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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: James Burstall
Channel21 International | Spring 2023
Crisis management Argo Argonon Group CEO James Burstall’s new book aims to give business owners the tools they need to not only survive but thrive during the own next global crisis, turning disasters into opportunities. By Nico Franks
W
hile most of us have been doing our best to forget the years of the pandemic – deleting the Houseparty app, burning those sweatpants and never again saying the word ‘unprecedented’ – there are some who have used it as a learning experience for what might be coming next. James Burstall, CEO of UK- and US-based production group Argonon, is one of those people. His book, The Flexible Method: Prepare To Prosper In The Next Global Crisis, was published at the end of March, targeting anyone looking to future-proof their organisation against a similarly cataclysmic event. What qualifies Burstall for this ambitious endeavour? Well, the former journalist shepherded Argonon Group – the business he founded in 2011 and consists of nine companies – through the worst of the pandemic while not only protecting its revenues but retaining its values by taking crucial steps to put its people first. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic wasn’t Burstall’s first rodeo. The credit crunch and the 9/11 terror attacks also sent shockwaves through the TV industry and provided him with lessons that he says were beneficial during the dark days of March 2020 when it looked like his business could collapse overnight. “The book is very authentic and contains some very painful experiences. I dare to dig deep, which is critical, because in times of crisis, boosterism is completely undermining and doesn’t help anyone, frankly,” says Burstall. Headquartered in London, LA, New York, Oklahoma, Glasgow and Liverpool, Argonon is an independent production group led by a board of creatives and entrepreneurs including Burstall alongside chief operating officer Laura Bessell and David Dugan, chairman of Argonon-owned Windfall Films. The group consists of nine companies producing multi-awardwinning content for a wide range of major broadcasters, platforms and brands in the UK, US and across
the world. The companies produce content across all genres and of all lengths, specialising in factual, factual entertainment, entertainment, drama, arts, comedy and children’s programming. Companies within Argonon are responsible for producing hundreds of hours of content, including The Masked Singer UK (Bandicoot Scotland for ITV1), Attenborough & the Mammoth Graveyard (Windfall Films for BBC One), Hard Cell (Leopard Pictures for Netflix), Cash in the Attic (Leopard USA for Discovery+), La’Ron in a Million (Leopard USA for Snap) as well as the Forbidden History podcast (Like a Shot Entertainment). Two weeks before the UK began its official lockdown on March 23, 2020, Burstall made the call for the 1,500 members of its team to work from home, closing its offices in the US and UK in order to protect its employees. “A key message of the book is that you must listen to your trusted allies, even if they’re telling you stuff that you don’t want to hear. As a leader, it’s very easy to think you’re right or you have all the ssolutions,” so lutions,” says Burstall. “But in a crisis you don’t and you often actually get it wrong. if you’re smart you S So ssurround urround yourself with very clever people, from very diverse
A key message of the book is that you must listen to your trusted allies, even if they’re telling you stuff that you don’t want to hear. As a leader, it’s very easy to think you’re right or you have all the solutions.
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James Burstall, Argonon Group backgrounds, who see the world from very different angles. And you make sure that you listen to them.” An example of this was when BriteSpark Films creative director and co-founder Nick Godwin told Burstall in the early days of the pandemic he should consider setting up something akin to the government’s Civil Contingencies Committee, otherwise known as COBRA, which handles matters of national emergency or major disruption. Having initially been concerned it could set off alarm bells and panic employees, Burstall picked five key people from the top of the organisation with different backgrounds across operations, finance, people and production. With productions across the country shut down, the company, and countless others around the world, turned off their cameras and took stock. One of the ideas the team Burstall put together came up with was pivoting to current affairs – a genre of TV that companies within the Argonon Group did not produce but the only one that was allowed to be made in the spring of 2020. BrightSpark set about making programmes X
Attenborough & the Mammoth Graveyard