Opinion
It ’ s the company that makes the people , not the people who make the company
What would be the impact on performance if organiser companies swapped employees ? is a question exercising the mind of CloserStill Media and Nineteen Group chairman Phil Soar
ow often have
H you heard the following : “ Our success is down to our incomparable staff ”, or “ I dedicate this award to the people who really deserve it – our wonderful staff ”?
By and large , CEOs seem to believe it , though it may fit into the pattern of predictable pronouncements such as “ Next year is looking great ” and “ My salary reflects a competitive marketplace for talent …”
I will put forward an alternative view – that it is the company which makes the people , rather than the people who make the company .
It is fair to assume that our major organisers like Montgomery , RX , CloserStill , DMG , Hyve , etc all believe that they are working hard to appoint the very best people , but they fish in the same pool . And we know that many of their events have flat or declining revenues , never win industry awards , and cause the CFO to tear her hair out – so on what basis are these people the very best ?
Companies invariably don ’ t pick the best candidate
A close friend who ran Stork & May , a placement agency in London , says that companies almost invariably fail to pick the best candidate ( at least 80 % of the time ). Whatever they said about wanting the best , it seems they didn ’ t subconsciously mean it .
They would appoint someone who “ fitted ” their prejudices ( i . e . often rather like them ), not
Above : Phil Soar the person who was unusual but might make a difference . They had fantasies about what their business really was and found it hard to challenge underlying assumptions . They rarely knew what “ the best ” meant . They were incapable of taking risks on the very person who might change their futures .
( I should add that , from the age of 24 , this friend told me I was unemployable – and he was largely proved right : I have had 25 face-toface interviews in my life and failed 24 times – and the one exception was because the company was desperate for a warm body and I said I would start that afternoon ).
If companies are hiring ten people , they might take a chance on one of the ten . If they are hiring just one senior person , they won ’ t risk the one who may well be the very best .
Have our big shows always had brilliant directors ? Trade shows in the UK like World Travel Market , Spring Fair and DSEi have been massive for decades now – and all have seen a steady turnover of exhibition , sales and marketing directors . Were all these show directors brilliant ? Were they all the “ best of class ”? Could the people be the cause of those shows ’ longevity ?
Or is it , perhaps , that the sheer
26 Issue 1 2025 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk