Top business tips from the MD of an award-winning design agency.
Back on Wednesday, I went to an event at Rise in Manchester city centre that focused on how to balance productivity and creativity in the workplace. It was organised by a company called There Be Giants, and the interviewee for the evening was Mark Stringer, MD and Founder of AHOY.
AHOY, as I mentioned in Wednesday’s Chapter, are one of my favourite agencies in Manchester. They do some seriously beautiful work, and Mark seems like a sound guy building a fantastic team.
After the initial interview (which you can check out here), Mark took some questions from us all sat in the audience, covering AHOY, entrepreneurship and productivity vs creativity. Here’s what I picked out from that Q&A.
Time is precious.
“Make sure your staff know it.”
This is advice better suited for agencies and consultancies, but it applies to both the time you’re paying staff for, and time you’re charging clients for.
Your first priority is to make sure staff understand that time is precious. Organise timesheets, pay everyone fairly, and be strict with unnecessary salary expenditure. If you’re not, it’ll only come drag you down in the long term.
And as your agency matures, move away from selling time. Sell your expertise and use your portfolio to prove the quality of the expertise you’re providing.
Hire for culture as much as skills.
“Bring a dickhead in to your business, and it can really affect things.”
Okay, so Mark’s quote in italics there is a slight exaggeration for the sake of exaggeration, but all of us understood what he meant.
A person can be great on paper, and their skills might be a massive asset to the team and the business. At the same time though, those skills could be buried and forgotten after a few weeks of work because the same person has a personality that doesn’t align with the rest of the staff.
The culture of a business is as important as the skill of the business’s team. Hire someone who doesn’t fit the culture you’ve forged, and you’ll notice a rapid change in productivity and creativity.
This point from Mark actually reminded me of a story I read a while ago by Brian Scudamore, who developed something called the Beer and BBQ Test.
Essentially, Scudamore asks himself two questions when interviewing a potential new employee:
- Would I have a beer with this person?
- Would this person fit in at a barbecue with my office team?
Those questions cover both relationship levels in an office: getting on with the boss, and getting on with the team. If an interviewee can make you answer yes twice, they’re likely a great fit for your company.
Invest in great design.
Be there for your staff.
“Sometimes you’ve got to trust and nurture”
Staff have periods of being off-form. If you believe in your hiring ability, stick with those you’ve brought on even if they hit a rough patch.
And don’t overwork them. There is little gained from allowing your team to frequently stay up until 3am, fuelled by coffee and takeaway. In the long run, such a strategy will only send your business backwards.
Apply this advice not just to your working relationship with the staff you manage, but also to yourself.
Stick to your values.
“It’s easily said but not easily done.”
This was the most important piece of advice I think most of us picked up from Mark’s interview and Q&A; establish your values and stick to them.
Even when you’re punching above your weight, rubbing shoulders with people and companies who have hit the heights you can only dream of, stick to what you stand for.
Don’t get pushed around. If you ever feel the need to sell yourself short, resist.
You can listen to Mark’s full interview with Roger from There Be Giants here.
See you all tomorrow.
