Michael Richards of alan: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Confidence — Clearly any leader needs to demonstrate confidence. But that’s not arrogance. The world doesn’t owe us a living so we need to be good to win and do the right things and particularly now, with a few year’s success under my belt, I’m pretty confident that I know what I’m doing. Hopefully this comes through to my team who see me leading from the front and doing the right things for them and our clients through tough times.
As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Richards, Managing Director of B2B marketing agency alan.
Michael Richards, Managing Director of B2B marketing agency alan. is a transformational business leader; high performance, commercial and inspirational executive with a proven track record in developing winning digital strategies for profitable growth.
He has held senior roles in the world’s best agencies, launched his own successful businesses, ran the UK’s largest digital marketing group, and sold a fast-growing global digital marketing agency.
Michael Richards is now attempting to disrupt the poorly served B2B sector at the helm of alan.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Before getting into the agency world, I went to medical school for a few months, but I soon realised it wasn’t for me when I started fainting & throwing up! One of my sisters had a boyfriend in advertising and he was very bright and just loved his job in an ad agency — it seemed so much fun!
So, I started out in the industry as a graduate trainee at Ogilvy in London.
Throughout my career I’ve held senior roles at some of the world’s best agencies, including Saatchi, Grey and VCCP, I founded and sold my own agency and I’ve had great success with several side hustles, including This Girl is on Fire, a female empowerment network for women in business and Water in a Box, a cardboard packaged water brand. But after working in the B2C world for majority of career, I craved a change in scenery.
One day, while advising on M&A targets for another agency, I came across my current agency alan. I felt that there was a massive opportunity to help transform the B2B landscape and thought alan. could be a great platform. I was at that point however, a snob towards B2B and believed the industry boring and beige; I now know that need not be the case.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I have made a ton of mistakes over the years, but I’ve always tried never to make the same mistake twice!
From being extremely negative about a senior client without realising he was on the conference call; to being threatened to be thrown out of a top floor window by the creative director if I failed to sell a Ford ad; to failing to make the Vision Express pitch presentation when I had all the creative work with me in my car and had a prang on the M25, leaving all my senior colleagues in the lurch at the pitch with nothing to show.
Never again!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My first boss at my first agency has always been my work mentor; he gave me a break and my first job and I then gave him his last job as Chairman of my own agency before he retired. He’s always said the right thing and provided a sensible foil for me when my photographer wife got fed up with me asking her for advice!
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your organization started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
To make B2B marketing visceral by ‘provoking the truth for progressive B2B brands’.
And this is still very much our vision and purpose now. Through our journalist heritage and ‘research first’ approach we challenge, investigate and interrogate to find the stories that B2B brands must tell; using intelligence, imagination and emotion to tell them in ways that inspire and just can’t be ignored.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?
I have worked through several recessions and tricky times and learnt quickly that these are opportunities to survive and thrive if you do the right things. For me it’s about complete focus, not chasing shiny new things, managing fixed costs and being flexible where necessary but always confident, ambitious and supportive to clients.
Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?
To be honest I’ve never given up anything, except smoking! When I had my own agency, and my house was on the line, I was completely driven by a fear of failure and the thought of letting down my people and family. This always focused my mind and kept me going. These days I’m driven by the joy of growth and winning rather than any fear or financial concern and the fact that I simply love what I do and I’m pretty good at it now!
I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
I love to read but to be honest I have only ever read one business book. ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ is a very light weight parable demonstrating that change is inevitable but, to survive and succeed, you need to accept that change happens, anticipate it, adapt to it and learn to embrace and enjoy it — or become extinct!
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?
In turbulent times, I think it’s vital for leaders to stay calm and remain visible. We need to be a beacon of stability to our employees, clients, and stakeholders. Even in challenging times, there are always opportunities to be had. When asked my views on how to tackle this, I say head on. It’s just a recurring part of the economic cycle. But not everyone will feel the same. Empathy is also crucial, and as a business leader, ensuring that you’re prepared for any ebbs and flows is all part of the job.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
Communicating efficiently with your team and offering support when needed is best to boost morale — especially when facing times of hardship. Business leaders need to remember that it’s not just businesses that are impacted by economic crises, people are too. And it’s the people that keep the businesses going when times are turbulent. It’s never been more important (or so widely talked about) to protect your staff, and we are seeing more and more businesses bringing in initiatives to do so. Transparency is also key to successfully riding the wave of uncertainty. Be realistic and upfront with your team. This will help you be in the strongest place possible to successfully navigate the next challenge — which will inevitably come around sooner than you think.
At alan. we have just introduced an ‘extended leadership team’ to empower the wider team to make the decisions that matter. We’re also about to have an all-agency workshop to help define our values and collective strategies for growth. I can’t wait to hear what they all think!
What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?
Delivering bad news is tough at any time but breaking bad news while facing economic uncertainty is especially hard. Tough decisions should be made in a considered way but without prevarication and news should be delivered in a transparent and timely manner — your team and customers deserve an open and honest policy. You need to be clear on what’s happening now, but also be able to paint a picture of what’s going to happen next and the plan for the future.
