Cycling is Apollo’s managing director Jonathan D’Arcy’s big passion when he’s not running the Aberdeen-based offshore engineering firm.
He also likes to rope his team into various sporting events throughout the year – from the Baker Hughes 10k to this years Great Aberdeen Run.
But it is football analogies he resorts to when asked about his management style on a baking hot day in his office, overlooking the Granite City harbour.
On building his team of like-minded individuals, he said: “The man up-front has to trust the goalkeeper.
“But it’s not just about scoring the most goals. You have to enjoy the taking part.
“Everybody knows that businesses need to be profitable and need to be growing. I don’t see how stating that changes anyone’s behavior – it’s not a strategy.
“I think you need to inspire people in order to get them to do the best job they can.”
He added: “There used to be man marking in oil and gas. For every six technical guys there was another six people looking after them. It was unnecessary.
“Since 2015 our starting point has been ‘we will save you money’.
“We’ve got a great team of engineers, who are human and can speak to clients. You don’t have to lock them in a cupboard. They have the right attitude and are purposefully picked for the right attitude and the technical skills.”
The first six months of 2017 have been among the best on record at Apollo.
With a focus on engineering, rather than deadlines, the team at Waterloo Quay have delivered some solid results in the face of continued cost cutting across the oil and gas industry.
D’Arcy said: “We have better outcomes than we have ever had.
“Earlier this year we had the best month in our history in terms of revenue and profit.
“Before 2014 value for money and cost saving really wasn’t a big ticket item. What mattered to people was just get this thing delivered.
“To me that’s always been as important as the cost.
“So suddenly with the downturn that message that we had been pushing for years fell on listening ears.
“It was then up to us to prove it. And that’s how we grew a lot of relationships.”
Since the downturn D’Arcy’s team has managed to start poaching clients from tier one contractors like Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler by offering effiencies and bespoke start to finish engineering solutions.
And the engineering led strategy and associated cost savings accrued from questioning convention in the financially tight time of the downturn is seeing business booming for the firm.
However for D’Arcy it’s the thrill of the day to day that keeps him going..
D’Arcy said “Winning is fantastic but it’s not as big a buzz as actually doing it.
“I can’t be surrounded by people who are just ‘doers’. I need people like me. As an engineer its always about finding a fix. It’s lets find a solution – that’s how I approach business.
“We think along the lines of, if we tweak this can we deliver it better.
“It’s the equivalent of using a 32 tonne truck when actually all you need is a bicycle to get from A to B.
“It’s questioning the convention. Just because something has been done that way in the past – is it really the right way to go about it?”
Over recent years D’Arcy and his team have steered Apollo to new heights, increasing turnover and staffing levels accordingly.
That’s another key inspiration for the businessman.
He said: “I’m not a gambler. It’s far more rewarding and complex in business than say putting money on the 4:30 at Doncaster.
“I love business and I love engineering. I’m proud to be an engineer.
“The key thing for me is growing the business.
“Growth inspires me as a challenge.”
And if things don’t go his way? He laughs it off.
D’Arcy said: “Humour is quite important in my life. As happy or as tragic as that can be.
“Nothing is as serious as life and death. So in a business context it’s important that nothing is more important than death.
“If we don’t win something that we are desperate to win then I’ll just make some awful joke about it and we move on.”
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