A belief in the effectiveness of collaboration and that everyone has a superpower has driven Pete Lysak to succeed within the creative industry.
What’s your story?
I get excited by what can be. This has driven me through my entire life – from running away from Poland under Communism as a teenager, to art, to getting my business chops in LA. I have found my perfect balance in the creative industry, and my superpower: recognizing simple ideas and bringing them to life. I have also found a perfect place for it, the Gulf, being a founding member of two successful corporate startups in Saudi Arabia, one in aviation and one in telco. My biggest thrill comes from building a brand driven business, with focus on efficiency.
What excites you most about your industry?
Brand and marketing industry has reinvented itself. Through confusion and fragmentation of the last 20 years a simple truth stands out as a foundational rock: it is all about purpose, responsibility and trust. You can’t fake it (many try). You have to be real (more and more succeed). As a business, and as a person, have you asked yourself why do you exist? What you truly contribute, believe in, how do you act? Simple human truths have an unstoppable power, once fully embraced! I highly recommend it.
What drives you in your career to push beyond what other people consider normal?
I pull rabbits out of the hat. This is my reward. It is seldom easy but always not expected. Building Coca-Cola business across Africa, redefining aviation industry in Saudi Arabia. Raising two rebellious teenagers into decent human beings. Surprising outcomes, usually not predictable. It is all about getting the basics right and building teams that have self-belief. It helps to challenge the status-quo by asking “who said so” and not accepting mediocrity at any stage of the process. You would be surprised how collaboration, respect, and clear focus can produce outstanding results in any environment, no matter the challenges.
What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?
I believe the most useful skill is recognizing brilliance in others. Each of your team members has a super-power, you just need to spot it. Sometimes it is evident and shines bright. In some instances, your team members can be miscast. As a leader it is not only an imperative but also your privilege to grow people to their full potential, give them the right space and the right challenge to grow. The funny thing is, they don’t work for you. Actually, you work for them. You are only as good as the team you have created.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Focus on value, manage the money”. Prioritizing creation of value and understanding that money is a lagging indicator, an outcome to be managed, helped me enormously, both in the good times and in the times when the going got tough. I have built a few country operations at McCann, offices with a spectacular success, built around the value based on the quality of people, superior creative products and partnerships. I have also managed a couple of severe downturns and emerged with a business poised to resume growth. I would have not been able to do it without this clear perspective.
Who inspires you?
I am inspired by people who act on their values. They don’t chase easy rewards and don’t take the easier path. Examples? An internal auditor who takes ownership of the customer wellbeing. A Cabin Crew who initiates a change that impacts turnaround time of the aircraft. A Procurement Manager who never compromises the integrity of the process. They are the pillars of internal company culture. I have met a number of people like this throughout my career and it taught me an important lesson: true leaders can be found at any level of your organization, it is important to recognize them.
What have you learnt recently that blew you away?
The concept of brand driven business is a game-changer. The traditional knowledge has always been that the “brand” lives somewhere within marketing. A radical shift came from the understanding that the brand is simply the company culture working through all the touchpoints, across all functions. It is supported by facts: if you look at the last 20 years of the valuation of the public companies scoring high on purpose, responsibility and trust, you will see that they grow 2-3 times faster than the market (ref. Kantar BrandZ). Building brand driven businesses became the core of what I do, with excellent outcomes.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would change nothing. There is an amazing plan underway, where all our choices reveal their significance, with time. The only false move happens when you betray your basic values. Lucky for me, I have never found myself in a situation like this. My life choices have led me to a career spanning Canada, US, Poland, Romania, Africa, Serbia, Hungary, Saudi Arabia and UAE. I found out that when you scratch a bit, good people everywhere are all the same, driven by positive motivations, loyalty, commitments. It makes me proud to be a part of it.
How do you unwind?
I am quite passionate about what I do. I don’t have an urge to “unwind” but I keep good routines that boost resilience – family, sports, travel, friendships. It is crucial to keep a good balance, and the routines and mindfulness play a great role here. We are all in it for the long term and need to take a good care of ourselves and of each other.
What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your career?
I went through a profound mindshift a couple of years back. My formation, let’s call them “Harvard MBAs”, had a single-minded focus on growth. I realized that we are the ones to blame for the sustainability crisis. We forgot about the broader range of stakeholders: community, society at large, the Earth itself. As a result, I am deeply committed to ESG. It is not a naïve approach – I preach a ROI, efficiency focused ESG approach. Being Middle East based is a booster: who else, if not us in the region, should be taking a lead on sustainability?
Everyone in business should read this book:
There is this book, Multipliers by Liz Wiseman. The basic premise is that leaders can multiply their team’s potential and performance – or they can be diminishers. Are the people you are responsible for performing at 150% or at 50% of their abilities? Are you giving them clarity of purpose and freedom? Do you spot their true potential? Do you give trust? Or do you try to “manage them” and let your ego get in the way? The book gives you a set of practical tools that will move your leadership style from an “accidental diminisher” to a “multiplier”. For all leaders!
Shameless plug for your business or career:
I am a brand, marketing and research expert with over 25 years’ experience and a clear purpose: to identify simple ideas, so that people engage with positive outcomes. I bring quantifiable value to businesses at various stage of development: from startups to global leaders.
Focus areas:
– C-suite advisor on brand driven business strategy: purpose, behaviors-actions, impact KPIs
– Effectiveness ethos: driving ROI, and best practices in P&L management
– ESG monitioring and reporting
– Digitally led business: founding member of two digitally led startups, with game-changing growth initiatives
– Startup savvy: required culture, team collaboration, ideation, performance
How can people connect with you?
You can reach me at pete@kollective.uk
Social Media Links?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/piotrlysak/
This interview is part of the CallumConnects series.