It's a team sport: why your culture is your only sustainable advantage
Photo by Christian Tenguan on Unsplash
There's a crisis brewing in professional services, and it has nothing to do with profit margins or project pipelines.
Agencies are haemorrhaging their best people. Founders are burning out chasing the wrong clients. Teams are drowning under the weight of projects that looked good on paper but destroy morale in practice. And yet, most leaders treat this as a management problem to solve with better processes or tighter deadlines - when it's actually a values problem.
The uncomfortable truth is this: you can't scale culture the way you scale revenue. The relationships, boundaries, and deliberate choices that got you to where you are will be the first casualties of unchecked growth - unless you decide they won't be.
This conversation matters now because we're seeing the cost of that mistake everywhere. Agencies that looked invincible five years ago are struggling to keep teams together. Founders who built on strong foundations are watching those foundations crack under pressure. And the agencies thriving aren't necessarily the biggest or the flashiest - they're the ones who've learned what Brant McNaughton figured out over 26 years: protecting your people isn't a soft benefit. It's your strategy.
The Kiwi values that build lasting businesses
Brant grew up in Invercargill, a small town in New Zealand where your word is your bond. That simple principle - "your word as you bond" - shaped everything that followed.
"Growing up in New Zealand, I grew up in a small town. It's a bit grounded. You work hard, you get things done, you solve problems," he explains. That resilience, that problem-solving mentality, that commitment to doing what you say you'll do - those became the foundation of his business.
But here's what makes it different from the typical founder story: Brant didn't build a company around systems or methodologies. He built it around people. And when those two came into tension, people always won.
From aesthetics to outcomes: the shift that changed everything
In his early years, Brant spent too much time worrying about what things looked like rather than delivering outcomes. "I think I spent a lot of time worrying about what things look like rather than delivering the outcome," he admits. Portfolio-worthy aesthetics mattered more than client results. Prestige projects mattered more than sustainable relationships.
The turning point came when he stopped asking "Will this look impressive?" and started asking "Will this actually work?"
That shift led him to help a Kiwi dentist friend solve a no-show problem. "He was swearing about people not turning up for appointments. So I said, 'I can build you a system. I can send text messages and email reminders.'" Brant built an appointment booking system about 20 years ago. When the dentist sold his business five years later, he still credited that simple system as being integral to the sale.
"He sold his business about five years ago, and still credits our little appointment booking system as being the successor to his business as it was," Brant reflects. He had lunch with the dentist a few weeks ago. "He still credits it now, retired, and still says that was brilliant. We all loved Bebo."
That's the compound value that comes from solving the right problem in the right way - not chasing prestige, but delivering genuine usefulness.
The tension every founder avoids: when do you protect revenue versus protecting people?
Every founder faces this moment. A client comes in with serious prestige and serious budget. They're a career-making project. But they're also demanding, disrespectful, paying 60 days late, and making your team's life hell.
What do you do?
In the Scale-or-Fail game, when presented with "a client who consistently pays 30 to 60 days late but brings serious prestige to your portfolio," Brant's answer was immediate: "Fail it. Because they're not respecting what we're doing. They're not respecting the value of what we're providing."
It sounds simple. It's not. Because there's always a little voice asking, "What are you doing? Think of the revenue you're losing."
Brant knows this voice well. "When you first start off a business, you say yes to anything because you want a portfolio, you need the cash flow," he says. "But as you get longer in the tooth - 26 years in our case - you do have the luxury of not having to accept every project that comes across your desk."
That luxury, though, isn't just financial. It's philosophical. It comes from understanding that the systems that served three people will actively sabotage you at 25. The clients you could barely afford to lose in year one become the ones poisoning your culture in year ten.
Walking away because it's hard versus walking away because it's fundamentally wrong
Here's the distinction that changes everything: "There's a difference between walking away because something's hard versus walking away because it's fundamentally wrong."
Walking away because it's hard is avoidance. Walking away because it's fundamentally wrong is clarity.
"We can't control the way clients are, but we can control our reactions," Brant explains. "If it's not working for the team, we're going to have to walk away. You can control your reactions."
This matters because it's the difference between having boundaries (which are about protecting yourself) and having values (which are about protecting your team). Brant's philosophy is the latter.
When a client is being unreasonable, he doesn't tell them to do one. Instead: "We'll help you through the transition. We'll help you migrate. But you're just going to have to walk away." No drama. No burning bridges. Just clarity about what you will and won't tolerate.
"Our greatest asset is our guys," he says. "If they're stressed or it's affecting the team morale, then you're going to have to make a call to say, you know, this isn't for us."
Creating space for creativity in a pressure-cooker industry
One of Brant's most elegant ideas is 5% Friday - one day per month where the team can explore non-client work. No deliverables. No timesheets. Just space to explore what interests them.
"We have a hack day once a month, which we call 5% Friday. The guys aren't allowed to do anything related to client stuff," he explains. Over the years, they've built impractical things like Twitter bots and a digital swear jar that cost him a fortune but taught the team something invaluable: how to think creatively.
"This thing was listening to the conversations in the office and keeping score and taking money. I think it cost me a fortune, but other things come out of it," he laughs.
The breakthrough ideas - email-powered e-commerce engines and solutions that eventually serve real clients - come from giving space to explore. "Through these non-client hack days, the guys get to explore what they're interested in. We've delivered out of these hack days stuff that wouldn't have come about if we hadn't been kicking the can."
This isn't indulgence. It's the opposite. It's the most practical investment you can make in keeping your team engaged and innovative when every other incentive is pushing them toward burnout.
