Monday, March 07, 2011
Gordon Brown’s scary roller coaster ride
Having retired 17 years ago, Gordon Brown, co-founder of Millward Brown, returned to visit some of the company’s U.S. offices last week.
Along with his wife, Jackie, he replicated trips that he made many years ago when helping to establish Millward Brown’s presence in the U.S., first visiting the office in New York, then Fairfield and Lisle.
Presenting to people in New York and Fairfield, Gordon shared his memories of how Millward Brown came to be, and his first impressions of the company today. The self-proclaimed “dangerous little nerd” clearly reveled in the continued success of the company he founded.
Pronouncing himself “gob smacked” that Millward Brown had completed 75,000 Link tests (his expectation being lower by a factor of 10) he announced we had “built on the basic concept very well.”
As well as providing insights into Gordon’s own entrepreneurial mindset, his recollections shed new light on some of my own early days at the company. For instance, when I was scurrying around helping Gordon to create the first incarnation of the Link test, I thought the sole intention was to improve on its predecessor.
I knew the “reel of 10” tests were not providing results that matched up to in-market tracking. What I did not know, was that Gordon had another motive for wanting to see that methodology discredited. He believed that some staff members were planning to leave the company to sell the “reel of 10” test on their own, and wanted to head off the potential competition.
It was balancing the needs of clients, innovation and people management that led Gordon to title his presentation “The scary roller coaster ride.”
Even when the company was growing at 30 percent each year, the unexpected would always threaten to undermine that success.
Sometimes, however, the unexpected would also prove to be an opportunity. Gordon recalled the time when he was invited to a “nice Unilever lunch.”
Knowing that clients did not typically wine and dine their research providers, he knew something was up. This did not stop him being taken aback when his Unilever hosts announced that they loved what Millward Brown had to offer, but, as a global company, needed the same research worldwide. When Gordon asked how many countries would need to be serviced, they said, “28 to start.” It was an ultimatum that could not be refused, no matter the risk involved.
In addition to the presentation, Gordon also answered questions from the audience. The questions were many and varied. I note just three of them here:
What would you do differently if you had to do it all over again?
I used to try to make my presentations very creative. Sometimes they went very well and sometimes they were a spectacular failure. If I were to do it again, I would avoid the spectacular failures.
What do you think of the current media situation here in the U.S.?
Horrendous, I’m glad it’s your problem not mine!
What is the most important factor in your success?
Integrity is paramount. It always wins in the longer-term. There are times when you have to do a U-turn. It is difficult but it will get respect in the long run.
Thank you, Gordon, for sharing some great memories and good advice.
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