Nick Hussey is group managing director at creative SEO agency Rise at Seven.
He initially joined the agency as director of operations in 2021, moving on to the role of chief operating officer before becoming group managing director in November last year.
His previous roles included working at Jaywing, where he was creative operations director, and senior roles at McCann Manchester, Mother, JWT and Forever Beta.
Rise at Seven has offices in Sheffield, Manchester, London and recently expanded to the US to open a New York office.
Here, Nick shares all the lessons he has learnt…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
Four espressos, my vape (used to be a Malboro Red many years ago and The Guardian app (used to be the paper also many years ago) on my phone, all before 8am, it’s my ritual that sets me up for the day….
What’s been your luckiest break?
Taking a six month maternity cover contract at Mother London when they were in their first year and I was already in a great role at another agency ( I stayed at Mother for eight years ). It changed my perception of life, work and what high quality creative and strategy can do for clients and the consumer.
What’s your best failure?
Starting a business venture in Abu Dhabi when I was 24, without properly researching the market, culture or my partner…. There were no copyright laws in UAE at the time and we were a design business… we changed tack and produced events on the ground for Paris Dakkar Rally and World power boat racing series …. it gave me a crash course in Production Budgets and Project Management that reshaped my career when I returned to the UK a year later
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
Without wanting to sound overtly materialistic or corny, but the house I co own and live with my fiance and blended family for the last 10 years in Heaton Moor. Coming “home” each day has given me so much joy and security and is priceless.
Which book would you recommend others to read and why?
The Road less Travelled – M. Scott Peck….This was a transformative read for me in 1997.. it led to a better understanding of myself, so I could better understand others and that also there is never a short cut to personal growth and change, you have to experience the uncomfortable to become your own person… Not an easy process, I am still practising it on a daily basis.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Always have a plan B, C & D in everything you do.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
My friend and mentor Dudley Sutton, sadly no longer with us, who taught me the art of holding all things in life lightly and how to remain calm in all situations.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I am a trained counsellor.
How will the COVID crisis change work for the better?
I am hoping we can maintain the flexibility of where to work from that the Covid crisis brought to us. We have four offices and I travel between the three UK ones weekly, which allows for better connection between me and the teams in each.
We have a lot of staff who joined during the pandemic and have known no different and others like me I guess, that have always relied on the camaraderie of office working 5 days a week and the comfort of that connection being there… We have had to change all our thinking around culture and what that means to us and our staff and think differently and smarter in how we create that. It’s been a positive challenge that has allowed for different approaches to be trialled and considered.
What does success look like to you?
Success for me is hard to measure, it can sometimes simply be Rise winning a pitch, to peace of mind and inner contentment on any given day, versus seeing plans come together and people’s lives change for the better through empowerment and nurturing, to seeing your kids achieve what they perceive the impossible for themselves without my interference….
