The Inspiration of Steve Jobs

Today’s early morning radio news flash that Steve Jobs had died brought me instantly awake. I knew he had been ill for some time, but the sudden news of his passing away shook me. I felt genuinely sad.

He was heralded as one of the world’s greatest business leaders, and he was in fact much more. He was a true visionary who was responsible for the birth, launch and development of Apple’s products. It was his personal commitment to innovation and attention to detail that underpinned the success of Apple.

I remember the first Apple product I had (I still have it) – a white 20GB iPod, which I received for Christmas in 2003. I was struck not only by the beauty and simplicity of the iPod’s appearance, but also by the exquisite packaging. I almost didn’t want to take the iPod out of its box!

But it wasn’t just the physical design – it was all about how the iPod would change the way I listened to music. As a teenager in the 1970’s my huge collection of LP’s was impossibly transportable. Later on, cassettes and CD’s allowed a limited amount music on the move. The iPod however enabled me to have my entire music collection with me at all times – and for an ardent music lover that’s perfection!

I was so impressed and encouraged that I bought an iBook in 2005, and in 2007 I bought my first iPhone a couple of weeks after its launch. Since then I’ve continued my trust and investment with the purchase of several more iPhones, MacBooks, and the iPad.

This might all sound materialistic, but it’s not mean to be. Rather, it’s a statement of my admiration of and love for  Apple products. Why – because the actual mechanics of the products contain a richness, depth and consistency of capability that not only outshines their competitors, but also makes my life so much easier and more fun.

The iPhone in my pocket is my communication centre (phone, email, social media etc). It gives instant accessibility to my diary and address book wherever I am, and also to a decent camera, my music and a whole host of really useful apps. What more do I need?

Whether I’m working with my iPhone or iPad or my MacBook, the sheer beauty and simplicity of the design makes everything so much more enjoyable. It all works seamlessly, and what excites me is the constant process of improvement and development.

And this is thanks to Steve Jobs. Apple was not a one-man show, but Steve Jobs was the visible leader, who made things happen. His ruthless pursuit of perfectionism ensured that the quality of design and engineering was as good as it could get. He inspired the thousands of Apple employees to constantly give of their best – and that is surely the greatest quality of a leader.

His influence and personality will be sorely missed. However his legacy will ensure that Apple will continue to be at the forefront of designing and developing some of the world’s most magnificent products. Steve Jobs – you inspired millions of people throughout the world – employees, customers, even your competitors. Long may your inspiration continue!

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The Micro economic update

As I’ve said several times previously, it’s often difficult to really understand what’s happening in the world of economics. Are we heading back into recession? The pessimists would say we’ve not yet come out. Is the UK economy really growing? Has inflation peaked? How will events in the Eurozone affect the UK economy?

So many questions, yet where are the answers? Looking beyond the media hype, there are only a few people I really look to. One is David Smith – Economics Editor of the Sunday Times – who invariably talks great sense in a balanced, comprehensive way (and is also regularly proved to be right!). Another is Sir Martin Sorrell – CEO of WPP, the world’s largest advertising group. I always make a point of listening to his quarterly updates. In particular because they represent a broad picture which incorporates above-the-line and below-the-line marketing – subjects which are very close to my professional heart.

In an interview during this morning’s Today programme, Martin Sorrell described some interesting scenarios. Firstly, WPP have continued to perform strongly in this year’s 2nd quarter , with profits up one third across the UK and US businesses. He spoke about the uncertainty at the macro level of the global economy. Yet at the micro level, and focusing on his own business, he said the first 6 months this year looked pretty good. His clients were doing quite well, and most were still ahead of forecast in Q2. Most interestingly, he explained that companies were investing in their brand, to maintain sales and their market share.

Since returning from holiday, I’ve had discussions with several of my clients, who describe similar scenarios. Yes – it’s tough and competitive out there. But – business activity levels remain positive and prospects look encouraging. Back in 2009, the picture from many design and marketing agencies was that their survival was possible through developing existing clients, maintaining a focus on new business, trimming unnecessary costs, and falling back on their reserves to get them through the credit crunch. The situation now demonstrates a level of confidence that has been gained through the ability to weather the recession, coupled with a steely determination not just to maintain sales but to grow revenues and profit.

