Agency leadership and ownership lessons with Christy and Whit Hiler of Cornett

12:51Whit Hiler:The weight of the decisions, and especially in 2020, right? I mean, being responsible for, I mean, we had, we have, you know, almost 60 people and their families and no roadmap for how you navigate this successfully for them, for the businesses that we're responsible for. And we do feel that weight of the response. We are in it with the brands that we partner with, with the people that are on those teams for those brands. And, you know, so it is a tremendous responsibility. And I did feel that almost instantly.

13:38Whit Hiler:But I kind of love that too. I don't know, like, because I think that you have to be so choiceful and thoughtful in every decision that you're making because of that responsibility. And I don't feel like I'm by myself or like I can't figure out how to get to great decisions and the right decisions, because I, I feel supported. I've got an incredible team at Cornette, but I also feel like I have an incredible community that I can turn to, that understands the full weight, has carried it in similar ways, or is willing to get in there and wrestle with, you know, whatever comes our way. So that's the identity I take is just the responsibility.

14:34Whit Hiler:I think I just read, did you just hire a president? Well, okay. So we didn't hire her. Promoted? Yes. So actually, which is really, I love this because Jessica was, she, Jessica Vincent is our president. And she and I were both at Cornette and came to Cornette, I mean, about 25 years ago. So she did leave for a few years. Her husband was relocated to Florida. So she moved down there and worked at another agency, but then came back. And when she came back, we connected almost immediately and had been working for a few years to figure out like the right time to get her in and the right opportunity.

15:27Whit Hiler:And then it opened up and she was so pumped. Because at that, we had just evolved in really great, like in ways that were meaningful to her. So when she came back, she wanted to come and join us and be a part of what we were doing. And I was, you know, just so eager to find the right spot for her. And so she came in and Jessica is just she is the most dedicated, like she is in the trenches with all of our clients and so into their business and just phenomenal, like relationships. unbelievable and so as I moved from president to owner and really took more of the responsibility of looking up and out I growth in my mind like is only possible by keeping the relationships that we have as solid as possible.

16:35I'm not interested in adding and while you turn your back on anybody who helped you get

16:44Whit Hiler:where you are. So Jessica and her incredible skill in being a great partner, she felt like the obvious choice to me to step in as president and just make sure that as we grow and as we continue to evolve, those partnerships know that we are always going to remain loyal and equally dedicated to them as we are to our growth. That's great. Congratulations. So I'm guessing for you, that means more time to focus on the vision and growth and things like that. Yeah. Yeah. And we work really well together too. So putting her in that position was an easy decision. That's great. I didn't think it was possible to love it as much as I love it now.

17:35Whit Hiler:You know, I just, I love the people. I love, love the people. I love where we're headed. I think it is more creative, more unique. Just like, I think there, it's endless. I remember my favorite talk I've ever heard at Cannes, but maybe even anywhere, actually came from the president of Columbia who ran on the platform of creativity. And he said, you know, it's really the only unlimited resource. You know, like so many countries are really fueled by limited resources, whether it's oil or, you know, like, but creativity is limitless but it is also so powerful. So I love this. There's nothing in the world I would rather do because it's the combination of like the power of creativity, the fun nature of the work that we get to be a part of, but also just like the genuinely impressive people, so sharp, but also so good.

18:56Whit Hiler:Yeah. And connected, like camaraderie. Yes. And it just feels like now, I don't know, there's just everybody. It feels like so many people want success for each other in a way that I haven't seen in this business before.

19:12Christy Hiler:And I'm thinking about it on the way down here. Just the fact that, you know, you're you have this agency in Cincinnati and you're having this agency from Lexington, Kentucky, come be on the show, you know, and give us a platform to talk about what we're doing. And I mean, that's super cool. I mean, you aren't going to see John Morgan from Morgan and Morgan and Morgan have the heavy hitter on his podcast, you know? Yeah. So it's cool.

19:37Whit Hiler:Yeah. All right. Let's go back to the board.

19:40Christy Hiler:Two. Go two.

19:42Whit Hiler:Okay. So you recently rebranded the agency, which I would love to talk a little bit about. I have a beautiful cross-stitch logo up in my office. Why should agencies treat their own brand like a client? And then why should clients care? Okay. I will definitely at least start. Okay. We have to treat our own brand like a client because our people. I think for me, it was really just making sure that our brand represents who we are today. and what's really cool about Cornette and I think my story our story is that we didn't start this agency we bought the agency and it's an agency that is you know over 40 years old started in Lexington when I started there you know 25 years ago it was just a local ad agency but that really quickly had this vision that it could be anything we wanted it to be, not just anything I wanted it to be, but anything we, all of us, wanted it to be.

21:00Whit Hiler:And over the years, it really has evolved. As Whit said, he loves to study this, and I love this business. We're like, we are just, we are students of this business, and I love it. But it's not just us. It's everyone at Cornette. And I think that so much of what we have felt is like just this idea of constant growth, you know, just like getting better and better. People ask us all the time, you know, what do you want to, you know, what do you guys want to be? What do you, what's your vision? Our vision is really pretty simple. I mean, we are so locked in on the work. We want to do the best work in this business.

21:52Whit Hiler:Like for us, that is, that is our motivator. We want, and which is why, you know, WIT is always, and everybody at the agency is always looking at the work in this business. And then my job more now is what do we need to do within the agency to get to that work? And I love the balance. I love the balance of celebrating as we were talking about right before we entered this room. I love to celebrate all the great work that we have done and the things that we have set our minds on and accomplished for ourselves, for the industry. I mean, just looking at what we have wanted to do and see that when you set your eyes on something, like you can get it.

