WELCOME

There has never been a more exciting time to start a business and I believe there are enormous opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to make their mark in Britain.

Entrepreneurship is the key to economic growth and something I am passionate about. Last year I co-founded Seven Hills, a public relations agency that champions entrepreneurship in Britain. I am also Chairman of Entrepreneurs at Coutts & Co, co-founder of the government-backed enterprise initiative StartUp Britain, and a columnist on entrepreneurship for Real Business magazine.

Since launching Seven Hills I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most influential names in British business. Today, we are the campaigning force behind the Peter Jones Foundation, MADE: the entrepreneur festival, Virgin Media Pioneers, and Doug Richard’s School for Startups, among others.

We also co-founded StartUp Britain, which launched in March 2011 and was supported by companies such as Barclays, Coutts, Google and Microsoft. The Prime Minister, Rt Hon David Cameron MP, both launched and backed the initiative ‘by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs’, which is a major plank in the strategy for an enterprise-led recovery.

Currently only three of Bloomberg’s 50 most innovative companies were founded in Britain. There is no reason why we can’t produce the next Google or Facebook and there is a great deal that can be done to promote enterprise in the UK.

I also believe that the vital ingredient for any business is the importance of building a winning team. We relay to our clients the significance of becoming a winning brand because it is these businesses that stand the best chance of success.

There are many people with entrepreneurial potential but the truly great ones also have the skills to communicate the true nature of their talents. And that is where we come in, by equipping our clients with strong, clear campaigning messages and direct access to the media.

Martini Networking

Are you a 'Martini Networker'? You know, you can be found at events 'any time, any place, anywhere'.

I'm sorry if that reference ages me! There are many people, however, who get the networking bug and attend every event they can. If you network a lot in your local area, you'll know who I mean.

The problem for Martini Networkers is in establishing deep and meaningful relationships with the people they meet on their travels. Sure, they'll see many people on a regular basis, but the nature of networking events means that the conversations they have with those people will rarely get beyond a superficial level.

Use networking events to meet new people and keep in touch with a wide network but don't lose sight of the importance of spending quality time with a smaller number of people. Networking widely is not going to produce results on its own. Establish deep connections as well. And that may mean saying no to the occasional invitation.

Where are Corporate Women Going?

In the past few months, global focus has shifted onto the issue of cultural and gender diversity in business. Half of the world’s population is female, but for most companies, senior management is a male-only affair. Women are increasingly voting in their stilettos and aiming for the door. Our contribution to the recently published Davies Review on Women on Boards in the UK supports this. Our global research has shown that entrepreneurship is the way forward for women and increasingly, generation Y. Why does it impact your business? As an employee, manager or senior leader this exodus impacts you in more ways than one. The obvious is financial: the investment that your organisation has made in that individual. But would you ever consider the scale of the cost to your business line? We calculated that per 10,000 employees the cost of losing women can be up to £15,000 per year.

Can your business really afford that? And as a corporation, you are looking to create the most effective, productive and efficient conditions to ensure your product delivery to your customers. Recent research by International Law Firm, Eversheds has highlighted the optimal conditions for effective boards, which also reflect the ultimate conditions for effective teams. These include:
Smaller boards are more effective – average of 11 directors
Boards with female directors perform better…
Then there is the small affair of tapping into a future $30 trillion market. According to Boston Consulting Group, women today control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending. Can your company afford not to create products and services that enthuse that size of market?

Empires of dust

There is some irony to learn that for a man that relentlessly photographed the extreme frontiers of the British Empire, neither an image of himself, a grave, or hardly any information about his own life can be found. John Burke (1843-1900), an Irishman who spent most of his life in the confines of central Asia, left behind him a series of photographs that are the eldest of Afghanistan, shot back in 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. They would have remained in the darkness of a few libraries, including two portfolios in the Queen’s Royal collection, if not for the project of Simon Norfolk (b. 1963), celebrated for his own photographs of apocalyptic landscapes, and in particular of war devastated areas (Afghanistan: chronotopia, 2002).

