Founder & Executive Chairman of Bastion Collective
Fergus Watts - Founder & Executive Chairman of Bastion Collective
Fergus is the founder of Bastion Collective, the largest independent communications agency in Australia.
Bastion Collective has taken a different approach to the creative industry by creating an environment that facilitates partnerships and teamwork between creative agencies that allow for a variety of services to be provided under one roof.
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“Every time you think you're flying You're not.”
“only those who fail greatly can ever achieve greatly”
“success is the ability to move from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm”
“my greatest discipline now in what I do is do less. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life”
“Business owners don't mind talking about that, but a vast majority of everyone else really kind of struggle to talk about that.”
How do you find great people to grow a business?
Great hires mostly come through referrals and warm introductions from people who already trust you, rather than cold recruitment.
When should a business owner end a failing initiative or relationship?
Decide and act early rather than stringing people along — waiting for things to 'come good next month' only lets the financial and people problems grow bigger; doing the right thing by staff and partners means calling it early, even though it feels less 'nice' in the moment.
How should a leader balance long-term vision with short-term cash needs?
It's fine to deviate temporarily from a long-term vision to handle short-term realities like a slow December/January; businesses fail when they stay rigidly 'true' to a vision that isn't working, so leaders should do what's needed now while still steering back toward the broader direction.
Why shouldn't business owners be afraid to talk about profit?
Profit isn't something to shy away from discussing — a lack of profitability puts employees' jobs, mortgages and families at risk, so treating profit as taboo is a disservice to everyone who depends on the business.
How can someone overcome discomfort with selling or generating leads?
Reframe selling as providing a genuine service or value to a client who needs it — if you believe in the value you offer but hold back from mentioning it out of fear of 'the sell,' you're doing the client a disservice rather than helping them.
Fergus explains that early in his career he was selling for an advertising business and his boss kept arbitrarily changing his role, which frustrated him and pushed him to start his own venture rather than remain an employee.
Fergus describes being a first-round AFL draft pick expected to have a long career, suffering injuries, failing publicly in Adelaide and later Essendon, and having supporters let him know how he'd let them down — an experience that shaped his relationship with failure.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
Watts says failure is painful but essential to growth; you have to call failing situations early rather than stringing people along, and he references Branson's approach of deciding to move on from a failure and never dwelling on it again.
From episode 543→Watts argues discomfort with sales usually reflects a lack of clarity about the value you provide; selling is really about providing a service that solves a client's problem, not manipulating someone into buying something they don't need.
From episode 543→Mentioned on 2 episodes Ferguswasn’t on.
Every episode featuring Fergus Watts on The Daily Talk Show.
