Ford Models' John Caplan Blogs: The Beauty of Innovation

John Caplan spends a lot of his time with models, but that's not what makes him a Playa. What does is that since 2002 he has set about turning Ford Models from a great modeling agency into a diversified global outfit with a growing media business. Today, he blogs for Portfolio readers, giving his inside advice on building and nurturing a great company. One day. One place: Portfolio.com.

Working at Ford Models is better than you think.

If you're like most of the people I meet, you probably imagine beautiful models, exotic travel, time spent with the most creative and innovative people in the fashion and beauty worlds.

These things are all certainly true, but the part of the job that makes the company so dynamic (and interesting) is the way the company functions and innovates unlike any business that I've ever been associated with. As a result, it also performs better.

During my tenure at Ford Models, the company has tripled in size, bought businesses, created a media business, expanded internationally, increased EBITDA 7x and brought in a private equity investor. The credit for these accomplishments rests squarely on the shoulders of the culture at Ford Models and the unique way we operate the business.

So let me explain how we operate. First, we are not a command and control company. I do not "run" Ford Models. This is really true. I'm more like a conductor of an orchestra than I am an old-fashioned executive making every decision or having (or pretending to have) every answer.
More specifically, here's some key ways that we work and some of the things we believe:

Innovation is encouraged - our media business was built out of the realization that young people around the globe crave access to the Ford Model Life and that we can create programming (content and events) that brings this to life for them. So in a very short time, we've built a team that creates content, partners with brands, and has taken a six-decade old b2b company and transformed it into a new media pioneer without ever raising venture financing.

Another example of this is that we've launched a business representing Hair and Make-up Artists that has become a large part of our revenue by hiring very talented managers and cross promoting with our model business.

It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. We try lots of new ideas, some are very exciting and successful (our media business) and some less so and fail (a Ford Models office in Atlanta we shut after six months). No matter what, however, we innovate everyday.

We've distributed decision-making across our business units (men, women, artists, etc) and locations (offices in U.S., Europe, South America,) so the smart people managing the careers of the world's most beautiful are choosing how to build their careers rather than waiting for "headquarters" to bless or make decisions.

In fact, although the company was founded in NYC, I do not think of that office as headquarters at all. Headquarters is defined as the place that clients, models, and staff) interact with the company, and the CEO is the person that you're talking to.

Got a question for John Caplan about specifics about Ford Models' media plans, his attitude about body image and the responsibility that we have towards positive images for young people, or his perception of Make Me A Supermodel? Post a comment and he'll respond.