The rehire that changed everything
The most telling story comes from an employee named Cy Keen. Cy worked for Brant for about seven years. Then family circumstances forced him to leave, and he decided to work elsewhere.
Rather than burn the bridge or feel bitter, Brant invited him to the company's 25th anniversary party. "We got to talking and there were some freelance opportunities for him, and I said, 'Hey, do you want to come back?' And he went, 'I'd love to come back.'"
"Had we parted on difficult terms, that conversation would have never happened. But it's great to have him back. He's brought what he's learned from working away, but he knows our processes. He knows our clients. I mean, it's probably one of the best hiring decisions I've made in the last 26 years."
That's not just a feel-good story. That's a master class in understanding that people are your most valuable asset. They'll leave. They'll work for competitors. They'll try other things. And sometimes - if you've treated them well - they'll come back. And when they do, they're worth more than they were the first time.
The discipline of walking away from prestige
When asked whether he'd scale or fail "a project that would look incredible in your case studies but doesn't align with your core expertise," Brant's answer was: "Fail it."
Why? "We've got a lot of business partners, a lot of agency partners we work with that are probably better equipped to do it. I don't want to do a half-assed job on a project just because we won't want to do it."
This cuts against everything the ego tells you to do. Portfolio prestige is intoxicating. The ability to say "We worked on that" at industry events matters. But Brant has learned that mediocre work on prestigious projects damages your reputation more than excellent work on less glamorous ones.
"I think we guarantee the quality when we know what we're good at, what we're doing, so we stick to what we're good at," he says.
That discipline - saying no to prestige so you can say yes to excellence - is what separates sustainable agencies from the ones burning out trying to be everything.
"It's a team sport": the philosophy that changes everything
When asked to name the single most important piece of advice he'd want listeners to walk away with, Brant returns to this:
"I think it's a team sport. You may be the best salesperson or the best coder in the world, but if you can't communicate, can't get on with people, and you're an asshole, then you're a liability rather than an asset."
That's the whole philosophy. Not systems. Not metrics. Not growth-at-all-costs. Just the simple recognition that sustainable success is a team sport.
It means showing up for your people. Genuinely. "The important thing is that the guys want to work there. The guys feel safe there," he explains. "Making sure that they are okay in terms of you're genuinely supporting them every day, which is amazing. And not just in those big moments where you need them, but supporting them throughout because they're your team. That's the most important thing. I mean, they're the most important asset."
It means giving them autonomy and safety. "Giving them a safe space to say if something goes wrong, that they're not up all night worrying about it."
And it means setting the tone yourself. "The way you approach yourself, you handle yourself every day in life. You don't want to be losing your mind in front of the client, in front of the team."
The cost of not protecting culture
The real cost of failing to protect culture doesn't show up on a P&L statement. It shows up in quiet attrition. In the best people suddenly looking for other jobs. In institutional knowledge walking out the door. In the team working slower because trust has eroded.
Brant's approach costs money in the short term. Walking away from a toxic client means leaving revenue on the table. Protecting the team means sometimes missing deadlines with clients who have unrealistic expectations. Investing in 5% Friday means billable utilisation is lower than it could be.
But in the long term? In 26 years? That investment compounds.
"When there is a lot of pressure, you need to step away and say, 'Come on guys, we've got this.' But sometimes, you've got to have a conversation with the client and say, 'Look, we're not going to deliver it on the deadline. You've got to disappoint them. Sometimes their expectations may be a bit too unrealistic. Don't avoid the difficult conversations with the client. You've got to look after the sanity of the team. That's the most important thing - the guys and the team, and the client ultimately comes second."
Moving forward: the foundation work that actually matters
The founders thriving right now aren't the ones with the most impressive clients or the biggest revenue numbers. They're the ones who've learned what Brant figured out years ago: that sustainable growth isn't about systems. It's about people.
It's about having the courage to say no to the wrong opportunities - not because they're hard, but because they're fundamentally misaligned with your values.
It's about protecting the space where creativity and innovation happen, even when growth pressure is screaming for more utilisation.
It's about treating every employee like they might come back someday, and being genuinely grateful when they do.
And it's about understanding that the greatest competitive advantage you'll ever have isn't your technology or your process or your market position. It's the culture you've built - the trust, the safety, the shared values, the willingness to protect each other when things get difficult.
In an industry obsessed with scaling, that's the unglamorous wisdom that actually lasts.
Ready to hear the full conversation about building something that survives 26 years through relationships, not just systems?
Listen to the full episode and discover why protecting your people might be the most strategic business decision you'll ever make.
About Supo:
Supo provides people-first intelligence software for professional services firms, helping businesses maximise profit and motivate their people through powerful, AI-enabled business intelligence dashboards. By connecting over 500+ platforms and providing real-time data analysis, Supo helps firms make better data-driven decisions about their profit, projects, and people.
For more information about Supo: www.supo.co.uk
About Ecce:
For 26 years, Ecce has built custom digital engines that become the operational core of businesses - not off-the-shelf solutions, but bespoke platforms that solve complex, frustrating problems. From replacing chaotic spreadsheet systems for logistics clients to creating revenue streams from data monetisation, Ecce specialises in proving that custom-built technology delivers real ROI. Founded by Brant McNaughton, who brought a "get it done right" attitude from financial trading in Wellington and London, Ecce has worked with clients including Sennheiser, the NHS, and businesses that need technology they can depend on under pressure.
For more information about Ecce: https://ecce.co.uk/