Insights & best practices

Field-tested thinking on running a better firm.

Practical guidance on scoping, capacity, utilization, trafficking and margin, drawn from 30 years inside agencies. A new piece every month.

Featured · Capacity planning

How to do capacity planning right

Most firms plan capacity one week at a time, which is exactly how they end up overbooked one month and idle the next. Plan from booked work plus weighted pipeline, by role, weeks ahead, and the feast-or-famine swings start to flatten.

Mark Samber, PhD
Jan 1, 2027 · 8 min read

Read the article

Scoping

Scope projects that protect your margin

Assumptions, exclusions and change orders that hold up when the project gets hard.

Jan 1, 2027 · 7 min read

Read →

Onboarding

You've won the business. Now what?

The sales-to-delivery handoff, and the ten things to settle before kickoff.

Jan 1, 2027 · 6 min read

Read →

Utilization

Utilization best practices for agencies

Targets by role, billable vs. productive time, and protecting creative time on purpose.

Jan 1, 2027 · 7 min read

Read →

Tools

What to look for in a project management platform

A neutral buyer's checklist for time, capacity, budgets, CRM and accounting integration.

Jan 1, 2027 · 9 min read

Read →

Growth

Weathering the feast-or-famine cycle

Pipeline coverage, retainer vs. project mix, and how to use the slow months well.

Jan 1, 2027 · 7 min read

Read →

Coming in 2027

One new insight, every month.

Here's what's next. Subscribe and each one lands in your inbox the day it publishes.

One email a month. Unsubscribe anytime.
  1. Feb 2027 Staffing for the client you might lose
  2. Mar 2027 Responding to RFPs without losing money
  3. Apr 2027 Structuring teams to collaborate efficiently
  4. May 2027 Reading burn rate early
  5. Jun 2027 Three keys to avoiding scope creepDraft ready →
  6. Jul 2027 Margin by client: find the account that's losing money
  7. Aug 2027 What a traffic manager should own
  8. Sep 2027 Why your team won't enter time
  9. Oct 2027 Estimating from history, not gut feel
  10. Nov 2027 The kickoff checklist
  11. Dec 2027 Heroic to repeatable: the agency maturity curve
  12. To schedule The right view for the job: which project visualization to use whenDraft ready →

Want this thinking applied to your firm?

Two easy ways to start. Neither comes with a pitch deck.

Get a free operations evaluation Book a 30-minute call

Or reach us directly: mark@pensumllc.com · 412.659.5859