M&C Saatchi’s incoming chief executive officer Zaid Al-Qassab has said that he believes in “getting shit done” in a passionate open email to staff ahead of his official take-up of the role on 1 June.
Taking over from executive chair and acting CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne, Al-Qassab was poached from broadcaster Channel 4 earlier this year to fill the very large shoes of agency legend Moray MacLennan.
According to Campaign, the internal email was sent to M&C Saatchi staff yesterday afternoon (16 May) following the agency’s AGM and lays out some of Al-Qassab’s core beliefs and values that will shape his tenure.
Stating that his beliefs are what drives him, Al-Qassab writes that his key tenets are: people, creativity, teamwork, simplicity, inclusion, serving customers brilliantly and “getting shit done”.
He also emphasises that “change is the only constant”.
In the briefing, Al-Qassab also gives some insight into how his time at the helm will be kicked-off, reassuring staff that they shouldn’t expect “any sudden changes of direction” following the handover.
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Al-Qassab thanked Zillah for the incredible job she has done to set M&C Saatchi “on an exciting new strategic direction”. I’m fully on board with that direction and have spent plenty of time on that with her since I was announced a few months back, so you shouldn’t expect any sudden changes of direction.
As a quick recap, the new M&C Saatchi strategy outlines our purpose – which is to become the leading creative solutions partner to our global client base. Our offer builds on M&C Saatchi’s creative heritage, driven by our boldness and our willingness to always think – and be – different.
We want to make it easier for our clients to grow by accessing the full breadth of our skills and capabilities so they can maximise the reach and potential of their brands.
My beliefs – what drives me
Over the years I’ve forged some strong beliefs about what matters in a business like ours, based on a combination of experience and my own values, so I thought I’d share them with you:
I believe in people. I’ve always found people to be intelligent, hard-working, trustworthy and caring. So, I have always treated people that way, and found they can do miraculous things.
I believe in creativity. By creativity I mean all forms of innovative, different, ingenious thinking and executional craft. It’s what drives our industry and grows our clients’ businesses and organisations. Ideas are a particularly potent weapons of change, from consumer behaviour to social progress.
I believe in teamwork. Sure, we all have areas of expertise, but we are so much more together than we are individually. It’s also more fun to work that way, and work should be fun, we spend too much time on it to allow otherwise.
I believe in simplicity. Life is too complicated, for us, for clients, and for end customers. Make things simple and you will cut through. This is why I love the M&C Saatchi founding philosophy of Brutal Simplicity of Thought.
I believe in getting s*** done. We could talk about things all day, but the magic happens when we do stuff.
I believe serving customers brilliantly is the key to winning in business. They might be our clients, or their end customers and consumers. If we do that well, we will always win in the end.
I believe in inclusion. Everyone is at their best when they feel part of things. Diversity of characteristics and of thought are the bedrock of happiness and success. Again, I love that diversity of thought is a core value at M&C Saatchi.
I believe change is the only constant in today’s world. We might love it or hate it, but we can’t fight it. Constant curiosity, experimentation, adaptation, innovation, risk-taking and just downright craziness are our secret weapons!
