Today I returned to the office from Biarritz to find, yippee, Matt Cardle’s album. This is possibly the most exciting thing to happen in about six months, but…
When I first saw Matt Cardle sing on the X Factor I thought, there is a Springer.
Full of talent, clearly a nice chap, he reminded me of a designer who arrived, a year into Spring’s life. It was midwinter and he was in a tshirt and scarf (the fashion that winter). He had a nice face and was cheeky, which was some of the battle won; he had a good folio (that counted for another 60%) and he ‘got’ Spring (that was both 10% and, in a way, 100%). Glen’s now been with us for almost five years and we love him like family.
What’s more, he perpetually surprises us – great ideas, sudden technological leaps forward, a marketing campaign for a personal project – he never takes his skills for granted and he always has personal standards outside our requirements.
So, Matt Cardle. When I first saw him, in his daft hat with his extraordinary voice – raw, beautiful, high and unexpected – I thought of the wonderful people who have walked in through Spring’s doors, who get it, who want to join in. Designers, students, managers, strategists, people who have not yet joined and people who have joined and left. They have in common a desire to be really good, a curiosity about a creative community that will allow them to bloom. He seemed to me to be the epitome of a Springer (doubtless assisted by his East Anglian roots).
My sadness about Matt Cardle is that this astonishing voice has been constrained by Sony into an unexceptional set of songs. Sure, it’s an enjoyable album – but it’s not what he could do, it’s not extraordinary.
So what is the lesson? The reminder to me as a company owner is to keep recognising and nurturing people’s talents. In the end, for any creative agency, you are only as good as your people, irrespective of their skill. And thank you, Matt Cardle, for your amazing voice (and I hope you have the chance to air it fully soon) and to Sony, for reminding me what matters.