Private Views are rarely the place to see or learn much about the artist or artwork: too many people, air kissing and drinks. Far from being unpleasant, but not enough for my curiosity… That is what led me to repeat the viewing the following day, for a gallery talk Simon Norfolk was holding at Tate Modern, where Burke + Norfolk: Photographs From The War In Afghanistan is presented until 10 July 2011.

I am thrilled to join the Eight Members Club team, with whom I will now share interesting moments, focusing on “well-being and performance”. This is a subject that fascinates me and it allows me to talk about the similarities between performance in sport and performance in business.

I will be publishing regular articles with Eight Members Club, sharing techniques and tools with you, which allowed me to play in sports at the highest level, and which are highly transferable to business people, to help you become more efficient in your work routine as well as your everyday life.

Have you ever wondered why you struggle to get along with a certain type of person, or why some people at work just seem to frustrate you all the time? Well, your struggles and frustrations could be related to your 'Seasonal Type'.

A Seasonal Type describes an individual's behavioural preferences and there are four in total:

1. Winter (competitive, ambitious and task-focused)
2. Spring (creative, spontaneous and enthusiastic)
3. Summer (caring, supportive and nurturing)
4. Autumn (structured, process-focused and timely).

The Seasons work on a principle of 'opposites', so 'Winters' often experience difficulties working with 'Summers' and vice-versa, and 'Springs' often experience difficulties working with 'Autumns' and vice-versa. Further, an individual's preferred style of working often causes their Opposite (or 'least preferred') Season the most difficulty. For example, 'Winters' could potentially 'upset' up to 45.00% of their team (i.e. the 'Summers') every time they ask them to do something!

So, how many people are like you and how many can frustrate you just by 'being themselves'? According to our data, a 'typical organisation' consists of:

• Winters = 10.00%
• Springs = 30.00%
• Summers = 45.00%, and
• Autumns = 15.00%.

Sample: 1,455 employees from all the main industry sectors, March 2011.

Over the coming months I'll describe each Seasonal Type in more detail and I’ll also provide some suggestions about how you can work more effectively with the 'people that you struggle to get on with'.

There have been a slew of recent restaurant, club and bar openings recently with many of them coming from the new luxury hotels hitting London. Wyld at the W Hotel is the hot new place to be and along with it came the trendy W Lounge and Spice Market. The Corinthia has just launched down by the river in Westminster and is introducing Massimo Restaurant and Oyster Bar which is very impressive and has a wonderful chef’s table. However for a more private drinks meeting in the hotel head to the discreet Bassoon Bar.

The St Pancras Hotel has also already soft launched and Marcus Wareing’s Gilbert Scott should be the big sensation there. Another top chef to branch out this month is Jason Atherton who has just opened Pollen Street Social featuring more relaxed fine dining and a great desert bar. For real clubbing head to the new One For One on Park Lane, especially if you enjoy splashing the cash - they sold an 80k nebuchadnezzer in their first week.

Centopassi, Argille di Tagghia Via Nero d'Avola 2008 IGT Sicilia

From a vineyard near Corleone, on calcareous, porous clay at 600 m above sea level. Low yields of around 40 hl/ha. The wine is dedicated to Peppino Impastato. Descended from a mafia family himself, he broke with his father at an early stage in his life to become active in politics and the fight against the mafia. He led the resistance of the farmers whose land was to be confiscated in order to build a third runway for the airport of Palermo. In 1978 he ran as a candidate for the Democrazia Proletaria, the same year he was murdered. The cantina is named after the film portraying the life of Impastato, I Cento Passi (the hundred steps).

Very young looking, bluish violet garnet. Opens wild, with strawberry, pure cherry, raspberry and hints of spice. Very seductive. What has now become for me the Centopassi hallmark fragrant nose, without a trace of sweetness. On the palate, bitter, coating tannins and notes of tamarind and salted capers, with high acidity. Energetic. Strikes a very good balance, but unsettled tannins suggest further ageing required. This certainly has the 'wow' factor. Opens up further and becomes more perfumed with aeration. 14% (WS)