I have just finished reading my great uncle’s autobiography. His story spans over seven decades, three continents and tells the story of four generations of my family. It made for an incredible read, and I was struck by the things he remembered most clearly and fondly. A particularly tasty dish. The smiles of his grandchildren. Conversations with his parents. Help from a stranger.
Reading from a different perspective reminded me that life is (for most) longer than the timescales we think of in our twenties. Sam Walton and Robin Chase began Wal Mart and Zipcar, respectively, in their forties. Peoples’ interests and passions develop over time. Follow yours, at every stage of your life. Work hard. Let success come in its own time. Expect opportunities disguised as setbacks. But recognise that it is often the small, unplanned moments that make for the best memories.
Here’s a puzzle:
1. I want to read a book.
2. I want it to be light and portable, so I can read it anywhere.
3. I want to be able to read any book I want, whenever I choose to.
What should I get?
Some quotes from events so far:
“Social media is not just Twitter or Facebook. Social media is about communication and listening.” Adele Barlow, Step One
“Everyone who has been incredibly successful has had a huge failure.” Lord Davies of Abersoch
“There will always be people who are smarter than you. Hire them!” Peter Jackson, Travelex
“We have one aim. To win.” McLaren
“Think strategically. Why won’t the category killer kill you?” Jeff Skinner, London Business School
“You must temper your passion with commerciality” Luke Johnson, Risk Capital Partners
“How would your investors act if things went wrong?” Joe Cohen, Seatwave
“I started by looking at what I had, and that was a network of talented people.” Caroline Plumb, FreshMinds
“Think about how technology disrupts and changes the way business operates.” Katie Potts, Herald Investment Management.
If you were booking an appointment, which of the following responses would you prefer to hear?
“3pm is free”
or
“We have a slot available at 3pm- does that work for you?”
Large, medium and small companies are very different. Imagine if your local café operated on the same scale as McDonalds. Would it look the same? Would it serve the same menu?
It’s useful to keep this in mind, especially for those working in large corporates who harbour hopes of starting up their own company. Luckily there are usually some lessons you can take away from a big company that can guide your actions in a startup environment.
For example, some of the ‘big company’ lessons I’ve picked up in the last three months are:
Mistakes are costly. They can cost a company money. They can cost customer services their time. Most importantly, they inconvenience a customer who has decided to spend their money on your product. These are just some of the reasons that businesses invest in recruiting the right staff, training them well and testing that they provide a consistent service.
However, some may argue that a level of human error is inevitable. Regular error is a cause for concern, but even your best employee (or you) can have a moment of uncertainty. What is the best way to deal with such mistakes?
When shadowing a CEO, the calibre of meetings you attend is incredibly high. There are people with decades of industry experience; specialized knowledge; and sharp intuition. If they express an interest in your opinion at any point, it’s important to turn what might be a daunting experience into an opportunity to have your voice heard.
1. Know why they are asking you
Imagine you’re a straight male in your mid 20s. You’re in a bar and you see a girl. You decide you want to get her number. How do you get it?
It’s a fun scenario but also a useful analogy for selling, which I’ve been doing on the DFS shop floor this week. Of course, the analogy is not perfect (you can choose to swap genders etc) but for now we’ll stick to this for the sake of simplicity. No offence intended. Disclaimers done, let’s see what happens next.
Entrepreneurs are often described as being charismatic. They have an infectious passion that spreads through their products, employees and brand. Think Richard Branson. However, if you don’t exude God-given charismatic authority, here are some tips I’ve picked up from the last two weeks of sales training, shadowing and NEF workshops:
1. Names are crucial.
