On the week of Valentine’s Day, M&C Saatchi PR’s Global CEO reflects on ‘passion’.
Passion. I’m all for it. In every sense of the word.
It makes the difference between being good and being great, being interested versus influential. Ultimately, it’s caring about something or someone in a way that ensures you will go above and beyond.
That’s why our whole agency here at M&C Saatchi PR is Driven By Passion: a guiding philosophy, alongside Brutal Simplicity of Thought, that delivers impact and results for our clients day in and day out. For me, the difference between someone that likes a sector, brand or industry versus someone that is passionate about it is paramount – and the latter will always get the job in my book.
In our agency, we are united by our passion for people and communicating, but we also have our own personal passions. People here love sneakers and grime, whilst some of us are passionate foodies and others get their kicks from running marathons. This translates into a diverse passion-mapped client base; meaning our account teams achieve fantastic results for clients because they’re all genuinely Driven by Passion for them.
Naysayers will complain about Valentine’s Day, but I say it’s important that we have a day to celebrate love and passion – in all its forms.
I’d like to share a quote from one of my favourite designers of all time, Vera Wang. Her words ring true, and it’s not just because I was lucky enough to wear a VW wedding gown on the most loved up day of my life… but because Vera Wang exemplifies the importance of passion in your work:
“When you have a passion for something then you tend not only to be better at it, but you work harder at it too.”
Just as Vera Wang is driven by fashion, I am passionate about people and communicating with them. Always have been and always will be. Every person is different. And interesting. We all have our own story, and we all love hearing them. It’s my passion for people that drives who I am today and keeps me engaged with the changing world. I see this passion too in the people I work with every day, all over the world at M&C Saatchi PR.
To conclude: Passion is personal. So think big – and always listen to both your heart and your head.