Some people aren’t going to like hearing this, but it’s true.
Execution is a commodity.
Phew, I said it. But before you unsubscribe in rage, please hear me out to the end.
Technical crafts can be learned (and taught) by almost anybody.
Designing pixels, writing words, coding websites, analyzing data—they are difficult to learn, sure, but they’re fairly easy to hire for and even AI can do much of the legwork without much input.
The real value is in knowing how to get business results.
It’s the strategy. The process. The unique combination of elements that shapes the execution. It’s your taste. Your style. Your experience weaved together.
These parts are expensive to hire for and almost impossible for AI to replace.
But let me backpedal just a bit for clarity.
You still need to learn how to execute before you can successfully lead the strategic side.
Mastering the fundamentals is critical.
And having deeper expertise in all areas of marketing will absolutely help.
The better you know the fundamentals, the easier it will be for you to get results on the strategic side.
Beyond that, the actual doing for your clients is not where most of the value is created.
The person who can combine the right ingredients, instructions, and sometimes people to execute is the person who will capture most of the value of a project.
And this is why some level of expertise in execution helps.
You can be specific, speak the technical lingo, bring in quality examples, and facilitate the outcome to create repeatable results.
But the long tail of execution is, in many cases, easy to find online. The entire agency model depends on this fact.
Upwork is full of capable people to execute tasks to perfect specifications at increasingly low cost. AI is only increasing that downward price pressure.
So yes, learn to execute. But master the art of getting business results as a strategist.
Document your processes. Create templates. Provide examples. Create frameworks. Be good at briefing. Know the lingo of the craft. Practice as much as you can.
But sell the strategy and hire out or refer the execution.
People don’t want shiny pixels. They want business outcomes.
—kevin
P.S. Join the only place online where marketing strategists go to learn, connect, and grow their businesses while doors are open.