Talking culture with Marty Drill

Marty Drill is the founder of Luminary, one of this country’s most respected digital agencies, with offices in Australia and Indonesia. For Marty, what was once an idea to create a business where people loved coming to work, is still exactly that more than 25 years later.

Impala founder, Cam McKay, enjoyed a wide ranging conversation about the highs and lows of building and scaling a successful agency with Marty on our Leaps & Bounds podcast. You can listen to the full chat on your preferred podcast platform, but here’s just a small taste of what Marty had to say about putting the focus on culture in the workplace.

A vision for creating a great place to work

"From the outset I was like, I just want to create a place where people want to come to work and they can be their best.

We were always interested in being able to have an impact. I think that's about, the values of the company and who we are.

The focus for capitalism is grow at any cost. I think that was what I railed against.

I wanted a place where people wanted to come to work, a kind of environment where they felt appreciated, respected, and could be themselves."

Every mistake you make is a lesson to learn from

"I think I'd start by saying there's a long list of things that we've stuffed up. And look, I was 21 when I started the company, and I was 22 when it launched, so, boy did I make some mistakes.

The irony is you would think by the time I hit 40 or thereabouts, that I would have figured it all out. I still haven't!

I've definitely stuffed up over time, and there's probably still a few people out there that are frustrated with me. But my commitment is grounded in wanting to have a great place to work."

A focus on the whole person is important

"I still have to remember that each interaction is on its own. What may have worked in the last conversation doesn't work in this conversation.

The idea of how do I both stand out and fit in? I'm not sure we ever really get out of that phase, that sense of longing to be able to be yourself."

You can listen to Cam McKay’s conversation with Marty Drill in full on the Leaps & Bounds podcast. You’ll find it on your preferred podcast platform. Here’s a link to it on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2fb2p868