Doug Simon
Doug Simon

Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media—an award-winning influencer marketing firm that creates and distributes video to help turn organizations’ experts into influencers—discusses his distinctive take on leadership on the latest Taking the Lead podcast with Ken Jacobs.

Here are excerpts from the full video interview:

You think work life balance is a B.S. concept, please explain that point of view and what you recommend professionals should strive for instead.

It came to mind and it’s something I frequently mention, especially in job interviews. I'm not talking about someone who's struggling to feed their family working three jobs to get by.

If you're in a professional job requiring a college degree, the problem I have with the start of work life balance is it implies it's a zero sum game, that you work more, your life is less, your life is more, your work is less. So that's what I think is the BS concept, because what we want to strive for and what the people on my team strive for, is that your life makes your work better. Your work makes your life better, wouldn't that be amazing to go through and such a more positive approach to take.

Jacobs:

I agree, I think some call that the work life blend where you take the best of both and you figure out what you want to do. You know, time is our greatest asset. It's actually worth more than money because money is great, but time well spent gives us fulfillment, makes us better at what we do, and can help us make more money.

You admitted that it took 14 years to fire someone. What did you learn from that? And what do you do differently now as a result of that experience?

It's not whether I call it a strength or a weakness. There's actually one thing that keeps me up at night, and that's when I'm personally struggling to reach an employee to make their performance happen and reach their capability. I'm just not finding the clue to do that.

I know if I could take my emotion out of it, the reality is, if I'm feeling that about an employee, they're probably not feeling that great about working here anyway. It might give them a new lease, but I really struggle with that. So knowing that our hiring process is extremely thorough, and I provide assignments that will replicate what they'll actually do on the job. We've had some fine candidates do that and realize this isn't for me.

It's been more than a year since someone left the company. Our average tenure is more than nine years, and that's even retiring a third of the company since Covid started. So we really know we need to focus on helping people grow and change.

We have key leaders at the company who've had four different jobs within the company. Some they did well, some didn't fit as well, but they were trying. You know, the spirit was there. It wasn't like they were blowing it off or disengaging. It was just finding the right fit.

Jacobs:

When we know when we can align someone's skills, talents, and passions with the job requires it, that it can be heaven.

I know so many people, so many leaders, who unfortunately harp on the negative, and only what needs to be fixed. But if your organization is big enough it can be valuable to say, “A few of our people are not lined up correctly between the needs of the role, their skills and expertise, and their passions.” If you have enough scale, fixing this, and creating this alignment can be a game-changer.

You've been part of this industry for nearly 40 years. Who are the industry executives who you admire that's truly effective and engaging and why?

There are definitely people I admire and some of them have had senior positions, some have had junior positions, some I've gotten to meet through my show.

Monique Kelly, she was a senior pharmaceutical executive, did great, decided that's not what she wanted to do and she's really helping to mentor people. She's an associate professor at Boston University helping women. She's just such a giving, wonderful spirit. Every time I've had her on the show or even just what I talk to her, I always tell her, you know, I feel better about the world every time I speak with you. It's just a wonderful thing. Grace Leong of Hunter is someone I admire. She's so gracious and giving and such an inspiring leader and mentor.

Damon Jones from Procter and Gamble I had a chance to work with before I was at my own company, when we were both junior level people on a project, and he's just another decent, giving, thoughtful, caring person. I had never met Corey duBrowa until I was at an event with students. One of the students was eager to meet him, so we went over to introduce the student. Corey couldn't have been more gracious and wonderful. Those are the types of things that I really wanted, and I found that more important.

Jacobs:

It's interesting you mention Corey, who will be our Taking The Lead guest this December. He is great and lovely and I'm so glad you had that experience. I bet that experience will stay with that student forever. That's the thing we remember as leaders, it's not just I grew the agency, I doubled the budget, it's that impact you have on people, which lasts forever. What a great story, thank you for sharing that.

I think the notion of bringing your full self, your authentic self. That wasn't the case when we joined the business when we started our careers. I think it's a great shift that people can bring more of themselves and laugh and enjoy. I've laughed and enjoyed this tremendously.

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Ken Jacobs is the principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching, which empowers PR and communications leaders and executives to breakthrough results via executive coaching, and helps communications agencies achieve their business development, profitability, and client service goals, via consulting and training. You can find him at www.jacobscomm.com, [email protected] @KensViews, or on LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to the Jacobs Consulting and Executive Coaching YouTube channel.