Who knows what will happen over the course of the next couple of years, given that the macro, global economic picture is so volatile and uncertain. What I do find encouraging however is the evidence that in certain sectors, companies at the micro level are moving forward, not simply hanging on but as Martin Sorrell says, willing to invest in their brand.

Making friends with people and doing business with them

My wife started a catering business last year. She works hard, and she’s built up a great reputation. The business is successful and growing. However, her old Corsa is no longer big enough. She needs to buy a van. Being a lady, she wants it customised – metallic paint, passenger airbag, aircon, rear parking sensors etc. She looks around at local dealers and finds what she wants. The salesman spotted an opportunity, and demonstrated how not to win a client and close a sale.

He didn’t listen, so the initial process took twice as long to get to a quote. He then presented a figure, but forgot about the extras. So the quote – which he kept going back to ‘Ken’ for (sales manager presumably?) eventually exceeded the budget. Nevertheless he almost had us, then … let us go. Why – because he didn’t think!

He called back three days later; the pressure was on as the 20% offer finished at the weekend! We presented him with alternative quotes, which he failed to understand. Eventually, we asked for a formal written quotation. We received a 2-line email with the price.

Fortunately, we’d shopped around. My wife has now just placed an order for the same make but a better spec van, at a cheaper price. And the service (over the internet and phone) was excellent. The guy listened, he was charming, and he’s come up with the goods.

The moral? It’s easy to get encouraged by what appear to be good deals. But bad sales people get in the way. Why? Because they don’t take the time to listen or understand what the customer wants, and then they fail to follow up properly. It’s very easy to shop around these days thanks to the internet. And you don’t need to be a master negotiator. Ultimately, people will buy from people they like. One of the best answers I heard was from a salesman some years ago. In response to the question ‘what do you do best’, he replied ‘making friends with people and doing business with them’.

Fear makes the world go around

Larry Winget recently wrote an interesting blog item, on the theme ‘Fear makes the world go around’ - http://bit.ly/psxtXA

Larry describes himself as being an ‘irritational speaker’ – not a motivational speaker. Since I saw him speak several years ago, I’ve followed Larry, and read most of his books. He can come across as ‘in your face’, but in my opinion, he talks a lot of common sense.

The content of his blog entry is interesting, because whilst as always he’s provocative, he’s not wrong. Fear is a great motivator for getting things done. Why do so many teenagers (even the most hardened cynics amongst them) dress the same? It’s because of fear – of being afraid to stand out from the crowd.

As a colleague of mine once said, one of the best ways to motivate people at work is to fire a few of them. It’s controversial, but it’s hard to argue against. Watch how people behave (especially the ‘rebels’) when redundancies are imminent.

Yet paralysis by fear isn’t good. The important thing is to take action. In the face of adversity and fear, that takes courage. And courage is one of the most redeeming qualities of the human race.

The Monkey Mind

 

In the aftermath of Andy Murray’s defeat by Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, I read an interesting column in the Sunday Times. This included comments by a sports psychologist – Don McPherson – who has worked with the golfer Ian Woosnam, and more recently Formula One drivers.

McPherson identified Murray’s underlying problem as something the Chinese call the ‘monkey mind’. This occurs when you lose focus, and an internal voice darts around and chatters like a monkey swinging through the jungle.

When you’re ‘in the zone’ the monkey mind has nothing to feed on, but once problems start, and if you come out of the zone, the monkey mind takes over, and jabbers on about doing things right, which in turn heightens anxiety and makes things worse. In other words, you behave consciously. That’s what happened to Andy Murray.

The skill lies in being able to turn off the monkey mind and return to the subconscious state of mind. As McPherson explained, this is something he works on all the time with racing drivers, who would be in great danger if they responded negatively to a mistake and then try all that much harder, as they could end up driving too fast into a wall or another car.

This is fascinating stuff, and is an approach used by many successful people in a variety of activities. I remember when Linford Christie won the 100 metres Olympic gold medal, seeing him in an almost trance-like state just before the final. The olympic oarsman Steve Redgrave talked about the need to get into a subconscious state of focus to perform at his best. This was also a technique used by the England rugby world cup winning team in 2003, which enabled them to maintain their focus under extreme pressure in the last minutes of the final, which led to their winning drop goal.

