BARNABY WYNTER'S ENERGY, ISLAND AND BUCKET CAPSTONE

We sat down with Barnaby Wynter to discuss all things Capstones. Over the past 25 years as a marketing expert, Barnaby has advised and created over 550 brands/ rebrands - at all levels of company size and purpose from startups and SMEs to FTSE/NASAQ listed companies alongside NGOs. Many of the brands he helped launch have become household names. Underpinning Barnaby’s approach is The Brand Bucket® methodology. Initially developed in 1985, the six-step buying decision-making process helps business owners make sense of marketing. Barnaby was introduced to it in 1997, four years later he acquired the programme. Since then, Barnaby has provided strategic guidance for leaders to integrate marketing not just as branding but a key function across their entire business. Barnaby’s unique lens relayed at board level has moved from brand to much wider business advice.

SP: Let’s go back to what we call the cornerstone phase of a career. Growing up and some of the defining moments in the getting you to where you are today… tell us more about your early years… 

I was the only child of an only child. I realise now that this imprinted some sort of link to being an island... More on that later I’m sure. I went to university to study psychology initially planning to work as an educational psychologist to work with children, however half-way through I realised I didn’t see myself in that career. I liked psychology overall as I would define it as ‘common sense ruthlessly pursued’. I quickly found advertising as a potential path that was heavily influenced by psychology so spent a lot of time in the library reading about it- it really sparked my interest. After travelling for a year around Australia on a motorbike, I came back and did a post-graduate diploma in advertising and then marketing. I quickly found myself in a leading London ad agency, taking the first steps on my career path.

SP: Next we say is your keystone phase, we consider this the time you make your mark, the ‘middle age’ where you make a dent in the world, create and achieve success.

I was lucky to enjoy early success within marketing agencies to the point I rose up ranks in the likes of Ogilvy etc. I was always keen to progress quickly to the next level, becoming the youngest Managing Director of a top 200 ad agency in 1999. Marketing as a business function was always evolving and I was able to navigate the significant shift from marketing 3.0 to 4.0 between 2001 and 2010. At the heart was the Brand Bucket methodology- enabling me to build two mainstream ad agencies embedding the thinking. Unlike others that were shown to be flawed or fads, our methodology got stronger and stood the test of time. It still does. Whilst the role of marketing has constantly changed, there is an evergreen base set of rules I learned could be reconfigured to move with the times.  

There were a few key moments that stood out for me in the keystone phase that looking back now have influenced what you would describe as ‘Capstone thinking’:

Firstly – I remember upon joining an agency as MD, one of the firsts tasks asked of me was to fire an underperforming staff member. I resisted fulfilling that immediate request but three months later I had the chat with the employee as it still wasn’t working out. I made some mistakes in how I delivered the news. The agency heads followed up by saying they knew I would get it wrong and that they wanted me to ‘learn the hard way’. I fundamentally disagreed with that approach. I made a pact with myself then that I would always look to relay my learnings to others so that they don’t make the same mistakes, that any errors they make would be new. I see it as a complete waste to not share learnings and pitfalls so that others can progress quickly and forge onto new ground.  

Secondly, I was regularly working 17-hour days six days a week. During some winters I wouldn’t see my house in the daylight during the week. I started to reflect on what was ‘enough’ and about my priorities. I realised just how much energy it took to stay on the proverbial hamster wheel. I knew one thing that was important to me: I wanted to be around my children as they grew up. At the age of 46 I decided to close the agency in London and go out on my own. I took some time to map out what life could look like. I transferred all of the agency processes and experiences for my own business and personal plan but applied it to a ‘company of one’. I still each year have a board meeting that I invite only myself to. It was a conscious decision to become an island again… Sometimes working within a big agency is like herding cats, I realised I was wasting so much time fulfilling other people’s expectations and regulations. So many big corporates give away the soul of the company to keep rules and systems going. I realised I was spending less time helping nurture people’s ideas and accelerating their development and more time on red tape. I wanted to pick the work I would enjoy and do things I was good at, outsourcing all the things I didn’t want to do or had recognised I wasn’t good at. I also became content with the impact I had made up till that point. I felt fulfilled looking at some of the mainstream brands on high streets knowing I had played an instrumental part in their presence in our world. 

