Chris Ferrell, CEO, Endeavor Business Media
MediaGrowth was excited to have Chris speak at a Summit meeting about the company culture he and his people have been creating at Endeavor Business Media. He had a lot to say on the subject, but one point stood out as a reminder of how effective leadership works.
Chris said that one of the things that he thinks they do well at Endeavor is that they create task forces of stakeholders with diverse skills to address different projects and problems. “I tell everyone that if they’re counting on me to have all the good ideas, we’re in trouble. So, we’re tapping the expertise of our people instead of them just saying, ‘Chris, what should we do?’ I am almost never in that role.”
Endeavor started an Editorial Task Force to think about how to get better at creating the content its audiences need. What would the best practices be? There is a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. There is an Unknown to Known Users Task Force. The list goes on.
The idea is that people who have expertise related to a project or challenge are pulled from different parts of the organization to work together, collaboratively, to propose solutions. This gives all employees throughout the organization, not just leaders, the opportunity to participate in moving the company forward, to earn some skills on the way and to get to know one another better.
