to risky, gut-feel decisions, and how to fix...2025-04-0837 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastBenchPress 2025: 4 Big Agency Opportunities You Need To Be On Top OfHow do agencies stack up in 2025?The results are in for BenchPress 2025. The UK’s largest benchmarking survey for independent agencies has revealed some surprising (and shocking) trends about the state of the industry.To break it all down, Rory Spence, Head of Commercial at The Wow Company, joins us to unpack the data, trends, and opportunities that agency leaders need to know.In this episode, we cover:Why 2024 was a brutal year for many agencies (and how to bounce back)Profitability trends and how top-performing agencies maintain strong marginsAI’s growing role...2025-03-2538 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastHow to Get Clients to See You as a Strategic Partner with Max TraylorMost agencies add value far beyond execution. They develop methodologies, frameworks, and strategic thinking that help clients make better decisions. But too often, they give that thinking away for free. Only to compete on price when it’s time for execution.Max Traylor has spent years helping agencies break this cycle. He’s an expert in packaging and selling strategy, helping agencies move from order takers to trusted advisors. In this episode, Max shares how to stop the race to the bottom and start getting paid for what you know, not just what you do.Here...2025-03-1139 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastRethinking performance, pay reviews & career growth with Zoe BloggAre performance reviews a waste of time—or your agency’s secret weapon?Too often, agencies treat performance management as a checkbox exercise, bogged down with vague feedback and awkward salary conversations. But Zoe Elizabeth Blogg, Operations Director at Reboot Online, has built a system that actually works. From structured performance reviews to proactive (quarterly!) salary reviews, Zoe’s created a process that keeps teams engaged, managers confident, and top talent sticking around—all in a fully remote, four-day workweek agency.In this conversation, Zoe breaks down how to make performance management meaningful and scala...2025-02-2539 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastHow to move from tactical to STRATEGIC ops with WPP's Preston ChandlerYour agency’s operations can either fuel creativity, or kill it.And you can focus on the big picture that drives real financial impact, or get stuck in the weeds.Preston Chandler, WPP’s Global Practice Lead of Strategic Operations has a point of view, and the experience to prove it. In fact, Preston’s role at WPP is all about advising agencies in the group on how they can operate in a better, smarter, and more strategic way.In this conversation, Preston shares how agencies can design their operations to be smarter, leaner...2025-02-1150 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastMike Della Porta: How to elevate service delivery for scaleWe’ve all had those moments, we land that huge new client – first comes the elation for winning the mandate that will transform our fortunes, and then the mild panic at how we’re going to deliver.There’s also times when what we do is simply just not that well understood across the organization – there might only be one internal expert, which creates a significant amount of risk for the business if they were to leave.That’s where assessing – and improving – your business capability maturity becomes critical.The good news? A business capabil...2025-01-2841 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastManaging Gen Z: Challenges, Myths, and the Opportunity with Isobel CamierThis year, Gen Z are due to make up over a quarter of the workforce – a huge proportion. But both the negative headlines and moaning around the watercooler have commenced. Claims of entitlement, laziness, and unreasonable expectations abound. But is any of it true? And is their approach to work really that detrimental to an efficient workplace? In this episode, Harv speaks with Isobel Camier, founder of Camier Communications and a training consultant with 15 years of experience in PR and communications. Drawing on her commissioned research into Gen Z in the workplace, Isobel debunks stereotypes and...2025-01-1434 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastBuilding a systemized, codified, scalable sales engine with Ryan HallIn a tight market, sales become a big concern. Relying on repeat business or referrals no longer cuts it, you have to put in more effort. Often in agencies, the know-how on how to get this done is missing; few people come from a formal sales background. So a haphazard approach is implemented and we hope for the best. Only that slapdash approach rarely gets the results we want. Is it time for the sales engine to be looked at as an ops challenge? We think so. In this episode of The Handbook: The...2024-12-171h 08
B2B Marketing: The Provocative TruthWhy playing it safe is the riskiest move with Dan Roche, CMO of WorkbooksIn this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, host Benedict Buckland speaks with Dan Roche, CMO of Workbooks CRM, to uncover the uncomfortable truth about conservative B2B marketing. Dan shares candid insights from running bold campaigns, including a Minions partnership at SCORO and the provocative "No Bullsh*t CRM" campaign at Workbooks. He challenges the industry's risk-averse culture, demonstrating how brave brand-led campaigns can drive immediate business results - even within traditional organisations like KPMG. Through real examples, Dan makes a compelling case for why B2B marketers must break free from conventional digital-only approaches to achieve...2024-12-1630 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastRunning your agency like clockwork with Jinny Mitchell-KentHow do you create a highly efficient agency without losing flexibility or quality?In this episode, Harv Nagra sits down with Jinny Mitchell-Kent, Joint