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Take 5 with Pioneera is a series of micro interviews with key business leaders on wellness, leadership, productivity and workplace culture.
This week we’re taking 5 with Russ Macumber, Strategy Director and General Manager at Impressive Digital USA.
Russ has worked in marketing and sales-related roles for over 15 years. He loves advertising and helping grow businesses via digital marketing. He is the Strategy Director and General Manager at one of the world’s fastest growing independent digital agencies. They’ve worked with brands such as JB Hifi, Hotondo Homes, T2, Acer, Mitre 10 and more.
Outside of business, Russ is a proud husband and dad of four very loud, very active kids. Beyond family and business, he is addicted to fitness, music and anything NBA related.
Welcome, Russ!
1. What does your workday routine look like?
Generally, I’ll be on emails and LinkedIn from 7:30am most mornings. Ideally I’m all done with any proposals or other admin work by 9am, so I can save most of the business hours for client facing - from discovery calls with prospects, to presenting digital strategies, and onboarding new clients.
Last hour of the normal work day, I’ll get on top of emails and admin. Then after the kids go to bed, I am usually working on proposals and tenders into the night whilst Netflix flickers away in the background.
2. How do you stay focused and maintain a positive mindset when things get crazy busy?
Stoicism. If you Google it, the definition sounds pretty sh*tty: “the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint”. I prefer to think of it as a philosophy of pragmatic optimism. At my best, I’m good at keeping even keeled, which I’ve recently discovered is basically stoicism. If sh*t hits the fan, I know getting angry or fuzzy-minded won’t help, so I try to see these situations as challenges to overcome with a clear-minded approach and a smile on my face.
3. What are your three must-haves for a healthy work-life integration? And why?
Good music - Vibe depends on what I’m trying to achieve. Deep work calls for no vocals, so possibly deep techno or house; pressing against a deadline will see me ramp up the drum’n’bass! Right now, I’ve got an old fave, Leon Bridges, in the background.
Lunch time exercise - Gives me a middle of day high point to look forward to, and an endorphin rush to push me through the arvo.
Phone and emails off during family time - Honestly, I’m terrible at this. I need to get better at being 100% present. I’ve started putting my phone away from when I knock off until the kids are in bed.
4. What’s your top tip for creating a thriving workplace culture?
The starting point here is leadership (or in many cases, the founder/s). Workplace culture is a reflection of the top. Assuming that is in place, the best recipe for thriving workplace culture is good people. Don’t hire d*ckheads. You can train people up on skills, but you can’t train an arse to be a nice person.
5. How do you bounce back when things don’t go as planned?
Stoicism! The book “The Stoic Challenge” is totally worth a read.
This conversation was brought to you by Pioneera.
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