A common mission, but an uncommon response.
“Every agency needs two things: an engine, and a compass.”
That’s how Stuart Turner and Seamus Higgins teed up the all-agency meeting where they unveiled Havas WW Sydney’s new positioning. In terms of “engine,” the Sydney office feels pretty strongly about the way they approach work, and have the accolades to show for it.
But that leaves the matter of the compass. What does this agency stand for, externally and internally? What gets us up in the morning? In other words…
As it so happens, this first week at the amazing Havas Sydney has been a pretty good place to start answering that question.
Monday: New employee on-boarding, in which the CEOs of Worldwide (Anthony Gregorio) and Media (Mike Wilson) shared with us the organizational structure of the Sydney Village, and how it supports the network.
Tuesday: The big all-agency meeting, the reveal of the new positioning for the village and a professional comedy hour from Stu and Seamus.
Wednesday: A celebration of the agency’s “Havas Heroes,” and a welcoming for the new comers.
Thursday: The Village Pillage, a themed city-wide scavenger hunt that ended in our bought-out bar party.
Friday: Home-cooked recovery with a hangover brunches and boozy lunches.
Havas villages all over the world are finding their compasses pointed in a similar direction: Becoming the best places to work in, in any field, in any part of the world. After a week of working hard and partying harder, it doesn’t feel too far off. It’s increasingly what’s unifying our global network (as well as separating us from our overhead-obsessed competitors) as we vie for the best talent in the world.
What makes each village unique all over the world is how they decide to respond to that challenge of becoming the best place to work. In just a week, the Sydney village has made it pretty clear their going to respond their f*cking way, not just with employee parties, but wrapping their office in the ethos of their agency. This is what I am most excited to continue exploring in my all-too-limited time here.
One week in and I’ve got friends I could work with for months, not weeks. Many of our offices, including my home village in Chicago, are going to pursue this grand mission of becoming the best place to work in their markets. If the proof is in the pudding, the pudding tastes pretty f*cking good in Sydney.
