Account management + project management + agency leadership
We help agencies connect strong client relationships with the work it takes to deliver. Brett Harned and Jenny Plant bring account leadership and project leadership into the same conversation.
The roles we’re talking about
We’re talking specifically about account management and project management inside creative and digital agencies. Titles and staffing models vary. These are two functions that need deliberate attention, whether they sit with two people or one well-supported hybrid.
AM / Account management
Account management looks beyond the current project to understand the client’s priorities, build trusted relationships and identify useful opportunities. The work includes account planning, stakeholder relationships, business reviews, retention and responsible account growth.
PM / Project management
Project management brings people, scope, budget, capacity and decisions together so the team can deliver. The work includes planning, facilitation, risk management, clear communication and making the impact of change visible before new commitments are made.
Both roles need business understanding, commercial judgment and a strong relationship with the client. Clear ownership helps them turn those shared concerns into decisions and commitments the agency can keep.
From the talk to your team
Our SoDA presentation explores what effective account and project leadership look like, how the roles work through change together, and where AI can help people prepare better decisions.
Use the slides to start a conversation about ownership, handoffs and the commitments your agency makes.
Working draft / November 7, 2026. Includes personal-story and visual placeholders for joint review.
The AM:PM story
David C. Baker and Jonathan Baker at Punctuation created an event around a challenge agencies know well: how account management and project management can work together to help a business grow. They brought us into that conversation, then handed the event over to us.
We’ve carried that foundation forward and made the format our own, with practical conversations, working sessions and room to get into the challenges people actually face.
Hosting AM:PM together made something clear: our perspectives complement each other, and we work well together. We kept finding ourselves approaching the same agency challenges from different sides.
Now we’re combining forces for talks beyond our own event and exploring what comes next, from future gatherings to potential client partnerships. AM:PM is the shared identity for that growing body of work.
The lines reflect that relationship: distinct paths, useful tension and shared momentum. Pink is the connection between our perspectives and personal brands.
AM:PM / In the room
Across our 2025 and 2026 Atlanta events, account managers, project managers and agency leaders have joined us and David C. Baker to work through growth, delivery, client relationships and the realities of running an agency. The room has changed in size; the value comes from people bringing their actual challenges, comparing approaches and making time to work through them together.
Two experts / Complementary perspectives
Project + delivery leadership
Consultant, coach and author of Project Management for Humans.
Talk to Brett about making the work work better: PM leadership, delivery practices, agency operations, role clarity, team communication and coaching.
Account + client leadership
Founder of Account Management Skills, trainer and host of the Creative Agency Account Manager Podcast.
Talk to Jenny about developing stronger account managers: understanding a client’s business, building trusted relationships, account planning, retaining clients and growing accounts.
Want both perspectives?
Invite us to speak, lead a workshop or talk through a challenge that sits between account management and delivery. We’re especially interested in the questions that benefit from both perspectives.
Tell us about your audience or team, the problem you’re working through and what you’d like to change. We’ll work out how we can help.
Your inquiry goes to both Brett and Jenny. Tell us a little about what you have in mind.
Keep thinking / Related writing
AM:PM / Shared momentum