Look at any professional in the spotlight; that’s how singers remember all the words, actors  knowing their cues and lines, chefs producing top quality food under pressure, financial traders making multi-million deals, surgeons carrying out long, complex operations, rock climbers etc etc. All these people work best when they are in the zone, operating in a subconscious state of mind.

Everyday activities, such as driving a car at 70mph on a busy motorway, are correctly completed subconsciously. Imagine what might happen if the voice in your mind fretted about your tyres not being properly inflated, or the brakes or steering not working. We wouldn’t be able to accomplish half the things we do if we weren’t focused.

We all have to perform under bursts of high pressure – whether it’s making a speech, negotiating an important deal, multi-tasking, developing creative peaks, maintaining intense levels of activity etc.

When we are in the zone, with our minds uncluttered by extraneous detail and anxiety, is exactly when we perform at our peak. And it’s a technique that can be learned, developed and honed to provide that real edge towards achieving success.

Modern Leadership

A very interesting management appointment was made last week. Strictly speaking it’s a development in the sporting world, although professional sport is undoubtedly business.

The name André Villas-Boas is likely to be tripping off the tongue of football followers during the next few months. At the age of 33, without any previous career as a football player, he’s been appointed as the new Chelsea coach at a reported annual salary of £4.1m, (apart from the ‘transfer fee’ of £13.3m Chelsea have had to pay his former employers).

Why is this interesting? It’s because it highlights a new style of leadership that’s increasingly popular in today’s world. This is not an individual who can point to credentials as a great player. This is also not someone who has a long successful history in management – he’s only 33 for goodness sake, the same age as some of his team!

His career rise has quickly reached the top of the game, yet is almost unique in that his background in playing football is almost zero. It also demonstrates that someone outside the traditional framework can not only break in but make a real success. He’s learnt his skills through sheer hard-work, persistence and determination via an alternative route.  He’s travelled extensively, put together countless reports based on his observations, and paid massive attention to detail. It would appear his knowledge and understanding of the game at a high level is already bearing fruit.

This is a man who talks about being open-minded, treating his team members with respect, and looking at leadership in an holistic way. He’s spoken about incentivising players to take their own decisions, placing trust in their instinct to make better decisions to achieve their objectives.

Already the cynics are wondering how long he’ll be in his job. As Gabriele Marcotti said in The Times last week, this guy will need help and support from the club. Chelsea FC hasn’t been the nicest of places to work at during the past few years. Despite their success, the ruthlessness of the board has led to many ongoing personnel changes, which creates a great deal of instability.

The fact that they are putting their faith in a guy with a limited (albeit excellent) track-record of achievement says a lot for Mr Villas-Boas. As a life-long Chelsea fan, I wish him luck.

I remember similar cynics lambasting the appointment of Andy Flower as coach to the English cricket team a few years ago. Although a former player, he too had precious little history in leading a major team. Yet look at what he’s achieved! Another modern manager, who leads by inspiration, intuition, and trust plus huge preparation and attention to detail.

I can’t help compare this to Lord Alan Sugar. After stating somewhat fatuously on a recent episode of the Apprentice that he’d never known an engineer be successful in business (obviously forgetting about luminaries such as Bill Gates, Karl Benz, James Dyson to name but a few), he showed his true colours in last week’s programme. One particular candidate stood out for her flaws (being full of herself, a poor listener, selfish, not a team player etc). Lord Sugar’s verdict – “…She’s a tiger, She’s ruthless. She’ll walk all over anyone. That’s what I like about her.”

When you compare this to the required attributes for today’s modern leaders, doesn’t it just underline quite how ‘old school’ Lord Sugar really is?

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social media – who’s spying on you?

I’m a great fan of social media. I use LinkedIn extensively. I have a Facebook page for my business and also a personal Facebook account. I use Twitter too.

Social media can be time consuming, but professionally (LinkedIn especially) it’s of enormous value. Interestingly, many employers will now check out the LinkedIn profiles of candidates submitted to them. If your LinkedIn profile needs improving (or horror of horrors – if you haven’t already got one!) now is  the time to do some work on it to create something you’re proud of.

