Its been a great start to the year. I am not able to give you profit figures yet as its a little early, however I can confirm that we had another record year in 2011. In the last 5 years we have grown 630%. If we maintained that, we’d hit £100m in the next 5 years. We have our work cut for us if we want to keep up this momentum though as it is technically harder to increase percentage growth year on year whilst growing organically. Its the first thing analysts question, “how do you intend on maintaining this trajectory?” The simple answer is, you don’t, unless each year you increase every area in identical proportion to your turnover. Its very difficult to achieve this… Read the Rest »
I have just returned from a week in Castell Cidwm our Training Centre and second home in the Snowdonia National Park. No email, no internet, power cuts, sideways rain and no mobile phone access. Brilliant! Castell Cidwm is an inspiring place, a real hive of activity. This week we had various groups down doing different activities. A few of the directors were giving the UKFast Management Training Program a final polish, whilst I had the arduous task of taking a team of apprehensive colleagues through the hills above Beddgelert. I don’t need much of an excuse to get my walking boots on. I get a great deal more done in the peace and quiet of the mountains as opposed to being back in the office. I… Read the Rest »
I got the call I’d been half expecting, for a number of months. “I am disappointed,” I said, “but not surprised.” Its the end of an era. “It is being made official in the morning and there is an embargo on the story until 10am tomorrow. Charlie Hodgson is resigning in the morning.” I was leaving for Verbier in the morning, for a few days skiing and boarding with the family and friends from work. Charlie is someone who I’d consider one of the most underrated fly-halves in todays game. Underrated or not, you have to treat people nicely who work for you, and if you want incredible results my advice is you need to go overboard on the “lavishing praise” aspect of management. The lavishing… 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’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 »
I remember at Ruthin School, we had an armory with hundreds of guns. Mainly World War II rifles, 303′s Enfield rifles, but we had a number of Bren guns too, a lethal machine gun last used in the Falklands. I was considering the army as a career choice. Every Monday we’d dress in full army uniform for school. It was called CCF (Combined Cadet Force) and is connected to some of my fondest memories running and climbing in the mountains and crawling through the mud of SENTA, an area approximately 31,000 acres (12,000 ha) of Ministry of Defence freehold land in Sennybridge, Wales. It was on one of the firing ranges at 15 years old that it was explained to me that the Bren Gun… Read the Rest »
“Well, I lost them when I mentioned we have trampolines in reception. The 3 man panel looked a little embarrassed.” Said Jonathan Bowers. “Their eyeballs were bulging. One of the men plucked up the courage and asked, “why? Why would you do that?” He had been answering questions after a presentation for an award we are finalists for. They asked him about motivation. Its a classic question, because very few people truly understand what motivates people. They assume it’s money. It is never money. Most people use fear, but fear is short lived. Sustained success is never built on fear. I often wonder why people ask questions when they are frightened to hear the answer. I believe they ask the question, hoping to find the person… 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 »
Well its been an interesting week. I have lost a few staff who grew up in London and wanted to move closer to home. There is not really a lot you can do about that except wish them well and keep the door open. I used to hate losing valuable team members, but these days I take much more of a pragmatic approach. There are so many great people out there, losing someone is a massive opportunity to strengthen the team. If someone is leaving, it is fair to say they have been off their best for sometime. I have never met someone who has left at the top of their game. Even high achievers who leave with a big bang and a great final… Read the Rest »
Everyone is talking about the World Cup and in particular the performance of the England team. Much is made of the money they earn and the lack of spirit they demonstrate. For everyone sitting on the sidelines (some who have saved and spent a considerable sum to go to Africa) this is a particularly upsetting state of affairs. So what is wrong? I am someone who enjoys a challenge and I spend time observing behaviour. So England’s performance and particularly the reaction of Wayne Rooney interested me immediately. I remember meeting Coleen Rooney and her dad and brother whilst on holiday in the Caribbean at Sandy Lane. I didn’t spend much time with them, but enough to understand their values and the sort of people… Read the Rest »
