Growth
Published on Feb 29, 2016
No Description
MORE DECKS TO EXPLORE
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
going through growth
or 'How have others done it? Here's some stuff I've seen...'
To be clear, this is not a set of principles.
These are just lessons I've worked out for myself, from what I've seen.
It's a series of stories, not a list of rules.
These are just lessons I've worked out for myself, from what I've seen.
It's a series of stories, not a list of rules.
Photo by Shark Attacks
from £1.5m to £11m - how?
- Events
- Bringing stuff in house
- Diversification
- Keeping people
To be clear, this is not a set of principles.
These are just lessons I've worked out for myself, from what I've seen.
It's a series of stories, not a list of rules.
These are just lessons I've worked out for myself, from what I've seen.
It's a series of stories, not a list of rules.
Photo by Shark Attacks
is any business 'good' business?
AKA the Benn / Kinnock dilemma
Tony Benn was a staunch socialist.
So much so that he was the first person ever to renounce a peerage.
He changed from
'Anthony Wedgewood Benn Viscount Stansgate'
to
'Tony Benn'
When Neil Kinnock became leader of the Labour Party, Tony Benn called him the Great Betrayer, because he watered down the MOST left wing stuff, in order to make the party electable.
Benn's argument: "But you'll just have power without principles"
Kinnock's reply: "That's better than principles without power".
I have had similar tussles during my 'tech' PR career.
AT FIRST: "I do PR for consumer tech brands. That's cool."
AND THEN: "I feel like I'm selling drugs to kids. Not good." (e.g. 118 118 Money - selling more bad credit to people who can't afford it?)
Saatachi's rule of thumb:
"We've either got to be doing great work on a piece of business, or we've got to be making money on it. If we're not doing either of those, we don't want it."
So much so that he was the first person ever to renounce a peerage.
He changed from
'Anthony Wedgewood Benn Viscount Stansgate'
to
'Tony Benn'
When Neil Kinnock became leader of the Labour Party, Tony Benn called him the Great Betrayer, because he watered down the MOST left wing stuff, in order to make the party electable.
Benn's argument: "But you'll just have power without principles"
Kinnock's reply: "That's better than principles without power".
I have had similar tussles during my 'tech' PR career.
AT FIRST: "I do PR for consumer tech brands. That's cool."
AND THEN: "I feel like I'm selling drugs to kids. Not good." (e.g. 118 118 Money - selling more bad credit to people who can't afford it?)
Saatachi's rule of thumb:
"We've either got to be doing great work on a piece of business, or we've got to be making money on it. If we're not doing either of those, we don't want it."
keeping the core
- Diversification could mean mission drift. BUT:
- WHO should buy us?
- WHAT should they buy us instead of?
- WHY should they buy us?
Related to that, when the account work is pretty homogenous, it's easy to know what Dynamo stands for.
But it's not impossible to do, of course, no matter how big you get...
It's about finding your core.
What absolute fundamentals stay the same, no matter what different particulars the company goes into?
3 examples:
JFK: coming to power in 1961, he said he wanted to "put a man on the moon and get him home safely, before the end of the decade." (a single idea that motivated millions)
SW airlines: We are THE budget airline.
Bill Clinton: It's the economy, stupid.
NB - it's about elegance and prioritisation, NOT dumbing down.
But it's not impossible to do, of course, no matter how big you get...
It's about finding your core.
What absolute fundamentals stay the same, no matter what different particulars the company goes into?
3 examples:
JFK: coming to power in 1961, he said he wanted to "put a man on the moon and get him home safely, before the end of the decade." (a single idea that motivated millions)
SW airlines: We are THE budget airline.
Bill Clinton: It's the economy, stupid.
NB - it's about elegance and prioritisation, NOT dumbing down.
Photo by Ranger56112
talent
Making the most of it
Talking of diversification...
As you take on more work, you need to add more skill sets.
Hiring and resource planning becomes a bigger issue the bigger you get.
I'm on REALLY dodgy ground talking about whether new hires are good or not!
