Plus ça change…

That’s a pretty ridiculous expression!

How can something that keeps changing stay the same? What does it apply to? Who does it apply to? Who uses the expression and is the expression itself in need of an update?

Well, in the business world it’s not very difficult to think of examples of change. When I first began working internationally, the trips were referred to as safaris and receiving a telegram from an overseas agent was not uncommon! This of course was quickly replaced by the telex. The telex was overtaken by the fax and the fax was killed off by email – and all that over a period of only 40 years or so.

Over roughly the same period I can remember clunky desk phones giving way to mobiles like house bricks. Car phones that filled the glove box gave way to the luxury of in-car hands-free communication.

When I made by first business flight to Durban with the very exclusive and business-like British Airways, little did I suspect how budget airlines would come along and totally transform air travel for all.

So, massive change and, as we all know, the pace of that change is now break-neck as we rush into strange concepts like internet specs and driverless cars and so on.

And yet, in the context of business I hear a lot of people saying lately that the old methods are still the best. I suppose the problem is, as with most fundamentals in business, old stuff looks exactly what it is and value is a difficult concept to sell. We all love the idea of something new and that little expression might just be useful in reminding us that the underlying values need never change.

People still buy people, as another popular expression goes, and for my money they always will.

Yes, it’s important to keep up in the race for “new” – how many consumer products get a new lease of life simply by the addition of the word “new” in bright letters on the top right-hand corner of the pack? But for long-lasting business success it might be a good idea to think deeper and work out what’s going on beneath the surface.

Clearly it would be Luddite to deny that the instinct for change, which we all have, is anything but a force for good. Optimism and inventiveness are all bound up with change and what business will not profit from having those qualities in the mix? We need to constantly renew and refashion as we search for better ways of doing things and more efficient ways of living our lives.

On the other side of the coin, it’s also good to remember that a vital sense of stability and security can spring naturally from simply not changing at all.

So it would seem that plus ça change may not be a tired old expression that’s outlived its usefulness – perhaps that’s why we keep using it?

It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it…

Reading about the kerfuffle caused recently by a footballer getting upset over a forgotten birthday cake, I started to think about special events in the workplace.

Whether or not that particular player was genuinely aggrieved is of course hard to say, given the hype that often abounds in the world of football. It could have been a gambit to presage a move from the club or a negotiating tactic to increase the weekly wage packet. On the other hand it may have been entirely genuine and symptomatic of how he was treated behind the scenes when not scoring goals on the pitch.

Just because he is a famous footballer and very high profile does not mean we can waive the rules of engagement. On both sides of the fence, whether managed or a manager, it’s generally a good idea to treat everyone in the workplace with respect. I think probably everyone will acknowledge that fact if questioned in isolation but how many of us actually behave like that consistently and unerringly?

Yet, by failing to keep up high standards of relationship building in our daily business lives we run the risk of failing to motivate or, worse, giving cause for disaffection. A recent study by Accenture - and reported in the Times - revealed that 43 percent of those surveyed cited “lack of recognition” as a reason for unhappiness at work.

Trained as we are from a very early age in almost every walk of life to look for faults that need correcting, we sometimes forget to look for the positive. By instinct we strive to solve the problems that are blocking our path to the holy grail of sustainable business growth. We spend hours trying to fix what’s broke whereas in reality there may be a lot more to be gained by polishing up the assets under our noses!

We all know that the people are the most important asset in a business but how many of us forget to give the metaphorical birthday cake once in a while? And it doesn’t have to be lavish of course – far more important that the feeling behind the gesture is authentic. Wishing someone “congrats” on Linkedin may be a step in the right direction but is a formulaic statement like that really going to do the job?

And why not give a compliment in the other direction too – even managers or directors need encouragement and support. It’s not a one-way street and of course the benefits of the gesture can flow in both directions.

Perhaps giving a cake is the best way to ensure that you receive one in return?

Surrounded by growth…

I see growth has been in the headlines a lot lately. Earnest and learned think tanks have confirmed the end on the “Great Recession “is nigh. NIESR has revised up its estimate for GDP growth for 2014 from 2.5% to 2.9%. The economy is or will be shortly bigger than it was in 2008. I could go on…

However, I thought it might be interesting to take a different tack and see what other growth indicators might be of relevance to us all. Are there other signs that might give us confidence of being able to battle our way out of the deepest and longest recession we have ever known? Do stats alone do it or do we each need something more tangible and more powerful?

I got to thinking about this as I was walking my faithful dog over the green hills of Cheshire. Musing on what might put these encouraging but essentially dry economic facts into context I tried to look at the big picture. Is there a logical narrative that flows through all the twists and turns we’ve all experienced in business since 2008? Is there anything that ties it all together and makes more sense than just stark headlines or lifeless statistics on a printed or digital page?

