5 Bosses, 0 Decisions: The Eternal Purgatory of “Let Me Run This by the Team”

The agency had already sent the pitch. It was all there: the social calendar, the "disruptive" concept, three polished assets, the ad spend strategy, and even the hashtags. Everything was crisp, clean, and neatly tucked into a PDF titled: “Customer Day Campaign – V2_FINAL_FINAL_FOR_REAL.pdf.”

Only one thing was missing: the green light.

Then came the Slack message from Carla, our point of contact and professional messenger of doom: — “Love it! But I need to sync with the rest of the stakeholders.”

“The stakeholders” were a five-headed hydra consisting of:

1. The Legacy Founder (who still prints out emails to read them).

2. The Founder’s Daughter (the "Creative Director" by bloodline).

3. The Accountant (who also handles HR, snacks, and crushing dreams).

4. The New Sales VP (whose only personality trait is saying "let’s pivot").

5. The Founder’s Wife (who doesn't work there but has "thoughts" while baking sourdough).

A week passed. Then two. By the third week, the feedback arrived via seven contradictory Loom videos and 45 frantic WhatsApp audios:

• “It’s too formal. We need more 'vibes.' Make it pop.”

• “Wait, it’s too informal. We’re a serious B2B player, not a circus.”

• “I don’t get the metaphor. Can’t we just say BUY NOW in Comic Sans?”

• “It’s missing that 'Apple' feel. Can we do Apple on a $500 budget?”

• “What if we do a giveaway for a $10 Starbucks card?”

• “Can we use the 2004 logo? It feels more 'vintage'.”

• “My Gen Z nephew says we should do a TikTok dance. Can the CEO do the Renegade?”

The agency went back to the drawing board. They adjusted, they pivoted, they caffeinated. They sent Version 4. — “This is it!” Carla said. “We just need Bob to sign off. He’s been off the grid in Tulum.”

Bob, the Founder, came back. He looked at the campaign for three seconds and said: — “I’m not feeling the synergy. Can we do something more… disruptive?”

It was September 12th. The campaign was for the 19th. The project started in June. And then Carla—with dark circles under her eyes and the voice of a woman who just wants to go live in the woods—sent the final message: — “Hey guys, let’s just put a pin in this for next year. Things got a bit… complicated on our end.”

🔍 Lessons from the Trenches:

• Campaigns aren't a democracy: They’re approved by strategy, not by committee.

• Opinion ≠ Expertise: The more people with "input" and no clear roles, the more the message gets watered down into beige mush.

• Internal Gridlock = External Failure: If you can’t make a move inside, you’re invisible outside.

• The Agency Bottleneck: An agency can only move as fast as the client’s ability to say "Yes."

📋 The "Are We Ready?" Checklist:

✅ Who is the ultimate "Decider"? One name. No "ands."

✅ Is there a review process or is it just "Free-for-all Feedback"?

✅ Can we decide fast enough to actually meet the deadline?

✅ Does everyone understand that "I don't like blue" isn't a business objective? ✅ Are you hiring experts to lead you, or just to agree with you?

🪞 Final Thought:

A marketing campaign isn't a family Thanksgiving dinner. You need a compass, not a room full of people shouting directions. If nobody decides, everything stalls. And when it stalls, don't blame the agency.

Give someone the wheel. Let them drive. Because if it doesn't get approved, it doesn't get results.