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Duchess on the Estate August 21st, 2009

It has been an interesting week. UKFast, finalists in the National business awards, winners of 2 ISPA accreditations, but the icing on the cake for me was a very small event, a dinner party with the Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York. I am not one for being dazzled by stars of any type. I grew up in my 20′s with some very famous friends and girlfriends, Ashley Paske from Neighbours, Craig Charles from Red Dwarf and it taught me that fame comes with a very expensive price tag. You loose all sense of privacy and there is literally no where to hide. And the more famous you become, the bigger the price tag! Michael Jackson is a good example of this. A man who… Read the Rest »

Posted in Business motivation, Lawrence Jones, Manchester, People development, UKFast, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Growing your business July 11th, 2009

I was recently asked by the TechTrack or FastTrack what was the most challenging thing that faced our business over the past decade. It is a difficult answer and to define one event as anyone in business will know it is a fast paced journey of peaks and troughs and no 2 days are alike. The most difficult challenge I face and continue to face is the pace I am required to develop. 10 years ago the skill set I had to set up a small business was very different to the one I now have running a multimillion pound organisation. That in itself presents challenges year after year. I know if I’d walked into a business the size of UKFast 10 years ago, I could not… Read the Rest »

Posted in Business advice, Business motivation, Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Spirit, Lawrence Jones, People development, UKFast | No Comments »

Jim Collins Egg and Chicken concept March 11th, 2009

It may look as though UKFast sprang out of nowhere suddenly winning awards and accreditations for a wide variety of things however what we are now experiencing is nothing new. Countless businesses before us go through the exact same process. We have for a decade (in September) been slogging away with the rest of the world oblivious to our presence. This is typical in the business world, and the best analogy of this comes from Jim Collins the author of the best selling business books “Good to Great” and “Built to Last”. He describes this common scenario in businesses by describing his “chicken and egg concept.” “Imagine an egg” he describes, “sat there doing nothing. Totally uninteresting to the outside world, yet inside there is… Read the Rest »

Posted in Business advice, Business motivation, Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Spirit, Lawrence Jones, UKFast | 3 Comments »

Are accolades important? May 29th, 2008

I congratulate the winner of this year’s EN Entrepreneur award, Bruntwood’s Chris Oglesby. In a tough environment I thought this was a very fair result. He is a worthy winner and the rapturous response he received when his name was announced reaffirms that he is a great entrepreneur and has the popular vote amongst the business community. UKFast was a sponsor of the awards this year and I have to say I was pleased with the result. It is difficult to find another organisation that has done as much for Manchester as Bruntwood. There are many awards nowadays and some people think that the sentiment behind the ceremony has been diluted. But personally I like to view them very positively. I am honoured to have… Read the Rest »

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