At the risk of being laughed out of court I’m going to suggest that the unifying theme could be nature. I know it’s a tenuous link but does that matter if it does the job?

When I first started work for a multinational chemical producer my manager often used to talk about seeing “the green shoots of recovery”. Long before the media got hold of such expressions and used them to excess he used to talk about tending delicate seedlings from which a strong and mature business would grow. Gardening and natural metaphors abounded of which Percy Thrower himself would have been proud.

So I think my old boss might approve of my stance today. Toiling over the hills in all kinds of weather I see at first hand the results of nature’s work. I can frequently see storm damaged trees on one side followed immediately on the other by the most resplendent wisteria blooms imaginable.

For me this is a fantastic reminder of where we have been and where we are now. I’m reminded of what harsh treatment has been doled out as the sights of destruction are still visible. Equally though, I’m now able to feast my eyes on bluebells in record-breaking abundance, cow parsley that shimmers at almost shoulder height and wisteria so heavy and dense it hides the wall its hanging almost entirely from view.

Which will inspire me and drive me more – reading the Economist or walking in the Bickerton Hills? I think you can guess! What will you draw on for inspiration?

Is motivation worth the sweat?

“He failed to motivate them! They were bereft of motivation!”

So ran some of the headlines when one of the North West’s most famous football clubs recently sacked its manager. The fact that motivation had gone missing seemed to be vastly more important than purchasing the right players, choosing the appropriate tactics or putting in the effort on the training pitch.

And this is a serious matter – whether you follow football or not you probably can’t have failed to see this story. How often do you see the word “bereft” in your daily newspaper? For me it brought to mind the famous Monty Python sketch in which a certain parrot was dead, no more and ultimately bereft of life!

In some ways, this felt like someone had died. So it certainly provides a good backdrop for considering if motivation is a skill worth talking about. The context is wide-reaching and it was no accident that one of the commentators brought in by the BBC to discuss this topic was a Harvard professor of business. The skills needed to lead a football team are exactly the same ones needed to lead a team in the world of business.

David Moyes, in my humble opinion, did indeed fail to motivate. I personally felt sorry for him as his tragedy was played out in the full glare of the cameras but then again he was well remunerated for taking those risks. However, I felt he must take responsibility for failing to motivate – any seasoned business person will tell you how vital a “soft skill” motivation is.

Perhaps calling it a soft skill is partially where the problem stems from. For Moyes, there was nothing remotely soft about the nature of this skill which eluded him so teasingly and painfully. So called soft skills are vital in the world of business. The fact that they are linked so closely to emotional behaviour often makes them less accessible to people not prepared or able to change hardened attitudes and take them on board.

It’s not for me to decide whether Moyes was guilty or just unfortunate but insofar as he’s demonstrating a lack of motivational skills which are undeniably vital to successful business I ‘m going to put in my two penn’orth!

Why use the word “hope” when talking publicly about how his players will perform in the future? To my mind this subtly reveals you are hoping and praying which suggest strongly that you haven’t motivated yourself, let alone the players! Hope is not a strategy and even soft things like motivation need planning. Perhaps, like some business people, he underestimated the value of a seemingly optional concept like motivation.

One thing’s for sure, motivation is hard to build up but it can disappear in a second as you fall off the cliff – better not to fall in the first place as it’s an awfully hard climb back up to the top!

Can a brand cause sleepless nights?

In this case – yes! A certain hotel chain, fronted by the amiable comedian Lenny Henry, is currently looking to build a new 60-bed premises in Ambleside. As surely almost everyone will know – Ambleside is one of the Lake District’s finest destinations. Put yourself in the shoes of those people living in Ambleside or those engaged in running the village’s thriving independent B+B’s or small independent hotels. I imagine there were more than a few winks of sleep lost as the news broke of this new proposal.

But what of the people who simply visit this fabulously beautiful North West tourist delight? Once we start to consider their views I think we might get some powerful insights into the power of brands. Or should that be the hazards of brands? By examining the challenges faced by practitioners of the dark art of branding maybe we will understand better some of the issues involved.

As there are something like 1500 beds already available for tourists in Ambleside, this represents a modest increase of nearly 5% but I would suggest the struggle will be titanic. Battling with locals, planners and general lovers of the Lake District, the brand will have to be extremely resilient even to get to first base. This is not an academic exercise – people love the Lake District and for everyone who says this will encourage more visitors to the area there is a voice which claims it will be a blight on the landscape.

But, assuming go-ahead is given, the battle is far from over as I know well from my experience in marketing brands to the public. It may take many years of detailed research, subtle marketing and persistent brand support to ensure sustained sales. The bad news is it can take next to no time at all for the public to turn its back on that brand. Years of work may be ended and you will not even be involved in the decision process. The public is fickle and investors in brands need to know that.

