‘Leadership
is easier to
recognise
than define’
A glimpse into the colourful career of
Criticaleye Associate, Robin Paxton.
When I look at my sons’ generation going
to university I’m impressed by their sense
of purpose and direction. By contrast,
my generation, going to university in the
1970s, seemed on the whole to be more
aimless (perhaps I’m just speaking for
myself!), pursuing subjects that interested
us, rather than establishing a platform for
a career. My passion was for politics and,
after almost becoming a lifelong academic,
I eventually decided that the intensity and
deadline-hugging of journalism suited my
temperament far better than cloistered
study producing an unread book every few
years. So although I eventually emerged
from the television world 30 years later as
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a commercial executive, I went into it as a
journalist, joining a remarkable programme
‘Weekend World’ – a weekly, hour-long
programme of rather dry, analytic current
affairs on ITV. ‘Weekend World’ was driven
by a contrarian intellectual methodology that
taught you to question all assumptions and
penetrate to the core of an issue logically
and from first principles; it shaped my way
of thinking permanently. It became clear
over time though that my commercial and
management skills were probably better
than my purely creative ability, and I ended
up at London Weekend Television (LWT)
as director of broadcasting, responsible
for commercial performance, where I
quickly had to learn, what programmemakers often like to ignore, that the job
is to make programmes people want to
watch rather than ones you enjoy making.
I left LWT in 1994 and was approached by
Carlton Television to lead their operations
in India and set up a local-language
entertainment network. Moving a family
with two small children to the heat and
dust of New Delhi for two years was a
remarkable, sometimes frustrating, but
overall fascinating experience that taught
me both business and life lessons.
From India I joined the Walt Disney Company
in Hong Kong to take responsibility
for TV operations across Asia-Pacific.
Disney is another experience that leaves
its mark with its powerful corporate
culture and intense competitiveness. It
is a supreme marketing organisation,
and an outstanding business school.
Back in the UK in 2001 after six years in Asia,
my final full-time job before embarking on
a portfolio career in 2008 was as European
MD of Discovery Networks - another US
broadcaster with a great brand and content.
Today, alongside my association with
Criticaleye, I sit on the board of Nimbus
Communications, a dynamically-growing
international sports marketing business
based in Bombay, and I chair a young UK
television production company, Yoyo media.
What benefits does working abroad
bring to a leader?
If offers huge benefits and I would
encourage anyone to do it that has the
opportunity. One of the biggest challenges
for media companies as they seek to
grow internationally is to find a way to
develop scale efficiencies across borders
while recognising that culture and media
consumption differ hugely from one country
to another. It’s essential to understand the
The globalisation and
virtualisation of business and
employment is irreversible,
with all the advantages and
disadvantages that come with it
expectations of viewers and consumers,
and local presence is crucial. The ability
of an executive to interpret the local
market for the global company and vice
versa is an essential skill, acquired by
direct experience in the international
markets. It’s also fascinating and fun.
outcome that is sub-optimal, you can be
sure that your competitor won’t. Finally
the old cliché (but true nonetheless) that’s
it’s all about teamwork and the quality of
your team. Take however long you need
to find the right people, and only hire
those who are stronger than yourself.
What would you say are your main
strengths/qualities as a leader
(and Associate for Criticaleye)?
If you had the chance to do it all again,
what would you do the same and what
would you do differently?
Leadership is easier to recognise than
to define. I’ve worked with leaders with
huge personalities who lead volubly
from the front, and others who equally
unmistakeably lead their organisations by
transmitting a deep sense of quiet purpose.
For me part of leadership is to articulate
a narrative, to tell the story that allows
everyone in the organisation to understand
its purposes, why it matters, and what
their individual contribution and stake in
it is. Part of that is to communicate your
own belief and commitment to what you’re
doing that goes beyond mere financial
success. This helps to create a culture
of confidence, adventure, innovation,
and success in which the creative, the
energetic, the imaginative are rewarded at
the expense of the cynical and the jaded.
I enjoyed programme-making, but in
retrospect I should have shifted to the
commercial side sooner.
What key lessons have you learned
from your various roles?
That it’s important to keep questioning
everything and trying to do it better.
To expect the highest standards and
not accept less, the final five per cent
of improvement is often the hardest
to squeeze out, but if you settle for an
What are your hopes and dreams for the
future (of your career and the business/
world as a whole)?
I worry more about the world my sons are
going to experience than about my own
career ahead. We may look back on my
baby-boomer generation as having enjoyed
an extraordinary period of expansion and
opportunity, notwithstanding the recession
that we’re in. The globalisation and
virtualisation of business and employment
is irreversible, with all the advantages and
disadvantages that come with it ; the pace
of change continues to increase, making it
incredibly difficult to discern the trends that
are really meaningful. So it’s my hope more
than my prediction that the world ahead will
still offer great careers and opportunities
for fun and fulfilment to people with talent,
ambition and a sense of adventure.
Contact Robin through www.criticaleye.net
© Criticaleye 2009
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