PEOPLE FIRST

I've always been drawn to creativity. To unconventional people and thinking. To new ideas and new ways of doing things. That's why I'm focused on creative businesses, brands and people. My career kicked off in the creative department and it's what I know best.

I also know first-hand, from running highly creative agencies and working on highly creative brands, how effective creativity is as a business tool. Over 10 times more effective in fact, according to numerous global studies like the IPA Creative Effectiveness Report and McKinsey's Award Creativity Score. And as shown through the successes of highly creative campaigns my agencies have produced, like the globally renowned Dumb Ways to Die for Metro Trains.

As a creative person though (and not always a super-organised one), I realised some time ago that I'm much better at being ‘on’ the business, than ‘in’ the business. And that I'd never be any good in business unless I was surrounded by truly awesome business people. I'm good with strategy and vision, but crap at the detail. Apparently it has something to do with my ADHD. So my ethos is simple:

Find great people. Give them opportunities and support to do great things. Then get the hell out of the way.

It's what works best for both me and for the people I work with. And having worked with enough ‘seagull’ managers - who just fly in and shit on everything before flying out again - I’ve always been careful not to become one myself!

ORGANISED ANARCHY

I like to minimise reporting lines and keep business layers as 'flat' and open as possible. This allows more people in more areas of the business to be more involved in key ideas and decisions. It gives them greater freedom and input into how the business is run than they'd have in a more traditional structure.

To people used to more traditional 'command and control' management, this can seem like disorganised anarchy. This is how we run our agency services holding company HERO and the results speak for themselves: faster growth, more innovation, more opportunities, happier people.

Me being hands-off also means giving people freedom to fail. And that's fine with me. It's how people and businesses learn and grow. Management guidance and support is always there for when they need it, to ensure things are being done properly, or picked up and fixed quickly if they're not. And this is key to maintaining 'organised' anarchy, not just anarchy. But as long as the business has a genuinely high-performance culture, without too much management meddling, it will thrive.

WHAT A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CULTURE LOOKS LIKE

• A relaxed, inspiring and open creative work environment that's fun and informal, but always professional
• Audacious creative and business ambition, with a commitment to excellence across every area of the business
• Always investing in talent: attracting, developing and rewarding top-performers
• Best in class brand identity and communications, with a clearly differentiated challenger brand proposition
• A philosophy of “Show Don’t Tell” - leaders who lead by example and demonstrate high-performance by living the company’s vision and values, not just talking about them
• Relentless positivity and optimism (often bordering on delusion!)
• Genuine, relaxed and honest communication, not convoluted or buzz-wordy corporate waffle
• Always playing nice, with zero tolerance for egos, arseholes, bullying, conflict or harassment
• A giant-killer challenger spirit - constantly looking for new ways to do things and to beat the competition
• Publicly and frequently celebrating successes and great work across every area of the business, while dealing with problems privately and respectfully
• The team that plays together, stays together: any excuse for a party!
• Paying equally and fairly, but overpaying in the small things that can make a big difference to a great workplace
• Constant access to management, coaching and mentors - the doors are “always open”
• A focus on first-rate clients, brands and products, but with a challenger approach and equal passion for all
• Genuine collaboration across offices without geographical borders or rivalries, sharing resources wherever possible and avoiding duplication
• Self-Belief. Self-Belief. Self-Belief.