My example refers to consumer products on the shelves of a supermarket – obviously we’re talking about something on a far larger scale here. If a product is delisted then it is pretty soon forgotten and can be replaced by better and more customer-friendly versions. But what can you do with a 60-bed hotel if the expected visitors don’t come? The stakes are high – win and the Lakes will probably attract a new demographic and get fresh blood to keep it alive longer – lose and the fragile beauty of the whole region is compromised. Think of Prince Charles’s friend with the embossed carbuncle on his face! Poor old Ambleside is faced with a gamble if it goes ahead – let’s hope it does its homework well and pays attention to the branding messages which will be pushed out at every opportunity.

In my humble opinion, this one is an extremely hot potato which could be burning hands for a long time to come whatever the outcome.

Business is no laughing matter.

That statement might well ring true for some people.  It’s all too easy to lose your sense of humour in the heat of the battle – especially when you’re fighting on a daily basis to make your business venture a success. But, pause for a second to reconsider like I did and you might just decide to take a different view.

What got me thinking about this was the story concerning Arsène Wenger’s 1000th match in charge of Arsenal football club. He was given an award at a ceremony hosted by Sir Chips Keswick, the Arsenal chairman. Unfortunately for Sir Chips, he stumbled over his words and congratulated the manager on achieving the laudable milestone of 1000 years in charge! Like the consummate professional he is, Arsène Wenger covered the potential embarrassment with a daft joke. He quickly replied how being in charge for a 1000 games had certainly made him look a 1000 years old. As you might imagine, I wasn’t at the ceremony but I can fully picture the scene and easily imagine those circumstances transposed to a business setting.

There was probably a shared laugh which diffused the tension surrounding the gaffe. The audience no doubt thought better of Arsène Wenger for his generosity and Sir Chips had the opportunity to laugh at himself and reveal his human side. Win win as far as I can see and the relationship between the two men probably strengthened not weakened.

Pretty much the same in business I feel. As the world gets tougher, more competitive and more volatile it seems to me a good idea not to forget basic weapons like a good sense of humour. Whether you’re making a presentation, negotiating with a landlord or dealing with an irate customer, humour can be a good ally.

The second reminder of this came recently when I hosted a post-budget presentation on the North West economy with the IoD’s chief economist, James Sproule, as my speaker. I confess to being a little apprehensive as some 50 people gathered in the room to hear the presentation. Although this had been mostly a positive budget for business, economics can on occasions be a dry topic. A combination of facts and figures and obsessive detail on comprehension-defying subjects such as annuities can send anyone to sleep. So it was with some relief that I could thank the speaker for having been not just informative but also charismatic! By wrapping up the facts in a blanket of humour, wit and parody, the speaker had managed to fully engage the audience, make his content memorable and left them all wanting more.

We can’t all be charismatic to that extent but I like to keep trying – sounds odd but maybe humour is worth a bit of serious consideration.

Does our maths teaching add up?

According to recent reports, Wales is lagging behind in provision of maths skills for young people - fact! There are statistics galore to prove this and no shortage of government ministers queuing up to apportion blame.

But let’s stop before we jump on the band wagon and maybe try to deflect blame onto politicians or teachers or anyone else but ourselves.

There was an interesting comment made recently that negative remarks made about maths by parents in front of their children was partially to blame. I watched a feature on this on the BBC and the father in question had his children sitting behind him whilst chatting to the interviewer. The children were playing on a huge touchscreen computer and appeared to be not very focused or engaged on whatever it was they were doing. The body language strongly suggested to me aimless filling in of time and it did not appear to be giving the children much pleasure either.

I just wonder if that readiness to abandon the child to the mercies of a screen is symptomatic of the attitude that abounds. By making negative remarks about maths in front of children, adults are reinforcing stereotypical images which can and clearly do stop a child from putting in enough effort. If the responsible adult gives in to the majority view, presumably whilst able to see the value of maths skills, what a glorious opportunity to motivate the child is lost.

I know from my own experience of learning maths what a challenge is involved and I fully recognise the size of the task. But equally I also know, and this is backed up from my experience in the world of business, that taking responsibility is what makes all the difference. Parents must not only refrain from running down the study of maths – they probably need to do a refresher course themselves before throwing themselves into the job of motivating their children to learn.

There have been examples of parents learning signing skills to communicate with a deaf child and I have heard of some spreading that skill around the NHS to benefit others. Granted, this is an extreme example but to me it illustrates what single-minded determination can achieve.

A child can still communicate with his or her friends if deficient in maths but what about holding down a job in the quicksand of today’s viciously competitive world? A parent or a business leader has a fabulous opportunity to foster skills irrespective of whether they excel themselves. Don’t waste that chance – take control and do the job!