In Focus... Dan Wheatley
/The big switch- from large national organisation to growing young business.
Two main things stuck out to me on my first day at FilmMyMatch. The first was the more obvious lack of people- going from a regional office of the largest social integration charity in the UK with over 40/50 staff in one place, to a couple of desks where my boss and I are sat facing each other with the odd member of staff coming and going. The other was the scale of the task ahead. There is no room to hide in a smaller business.
What I have noticed is the growth and learning potential. A smaller business will push you, stretch you, test what you have to offer. There’s so much to get directly involved with and, ultimately, you make a big difference to the company. Any ideas you present can shape the direction of a whole arm of the business. This means you have a responsibility to make sure those ideas are constructive and pushing everyone forwards, they can’t be a little ego trip because they will have impact. But that’s the exciting thing about working in this environment, you can have an impact.
What this does mean, you won’t be surprised to hear, is that you have to work, and work hard. I’m not one to shy away from that and I certainly want to be challenged but you quickly realise that you have to step up, no excuses. You can’t have a slow day.
That’s not to say you can’t make mistakes. It was Michael Jordan that said “I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” it’s part of the process to fail as long as you learn. The one thing that is unacceptable is a lack of trying.
It’s the key lesson that I have learned as I hit the two week mark in post. You can try things that are out of your comfort zone or maybe a little risky, as long as you try.
That’s what FilmMyMatch embodies. We’ve been trading for under 4 years, yet the thirst to progress and innovate pushes the business forward. We already have a national presence. Recently a live streaming function has been developed which can be used on your local park- it’s bringing the professional to the grassroots. Yet this hasn’t happened without its problems. Only this weekend we had a new camera operative having to improvise because one cable was slightly faulty. They got the job done.
It isn’t going to be perfect straight away, but it’s not through a lack of trying. We will get to where we want to be. Not because we’re the finished article and not because we won’t slip up along the way. We’ll achieve our goal because we have a vision and a plan in place. Not to mention the sheer will to succeed.
Dan Wheatley
(FilmMyMatch’s new Sales & Marketing Manager)
