Strands of Genius: Corey Ahearn + Contagious Radar
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
Ask any business leader what the biggest challenge or opportunity will be in 2024, and they’ll probably give you the same answer: AI. Mainstream awareness and interest in machine learning has risen too — Google Search data shows a 3.5x increase in searches for ‘artificial intelligence’ yearover-year in the UK, while Pew Research Center found that 90% of US adults have heard either a lot (33%) or a little (56%) about AI. So, we know we’re not blowing anyone’s mind when we tell you that artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, was top of the agenda in this year’s Contagious Radar report.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
COREY AHEARNE, CO-FOUNDER OF TEER
>> Corey Ahearne guest curated Strands on March 14th, 2024. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
Initially, the media industry served as an escape route from my family’s liquor and hospo businesses! I've since sojourned through various roles at 6.5 years at News Corp, including the last 2 in Strategy, where I led a team of bright folks who inspired me and taught me everyday. It was at News that I met then strategy boss Usman Khan. I’ve just joined him full-time as co-founder at the workflow management software company he started TEER. A platform built by the industry for the industry and is designed to lift the effectiveness of cross-organisational collaboration: a unique aspect of our industry critical to marketing success that other platforms fail to accommodate. I’m doing all things Commercial: partnering with marketers, agencies and media suppliers to improve their operations, improve cross-org relationships and drive greater profitability. There’s so much to do going from zero to one: we’re raising capital, growing our community, and scaling the business from a product and commercial standpoint.
What excites you most about what you do?
As a former strategist, I’m used to living (even thriving) in ambiguity. However, nothing I’ve done comes close to the ambiguity involved in building a new technology business from the ground up.
Strategy experience translates well in my new world. We’re building a product that we want this industry to love using and that requires understanding the human (user) problem behind the business problem.
Two things stand out to me most in the few weeks I’ve been full-time on TEER:
Working alongside Usman. I learned so much from him at News Corp and I get that opportunity again, this time building something of our own.
Building a community of clients, investors and contributors who share a common vision to create a better, happier, more effective marketing services industry.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
I'm big on the idea of servant leadership.I prefer to play to my team's strengths: someone's doing a fantastic job 95% of the time, but slips up 5%. Why focus on the 5% when you've got this amazing 95% to nurture? If you're great at baking cakes but not so hot at icing them, I'm not going to make you the chief icing officer. I'll have you bake more cakes.
Feedback: be like Sherlock Holmes not Gordon Ramsay: Ask questions. Maybe there's a method to what looks like madness. I've been really fortunate to lead a team of smart folks in my time as a manager, and often their approach to solving a problem, even if it seems offbeat, is better than my own.
Contrarian take on letting someone go - start with an apology: In the hiring process, as a manager, I have an information asymmetry; I know what the job entails and what's required to succeed in it. I'll undertake thorough interviews and learn more about them through references and mutual contacts. Candidates can do their homework too. But they do not have perfect information. Short of any misconduct, an apology is in order.
Teach self-evaluation: It helps people understand where they’re kicking goals and where they could lift. It empowers them to own their growth, which they can carry with them well beyond their time with me.
How to delegate: Spread the joy. You know the fun, juicy briefs or projects that everyone wants a piece of? Don’t hog them! You gotta’ roll up the sleeves and dive into the boring or shitty stuff. I think it sets the tone for a strong culture. Sergey Brin winding back the clock to get involved in the Gemini project at Google is a cool example of this.
Promotions: They mean you've got more people counting on you. Shit rolls uphill!
Discipline is as valuable as (and creates) momentum in business: This applies as much to leadership as it does to making individual progress. There’ll be challenging days, weeks, even months, and sometimes years. I’m far from perfect, but I’m a big believer in doing the small things each day, irrespective of how good or bad I feel.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
Me. I’m so much better at work, at home and with friends when I have my own house in order. I try to take regular stock of where I’ve been selfish, afraid, etc, and (do my best to) admit where I’m at fault.
Looking after myself is the least selfish thing I can do.
