Window Cleaner to Director: the career of Lawrence Doe

Why did you join SThree?

So why did I join SThree? I’ll level of you, completely honest, I was a window cleaner at the time, and I was cleaning the windows of number two Fouberts Place, which was head office.

I used to see them all walk in every day with their funny haircuts and shiny teeth. And I asked one of them one day what they did, and they said recruitment, and that was that.

I made contact. Got an interview with Simon Harbour and Gary Goldsmith. That was 1997.

What were your first impressions of SThree?

First impressions of SThree? It was actually Computer Futures at the time. And again, it was big tie knots, funny suits. They were talking a language I didn't really understand, and to be perfectly frank, I felt a bit out of my comfort zone, out of my a depth. That was my first impression.

How have things changed?

I’ve got more lines, more stories to tell. I actually quit on week six because I didn't think I could do the job. But a guy called Gary Goldsmith made me stay, he said you've got two ears and you’ve got one mouth, use them in that order, and I've always stood by that ever since.

What made you want to quit?

I felt I was out of my depth. Previously to being a window cleaner, I was a footballer. I was always in control, and suddenly I got into a situation like this where they were talking about things like closing, and opening, and I was like, what is this? I didn't know what I was doing.

But then I started to listen.

How did it feel to grow within the business?

Fundamentally, when you look at what we do. We're not building, jet engines here. We're not trying to, you know, put a man on the moon. It's actually quite simple job that we do. It's just that people make it complicated, and when I realised I was actually dealing with people and their emotions, you're not selling something doesn't move. You're selling something that talks, walks, it's got emotions. Then I started to go forward.

The way that I always judged it, was that success breeds success. And the better I got at it, the more I wanted of it. That was always my mantra.

What impact did SThree have on your life?

I was a window cleaner.

I was quite happy with being a window cleaner. And then all of a sudden, you know, this opportunity comes up, it's allowed me to do things I would never ever of dreamt of, ever.

I always thought when you worked in a firm, you know, you only become a director if someone died or retired. And to get here after ten years in the business, was a pretty special day.

What advice would you give to someone working at SThree?

Be authentic, and be prepared to work hard. Fundamentally, I still argue it now, to this day. The job that we do isn't that difficult. We've been told for years that computers would take the place of us, {blah blah blah}. It hasn’t happened.

So fundamentally, the actual job that we do is we’re trying to put a person onto a seat, and then do it again and again and again. The hard bit is the application, and the hard work it takes.

What does the future hold for SThree?

If you realistically look at this, we're only just scratching the surfaces of some of these markets that we're in. There's markets that we don't even know about that will come up. So for me, the future is massive.

This culture and this firm, will be long after I've gone.