Facebook’s worth is constantly increasing. The most visited website in the world according to many sources. No wonder so many brands have FB pages and links advertised.

I’m still not sure about Twitter; I’m selective who I follow as I just haven’t the time to read all the tweets that come through. However, it’s an important part of social networking (though a few footballers and ‘celebrities’ with injunctions out are no doubt feeling nervous!).

I do however have a gripe. I resent the way certain social media ‘change the rules’ – notably Facebook, where you need to be constantly on your toes, aware that their periodic changes to ‘default settings’ don’t affect the way you want your profile to be seen. I also avoid the applications which for various reasons (and usually the wrong ones) want access to almost all your contacts, postings etc.

This situation was highlighted last week when I received an email from the Sunday Times, asking me ‘Where will you come on The Social List?’ Now I subscribe to the Times and Sunday Times app which I read daily on my iPad. It’s a great application and I’d like to feel I can trust these people. So I hit the button to see what happened. I was then asked to click on buttons for various social networks. So I clicked on the Facebook one, and was immediately faced with the Sunday Times wanting access to all my basic information, my list of friends, wall postings, profile information etc. I carefully clicked on ‘Don’t Allow’ which returned me to the previous screen. I tried the LinkedIn button, naïvely thinking this should be OK, to discover once more the Sunday Times wanted access to all my LinkedIn information, including my valuable network of contacts. No Way!

I exited the site, binned the email, and sat back in disgust at the intrusion of a “trusted” form of ‘old-media’ trying to exploit its users.

And so the message is quite simple: use, engage with, and optimise social media networks and channels. But never take for granted they won’t stop the vast range of applications trying to access and use (or should I say abuse) your personal information, which is clearly of enormous value. Be aware of the (un)social media spies – you have been warned!

Confidence

 

I read a great quote this week (thanks to Chris Barrow – @coachbarrow): -

“Recession is a voluntary psychological attitude adopted by those who enjoy the security of tribal pessimism”

To take it one step further, I’d ask the question – “are we still in recession?”

It’s difficult to tell. There are so many conflicting stories in the media each day. We’re told the economy is growing, then we’re told it’s flat. In addition, there’s the hype around the VAT increase; yes it’s gone up by 2½% – but there are many retailers still offering price reductions of 20%, 30%, even 50% (as I had the fortune to benefit from in John Lewis this week).

Fuel and food prices are clearly an issue. But when we look at the broader picture, the UK economy is still destined for growth this year, albeit at a lower level than forecasted. Despite the public sector cutbacks, the private sector is fighting back – as it inevitably does following a recession.

The purchasing managers’ index recently reported a boom in manufacturing, with new orders and employment rising strongly. On the back of this, the service sector rebounded in January to an 8-month high. The REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) reported this month that 94% of private sector employers expect to maintain current staffing levels, and 25% of these are planning staff increases.

In the world of retail & brand marketing and POS/POP, there are visible signs of improvement. There is real evidence the brands are actively pursuing strategies of promotional investment. The ‘decision pipeline’ is no longer blocked (or even partially blocked) but is increasingly freeing up. All encouraging news.

POS/POP agencies are busy dealing with the demands and requirements of their clients, and there is a real need for good people. And agencies aren’t the only ones recruiting – brands are also actively hiring. These are long-term strategic recruitment decisions – not knee jerk reactions. Companies are looking to rebuild their teams to manage the increase in their activities, and take advantage of the upturn in business. Indeed, over the next 6 months, the competition for vacancies will be much greater amongst candidates.

The challenge is creating confidence within the candidate marketplace. Recessions are unnerving, and given the backdrop of conflicting – and often negative – commentary from the media, candidates are cautious about making job moves in the current climate.

It’s therefore crucial that candidates understand that companies who are recruiting are serious, strategic, and long-term in their decisions. There is strong general evidence to support this – certainly within the POS/POP sector.

Recruiters have a key part to play in this, in that they should comprehensively and correctly interpret their clients’ needs and commitment, pushing back and challenging where necessary in order to get the complete picture. Armed with this knowledge and understanding, they are better equipped to explain their clients’ forward structure and objectives.

Honesty and reassurance develops trust, which creates confidence. And confidence is the bedrock and foundation of all good decision making.