Navy Seals

things i've learnt from the best and worst teams working in the media biz

The Best Operators I’ve Met

Across the over 400 hundred conversations I’ve worked on for The Diary of a CEO, I’ve met my fair share of high performing ‘teams’. Talent rarely travels alone (apart from Seth Rogen - legend). Instead, they arrive flanked by publicists, managers, make-up artists, assistants, social media execs, videographers - they move like a touring ecosystem.

Watching how each team operates has accidentally and secretly become one of the most educational parts of my job. Not in a “how inspiring” way, but more in a “fuckkk that, I absolutely never want to run a team like that, or come across like this to anyone” type of way.

I went into this job a chronic people pleaser. I still am, if we’re being honest. I want everyone to feel good, feel looked after, feel calm, feel content. If someone’s cross, I assume it’s my fault. And with big talent, the tension is dialled to a level that feels like sitting an exam you didn’t revise for.

Once the guest is in the studio with Jack and …