Four Lions Media is an advertising and communication strategy firm specializing in the advocacy and electoral space, with additional work serving nonprofits and similar organizations. Founded when Dean Levitan merged his previous company, Content Media, with his business partner Henri Makembe, the firm offers an extensive range of services spanning digital communications, advertising production, print materials, direct mail, and website development.
It designs everything from quick social media graphics to TV commercials. The team also builds websites, creates print materials, and manages digital outreach. Each project follows different production paths and timelines. Coordinating it all takes serious organizational skills (especially during busy election seasons).
Dean and his team were drowning. During the 2024 election year, they were working around the clock with no clear system to manage their growing workload.
“I don’t think I was sleeping,” Dean recalls. “I was working around the clock. It was pretty bad.”
Their communication was scattered across random emails, Google Docs, and Excel spreadsheets. All team members tracked their work differently. And that created information silos that made collaboration nearly impossible. They had recently brought on new staff members who were immediately asking, “What system are we using?” But there was no good answer.
What made their situation particularly urgent was timing. By spring, they were already struggling to keep up with client demands. Yet they knew the real crunch would come in August and September as election day approached. They needed a solution that could handle their current workload while scaling to meet the inevitable surge ahead.
“We were busy enough that it was occupying our time,” Dean explains, “but not as much as we knew we were gonna have come August, September – and we were already struggling.”
Dean needed a project management approach that could accommodate the complexity of their various service offerings without overwhelming his small team. He wanted more organized communication, clearer accountability, and ultimately, to stop working around the clock while still delivering exceptional work to clients during their busiest seasons.
Based on Beyond the Chaos’ initial diagnosis, the solution wasn’t just about implementing software. It was about understanding a complex business with unique challenges.
“The first thing you guys really did was you got to know us,” Dean explains. “There was a whole discovery process, and that resonated with me because we’re in a client-based business. We always start by figuring out what the client is really trying to be.”
This discovery revealed that the team needed a centralized project management system that could handle multiple service offerings with different production workflows. After careful consideration and conversation, Teamwork.com was chosen as the right platform, because it is complex enough to manage varied needs, but not so complicated that it would overwhelm the team.
Beyond the Chaos (BTC) created a comprehensive implementation plan that became the roadmap for the next six months.
“You came up with this plan that wasn’t just a memo on things we were going to do,” Dean says. “As we went along, you could see how issues were being solved in that original document, which is now a reference for us.”
Regular meetings became a cornerstone of the implementation process. BTC insisted on maintaining the cadence of these check-ins. And yes, even when the team was tempted to reschedule during busy periods.
“The meetings and forced conversations would always happen. Even when we tried to reschedule, Jen was like ‘No, we’re putting this on or you’re going to let it go,'” Dean recalls. “That forced us to actually organize at a time when we were really busy. I think it would have cost us so much more had we not done that.”
This accountability helped Four Lions Media maintain momentum with systems development.
The partners had been operating without a clear division of responsibilities. BTC helped them define specific roles, with Dean focusing on finance and management systems while his partner, Henri, managed client relationships.
Before engaging with BTC, Four Lions Media’s team was using a chaotic mix of email, Google Docs, Excel spreadsheets, and various other platforms. The implementation team helped consolidate nearly all communication into Teamwork.com.
“We went from everybody having email or Google Doc or a different spreadsheet (some people were using Excel and Microsoft Word and all these different platforms) to now almost everybody’s communicating in Teamwork,” Dean says.
BTC recognized that Four Lions Media’s diverse service offerings required different workflows. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach, the Chaos Killers created customized processes for each service line that respected the unique production requirements. All of this work was done while still maintaining consistency in the overall system.
The single source of truth is important. You know where to go to find information if you need it.
Six months after beginning work with BTC, Four Lions Media transformed its operations. The team successfully worked through the intense 2024 election cycle with systems that allowed them to handle the pressure without sacrificing quality or burning out. They’ve consolidated all communications into Teamwork.com, creating a single source of truth that everyone can access.
Dean said, “The single source of truth is important. You know where to go to find information if you need it.”
BTC continues to provide support as Four Lions Media refines its systems. The relationship has shifted from implementation to strategic fine-tuning. Most importantly, they’re no longer working around the clock. The partners already have established boundaries that allow for rest even during busy periods.
“You’re going to provide that discipline on the running of your business that you really need,” Dean says of working with BTC. “It’s so easy to get lost in the clients, and this forces you to think about your business. We enjoy our weekly calls. They’re productive and yet light. It’s a nice place to be.”
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