People understand that sometimes bad news is unavoidable, but how you deal with it is the great leveler between good and bad leadership.
How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?
While the ‘plan’ may change, it’s always wise to go into uncertain times with a clear strategy so everyone on your team is aligned and clear on their roles and actions. This will ultimately help you manage fixed costs well and stay focused on what you’re best at (without getting distracted by the ‘new and shiny’).
As a leader you should always be prepared for these plans to change. Don’t rely on just one plan. Have a backup ready, in case you really need it. Flexibility is key.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
I wouldn’t say that there’s a number one principle, but I think survival comes down to just carrying on. Evidence from previous recessions shows that brands which double down on spend increase their market share and those that don’t lose out to competitors and take longer to recover. Recessions don’t last forever and those who stay engaged and visible during a downturn are likely to come out on top. Being organised and having a recession strategy in place will also help, and fortunately businesses still have time to organise this. These times tend to sort markets out and good brands usually survive.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
In my experience, the biggest pitfall for businesses navigating difficult times is straying away from what they’re good at. It’s easy to get distracted by the ‘new and shiny’, but this is not the time to be changing tactics or investing in new things. Stick to what you know and what you’re good at. I have seen a number of agencies fail because the management have been distracted by an acquisition that doesn’t quite fit but the financial model looked good. It’s just madness to take your best people away from what they’re great at to try and deal with something they’re perhaps not best suited to deal with — this happens too often.
Many businesses at the sight of uncertainty cut marketing budgets specifically to cut costs. But we know this doesn’t help in the long run. Marketing throughout hard times is a gem of an investment, and it’s better to work out the best balance for your business through marketing tactics to help maintain client / customer loyalty. When reflecting on the other difficult times, the businesses that came out on top were those who allocated their spending wisely and continued engagement with their consumers. For example, in the 2008 recession, Hyundai’s sales rose by 2%. It listened it what its customers wanted and stuck by the business plan it implemented — as part of this, offering to take back a car that was financed or leased by a worker who had subsequently lost their job during this time. It sent a clear message and provided something that really made a difference to its customers.
Finally, another common mistake that can have a detrimental impact is being too optimistic or too pessimistic of the circumstances. It’s important to carry on business as usual but being overly optimistic can mean you lose sight of reality. Finding the right balance can be difficult, so it’s important to source all the information available in order to make the right decision and find the right tone with your team and clients.
Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.
Focus — I was previously a non-executive director of three different agencies during recessions. When I started with them, I found it frightening that none of these agencies had a plan to manage their businesses through tough times. So, my role was easy, and I managed to make a big difference quickly by giving them a simple and focused plan to help navigate their way through the recession. They all survived and thrived! Equally during the pandemic our agency simply focused on what we were best at and became the best we could — we won everything we pitched for and grew +40% over that tricky and surreal period.
Communicate — stuff happens, decisions are made and business is won and lost. So it’s critical to bring the team with you and keep everyone up to speed with what’s what. In a previous life during the credit crunch all our media clients were losing their credit insurance and we were having to pay for their media deals up front. This was frightening and put enormous pressure on the cash flow of our very profitable business. It was only by bringing everyone in the agency with me, and instilling a Dunkirk spirit, that we managed to get through those frightening times.
Flexibility — Whatever the question is the answer must be yes, obviously within reason! I have found that agencies can come into their own for a client when times are tough. A client’s life is a difficult one and so frankly if there’s anything we can do to help when they really need it, then we should. It doesn’t matter if it’s not something we usually do for them but at least we’ll try to find someone who can. Go the extra mile and be flexible and that positive can-do attitude always plays dividends when the good times are back.
Confidence — Clearly any leader needs to demonstrate confidence. But that’s not arrogance. The world doesn’t owe us a living so we need to be good to win and do the right things and particularly now, with a few year’s success under my belt, I’m pretty confident that I know what I’m doing. Hopefully this comes through to my team who see me leading from the front and doing the right things for them and our clients through tough times.
Listen — The first account I won at my own agency was a big retailer and they loved us and our proposals but would only appoint us if I went on a course to learn how to listen. I did it and I got a little better at it! Ever since then I have made a very big effort to especially listen to what clients really mean and what they really want. This is particularly critical through tough times when budgets are tight and ROI counts like never before. If we listen hard enough, we could find the key to unlock big opportunity and surprise and delight clients who will forever be grateful.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The one I annoy my children with is ‘Always aim higher’; a simple phrase that my ambitious father helped focus me with as a kid. In my agency life however my single-minded approach to new business has always been that “it’s better to win than be right”. This has always served me well in winning pitches and then taking the opportunity to put the client on the ‘right path’ once the contract has been signed!
How can our readers further follow your work?
Readers can keep up to date with us via our social media (LinkedIn and Twitter) or through our website. We also host a great podcast B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, where we share our expertise and advice to the B2B market.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Michael Richards of alan: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
