In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, I speak to Nigel Marsh, Former CEO Leo Burnett and Y&R Brands, Founder Earth Hour, viral TED Talker, Bestselling Author and Podcaster, on following your own path to achieve balance, getting cut-through, and authentic success.

Nigel is the former National CEO of D’Arcy and Leo Burnett, Regional Group CEO of communications group Y&R Brands ANZ, and the Chairman of strategic and research consultancy, The Leading Edge.

Alongside his 30+ years experience in business leadership roles, Nigel has pursued a number of creative ventures including writing four bestselling books (‘Fat, Forty and Fired’, ‘Overworked and Underlaid’, ‘Fit Fifty and Fired-Up’ and ‘Smart, Stupid and Sixty’), co-founding the global environmental initiative Earth Hour, founding The Sydney Skinny and creating The Five Of My Life podcast.

His TEDx speech on work-life balance, with nearly 6 million views, remains the most watched talk ever given outside of the US.

In today’s Masterclass we will share:

✅  Why you should stop following the masses and rather seek balance by treading your own path.

✅ That clarity of purpose is the most fundamental pillar of any business, and how to do it in a simple way.

✅ How he got cut-through in launching Earth Hour globally and how you can use that in your marketing and communications, and

✅ Using reflection to achieve authentic success in your life and career.

Connecting with Nigel Marsh

You can connect with Nigel via LinkedIn.

Books and resources

• The Halo Effect – by Phil Rosenzweig
• Nigel’s TED Talk – How to make work-life balance work
• Deep Work – by Cal Newport
• Nigel’s podcast – 5 of My Life

Similar Episodes on work-life balance

• Minisode on Is work-life balance actually possible?
• Damien Price, Spiritual Guru on Balance, Life Chapters and Your Rhythm
• Mike Schneider, Managing Director of Bunnings Group, on Career diversity, genuine empathy, and the 4Hs of authenticity

“A CEO client of mine said that when he dies, his to-do list will be full. Not empty, full. In 10 years' time, are you going to look back and be happy with how you spent those 10 years?”

On luck, people and clarity

• I am lucky. I've had good luck. Some success in my career. But when you read a book from Jack Welsh or Churchill or whatever else, once they've achieved success, they attribute it to a bunch of stuff that actually had nothing to do with it.
• The second thing is quality of people. And in half the cases, that wasn't down to me, it was when I arrived at the organisation, they had hired some good people.
• People need clarity of structure, which is really unfashionable. There's three things that people want in any job. They want to know who they report to, what's expected of them, and they want to get some regular feedback.

On what true clarity of purpose is

• Purpose doesn't have to mean solving climate change, bringing peace to the Middle East, and curing cancer. It’s really just asking, “Why are we here?” and everyone from the shop floor to the board says the same answer. And that is very, very rare.
• Let's not pretend we're something we're not. Let's be clear on who we are and what we’re trying to achieve. It seems to me that we've got this bit confused. Set the strategy, own the strategy, communicate it, even overcommunicate. It's actually really hard to overcommunicate on your purpose. But if you're in charge, just don't be a scaredy cat. Own it. That is your job.
• I get it, it's really, really hard if you aren't in charge. I cheekily suspect that two of the most useful characteristics for succeeding in corporations are the capacity to confidently talk rubbish and the willingness to accept orders from idiots.

On why leaders should lead

• My men and women need to see me up front taking the first bullet. I am walking the walk. I'm taking the thing, not that I'm saying I'm a hero.
• It is important that we look after the weak so I will deputise my most trusted, skilful, caring, efficient, productive, strong warrior.
• If you lead how I am suggesting, that doesn't mean that you don't listen and you're not empathetic and you're not collaborative. Life goes in stages. That's why it's about clarity, alignment, momentum.
• The really undervalued skill is actually delivering on what you said you are seeking to achieve, and spending all the time delivering on it.
• I'm a massive fan of diversity and all that sort of stuff, but if you're the most diverse and you've ticked all the currently fashionable boxes, but you make a bad motor car and your staff are demotivated, your customers will go with it as you’ve ignored the important things.

