The best boss ever...

Today I received and E Mail from a boss I had in 1986 and it got me thinking about the leaders I’ve had over the years and also the type of boss I was when managing people. It’s fair to say I’ve had a mixture:

Chris Hayward at McCann Erickson who I’ve recently reconnected with is a true one off and much to my regret was someone I didn’t appreciate at the time. I can’t wait until lockdown has finished to grab a drink with

Kevin Glynn and David Peters at TMD Carat were fantastic mentors with incredible knowledge. Both very different people but an absolute joy to work for. I was telling the youngsters at work the other day that 1996 was one of my favourite years - great music around, a brilliant Euros (up to the Germany game) which the country embraced like 2012, on the property ladder, living with future wife and fantastic bosses who I enjoyed the odd shandy with – even a at lunchtimes shock horror (best bit of advice on Friday lunchtimes “If you get too pissed just stay out”)

Alan James at the BBC who turned media planning there into a discipline which most broadcasters in the world either follow or aspire to. I still see him on a near weekly basis to listen to his blind optimism about Leeds FC or Welsh rugby.

Jenny Biggam and Mark Jarvis who gave me some much needed work at the7Stars, agency that puts ethics and people front and centre

Chris Arnold at Channel 5 who took me back into the TV world after I royally screwed up my own business. A passionate leader.

Gavin Taylor at Viacom – one of the nicest gents in media who certainly knew how to get the best out of people. A skill which he made look effortless.

My current bosses have taught me skills which I never knew I had. Yesterday I was involved in an incident that could have gone fatally wrong but their inspired leadership got us all through and no one died.

This brings me back to today’s E Mail from Sam Rayner, Chair of Lakeland who I worked for in the summers of 1986 and 1987. Then he was the MD and owner of Lakeland Plastics as it was called and every year they went round the agricultural shows of Britain on a large lorry which turned into a shop for their wares.

It was the hardest job I ever did. The tour of Scotland was day after day of arriving at around 2.00am at a showground, setting up, grabbing a couple of hours sleep and then serving the local community their years’ worth of freezer bags before packing up and driving to the next venue. The whole crew cooked, ate and slept on the lorry. And get this, Sam did this tour. He did everything and more. I remember late night/early morning conversations with Sam about everything and nothing.

One particularly memorable evening, I was driving one of the company’s van full of stock to show in Yorkshire and wrote it off along with a Volvo and Capri that I went into. Thankfully no injuries apart from a very rare parrot that died in the Volvo.  Sam and the company were great even though it cost them lost show earnings and I’m sure driver insurance shooting through the roof.

Last week I sent Lakeland a link to my Just Giving page and Sam replied with a personal donation. I’d mentioned the van crash in my E Mail and this was in part of his reply:

"I have never forgotten the "Van accident" it is one of the worst nightmares a boss can have, when that type of incident occurs. I was simply delighted that you recovered OK, the van didn't manage to achieve the same result but it was definitely disposable, and you or any other colleague certainly weren't. "

How brilliant is that?