Trajectory over Change

Last year, we decided that our official Argus New Year starts on February 1st. After the final push for end-of-year deadlines, holiday get-togethers, and the general year-end fatigue of late December, it’s nearly impossible to feel completely prepared to pursue new resolutions and aspirations right away. A February 1st ‘New Year’ lets us ride the momentum of January’s clean slate to determine goals and formulate a plan. 

In 2022, our company went through a lot of newness and change. We added 6 completely new roles and 11 people, raising our headcount to 30. We built new partnerships, introduced new software and capabilities into our toolkit, and acquired new space, and even new chairs. It was thrilling, but now I’m ready for a year of progress and stability. This year, we’re looking for trajectory over change.

Big dreams are made by taking small, continual steps toward your end goal. And for Argus, that means working closely with our employees, partners, and clients to constantly level-up our research processes — particularly our methods for listening to and engaging with hard-to-reach audiences — and the beautiful, meaningful, and impactful creative executions that bring all of our work to life. 

While it’s challenging to measure progress in real time, I’ve found that there’s power in reflection.

Are we, as a team, learning from both our successes and our failures? Are we all working toward the same big goals? Are we doing better than we did yesterday?

If the answer is a collective ‘yes,’ then we’re moving in the right direction.

Here’s what trajectory over change means for us: 

Setting big, blue-sky goals for the year, as a leadership team; and then anchoring, as individuals, to achievable quarterly goals. These smaller steps will be a driving force throughout the year, while the bigger aspirations keep us on a shared path.

Prioritizing employee education, by providing opportunities for all staff to continue to learn and grow, outside of our walls. While we spend quite a bit of time educating internally, we know that external education can catapult our employees to the next level.

Utilizing the platforms we have to articulate the values we adhere to as a company to our own communities. One of our goals as a company is to create good change in the world. And we’ll do that, moment-by-moment, through conversations and connections that help us learn new ways to make an impact — creating a larger network of minds that embody what we stand for, and who will hold us accountable.

Valuing our team over unrestricted growth, unwaveringly and unapologetically. As we look around and see layoffs across our industry and others, we are witnessing the result of companies that value growth for growth’s sake, rather than focusing on the strength of their existing teams. Our goal is to grow sustainably; bringing on the creative thinkers that bolster us to be the best version of ourselves, for our clients and our internal community. 

2023 is looking like it will be an exciting year for Argus, and we’re so happy to have you along with us for the ride. Onward and upward!