22:41Whit Hiler:And early on, like I knew we could be something really great and we could do it in Lexington and give more people that opportunity to be a part of that and not have to leave, you know. And so, but I think the idea of growth just was a big piece of what we wanted to be able to communicate because we're always looking to get better as an agency, but also better individually, you know, and so individual growth, but also the collective growth within the agency is just, it's like a constant conversation. We love to like look back every year and go, how much have, how much have we grown? Like I love looking back and almost being embarrassed by where we were and what we were doing, you know?

23:37Whit Hiler:And so I just always have, we have that mindset. So the idea of growth and, and that's where the natural element of our Venus fly trap and the plants, but also like thriving in environments that are really challenging and getting super creative in how you do that. But also, you know this, most people know this about me and about us being female-owned, female-led is we're so proud of that and have such a passion for seeing more women in this industry know that they can do that know that it is a possibility and that they can step into that and be supported you know like we're planting a lot of roots yeah and we want to grow we want to see our clients grow but yeah just like all the time focused on how do we do better work together as a team and get to the the top in that way like that's what we're striving for i love that were you part of the rebrand at all i imagine yeah yeah i love it um and you know it's it's

24:54Christy Hiler:funny being i've been at cornet for 14 years you know we can look back on a lot of rebrands and like moments and laugh at what we did and like yeah like uh which i think is really funny the other thing i also think is funny with um you know like agency stuff it's just takes so long to get it done you know because it's we have so much client work and you know so it's like yeah you want a new website next year we should have started on that four years ago

25:26Whit Hiler:somewhere my partner Jeff Worman is saying yes I told you Ashley it takes a long time so I'm

25:32Christy Hiler:always like we gotta go I know I know so it's um yeah I was really happy to see that uh in the wild and in use and you know we're always evolving our story and our offering and our positioning and um you know getting better and better and clearer and clearer and more succinct but it's I think there's also, you know, you've got a team, you know, at Cornette that, that, you know, spends all that time on that rebrand and positioning and website and just, you know, to see it come to life. And then that excitement, you know, there's a lot of energy. I think it kind of gives, you know, gives a good kick of energy to the, to the agency.

26:16Christy Hiler:And then, um, so yeah, I'm super pumped on it.

26:20Whit Hiler:I'll tell one embarrassing story about curiosity. My team already knows what I'm going to say right now. But when I started the social media post that went live, pretty much the day I started was, it was a right around Red's opening day. We're a big baseball town. And it was a picture of a grill out the agency was doing. It was just like a bag of hot dog buns and like the saddest potluck lunch you've ever seen in your life. And I'm like, I'm like, okay, all right. So this is where we're starting. So we joke all the time because we put a lot of effort into our own brand and our story and our social.

26:53Whit Hiler:But we often will go back to that photo and be like, all right, we've come a long way. Yeah, totally. We should be proud of where we are today.

27:00Christy Hiler:Totally.

27:01Whit Hiler:And I think some of it is about the brand and the representation, you know, and as soon as I saw it, the whole team landed, it was like, yes, that feels so right and so true. I loved your LinkedIn post about that. Yeah. But that's a piece of it. I think the equally important piece is the positioning, right? Because as we talk about a lot of this new business, you know, that is opening up, really being clear on what value we bring, what our value proposition is, what business we are right and best suited for. Having clarity on that has been, I mean, honestly, like so game changing and saved us a lot of time and helps us just like channel our energy into the right things and know that we can be successful and it has proven to be successful you know like when you go after the right things again setting your mind and your it's like this amazing thing that my that I have said so many times that the team just like knows that I'm gonna say it every year at like the end of the year wrap ups or as we like charge into the next year like it is amazing to me the way and the amount of times we have set our minds to something and just achieved it yeah i couldn't agree more it's like there's a manifest it you put it on paper you talk about it you share it publicly everybody at the agency knows your aim and then yeah funny enough yeah you can get there.

28:51Whit Hiler:I love that for you guys. Alright, so I just want to get to know you guys a little bit more. We love to end the podcast with a little this or that. So you'll both will answer at the same time just the first thing that comes to mind. Ready. Alright, here we go. A ski trip or a hiking trip? Hiking.

29:08Christy Hiler:Ski.

29:08Whit Hiler:Keeneland or Kentucky Derby? Keeneland. Alright, we thought we'd get one of you. Okay, A &W or AL81?

29:15Christy Hiler:A &W.

29:16Whit Hiler:A &W. Statement earrings Wings or horse kicks? Statement hearing. Horse kicks. Farm life or agency life? Ooh.

29:28Christy Hiler:Both. Yeah, we don't have to pick.

29:30Whit Hiler:You don't have to pick.

29:31Christy Hiler:Yeah.

29:31Whit Hiler:Thank you guys so much for coming on the show. What's the best way for people to reach out to you? Me? LinkedIn. LinkedIn?

29:39Christy Hiler:I'm not as good at LinkedIn. The leadership team at Cornette always gives me a hard time. I need to do more thought leadership and change my bio. Like you said, executive creative director. I'm now the chief creative officer, but I haven't changed it on my page.

29:55Whit Hiler:Well, there you go.

29:56Christy Hiler:Or my bio. That's kind of how I roll. That's amazing.

30:00Whit Hiler:That's amazing. But yeah, email or. We'll just have him call. I mean, I'm surprised that you got any information from him, actually.

30:10Christy Hiler:I think I did put like, it said like enter your bio and I read my bio and then I was like, let me get back to you on that. I never got back to you all.

30:19Whit Hiler:And Christy was like, yeah, you won't hear from it for a few weeks. And we're like, she's right.

30:24Christy Hiler:Sorry about that. Or ever.

30:27Whit Hiler:I love it. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. This was a total blast.

30:31Christy Hiler:Yeah. Thanks for having us. It's really fun. It's great. Great show.