We talked to June Blocklin of Gilbert and Company, advertising agency consultants, about the difficulties to overcome when searching for a new brand agency and how CEOs can sometimes, mistakenly, value chemistry over an idea that could transform the earning power of their brand.

Where are the places that most companies stumble when searching for an agency to partner on a brand?

The right short list is a critical starting point - and the place where companies often miss. There are thousands of alternatives available and always more than one agency that can fit the bill.

The key in getting to the right short list is knowing how well the different agencies fit the criteria you determine are important. You want to find, say, five agencies that not only deliver the services and have the relevant experience that you want, but are hungry, for whatever reason. That's an indication that they will step up and do a good job.

Importantly, that list should not always be about who's "the hottest." A fabulous campaign done for somebody else doesn't necessarily mean they'll do the same for you. You want to make sure you are talking to companies who want you as much as you want them.

In part two, we discuss how a CEO can work with a consultant to establish a cultural change in their organization.

Can CEOs inadvertently be standing in the way of an organization's growth?

I sometimes find leaders choosing to stand above the organization and feel that they're going to change it without it somehow profoundly changing them in the process. Effective change can only happen when leaders grow personally. The CEO has to ask themselves: "Am I prepared for some kind of change in me?" Because change in their organization starts in their office.

I remember a client saying to me once, "Chris, I realize that every instinct I have for this business is no longer relevant, yet they are the only instincts I have."

They had got to a very critical place in their own learning, the place of "I don't know." But then he moved forward, and made some difficult and risky choices, which may well not have worked. Without this almost mystical combination of humility and courageous vision in a leader, change is very hard to foster. I have said, "As grows the leader, so goes the change process." It seems that this is most often the case.

The Halo Group talked to consultant Chris Houston of The Change Alliance about when it is time to bring in a change agent and how a CEO can effectively lead an organization in a new direction.

How does the need for a change agent arise within an organization?

A leader always has two fundamental challenges. The first is to run the organization they have today; they have a responsibility to serve and deliver products to their current customers. The second is to change their model, so that tomorrow's performance is in some way different, better, or sustainable. And the difficulty is that both of these goals need to be achieved simultaneously. Often, the management process pays particular attention to one task or the other, usually today's performance - best reflected in the numbers that show the current economic strength of a corporation. But the results today are the outcome of previous decisions, so today's change agenda is intended to produce results for tomorrow.

The quarterly earnings cycle forces a transactional response. CEOs feel that they have to do something today - preferably Now! - which is why it is sometimes helpful to have an outside opinion and perspective, one not caught up in the issues of producing today's output. A change agent has an eye on the horizon as opposed to the immediate crisis. It's that ability to simply think beyond the immediate issues of today, but do so fully cognizant of the present realities.