Managing Director at Great State. With nearly 20 years of experience at agencies big and small—including global powerhouse AKQA—Jinny shares how she’s applying lessons from her big-agency days to a 100-person team.Here’s what you’ll hear:How moving from COO to MD changed her focus from internal projects to building client relationships, while maintaining her focus on performance and excellence.The strategies Great State uses to compete wi...2024-12-0338 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastHow to document and embed best practices that stick with Harv NagraAre you battling with inconsistent processes, bad practice and poor staff training? In this episode, Harv Nagra explains the benefits of documenting and embedding best practices – to take your agency one big leap forward in operational maturity.Harv shares his best tips on:Creating an agency handbook – to create a single source of truth for your business, and help your team work consistentlyChoosing the right documentation tools – specific tools that are helpful in documenting and communicating workflowsCreating a team of best practice champions – by providing learning resources that let them build confidence from day one2024-11-1922 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastHire, train and retain like Sarah BroughamHiring and training new employees is a big commitment - and getting it right will have a lasting impact on your agency.Kicking off The Big Agency Club series, we chat with Sarah Brougham, VP of Operations at GenFlow. Sarah’s helped multiple agencies go from start-up to established, having a big hand to play in their growth and maturity journies. Sarah has spent the past six years at GenFlow, helping grow revenue there by 5x and headcount 16x.Sarah gives us her best tips on:Hiring the right people for your agencyCreating onboarding pr...2024-11-0547 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastAmy Hopper: How to build more engaged, high-performing teamsIndividuals thrive when they’re equipped to handle challenges.Amy Hopper is a former agency owner and now founder of the business consultancy TOA. In this episode, Amy opens up about her journey through some serious challenges. She shares how those experiences helped her create a system that keeps teams (and individuals) focused, engaged, and productive.Amy dives into practical tips on:Planning your day in a way that energizes you instead of draining you.Letting go of perfectionism so you can delegate more and grow faster.Overcoming resistance to change, both personally and wi...2024-10-2243 min
Creative Agency Account Manager PodcastHow to evaluate your agency operations, with Harv NagraWelcome to episode 123. This episode will be particularly interesting for you if you're responsible for your agency's internal operations. You might be the operations director, head of project management, or even a client services director, but if you think your internal agency operations could be more efficient and streamlined, then this episode is for you. Harv Nagra is an agency ops consultant, a former in-house agency ops director, and Head of Brand Comms at agency work management platform Scoro. He's recently launched The Handbook: The Agency Operations Podcast. Here’s just a flavour of what Harv shared in our chat:· how to asse...2024-10-0850 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastRichard Brett: What is 'rev rec' & which metrics matter?Which metrics should you track, to run your agency as efficiently as possible?In this episode we speak with Richard Brett. Rich is a seasoned FinOps professional with 15+ years of experience, including a decade in the agency world. Rich has played a key role in scaling agencies, setting up financial processes, and supporting sustainable growth. Rich will take us into a deeper dive of agency finances, starting with revenue recognition – recording revenue when it's earned, not when payment is received – and explain why this is so important. Next, we’ll dis...2024-10-0843 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastBONUS EP: How can you boost your agency's productivity?Do you ever get to the end of the working day and wonder, ‘What did I actually get done today?'You’re certainly not alone. We’re interrupted about every 8 minutes. And it can take up to 20 minutes to get back to what we’re doing. Imagine the impact of that on an 8 hour day.In a recent Agency Hackers webinar, Harv spoke about productivity – including the flow state, trends that have had a negative influence on our ability to focus, and strategies that have given him and his colleagues a big productivit...2024-10-0121 min
The Handbook: The Operations PodcastTrenton Moss: 3 high-impact strategies that redefined my agencyCurious about how an agency experimented with new approaches and found their recipe for success?In this episode, we talk with Trenton Moss, a former agency owner who ran his business for 15 years before it was sold. Trenton shares the key decisions that transformed his agency, along with some missteps along the way.Trenton covers three major changes he implemented and explains exactly how he did it:Setting up team pods with a highly effective reward systemDeveloping ongoing client services training and putting the learnings into practiceCreating an advisory board to guide the agency2024-09-2452 minThe Handbook: The Operations PodcastDan Timmiss: How to get your agency IT ready for scalingAs an Ops person, the role of IT expert is often part of the job. So how can you ensure your agency’s IT infrastructure is set up for scaling? That's the focus of our discussion with Dan Timmiss, Technical Director at Kaizen IT Solutions. With over two decades of experience, Dan has helped hundreds of creative agencies optimize and manage their IT setups, from audits to complete IT overhauls and supporting scaling teams.In this episode, Dan shares essential best practices:The importance of implementing single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for sec...2024-09-1042 min