Batey

The way I see it, the purpose of an internship is learning. With this in mind, about two weeks ago I asked if I could have an hour of Ian Batey’s time. Before I begin, I suppose I should give you a brief on Mr. Batey’s background.

Mr. Batey is the founder and Chairman of Batey Pte Ltd, the Asian branding/advertising company I currently work for. Although he hasn’t played a managerial role with the agency for about five years, about twice a year he comes back for a couple of weeks, terrorizes the office, and energizes the whole group. Mr. Batey’s demanding personality is only matched by exuberant energy.

Today, on his last day in Singapore, I sat down for an hour with Mr. Batey and talked to him about his experiences starting a successful company in Singapore. Here is what he had to say:

Business success is largely to do with circumstances, luck, and the ability to adapt. Sometimes success, or a promotion, is as simple as being in the right place at the right time; there are no magic formulas or rules that you can follow – despite what Trump may try and sell you. However, sometimes you have to be able to look around and realize that you may not always find the opportunities you’re seeking, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any options. You have to be able to work with what you have and make the best of it. Often, it’s better than what you originally had in mind.

As far as running a business, there are three elements that are vital for success. One person can be two of these elements, but most commonly they are three different people.
1. The administrator – The person who can setup systems and promote efficiencies.
2. The aggravator – The negative force that will be the voice of caution, reality, and the devil’s advocate (most often, but not always, the accountant).
3. The Entrepreneur – The creative dreamer who charges forward with reckless abandon.
The absence of any one of these three forces will doom a company to failure. The three must balance each other out, each taking a lead at a different point, but all three must co-exist.

The second lesson is that you need world class people to produce world class products. Many people and organizations say this, but it is another thing entirely to actually put the time and resources forward to recruit people who may be reluctant to leave their home cities. Mr. Batey did this by attracting top people as freelancers for short periods of time. He brought people in from New York, Milan, Paris etc., set high demands, and expected the permanent staff to challenge and learn from the freelances. Often he couldn’t convince top talent to live in Singapore forever, but a few months or a year was doable.

Finally, if you want to differentiate yourself you must be fast and deliver more than you promise. Delivering something that’s top quality but late is of no value. Consistently exceeding your promises keeps clients gives the work more meaning for the people producing it.