Productivity to me is less tied to short-term output than it is to long tail success.
Scott Fisher, Partner/Founder, is an experienced talent manager with a fresh approach on managing talent in the digital age. Always an advocate for the artist, he prides himself on working closely with his clients to develop and expand their careers while staying true to their core values. Scott has successfully managed client relationships with Unilever, L’Oreal, NBC Universal, Walgreens, Ralph Lauren, Kmart, Vevo, Viacom, ULTA, P&G, among countless others. Scott was one of the first to focus in and build a management company around digital talent in 2011.
Where did the idea for Select Management Group come from?
Back in 2009 I noticed that people were not only becoming known online but really building careers and businesses as legitimate talent. Most of the people working with them were building their own businesses and focusing on scale instead of holistically representing talent. I found my niche there and stuck with it.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
It’s cliche to say but every day is different. My golden rule is to make sure I’m taking care of my clients above all else. If it means spending the entire day with one client or working with my team internally, it all has to tie back to client success.
Productivity to me is less tied to short term output than it is to long tail success. I find prioritizing to be super helpful to cut through the clutter — everyone has a fire drill for you but it’s important to remember your core focus. You’ll run yourself down if you cater to others at their whim.
How do you bring ideas to life – merging big picture thinking with practical solutions?
One of my key learnings has been building the right team. As an entrepreneur the initial instinct is to do it all yourself to get it right. That works for the startup phase but once you’ve built a sustainable business you can really tee up an idea and empower people to execute your vision.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
More and more I’ve been seeing acknowledgement of talent coming back into the conversation. People are thinking less about numbers or viral hits — they’re understanding that some people are talented and some are not. They want to align with real talent.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Not letting the little things get to me.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I worked in fast food all through high school and college, of course taking it on myself to become a manager at each. Was the most valuable learning experience and I recommend it to everyone. You really learn how to deal with people under pressure and give in to the idea of servicing a customer.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently with Select?
I would have begun to build a team earlier. Not only the core employees but surrounding us with the right contractors — attorneys, agents, consultants, publicists, fixers, you name it.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Once you’ve proven success with your business, try to enjoy it. Don’t live in a constant state of fear or think you need to grow at an unrealistic speed.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Honesty. Being straight up with people is so valuable. Especially with entertainment being so full of smoke and mirrors it’s important to help people cut through to the bottom line. I would rather under promise and over deliver, stay silent and surprise.
Taking on too much without having the right infrastructure leads to big problems. When your time is diluted the work really does end up suffering. Cut through the clutter and build a team as soon as you can justify it.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers? (this should be an actual idea for a business, not business advice)
Might be the time of year but I think someone needs to start a cool financial planning and accounting service/platform/firm for millennials.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why? (personal or professional)
I got a laptop stand and my neck thanks me.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
I’m a huge fan of Airmail 2. For anyone that lives in their inbox its a life saver.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Start with Why by Simon Sinek. You can solve any conflict by boiling it down to each parties’ intention. Most people have good intentions that align with yours.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
(include websites, blogs or Twitter profiles, etc – please don’t include yourself).
Richard Branson and the content Virgin is creating around entrepreneurship is great.
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.