A week in the life…Darryl Easton
Our Managing Director, Darryl Easton tells us about how his week shapes up…
You’ve seen so much growth in the past few years, how do you manage the needs of a changing business?
It’s fair to say that every week throws out the inevitable curveball but I have a few key items that I prioritise and never fail me. Key amongst this is keeping in close contact with my fellow board directors to give me a sense of what is happening across the business. This also has the result of enabling me to accurately oversee the financial management of the company because it helps us all to stay close to our client projects.
You’re known for being hands on, has this changed over time?
That’s one thing that really has never changed and I don’t think it will – or should! Site meetings and monitoring projects are crucial to the smooth running of a project and I aim to spend a couple of days a week on site. Problem solving on site is what the whole team thrive on and for me, it gives me the chance to use my mechanical engineering degree and military background on a regular basis.
Are there any pressures in being the face of the business?
I have a superb team around me, which means that at those points in the week when I need to work from home to finalise project plans and contracts, I can focus on these and get a bit of “quiet time” to reflect on our strategy. We transitioned the business to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) in late 2023 and knowing that everyone is pulling in the same direction to realise the vision of the business takes off some of the pressure – the business isn’t just about me, it is about all of us.
How about the future? How do you plan for that?
We are very focused on strategic planning, always looking at the next quarter and the coming year so I spend a lot of time considering market data and trend spotting as well as looking at risks to the business. Of course, we also look at what others in our sector are doing too! On a wider scale, we also consider what changes in government and the economy mean for us.
But there’s a more personal dynamic too, meeting new clients and contractors and developing connections, so I spend a couple of evenings a week ensuring that I do just that, as you can’t beat face-to face contact.
We never stand still because we have ISO 9001 and 14001 accreditation to live up to and the level of growth that we have seen recently means that I am always looking at new software to support our operation. We successfully acquired Office 2 Interiors at the start of last year and see that as the template for future growth too.
How do you support the team members personally?
The EOT really plays well into succession planning as everyone has a vested interest in the future of the company as it grows and develops. Staff development and mentoring is something I feel very strongly about and you have to be hands on within the business to do this effectively.
You also have a very successful Media Solutions division – tell us more about that…
This is our post-production and broadcast division. We’ve built what is a niche offering through a series of contracts that have just grown as our network of clients and contractors have increased. In this sector, it really is vital to keep abreast of developments in post-production technologies.
What’s slightly different about our proposition here is that we sometimes work speculatively at project inception, advising businesses about the most effective way to house their business if they are moving into new premises. This advisory service pays dividends when the project starts, as the higher spec IT requirements of these businesses are baked into the project.
There is also a more design-led expectation of the overall workspace in this sector as it needs to reflect the creative aspects of these clients’ services and our Head of Design, Fernanda Scholz, plays a big part in achieving this design-led vision.
Thanks Darryl, we look forward to seeing the next steps in the evolution of East On Projects…