On the success of Earth Hour

• So the first thing we did was keep it simple. So my idea was we would turn the lights out for one hour.
• Then we did a top-down and bottom-up approach at the same time. I was there with Kevin Rudd and Kate Blanchett counting down the lights in Sydney going out live on the news. So that's the high-profile end. But the local primary school and the local café had candles too so it was a grassroots movement at the same time.
• And finally, we also had the partnership and support of a media company. No-one would have bloody heard of the event, but Fairfax put it on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald for 100 days and they counted it down.
• Again, the most important thing was the clarity of the mission.

On turning his life around

• I read a phrase saying, “Pause for a moment, you wretched weakling, and take stock of your miserable existence.” And long story short, I did and thought, actually, I don't want the second half of my life to be a pale imitation of my first. I am going to change everything about my life.
• I had studied theology at university, and I'd always been thinking, “What is the point?” I was mildly successful, I kept on progressing, and that can keep you satisfied. You’re saying, “I don't really know what the point of this is. But I'm running fast and I'm succeeding.”
• It is impossible to explain how risky it was to do what I did because it's worked out. Back then I hadn't written a book, done a speech, run any of those firms that you've just mentioned. So I took a huge leap of faith based around clarity. I absolutely knew I didn't want to dedicate the next 40 years of my life climbing up any corporate ladder.
• I wanted to be a good father, a good husband, enjoy my life and off we go. And then other things – when I'm running up that hill – will have to fit in behind.
• I also responded, I think, intelligently to something that happened (the merger when I lost my CEO job). So other people just leapt back in because it was scary before young kids to say, “I'm going to vote for unemployment, sell the car, move home.”
• I think it's part of the reason why my TED speech resonated is there are lots of people that leave it a bit late. Now, obviously, you've got to do what you've got to do to look after your loved ones. But if you know people in your circle who have actually got it sorted, they've got to a level of success and if they don't like doing what they're doing, it’s like they’ve left it too late and they ask, “But then who will I be?” They haven't attended to the figurative garden as it was too scary.

On what he has learnt about balance

• The big mistake is focusing through the wrong end of the telescope and there are a lot of charlatans out there giving very, very bad, damaging advice, where they are giving advice on productivity and efficiency.
• You could follow some of the people who talk about work-life balance, and make it tangibly worse. Because if I make you more efficient at doing work, some people are too scared of being happy and they're scared of balance.
• So I suppose the thing is, get real. And it's about reflection. And when I coach people and talk to people, I've got to know you, your hopes and your dreams, your relationships and what is most important to you.

On leaving a legacy

• You have to reflect on the type of life that you want. Sit down, think about what type of man do you want to be? What type of legacy do you want to leave? And what type of life do you want to lead? And then ask, “Is there any chance that you're going to do the things that you just said?”
• If you think of your life as a work of art on canvas – it’s not a drawing that you can rub out. And when you die, the painting will be shown as your life is a work of art. What painting are you doing? There can be lots of mistakes, that's all part of it.
• In 90 percent of cases, the thing that leads to the proper reflection is one of the big four: death, disease, divorce, redundancy. My mission is: can you be the catalyst that makes someone do that reflection? Because wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to wait for death, disease, divorce, or redundancy?  Everyone thinks about it at some stage, but don't lose that opportunity. It's not scary.
• My personal definition of success is: Something to do, something to look forward to, someone to love, and that's it.

On the best advice he got

• Develop your listening skills. People are shit at listening. They think it means not interrupting. No. If I ask you a question and you talk and I don't interrupt, and then when you've finished, I don't say anything, in a 100% of cases you will start talking again. And that's when you learn the good stuff. And most people never get to the good stuff.

Final message of wisdom and hope for future leaders 

• It’s a quote by Mother Teresa: “Small things done with great love.”

Stay epic,

Greg