Alexei Orlov is a well-respected entrepreneur, business leader, and global brand manager with experience spanning 30 years across 40 countries and 50 companies. He is known for his leadership roles at Volkswagen Group China, Omnicom, and Wunderman, to name a few. He is also the founder of MTM, the global marketing, and communications holdings firm. Like other leaders, Alexei Orlov was among those who confronted the difficult task of adapting their businesses to the disruptive pandemic that hit the USA by way of Europe in early March 2020.
Alexei Orlov and the Great Pandemic
After the coronavirus swept through the USA, many were stripped from their daily routines, and businesses closed down to prevent the further spread of the novel virus. However, while some companies were unfortunately swept under due to their inability to open and create revenue during 2020. Most of these companies never got back, while others have held strong, pulling various strands to remain in business. The new market has also opened opportunities for brands to adapt, pivot, and through a series of major changes, see exponential growth in a year where it was not thought possible.
Alexei Orlov and his team at MTM took the challenge the pandemic offered and met it with excitement and grace. Orlov’s success through some of the darkest months in world history is precisely the reason we should all explore Alexei Orlov’s unique recipe for economic and brand-activated and overall success through the pandemic.
Leadership
At the beginning of the pandemic, where many businesses were shuddering immediately, Alexei Orlov saw the change in the world as a growth opportunity for MTM. Thankfully, Orlov could rely on his professional leadership experience and took the initiative to inspire his clients and his team to be leaders in this scary time. Alexei urged his colleagues to act more deliberately and make solid, specific choices, encouraging them to find new ways to progress and expand despite the state of the world. He called on his team to be leaders in exploring avenues and thoughtful connections that could boost brand authenticity for each client, but also for MTM.
Leadership has always been integral to the success of any company, but the pandemic meant it was even more critical for survival. Many employees were left without a routine and ended up doing more work with less impact. To combat this, Alexei urged everyone to assess their tasks and log everything they did. He then asked them to review the activities and find those that can wait, and reinvest the time in pursuing other important connections. The self-reflection proved useful as employees grew more aware of their extraneous involvements, and were able to refocus their energy and time into more meaningful moments.
Strategy
Alexei Orlov is a master strategist and has proven this during his leadership roles across 50 companies. Over the years, he has watched countless strategies play out with various objectives and believes having a strategy is most crucial for surviving the abrupt challenges brought by the pandemic. As a decorated creative strategist, Alexei could sense the opportunity to grow MTM in the face of uncertainty and was clear in his vision. Since everyone was battered, he needed a well-thought strategy that’s simple to implement and follow through on.
Alexei was all about eliminating the hard work and creating time to connect and reconnect with colleagues, employees, brand executives, and other stakeholders. According to him, the pandemic left us with nothing but time to strategize for the next move as everything happened suddenly. He urged MTM and other companies within the “under 2.5 years old” bracket to prioritize authentic connections, including person to person, brands to their customers, and B2B. Alexei Orlov’s strategy was to maintain the connections and use the extra time to adapt to the new world.
Objectivity
Objectivity is another vital ingredient in Alexei Orlov’s professional success and is seamlessly intertwined with leadership. Orlov has enjoyed success when he is objective about all steps. Objectivity was in high demand amid the pandemic, where resources drastically dropped. There was no room for waste, which is why Alexei petitioned everyone to root out extraneous habits. The goal was clear; to survive and thrive, but it is easier said than done. With no proven success formula for surviving COVID-19, Orlov and other leaders had to be objective about all decisions.
The first step was to analyze the situation and come up with a strategy. Next, members needed to evolve into leaders who can act deliberately and make vital decisions. More importantly, the team needed to adhere to professional standards to create brand authenticity in the wake of collapsing routines and interactions. This objectivity helped MTM, and its brands excel and gain more clients when others were crumbling.
Refinement
The long pandemic night called for refinement in every sense of the word. Business processes were interrupted, and previously efficient frameworks were no longer feasible. Managers and leaders had to ensure all processes are refined to eliminate redundancy, resource waste, and inconsistencies. Once the goals are clear, strategies need fine-tuning and constant evaluation to move in the right direction. Orlov led the way and called on his counterparts and employees to do the same by establishing a connection that maintained professionalism outside the usual workplace.
Refining the routines and business processes also made it easier for employees to perform their job and eliminated extraneous activities. The model was efficient, enabling everyone to do much less yet achieve more and better results. This refinement also made it easier to evolve the business process to accommodate new requirements. For Alexei and his team, the goal was to excel under the circumstances rather than waiting for things to get better. After all, the pandemic left no assurance for the future, so surviving the storm was the fundamental objective.
Alexei Orlov Creates Magic with the Right Ingredients
For Alexei Orlov, these are a few of the ingredients used to ensure that he, his teammates, and his MTM clients weathered the critical moments of 2020 with a sense of focused, forward progress.
Alexei Orlov is constantly looking for ways to improve with creative strategies born out of necessity. When the pandemic hit the world, he went to his home in Connecticut and assessed the situation based on his experience. He strategized and led his team, learning and adapting through the process. He has helped more than 160 clients sustain their brands through uncertain times and ensured 2020 was the most profitable year for MTM. 2021 is set to be even better, and he continues to explore new connections to expand his business and help other companies do the same.
Find out more about Alexei Orlov and MTM today and explore the best solutions for success in and out of a pandemic.
Comment here