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
I'll start by saying that efforts to create more diverse workplaces require continuous effort and commitment; that diversity is more than a policy or a strategy – it requires seeing people not as part of a group but as individuals with their own stories, challenges, and contributions to make.
In the ambiguous environment of a tech start-up, there’s a lot to be said about approaching problems from different angles and designing small experiments to test a hypothesis. Diverse teams are better able to form a wider and deeper perspective. There's a heap of research showing that diverse teams are more successful in problem-solving and better at anticipating shifts in consumer needs.
According to Australia’s labour statistics, women make up 61% of marketing and advertising professionals. It’s our hope that they will all one day be members of TEER. But we are two male founders. So, it’s rare for a day to go by without a conversation about building diversity into our team, our cap table and advisory board, as well as the community of industry people providing input and feedback into the product. … Honestly, if you’re reading this and you’re interested in learning more about what we’re doing at TEER or feel you could contribute in any way, I’d love to hear from you.
Last point on diversity: I do believe there is more that connects us all than divides us. Most of you have thought about this in an advertising context: How can we reach and connect with the largest possible audience through a single message that creates cultural meaning? I think suggestions that we can’t put ourselves in someone else’s shoes is an attack on the human condition; that we can have empathy.
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
I must admit, I haven't quite mastered the work/life balance yet. I can get absorbed in work, especially stuff that’s super interesting. I entered the media industry in my late 20s, so I've always felt the need to work hard and learn enough to have a crack at my own thing.
My approach to staying balanced and energized is pretty cliche: I’ve become a disciple of Dr. Andrew Huberman’s health and performance protocols, including “cold exposure therapy”. Science for “really bloody cold bath”. Despite a fair few injury setbacks, I still love long-distance running. Rich Roll, the ultra-distance athlete and podcaster, is a massive inspiration of mine; and I would love to do something crazy one day, like a triathlon around Australia.
My partner Anna is an absolute rock and I have a non-religious spiritual practice, which began in my recovery journey.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I get news from a wide range of sources. I've found ChatGPT really handy for removing any bias from news stories. Another trick is to compare two articles from different political viewpoints. You can get much closer to the unbiased truth by finding the information in common and put the rest down to commentary or bias.
I start the day with a couple of short podcasts on the way to work, usually quite early. What The Flux is an innovative 5-min daily pod on business news that is super-digestible for anyone, but especially Gen-Z’s out there learning about business and markets.
US earnings season and the Fed’s meetings drive a huge amount of my media consumption, so I subscribe to The Wall Street Journal and do a bunch of reading and watching around that.
I think the most underrated of all my media consumption has got to be YouTube Premium! I’m kind of handing money to Google out of frustration but ad-free YouTube is a gamechanger. It’s here I’ll WATCH long-form podcasts with high production value. Lex Fridman stands out for his depth, empathy and weirdness. I appreciate that he’ll talk to anyone and let them get their points across, good and bad.
A couple of years ago, I deleted the Instagram app because I wanted to dial back on consumption. I’ll check it on the web app every now and then, but it's super clunky so I don't linger.
My partner and I have just finished the series Snowfall: if you can handle some weird editing, it’s an incredibly well cast, gripping drama that deals with the allegations of CIA involvement in trafficking cocaine into the US and protecting crack dealers in order to fund the Contras’ war efforts in Nicaragua.
We also loved "Pepsi, Where's My Jet". A must-watch for all of you Geniuses. Who hasn’t had a consumer promotion go wrong? And the creative director from the agency who got caught up in the middle of it all… If you’re out there, I feel for you, man.
Finally, I love reading fiction to disconnect and inspire creative thinking.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
Start the pitch with a hook. It could be the insight. Perhaps a metaphor that brings it to life. It’s like opening a window in a stuffy room – suddenly, everything is clearer, fresher, more vivid.
This is the MO of master storyteller Tyler Greer who heads up News Corp’s Strategy & Integrated Solutions department.
You can keep in touch with Corey on LinkedIn.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)