Nigel Fisher | The Room | Punk Rock Media

Who's already in the room. "It’s alright to be colourful in a beige world." — Nigel Fisher, Founder/CEO, NFAC Consultancy Ltd. For Nigel Fisher, founder of NFAC Consultancy, The Punk Rock Playbook® for Business Misfits wasn’t so much a lesson in how to do things differently as confirmation that the unconventional approach he has taken throughout his career has been perfectly OK. From bending the rules as a schoolboy entrepreneur to challenging corporate convention and helping UK businesses to build in the US and US businesses to build in the UK, he has rarely accepted that there is only one way to do things. Long before he became a commercial director, Nigel Fisher was learning about competition and teamwork. A talented basketball player, this was a huge part of his early life. He knew from a young age that university wasn’t for him and, although there was an opportunity to pursue basketball in the US, he wasn’t prepared to put the financial burden on his parents. His father, a salesman for a major retail brand and, in his son’s words, something of a “wheeler-dealer”, provided another early influence. As a schoolboy, Nigel was even undercutting the school tuck shop by selling crisps in boxes which his dad had given to him. When questions were raised, his dad’s response was simple: they’d find another way – home deliveries! This is a lesson that has stayed with him throughout his career: rules can sometimes be bent, and there will always be another way. His first sales role with Cuprinol gave him excellent commercial training and he progressed into national accounts, but he recognised that he didn’t necessarily approach business in the same way as everybody else around him. I was always a bit different,” Nigel says. “But I was fortunate to have a boss who supported me and understood that. That became particularly important when he joined a global security business. Initially Commercial Director, he subsequently became MD of a business within the group and was effectively handed a blank canvas. Nigel recruited people who understood his mentality and created a culture in which challenging convention wasn’t something to be discouraged. Having a team around me who understood that things could be done differently meant I could be myself. His success ultimately took him to the US to run the company’s smart division, and when that was eventually sold, he saw the opportunity to strike out independently. Today, through NFAC Consultancy, which he founded around two-and-a-half years ago, he uses his experience of both the UK and US markets to help brands move successfully between the two. His approach remains unconventional. Nigel comments: If I don’t click with somebody, I don’t work with them. And if I don’t believe the product is any good, I won’t take people’s money. That philosophy has delivered results. He has helped a security brand secure listings with US retailers and is currently bringing a $200m US business into the UK, following previous unsuccessful attempts by their leadership team. It’s OK to be colourful in a beige world One message from The Punk Rock Playbook® particularly resonated: it’s OK to be colourful in a beige world. I was disruptive in my career and different from others. The message that it’s OK to be different, and that you should embrace it, really resonated with me. And the idea of finding your people. That’s what I’ve done throughout my career. Stop waiting for permission Another theme that struck a chord was Stephen Norris’s challenge to stop waiting for permission. The book has provided Nigel with affirmation. He comments: There was a lot of nodding as I read it. A lot of people would like to do things differently, but they play within the rules or the corporate structure because they’re frightened of losing their jobs. However, his own career has frequently involved challenging rules. In one business, for example, he was expected to maintain a conventional EBITDA target while simultaneously being relied upon as the growth engine. His response was to question the logic. If I cut the cloth to hit that number, we’re not going to grow. What basketball taught me about leadership The punk philosophy also connected unexpectedly with his sporting background. Basketball is an individual game within a team sport. You’ve got to have some flair because when you’ve got the ball, it’s you on the court, but you can’t forget that everybody in that team has a role. Teamwork and camaraderie are hugely important. Nigel’s verdict I could see how Stephen had taken the values he learned through punk and applied them to business. For me, basketball probably did something similar. It’s not about breaking rules for the sake of it. It’s about questioning why things have to be done in a certain way, and then finding another way. It’s alright to be colourful in a beige world.