“The best thing you can do for anyone in your business is help teach them to be a leader next time around the block. Help them understand that it’s an ambiguous world of making tough choices but help explain the rationale of the choices you’ve made”

Today’s Guest is Matt Rogan, Matt is chairman and co-founder of Two Circles. Exclusively working with sports rights-holders, Two Circles is part strategy consultancy, part digital agency, and part data and analytics house.

Since co-founding the business in 2011, Two Circles has grown rapidly to a team of 150 people across the UK, North America and Europe.

Following the sale of the majority stake in the business to WPP in 2015, Matt took up the role as Chairman. Supporting and challenging the Two Circles management team to deliver bigger and better results across all areas of the business.

In addition to his role at Two Circles Matt is a published author and has been featured in the likes of the Harvard Business Review and the Journal of Sports Management.

We go in to detail on a whole range of topics in this interview including:

What led Matt and his co-founders to start Two Circles and the structures they put in place to set it up for success.

Leading a ‘millennial’ team and the lessons for anyone looking to grow a young, dynamic organisation.

The importance of process and systems in building a business, even at the start up phase, and how this helped Matt and the team grow rapidly avoiding many of the issues that new businesses face.

How Matt and his co-founders achieved work life balance while leading a rapidly growing business.

What to do if you’re a graduate looking to follow a career in sport.

And much much more!

I really enjoyed this conversation with Matt and took so much away from what he had to say. If you’re looking for clear, practical advice on how to grow your own consulting business or practice area then you’re going to love this interview.

You can find out more about Two Circles at – https://insidetwocircles.com/

You can find out more about Matt on Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattrogan/

And Twitter – https://twitter.com/mattrogansport?lang=en

Or drop him an email at Matt.Rogan@insidetwocircles.com

Specific Things We Discuss In the Show:

Lane 4 – https://www.lane4performance.com/

Adrian moorhouse – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Moorhouse

Dom moorhouse – https://dommoorhouse.com/

Greg Searle – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Searle

Mastering Soft Skills by Julian Vyner – https://amzn.eu/d/fsSA1L0

Players by Matthew Futterman – https://amzn.eu/d/fDflklv

Managing the professional services firm by David Maister – https://amzn.eu/d/jc9ee62

What we talk about:

00:02:16 – Matt’s background and how he got to where he is today.

00:06:29 – Matt’s advice for Graduates looking to pursue a career in sport.

00:09:39 – The importance of being interested in both sport and the business of sport if you’re looking to break in to the industry.

00:11:16 – How Matt met one of his co-founders Gareth Balch and how they decided to launch the business along with their third co-founder, Matt’s wife Claire.

00:16:41 – The questions Matt asked himself and his co-founders before deciding to set up Two Circles.

00:19:04 – The challenges that having 2 of the 3 co-founders as a married couple brought and how Matt, Claire and Gareth overcame them.

00:24:41 – How Matt and Claire balanced their work and personal lives whilst working all hours to set up Two Circles in the early days.

00:30:40 – The key things Matt and the team put in place in Two Circles early on to set them up for rapid growth and future success.

00:34:45 – Why Matt and the co-founders divided their roles and responsibilities from the start of the business and how it was key to their growth.

00:36:22 – How Matt and the co-founders approached their business strategy definition and what you can learn from it.

00:39:30 – The key skills and roles you need in your business to set it up for success.

00:45:42 – The challenges Two Circles faced as it grew and how Matt and the team had to adapt to overcome them.

00:51:46 – How Two Circles develops deep, long lasting, relationships with their clients.

00:55:09 – Why most Consultancies are terrible at Marketing and what they should be doing instead.

00:59:07 – Matt’s Marketing advice for Consulting Partners looking to do it differently and stand out from the crowd.

01:03:11 – How Two Circles track the ROI on their own B2B Marketing activity.

01:07:00 – Matt’s advice for growing and leading a diverse, millennial workforce.

01:17:39 – The importance of bringing your team on the growth journey of the business and creating a collaborative, open culture.

01:23:34 – Matt’s Book Recommendations.

01:26:41 – Matt’s closing advice for you whether you’re just starting out in Consulting, In the middle grades or approaching Partner level.

01:30:45 – How to get in touch with Matt.