BUT - when done well - can give exciting new elements to your own experience and career. You can learn stuff from them, and you can teach them your own stuff. Combination of different experiences makes for a stronger whole.
When done badly... the wrong skill sets or really divisive personalities can set an agency back...
As you take on more work, you need to add more skill sets.
Hiring and resource planning becomes a bigger issue the bigger you get.
I'm on REALLY dodgy ground talking about whether new hires are good or not!
BUT - when done well - can give exciting new elements to your own experience and career. You can learn stuff from them, and you can teach them your own stuff. Combination of different experiences makes for a stronger whole.
When done badly... the wrong skill sets or really divisive personalities can set an agency back...
Photo by MrJamesAckerley
people / process / productivity
More people to help / more people to email you
When it works, it really works.
WHEN DONE WELL
More people means wider net of media contacts, more ideas, more eyeballs to spot opportunities for your clients etc. etc.
News round up is perfect example. When done well, 5 people spending 20 mins doing a media review can save 100 people spending the same time doing the same thing on their own.
WHEN DONE BADLY
Bigger workforce = you don't always know what everyone else is working on
I used to get 100-200 emails a day at B2L. At least half weren't relevant to me.
It was just people copying me in as their way of showing me they were working through their actions.
NOBODY is perfect at this. I've already been accused of SPAM by Peter in the two weeks I've been at Dynamo.
You just have to constantly evaluate whether you're helping or hindering each other. Check in with your teams about how everyone likes to work.
Again - the key is elegance and prioritisation.
Journalists are taught the technique of an inverted pyramid - most important information first, then go down from there. FIND THE LEAD. PERSONALLY, I like the same with your internal comms.
WHEN DONE WELL
More people means wider net of media contacts, more ideas, more eyeballs to spot opportunities for your clients etc. etc.
News round up is perfect example. When done well, 5 people spending 20 mins doing a media review can save 100 people spending the same time doing the same thing on their own.
WHEN DONE BADLY
Bigger workforce = you don't always know what everyone else is working on
I used to get 100-200 emails a day at B2L. At least half weren't relevant to me.
It was just people copying me in as their way of showing me they were working through their actions.
NOBODY is perfect at this. I've already been accused of SPAM by Peter in the two weeks I've been at Dynamo.
You just have to constantly evaluate whether you're helping or hindering each other. Check in with your teams about how everyone likes to work.
Again - the key is elegance and prioritisation.
Journalists are taught the technique of an inverted pyramid - most important information first, then go down from there. FIND THE LEAD. PERSONALLY, I like the same with your internal comms.
Photo by Joe The Goat Farmer
MORE extracurricular stuff
B2L interest groups:
Fitness First Thing
Goals2Life
Hacks2Life
Bands2Life
Byte Night
Social Committee
Creativity Committee
Sports Committee
Biannual Pub Quizzers
Variety is the spice of life...
But with lots of interest groups under one roof comes some pain points - e.g. what to do for the away day? can we have dogs in the office?
NEED A BALANCE BETWEEN HAVING GUIDELINES, TO HELP US SCALE, AND LOSING THE FLEXIBILITY EVERYONE VALUES
Fitness First Thing
Goals2Life
Hacks2Life
Bands2Life
Byte Night
Social Committee
Creativity Committee
Sports Committee
Biannual Pub Quizzers
Variety is the spice of life...
But with lots of interest groups under one roof comes some pain points - e.g. what to do for the away day? can we have dogs in the office?
NEED A BALANCE BETWEEN HAVING GUIDELINES, TO HELP US SCALE, AND LOSING THE FLEXIBILITY EVERYONE VALUES
workshop
- What bits do you love about Dynamo, at the size it currently is? (e.g. flexibility, more input into company decisions, knowing everyone you work with?)
- How best can we keep those bits? What processes need to be put in place, to keep those bits as the workforce grows? (e.g. line management structures, feedback forums, guidelines on what can and can't happen in the office - e.g. see recent 'dog in office' debate)
- Who else has worked in a bigger place? What were the downsides? How do we avoid those things happening here?
