BQ poses questions to Oliver Morrison

BQ (Business Quarter) is a news service that celebrates and inspires entrepreneurship to help businesses succeed and grow, through their digital services and events.

With an extensive reach in the UK of over 153,000 entrepreneurs, Filter Digital’s CEO, Oliver Morrison, was delighted to have the opportunity to answer their questions about his career, leadership and the future as part of their “Meet the MD” focus section.

Here is a summary of the interview, the full content of which will be found on BQ in the near future.

What is it the company does? Founded in 2016, Filter Digital is a digital agency focused on Strategy, Planning, Build and Optimisation. Our core principle of ‘Clear Vision & Innovative Thinking’ underpins our approach to delivering outstanding online experiences.

Describe your role in no more than 100 words
As CEO, my primary responsibilities include managing the overall operations and resources of the company, whilst providing the strategic direction, leadership and vision for our direction of travel. I also retain hands on responsibility for managing our key accounts, reporting and communications.

Give us a brief timeline of your career so far – where did you start, how did you move on?
My first job was in Advertising with Grey Worldwide, predominantly delivering TV, Press & Radio campaigns. The next significant career step took me to Evolving Media, working as Account Director, where we set about creating incredible software applications. In hindsight, we were years in advance of the market maturity.

An opportunity then presented itself to co-create a full-service digital Agency, which within a few years we had grown to 40 staff delivering projects for clients such as Virgin Active, Vodafone and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

After 7 successful years, realising the marketing landscape was changing, I took the decision to establish a new agency, and so Filter Digital was born. Our pursuit to equip our clients with the best digital knowledge and technology to operate market leading digital functions.

What do you believe makes a great leader?
There are so many qualities that make a great leader. For me, I believe that leadership isn’t a solitary task, you need to listen, communicate and motivate others; it’s about being perceptive to client and colleague needs. Of course, you also need commitment, belief and a clarity of vision.

Any pet hates in the workplace? What do you do about them?
I hate poorly presented work, it’s such a reflection on how much people care.

Where do you see the company in five years’ time?
I would like to build our reputation as the go-to digital agency. Skilled, reliable, honest, experienced, caring and enthusiastic are the types of words I would like to hear used to describe Filter Digital. We’ll then know we have done ok.

What advice would you give to an aspiring business leader?
Do your research, understand the market, listen to others and build your connections. Focus on what makes you thrive. Work within your area of expertise and bring in others who can fill the skills gaps as you can’t do it all. Lastly, you have to be willing to put in the hard work, as it’s a long game.

What do you wish someone had told you when you started out?
The power of networking and building your connections is fundamental to building a business. I was perhaps a little slow to appreciate the impact it could have.