Steven Bartlett Shares Secrets for Business Success at IPA Business Growth Conference

The secrets of business success lie in a deep understanding of humanity, in drawing on available resources to fuel this competitive advantage - including through mentoring, and in personal brand transparency. This is according to British businessman, entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett who is addressing the advertising industry at today’s IPA Business Growth Conference (6th July 2022),

The session coincides with today’s launch of a new IPA mentoring programme to help retain and develop the careers of advertising agency employees and to help grow their businesses, based uniquely on mentees ‘pitching’ their need.

Understanding humanity is a superpower

In the pre-recorded heart-to-heart interview between Bartlett and adman Marc Nohr*, with whom he started a mentoring relationship aged 18, he admits an obsession with psychology and ‘the riddle of humans.’

Says Steven: “They [humans} are the gatekeepers; they are the people you’ve got to persuade to buy your products, to come work for you, to invest in, to come on a journey with you. If you’re a politician, they’re the people you’ve got to persuade with your ideas and your thoughts. If you’re an activist, you’ve got to rally and inspire them. Understanding human beings, the ways we behave and how those ways are predictable, is probably the one superpower, if there was to be one, we can all go and attain.”

Mitigating mistakes through mentorship

This fascination with human understanding as a career advancing skill is something, he explains, that can of course be sought through books, podcasts, and the internet, and through mentoring. Mentoring is a resource which he says has helped him to mitigate potential mistakes and guide him through his unknown unknowns and blind spots that were likely to cost him on his journey. It has also helped introduce him to ‘people who know people’ and has provided him with someone to question the narrative guiding his strategy.

“In order to do anything great, you need to adopt the resources, the knowledge and the skills of many other people.”

For those seeking a mentor themselves and what to ask for, Bartlett sets out a four-pronged approach:

• Understand the motivations of your potential mentor (some may be financial, philanthropic, personal interest, for example) and the world they live in (how busy they are, how much time they have, where they are)
• Craft a proposal that aligns with these motivations and lifestyle (for example, he proffers. if they are busy he would be tempted to pitch a remote-based, quarterly, 10-minute speed conversation)
• Tickle their ego – show appreciation for their expertise and their work
• Make a gesture of reciprocity. An exchange for the value they have given you which doesn’t have to be financial.

Building personal brands through transparency

For Steven, the final piece for individuals to grow their personal and company brand is through transparency. This is something he believes builds trust and provides ‘the most important self-defence any executive in a business, or any business can have’. And in seizing the opportunity of social media to build your audience, express your ideas to the world and create a community around your ideas.

Referencing research he’s recently read, he explains that “the world has moved on over the past decade from companies and individuals being closed-off ‘black boxes’ where our reputations of ourselves as individuals and those of our companies were painted on the outside by a PR or marketing person; to a world now where, because the media and your employees can craft a narrative about who you are, you have to let down those walls and become a glass box. This means allowing everyone to see inside, how you make your decisions, understand who you are, and let them build their own reference points.”

This is a move he feels has benefitted the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Joe Rogan and Brewdog’s James Watt in recent years, as well as himself - citing his own podcast in which he opens up about all areas of, and faults within, his life.

Details of the new IPA mentoring programme, launched today – 6th July

Also announced at today’s Business Growth Conference, the IPA has launched a new mentoring offering to help retain and develop the careers of its agency employees and to help grow their businesses. It is based uniquely on mentees ‘pitching’ their need.

The two options for IPA mentor matching comprise:

IPA Business Growth Mentoring

A new senior leadership mentor programme where volunteer Fellows of the IPA (FIPAs) and other senior industry leaders will donate one hour free to C-Suite mentees to help them to grow their business.

IPA 60-Minute Career Mentoring

Any agency employee can pitch their career challenge to a mentor (from a selection of experienced practitioners from all disciplines). If a mentor accepts, they receive one free hour for a virtual chat to help support and guide their career.

The launch of the mentoring programme is just one element of the new IPA Mentoring Hub, also published today, that features a suite of free resources for IPA member agencies including:

• In a nutshell: definitions and important differences. Mentors, coaches, sponsors, buddies, therapists.
• How else the IPA can help: the IPA is already offering specific mentoring support for a wide range of disciplines such as New Business, Account Management, Communications Planning, CPD, as well as help with IPA Effectiveness Awards and Accreditation.
• Where else to get help: There are external suppliers providing services such as support, networking opportunities, speed mentoring etc. From free to paid-for, open to all or targeted.
• A comprehensive guide on mentoring and coaching, including the business case, plus best practice guidance for coaching, mentoring and setting up an in-house mentoring scheme.  
• Free training of mentor skills
• Large list of recommended coaches, offering a wide range of coaching types such as executive 1-2-1 coaching, team coaching, leadership and management development.
• Recommended resources/guides/books for mentoring and coaching.

The hub also includes stories from the agency world of mentors/mentees - including the7stars’ Jenny Biggam; Total Media Group’s Guy Sellars, and Wavemaker North’s Lisa Thompson, among others - who share their experiences, from the best advice given and received to how their careers benefitted, and in some cases how serious challenges were overcome.

Says Kate Howe, chair, IPA Membership Committee: and executive director, MSQ Partners: "The new IPA mentoring hub is designed to be the go-to place for members seeking help and advice on mentoring and coaching. Here, members are able to find details of the new IPA services available, including the business growth and career mentoring schemes, as well as information on other (free and paid-for) mentoring programmes on offer externally, and stories of mentor and mentee experiences. I hope agencies find it a really useful new resource.”

Visit the hub