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 »
Who are the UKFast girls and what is their purpose? The UKFast girls work incredibly hard. They are all super intelligent, fun characters with big personalities with the caring gene which means they make the perfect hostesses. You find the UKFast Girls at all the outside events, Twickenham, Sale Sharks, Silverstone Grand Prix and all corporate hospitality. They also fly with me on a great deal of my business travels and commitments. I find it helps having fun people around. The girls help break the ice at events and play an invaluable role in so many areas of the businesses. They all double up in some capacity or other – be they a PA, sales person, account manager or even senior manager. By hanging around… Read the Rest »
The Lodge If you go to the Virgin Limited Edition website we will see a whole host of amazing properties. They all have a similar style of layout with long sociable dining tables, comfy spacious chill-out lounges and bars where you can help yourself to just about any drink or cocktail you can dream up. One of my favourites is The Lodge. It is particularly special to me as my early memories of the Alps always involve bus trips and cheap hotels. As I grew a little older I progressed to chalets, but invariably you get what you pay for. I am in a fortunate position to be able to experience The Lodge, at £80,000 to £90,000 per week, it is a place for the… Read the Rest »
With the world grounded with the ASH AIR crisis , I considered the options. We were due to spend a week in the mountains redesigning our products and services with colleagues from UKFast. The word grounded didn’t figure high on my priorities as a kid. With scaffolding outside my bedroom window for a good few years, this was my usual exit when I wanted my own space. It was at these times, I used to head for the hills. 1. Cancel the Hosting Summit in Verbier 2. Wait for the news that we could take the private jet 3. Consider other options? I am confident at this point as the pilot had been on to the powers that run the airspace and in-spite of the… Read the Rest »
It amazes me how few businesses treat their staff to team building events. I remember as a smaller business we started to struggle to run events as the numbers were increasing and hotel bills and training fees were mounting. In the end, we brought our own training centre, that’s how seriously we took it, even back then. And now, a few years on, the difference between our tight knit culture and most businesses is evident, as soon as you walk through the door or pick up the phone. That phrase “think outside the box!” is a telling one but how many business owners and managers are guilty of staying in their box to do all their thinking. This week sees me heading off to Snowdon…. Read the Rest »
A decade ago when Gail Jones (then Gail Everton) and I embarked on the journey of setting up a business on the Internet, I had no idea what lay ahead. In fact if it wasn’t for a pretty horrendous experience when trying to register and host a domain called theGallery.com, we’d never have changed direction and set up a business in the hosting arena. And I suppose it was the “bad experience” which forged the direction we took to provide the very best in service right from the outset. It was this start which also gave us an understanding of exactly how a client feels when the hosting provider goes wrong or doesn’t listen. If you are a client of UKFast and you ever have… Read the Rest »
After a focus group with fellow entrepreneurs in the design, creative and PR sector recently, I left analysing why so many businesses were owner operated and they relied on the owner for everything. Bank managers, strategic advisors accountants, business consultants have all said to me at some point, all small businesses are about the “owner-operator” and take them away and they fail. I have always hated this attitude and could never understand it. Until today and after sitting with fellow business people and for a change I was the MD of the biggest business there, I could see how they arrived at their theory. We were discussing training. A subject I am passionate about and one I do not feel I am an expert at as… Read the Rest »
Well it’s out! For a few months we have been sitting on the news that UKFast are officially the main sponsors of Sale Sharks Premier rugby club. So why a sport sponsorship deal? It was not an easy decision spending millions of pounds of a hard earned marketing budget in one go, with the recession still firmly gripping society however I felt it important to take the opportunity and be decisive. Its a 3 year deal and when an opportunity as large as this comes up, in my opinion you grab it with both hands. It is also important to look beyond the economic downturn. The credit crunch will not last forever and it is important to stand by what you believe in. For those fans who… Read the Rest »
Have you ever wondered what is the ingredient guaranteed to improve your life? Dedication and commitment. Dan Innes a good friend to whom I owe my life after he and five friends dug me from an early grave after I was buried in an avalanche shows he has it in abundance. My earliest memories of Dan, outside of boyhood, was his 2 man effort rowing in a race across the Atlantic. No surprise 15 years on he is still growing strong with the same ingredients that makes him successful and larger than life: Dedication to whatever he sets his mind on and absolute commitment. It came as no shock when I heard Dan was taking on not one, but 4 events in less than 40… Read the Rest »
