In 2015, I watched our founder and CEO, Chris Lean, strike the bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The business he was ringing it for was valued at approximately half a billion US dollars. I was watching from London, thinking back 5 years earlier, where none of this felt inevitable.
It’s no surprise that getting to that point, experiencing “hockey stick growth”, was extremely exhilarating, thrilling, and exhausting, all at the same time. Myself and my colleagues would comment on being at home constantly thinking, and in some cases, dreaming (literally), about the next client we were due to onboard or the next sale we were about to make. It really was difficult to keep up because of the pace of the growth we were experiencing. But it was something that created an amazing bond between the people who were part of it. Almost all of the individuals who went through it have gone on to have incredibly successful careers, either as employees of similar businesses or as founders of their own companies.
I count myself very lucky to have been part of that crew and to have had that opportunity.
Through all of that, there was a guiding light that helped us as a business stay focused on the outcome. It drew from some work we did with an executive coach who was hired around 2011, that helped us create a vision for where we wanted the business to be, the team we needed and the steps required to get there. This person is Mike Pegg, and he’s synonymous with the UK and US’s advertising and marketing tech businesses. He’s been involved in numerous businesses that have gone on to do tremendously well, and he’s a very well respected, liked, and dare I say loved individual.
“I once heard him described as a “wise old owl”, which is one of my favourites!
==Mike’s work involved executive coaching with the senior leadership team, as well as team coaching for the broader team. I was fortunate enough to be part of both. The main focus for these sessions was following ====The Picture of Success curriculum==== and developing ====Super Teams==== that committed themselves to contributing toward the shared vision. This took place through working sessions that involved everybody, followed by continual monitoring of how we were trending against the targets we set ourselves. And the targets were not just revenue based. They involved the three P’s. Profit, (of course). People and Products. It was our job to fill in the blanks around what we were looking to achieve and how we would get there, it was Mike’s job to facilitate the sessions and coach us throughout.==
Needless to say, the result and the outcome were exactly what we aimed for. Which was becoming recognised as the world’s number one biddable media platform. Which we successfully did.
Mike’s work stems from an incredible background, building and running therapeutic communities for disadvantaged and often poorly behaved younger people. The thesis being that if you were lucky enough to be part of the therapeutic community, you did so under the contract that you would show up, do your best, and that you would abide by the rules that governed the community. There were no exceptions. These people were taught that there are only Choices and Consequences in life, and we must live by those 2 factors.
“If you misbehaved, you were out. No questions.
For most of those young people, this was the last stop between the community and prison, or potentially something worse. There was no safety net beyond the contract itself. And the contract only worked because everyone in the room had agreed to hold each other to it, not because anyone was forcing them to. Needless to say, Mike’s influence helped countless young, troubled individuals really turn their lives around. That was the beginning of some of the work he later went on to develop, around building super teams that went on to build pictures of success. The same principles apply, a group of people who’ve agreed, out loud, to what they’re building towards, and who hold each other to it.
“In other words, “Choices and Consequences”.
When I first met Mike, we clicked. And I dare say he may have picked up on the fact that I too had somewhat of a troubled childhood, which created a challenging teenager, and someone who was not always the easiest to deal with. I was a naughty kid, or a lovable rogue (let’s put it that way). Needless to say, I think Mike resonated towards that, and we had a great relationship from day one.
The work we did together was impactful, both on my career and my personal life. The day I left, I made a promise to him that one day I would hire Mike and bring him into my own company to work with me and my own team.
It was a promise I fulfilled. And Mike coached myself and the team at Rich Contacts, with the aim to replicate what we achieved at Marin, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. The result? We built a company that had sustained growth, amazing individuals, intellectual property, and in 2021 it resulted in an exit which provided some transformational money that would allow me to go on and do different things within my life.
Today, and with Mike’s blessing, I’m incredibly proud to announce that The Picture Of Success and The Super Teams curriculums are now part of the services I provide to clients. This is arguably one of the proudest moments in my personal journey, and I’m really thrilled to be sharing that with you, and even more thrilled to be rolling it out and watching my clients’ businesses thrive.
“I am now carrying the mantle forward and continuing Mike’s legacy, something I don’t take lightly.
There are a number of people on this newsletter who will know of Mike Pegg. Jim and Paul being two people specifically. But if you’re aware of the work he’s done, the success he’s had, you will know how significant the impact he has made to thousands of individuals during his long and fruitful career. If I can replicate even one tenth of that with the clients I’m working with today, then I really would have made a significant mark on this world. And I like to think this could be part of my legacy.
So when I reflect on that moment in 2015 with the sound of that bell, or in 2021 when I sold my own company, it solidified the fact that Mike’s Picture of Success curriculum was something real, tangible and undeniable. Countless other entrepreneurs can attest to this (just ask Paul and Jim)!
Founders, here are some points for you to reflect on:
- Do you have a picture of success for your business, one your whole team could describe the same way if you asked them separately?
- Is anyone giving your people a verbal contract to contribute to it, or is it just sitting in your head?
- If you disappeared for three months, would the team still be working toward the same picture?
Every founder I work with is building toward their own version of that “bell” moment. If you’ve ever wanted help putting that picture into words your whole team can contribute towards and get behind, reply and let’s talk.
Have a wonderful Sunday, and a great week ahead.
And in Mike Pegg’s words, which I (and many others in his circle) have stolen to this day…
Onwards!
Simon