Stepped to Director level
Discussion
Just had my first week as a Director of a (to be) large company.
Very, very interesting to say the least!
Without going into too much detail, I have made the jump from being the GM of a small corporate communications company (team of 10-15 people, depending) to the Sales & Marketing Director of a PPP that, while it is senior management heavy at the moment (team of around 40), will be at a strength of 200+ in 9-12 months and fully operational.
The amount of work involved is almost overwhelming but thanks to having prior experience of the company (my old agency has handled them since its inception - and does & will continue to do so), I've been able to get up to speed extremely quickly and within the board, I've already been able to establish myself - in fact, I've already initiated and taken ownership of a number of necessary projects that, as yet, hadn't been run with but are vital. The Finance and Admin Director is yet to be appointed and I have started the full company structure mapping (as it will assist my team with internal comms) and HR planning for the time being as well as sorting my department out... obviously!
Luckily, we have nine figure financing (which is a godsend coming from a small company where cashflow was a constant headache - should give me some prudence!) and the board are extremely driven and given to the cause.
While I know I've got a lot of graft ahead, it’s extremely exciting to start this sort of thing from the beginning, with a team of true professionals and with the opportunity to shape the future of the company, its direction and, ultimately, its performance.
Sorry to stick all this down but it is truly a pivotal moment in my career and I'm extremely aware that I will learn a huge amount along the way and could well need your counsel in due course.
Very, very interesting to say the least!
Without going into too much detail, I have made the jump from being the GM of a small corporate communications company (team of 10-15 people, depending) to the Sales & Marketing Director of a PPP that, while it is senior management heavy at the moment (team of around 40), will be at a strength of 200+ in 9-12 months and fully operational.
The amount of work involved is almost overwhelming but thanks to having prior experience of the company (my old agency has handled them since its inception - and does & will continue to do so), I've been able to get up to speed extremely quickly and within the board, I've already been able to establish myself - in fact, I've already initiated and taken ownership of a number of necessary projects that, as yet, hadn't been run with but are vital. The Finance and Admin Director is yet to be appointed and I have started the full company structure mapping (as it will assist my team with internal comms) and HR planning for the time being as well as sorting my department out... obviously!
Luckily, we have nine figure financing (which is a godsend coming from a small company where cashflow was a constant headache - should give me some prudence!) and the board are extremely driven and given to the cause.
While I know I've got a lot of graft ahead, it’s extremely exciting to start this sort of thing from the beginning, with a team of true professionals and with the opportunity to shape the future of the company, its direction and, ultimately, its performance.
Sorry to stick all this down but it is truly a pivotal moment in my career and I'm extremely aware that I will learn a huge amount along the way and could well need your counsel in due course.
Get your ideas down on paper, that way you can get them out of your head and relax over the weekend. I find it very important to be able to switch off and can't do that with ideas etc whizzing around in my head.
Oh, and well done, sounds like you have a challenging and rewarding future ahead.
Oh, and well done, sounds like you have a challenging and rewarding future ahead.
Phoenix said:
Get your ideas down on paper, that way you can get them out of your head and relax over the weekend. I find it very important to be able to switch off and can't do that with ideas etc whizzing around in my head.
Oh, and well done, sounds like you have a challenging and rewarding future ahead.
Agreed - I have a 'personal' brainstorm whenever and get it all down. Often loads of rubbish but the odd nugget.Oh, and well done, sounds like you have a challenging and rewarding future ahead.
edb49 said:
PPP - is that some kind of pension fund?
Public - Private Partnership - Government funding matched with private enterprise (ie: have to make profit therefore far more efficient than the usual beurocratic governmental departments that have little or no financial incentive of doing things well or to timelines)Asterix said:
Sorry to stick all this down but it is truly a pivotal moment in my career and I'm extremely aware that I will earn a huge amount along the way and could well need your counsel on how to spend it in due course.
Just noticed a rather funny lost consonant and added an edit 
Asterix said:
Cheers fellas - glad I've got to the end of the week (which ends on a Thursday here). My brain is bursting with a mixture of information overload and a million ideas of how to go forward.
Happy days
Congratulations and well done!Happy days
I was made IT Director in the company i work for back in march. 1000 employees, six directors reporting to the CEO and forming the senior management team, and then a management team of around 20 overall inclusive of us seven.
Its been a really really tough time. A world of stuff needs sorted out and theres a world of stuff i want to do.
Should all be worth it though - fingers crossed.
Good luck!
Asterix said:
edb49 said:
PPP - is that some kind of pension fund?
Public - Private Partnership - Government funding matched with private enterprise (ie: have to make profit therefore far more efficient than the usual beurocratic governmental departments that have little or no financial incentive of doing things well or to timelines)Can I ask what management training you have done? Did you already feel confident to take on all the responsibility of being a director, and was this confidence gained through experience in the lower ranks through knowing your business inside out and just 'learning on the job' to tackle director-type issues? Genuinely interested here
Seany88 said:
Can I ask what management training you have done? Did you already feel confident to take on all the responsibility of being a director, and was this confidence gained through experience in the lower ranks through knowing your business inside out and just 'learning on the job' to tackle director-type issues? Genuinely interested here
None, as such, but spent 5yrs in the Army ordering people about quite a lot Instructed various stuff while I was in.Seriously (as well as the above), it has been an organic process - I became a General Manager for a small light industrial company around 10yrs ago which was owned by a family member - I'll hold my hands up to the nepotism with this one - wasn't the best of markets at the time and while some competitors went to the wall or posted a drop in turnover, I managed to consolidate, streamline and introduce a few processes and it held its own in the first year and saw a modest increase in the 2nd year I was with them. It was a challenge that I loved - I'm crap at golf but I play far better when it is pissing it down or generally unpleasant - I think I focus better.
Since then I've always been headhunted for positions. I was then asked to come out to Dubai and run a corporate communications agency (General Manager again) with a slant towards new media and video. The experience gained in learning how to communicate (and manage internally) to so many nationalities & cultures and to do business with them (there is no 'Dubai way' as there would be in the UK, for example) has been invaluable. There are some unique challenges here that simply wouldn't crop up at home, although I'll happily admit that it is less sophisticated. Next was being asked to be the Operations VP for a PR agency and after 2.5yrs with them I've moved client side at their request, and here we are
.I'll be the first to admit that I'm sure there are more qualified marketers around but I doubt there are many around that have the mixture of both the industry and the local knowledge - if I say so myself.
Thinking about it, I've never written my CV in anger.
As far as dealing with Director issues - I love the strategic side of things. I love the responsibility that the role holds and, bizarrely, I love it when the s
t hits the fan and there's some quick thinking to do. I think the Army was instrumental in teaching me to look at the options and instantly identify what won't work which, I think, allows you to work on what has a chance of working and to develop those options only. Another aspect is that the rest of the Directors are a bunch of switched on chaps - I'm aware I'm mixing it with some talented people and really have to raise my game.I'm also a huge believer in the cliché that I'm there to support my staff - they're not there for me. They're at the pointy end, and assuming I've hired well, they do the real graft and are instrumental in getting it done well.
To end this epic post I'd like to say that I'm extremely aware that I've been in the right place at the right time and I've had my fair share of luck. I also know I have worked hard and applied myself as best I can - I can't sleep if I know I haven't been up to scratch or come off the boil. I'm far more aware of it than my employers have ever been. It happens, obviously, but I think I pull myself up in time to avert any issues.
Sorry if this sounds like a Mr. Brent from Slough.
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