 SP: So onto our focus, the Capstone phase. We like to look at what someone does after they’ve made their money and fulfilled many ambitions already in life. What did you do next?

I quickly realised I was ahead of my time in terms of being a company of one when I tried to utilise tools to run my business but they didn’t exist… Especially compared to the abundance of business software available today to any sized organisation. Branching out on one’s own today is not unusual. The main thing for me was to closely align again with my value set and I clearly remember looking ahead thinking there are certain things money can’t buy back: time and health. I don’t believe in work-life balance instead I enjoy projects that are ‘just life’. If I had a 28hr day I would spend the extra four hours still working on those projects and following through on my values.

I have themes running through my Capstone thinking which then separate into a few paths…

Firstly mentoring, energy and family

As I learned in the keystone phase but felt was missing…  I am energised by sharing lessons learned and believe by having a positive aim to always empower others to do better, one can have a large ripple effect. I look for opportunities now to do just that- for example I published my first book on The Brand Bucket in 2010. For the last 11 years I have ensured I remained a practitioner not just passive advisor and applied the methodology to all stages of the business lifecycle. I enjoy public speaking, conferences, training, podcasts, advising and mentoring. Today I mentor over 20 business leaders which provides such joy. During the keystone phase I was unable to really mentor, now I make it a priority in the hope that others don’t make the same mistakes I made. I try to make sure as many people see the world through my marketing lens on business and can then pay it forward themselves. Often wisdom shared can provide people with confidence which accelerates their development. When it comes to looking to top up my energy, the most rewarding and energising thing for me is focusing on my family. If I can leave a legacy with my family through transferring my energy to them again hopefully there is a ripple effect. It requires time and focus but is the most rewarding investment I believe you can make. 

Secondly the use for buckets

It was the fourth year I was MC at a charity ball, whilst on stage they played a video promoting a charity car rally from Maidstone to Monaco. I liked the look of it so committed there and then to taking part (the audience loved the spontaneity). When I looked into it further the ambitions of raising money to participate were not that demanding, so I decided to commit to raising £30k to build a new primary school in Uganda. We are very close now to completing the fundraising and being able to change the lives of preschool children. Whilst being involved I have learned a lot about how many villages don’t even understand what the word education means and that it’s not just about building a school. It’s a wider holistic project with the village. It’s also helped me progress a new idea for a project, how I plan to focus on giving back in the future.

I realised that I will have said the word bucket over 100,000 times in the past twenty-plus years. I have always had the rule that the bucket I have used metaphorically has meant all the buckets around me should be used for other things- be it lights, cushions, clocks. My rule has always been a bucket must never be used for what a bucket is intended for… When I saw images of girls carrying buckets of dirty water for miles for their family, it’s really affected me. Having spent so much time talking about buckets, my Capstone should continue down that path… I am committed in the future to supporting WaterAid and have a strategy around building wells that I want to deploy. Some of the world’s poorest communities have no choice but to walk long distances to fetch and drink dirty water. I want to ensure that buckets aren’t used for that in the future…. 

SP: Why do people undertake Capstones?

Firstly, I believe anyone can have a Capstone mindset and start their own Capstone projects. For me it was about being accountable to one’s self, positive energy, sharing and family. My closest analogy is the Maldives…! The islands are welcoming and an amazing experience for anyone that goes but at the end they are still have their own sovereignty. For others am sure there will be other key values they want to get closer to and continue to live- I’d recommend everyone to think about what their Capstone could be?

TO READ ABOUT URI LEVINE’S CAPSTONE STRATEGY CLICK HERE

TO READ JEZ WILLIMAN’S DRAGONFLY CAPSTONE CLICK HERE