On Episode 13 of Habits of Normal Success we meet Serhat.

Serhat is a legend and I have been tremendously looking forward to this episode. Not only is he one of my dearest friends, but he was also my first manager ever in my first job ever (by that I mean a role that was not an internship). He is now Managing Partner of OMG Ethnic here in London.

In 2013 I won a competition at Mediacom which allowed me to land my internship in London. After that was finished, still at Mediacom, I was approached by Serhat, offering me a role as an Insight Executive. That is literally how my career in media started. Serhat and I went along great immediately and the almost 2y I spent in the Insight Team, managed by him, would prove essential in terms of hard skills he taught me (i.e. how to do a great Powerpoint presentation up to working with pivot tables in Excel) and me understanding what kind of manager I would one day like to be.

This interview is split in 3 main parts:

1. What makes a great manager? My favourite quote from Serhat on this episode is “A manager does things right while a leader does the right things”. Further - how has he seen me changing over the last 5 years since we have first met?
2. Being a Dad in today’s Media industry – we talk about “essentialism” and the art of prioritising tasks. My favourite bit is when Serhat asks his team members who are working late “Will you die, if you don’t do this today?”
3. His award winning work at OMG Ethnic focusing on ethnic minorities normally not reached through standard media and tackling the ever relevant topic of Islamophobia.

And much more.

Thanks so much for coming on the show and taking the time.

Resources:

https://bimaawards.com/winners/omg-ethnic-at-omd-for-childline-2/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDcfEfMxPuI&feature=youtu.be http://omnicommediagroupuk.com/blog/omg-ethnic-serhat-ekinci-director === If you liked this episode, please do follow me here on Soundcloud and/or subscribe to the show on any podcast app you might be using for this by simply searching "Habits of Normal Success" (Itunes podcast or Overcast i.e.).

Equally, if you have any questions for Serhat, please leave them in the comment section.

It's a little thing for you, but it equally means the world to me.

Thank You!