Bill Morton, Chairman, Jack Morton Worldwide
Bill Morton is the chairman of Jack Morton Worldwide, a leading experiential marketing agency that is known for having created and produced some of the world’s biggest and most successful corporate and public events.
In 1963 Morton arrived in New York City with two suitcases, a degree in communications and an eye toward the future of the event industry. He started at Jack Morton Productions with just two people in the office.
Forty-one years later, Jack Morton Worldwide produced the 2004 Olympic Games’ opening and closing ceremonies in Athens, Greece. But Morton diverts personal credit. “I didn’t produce it,” he says. “I created an environment in which those people who produced it could produce it.”
Early in his career, Morton was inspired by the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York, which introduced never-before-seen multi-image and multimedia productions to the public. Morton was fascinated by the new technology and its application in events. Empowered by his father, Morton was instrumental in helping lead the event world down the path of leveraging this emerging technology — transforming events into experiences.
Morton trusted his instincts, never wavering in his belief that each event could be bigger, better and more innovative than the last. Always, he urges event professionals, be prepared to take intelligent, innovative risks to meet the needs of clients and companies.
Below are a few of his suggestions for growing with the event industry:
- Recognize that change is the greatest gift and blessing that we have. Change is our best friend. It keeps us on the cutting edge.
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Respect the work, the client and your team.
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Explore every possibility for experiences and events around the brand. There are so many means of blocking messages. Create events people will actually welcome.
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Develop leadership with vision, character and principals.
Morton continues to prefer speaking about the present and the future of the event industry, rather than the past.
“What are we doing? Where are we going? How do we get there?” he says. “That is all that counts.”
First year in the business: 1963.
What I thought I was going to be when I grew up: A stockbroker.
I got into the business because: I grew up in the convention entertainment business, which my father, Jack Morton, founded in Washington, D.C. When I was a child, he always made quality time for us together. I loved and admired him very much. I saw so many changes happening in the convention industry and felt that he would entrust and empower me to “do my own thing” in making our business grow and change.
Biggest event success: Every individual success is like thread in a cloth: It’s all woven together to create the whole. So it’s impossible to single out one event. When I arrived in New York, only two people were on staff. Seeing that office grow, and seeing our agency grow worldwide, has been enormously satisfying — but these accomplishments are made up of many individual successes along the way.
Worst event disaster: I don’t look at things that way. I don’t think in terms of a “biggest save.” You build redundancy into your systems to prevent disasters. You employ smart people. Meeting challenges head on, solving problems and incorporating the elements of constant change are all part of the DNA of a successful company — especially in the business of events.
Most valuable lesson learned: There are elemental guiding principals: trust, empowerment, honesty, integrity, fairness. Our company values are agility, passion and respect — for the business, the client and the people you count on.
Best piece of advice that I ever received: Follow your instincts. Do what you love to do. Look at your job as play, a game, a puzzle. Constantly look ahead. Where can you be? Where can you go? What can you do?