EPISODE 7

James Orsini on Dialing Up Efficiency To Prepare for bigQUESTS

When preparing for your Quest, is your first call to the creatives or the finance team? Tune in to today’s episode where Andy Murray talks to James Orsini, President of The Sasha Group, about the profitability of transparency, where to find the liberty to undertake a big ocean project, and how we discover where to best share our passion and skills (and the tool to help guide you).

Listen on your favorite podcast app:

Episode Highlights

1. Sometimes clarity comes from knowing what you don’t want to do.

“I looked around on Wall Street, and I said, ‘Why is everybody bald in their 30s here?’ And they said, ‘Well, because they've worked a lifetime by the time they were 30.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, this is not going to be for me.’ The money didn't mean that much, and I knew I had to get out before the money became a golden handcuff. So I only stayed a couple of years.” James Orsini

2.Profits and client relationships are strengthened when leaders operate with transparency.

James recounts a General Mills commercial shoot:

“And the producer who was running everything said, ‘James, I've been doing this for 25 years, man, I've never had a financier ops guys show up on a set.’ And I said, ‘Now, isn't that unusual? You know how much we're spending here, right?’ The hundreds and thousands of dollars of money that have fallen through, and this guy's been doing it for 20 years, and not one, not one financier ops guy has ever, ever shown up on the set. And I made some great observations there. It made our relationship with General Mills even stronger as a result of what I observed there. It made us more profitable based on what I observed there.”

3.Serve your clients like a maitre d’, not a waiter.

Don’t limit your services to what is on your menu; ask questions, use common sense business ethics, and educate your client on what will best serve their desired outcomes. James says:

“Most agencies go into waitress mode: ‘Oh, you need a 30-second commercial, I'm going to go cook that up, and I'll bring it back to you.’ The Sasha Group has the beauty to say, ‘You're asking for this, but I really think you need that.’ And oftentimes, it starts with education. They don't know what they don't know.”

Download the Transcript (PDF)

Liked this episode? Discover more at bigquest.com/podcast

Take me to more episodes

About Your Host

Andy Murray

CEO and Founder of bigQUEST

Andy is a highly effective senior leader with a passion for growth, creating cultures that unleash talent, and building capabilities through collaboration across functions. He has held leadership roles across retail (Walmart), CPG (P&G), start-ups (Mercury 11, Saatchi X) and global organizations (Asda U.K.). A creative problem solver, innovator, and marketer, he is known for building high-performing teams and delivering results.

Andy is a lifetime Honorary Board member of the University of Arkansas's Center for Retail Excellence where he helped developed the Center's presence and Innovation conferences. He is also an Early Board Member for the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics college. Andy was inducted into the Shopper Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013 for his pioneering work in developing best practices and industry leadership in the emerging field of Shopper Marketing. He currently serves as Chairman of Asda Foundation.

LinkedIn | Twitter

About Our Guest

James Orsini

President of The Sasha Group

James Orsini is President of The Sasha Group a VaynerX company. Working alongside Gary Vaynerchuk, its CEO and serial entrepreneur, Orsini leads the group to help small businesses reach explosive growth potential. The Sasha Group provides educational, consulting, and marketing services for companies from $1 million to $200 million in revenue.

Orsini held previous positions as Chief Operating Officer as well as Chief Integration Officer for VaynerMedia a digital agency with social at its core. Working alongside founder and CEO Gary Vaynerchuk James helped manage the agency for success. He was Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Sito Mobile Ltd., (NASDAQ: SITO).

A proven leader and author of numerous business articles including Agency of the Future, Guided Exploration, and Let Leaders Lead and Practitioners Practice. Mr. Orsini has also penned white papers The Authentic Network, Reverse 360 Mentoring, Mastering Procurement, and Procurements Evolution for Today’s Marketing Service Companies. He has done numerous podcasts including Second in Command with Cameron Herold and Self-made man with Mike Dillard. James has more than 35 years of finance and operations experience across a broad range of marketing and communications disciplines.