It was the perfect New Years Eve. It was 1999. I was in Vermont in the US the home of the famous film, A White Christmas. As the clock struck midnight, I walked outside in the snow hand in hand with the new girl in my life. Its a beautiful place and at the start of the Millennium it was a landmark moment that I am able to look back at. We were not well-off, we had very little and if I am honest, I was barely keeping up with my mortgage repayments, but we had our health and dreams to make a better life. UKFast was only months old and we sat down in front of the log fire the next day and wrote out… Read the Rest »
It seems like a lifetime ago when I arrived in Manchester. What a city, what an era. Bloxham was selling posters in Afflecks Palace, Ferguson had just arrived at United, Tony Wilson was giving the Factory a whole new meaning. Tim Bacon was a barman in JWJohnsons, Oglesby was at Cheadle Hulme where only weeks earlier I’d been playing against him on the great British rugby fields. Bruno was holding centre stage at the French Restaurant, at the then Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Midland Hotel. I was the cheeky piano player busking my way through life. I had never been so poor, but I had certainty that something good was just over the horizon. I learnt pretty early on that it was never going to… Read the Rest »
So you want to be successful? Just how far are you prepared to go? Do you have what it takes? Do you know what it takes? All these questions need answering if you stand a chance of making a difference in your lifetime. The answers you give are all relative to the results that you will arrive at too. The more committed, the more passionate, the more determined, the bigger the outcome. The same philosophy applies to everything in life, sport, parenting, education. It is so simple, if you want to be good at something, you have to get obsessed and practice over and over again until you become an expert. As Tony Robbins says, “Repetition is the mother of skill.” Show me an expert… Read the Rest »
This week saw the fashion retailer Henley’s file for administration. It only seems like yesterday when Simon and Ben the 2 owners sat with me at a Sale Sharks match discussing online retail. One of the boys confidently said, “our customers need to touch and try on our garments, we will never do more much than the £10,000 per month we are doing now. The online shop can’t compete with our high street stores” This sounded very much like a challenge. And as someone who hosts hundreds of online retailers, some huge ones too, I knew I couldn’t lose. I bet them £1 I could prove them wrong. Sitting with my web designers and marketing team, we immediately found ways of improving their system. Their… Read the Rest »
As someone who is fixated on growing and motivating my team to be the best at what we do, I am always trying to understand what are the key driving points that make some people incredibly successful. I was about to start blogging about the fact that when you have a wife and children, suddenly you seem to become more successful. I first came accross this theory when Vernon Lord a then finance director at Granada jokingly commented that he disliked me, there is always a little truth in the jest. He said, “you have no wife, kids, loan repayments, school fees, ex-wives. You have nothing that ensures you have to perform.” I reminded him that I’d never missed my target and that I was… Read the Rest »
“It hurts doesn’t it.” “What’s that?” I replied. “That feeling inside of you now…. it hurts doesn’t it.” It certainly did and although I smiled, I thought, I am not giving him the pleasure of saying that again. I realised why he is such a great motivator. That’s all he had to say, a simple observation, making me focus on the pain I was feeling and boy it hurt all the more. I had been warned that this is Richard Branson’s game. We were the last to leave the beach, all the others had gone back up the hill to the Great House. It was after midnight and Richard said, “Right, who’s for a game of Perudo?” If you were like me and had no… Read the Rest »
It’s another day at the office, on the outside everything looks normal, if there is such a thing at UKFast. By normal, I mean people down the corridor bouncing on trampettes, heated discussions at every pod of desks, a queue of people wanting to share their latest thoughts and innovations. I walk past someone sticking large brightly coloured letters onto the wall, spelling out our future. I love this place. I love the energy and the people. I caught her eye. She smiled, but not the usual reflex smile, but one from someone who is making a concerted effort to put on a brave face. Following me into my den, Rach put down my coffee and said, “she doesn’t want anyone to know, but she’s… Read the Rest »
A million things go through your mind while you are sat there waiting….. I consoled myself saying “it doesn’t really matter” over and over again, but deep down, it does. There is a table full of colleagues and guests all having a great time and there are 125 people back at work relying on me to bring home the trophy. Without them, there is no UKFast. Awards do give everyone in the business a lift. UKFast is a group of amazing, dynamic, innovative people. When UKFast gets nominated for an award, it is the team that deserves the credit. Even though it’s called the Entrepreneur of the Year award, there should be no mistake. This award represents the entrepreneurial spirit in UKFast, the under current… Read the Rest »
“Why should I invest in my staff? I already pay them very well. I dont want to socialise with them, they work for me!” These are some of the common responses you hear from business people. And there lies the problem. The “them and us” philosophy. A manager is someone who manages and evaluates peoples KPI’s. Dross! If you are part of a well organised unit, a manager will know his or her team inside out and will be socialising with their team regularly. I don’t mean at a token Christmas Party, I mean a real togetherness. And yes when you do celebrate something together, do it in style. We had our UKFast 10 Year Anniversary and held it at the Palace Hotel, Manchester with a… Read the Rest »
I can finally breathe a sigh of relief as the new week marks the beginning of the new era at UKFast. With UKFast’s 10 Year Anniversary Party at the Palace now a fond memory, I can reflect on the funny stories now that I know the night was a success. It was 11 years ago at Granada I first used the Grand Ballroom at the Palace for an event. It was to raise money for the Christie’s For Cancer Appeal. The night was a huge success and I fell in love with the room. It is the perfect room for hosting a ball. I knew the hotel well, as I’d originally played the piano there in my early years when I first came to Manchester…. Read the Rest »
