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Archives for June 2010

The Enterprise Fairytale – InBiz Style

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If you’d like to manage your work around your life, self-employment may be the answer for you. All it takes is a bright idea and the determination to succeed.

InBiz – advert in RAW Magazine and TMP Website (emphases are mine)

This is another one for the Advertising Standards Authority in my opinion.  The implication that all you need is a bright idea and some determination and “hey presto!”.  Anyone can surely muster these resources?  The implications of such a message are both absurd, hurtful and unhelpful.

  • No hint of risk or downsides to self employment
  • No hint of the challenges involved in succeeding at self employment in an increasingly competitive environment.
  • No mention of the tensions and strains that a decision to go self employed might put on relationships with families and friends – or how it could end up in increased debt.

A naive and incredible appeal to the hopeless, the gullible and the many who are referred by the Job Centre at pain of losing their benefits entitlement if they don’t give it a go.  After all it only needs a bright idea and the determination to succeed (subtext “What IS wrong with you people?).

Of course I understand why we do it.

It works in the short term to get people through the door and onto our programmes so that we can trigger payments from funders.  Until of course the truth about this brand becomes widely understood.  It might work for a minority but for most it will be yet another false dawn – simply adding to feelings of learned helplessness.  But then we just repackage and rebrand the offer and it is BIG Business as usual.  If these services are so very good, and all it requires is a bright idea and some determination then how come the worklessness problem is so persistent?

We must start to be much more honest with people.  A bright idea helps.  Determination is good too.  But it might also take months or years of skill development.  Hours and hours of hard graft pushing for business and dealing with customers.  A credit history that allows you to borrow and invest at the right time.  A degree of financial literacy to ensure that you are not ripped of by lenders. Family and friends who are supportive and understanding.  A resourcefulness and resilience to get through some really tough times. And in my experience a lot of luck too.

Self employment is a double edged sword.  For some it transforms their lives for the better.  Much better.  For some it becomes just another attempt to get off benefits.  For some it results in serious indebtedness, misery and worse.

Until we start to build an honest dialogue with people that we purport to help about the nature of our products and services and provide long term, skilled, person centred support that mobilises the resources of the community to help people to make progress then I am afraid we are likely to make little impact on JSA figures.

(With thanks to Charlotte for pointing out this line.)

B2B Business Support – Harvey Nichols Style

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I spent a great 90 minutes with Brian Handley, General Manager of Harvey Nichols in Leeds, and Lee Hicken from online marketing outfit Hebemedia to find out  a little more about their work in supporting enterprise across Yorkshire and to explore the possibility of helping to develop their role in supporting emerging artists and crafts people.

Now I am no ‘fashion and retail’ guru and struggle to understand why anyone would want to pay £3000 or more for an Italian Leather handbag, but apparently they do, and Harvey Nichols helps to serve that want.  (Not everything in Harvey Nichols has such a price tag.  Apparently a coffee in their restaurant costs the same as in Starbucks, some items in the Food Hall match Morrison for price and some of their makeup too matches the High  St retailers on price.)

But why are those expensive handbags Italian?  Why not British? Or Yorkshire?

  • Are we lacking the skills and talent required to craft leather to this standard?
  • Are we poor at the marketing and brand building work required to compliment fine craft skills to command this top end of the market?  We are simply unable to break the consumers taste for ‘Italian Leather’. Perhaps the Italian High Streets are full of top quality British Leather handbags – I suspect not….
  • Does the Italian craft leather industry receive support from its own Government that allows it to perform at this level?
  • Perhaps the Harvey Nichols buyers have not found the great British products that are out there, preferring instead to go with established Italian brands that they know will sell?

I suspect that it is some combination of the first three that leads to the failure of British manufacturers to compete at the top end of the  luxury leather handbag market.  A conversation with Brian convinces me that they do all they can to source locally wherever possible without compromising on quality.

And I suspect that the absence of high quality business support to help with the development of craft and marketing skills is a large part of the problem.  I can’t recall seeing a single UK regional economic strategy that emphasises the importance of the craft sector.  They tend to focus on ‘high-tech, bio-tech, creative and digital’ but hardly mention the support of traditional craft skills which tend to live of the crumbs from the ‘high growth’ table.

Which is perhaps why Harvey Nichols in Leeds have been able to do so much work with 11 textile mills across Yorkshire, helping to raise their profile.  Absolutely nothing wrong with their product.  They provide felts and baize for Steinway pianos and the worlds best snooker tables.  They provide the fabric for Barack Obama’s curtains in the Oval Office of the White House, and the world’s most expensive suit.  Each of the mills was characterised with an obsessive passion for the quality of the product which had allowed them to move up market and hang on as most textile manufacturing headed east.  But their marketing and branding was weak, and when they came together at Harvey Nichols to see how an association with the store might raise awareness of their product, Brian said it was the first time that all of them had shared a room to explore the way forward.   They had learned a little about how to compete with each other – but very little about how to collaborate.  (Perhaps there is a clue here to the prominence of Italian artisan on British High Streets?).

Why does Harvey Nichols get involved in this kind of work?

Well I don’t think it is pure altruism.  It is self interest properly understood – a thriving local economic ecosystem  is essential for the maintenance and development of the customer base.   A good story is essential for brand building and getting people through the doors.  This is good business combined with a genuine passion for, and commitment to, high quality manufacturing in the region.

This kind of ‘business to business’ business support was once widespread.  In some parts of the world it still is.  But in the UK business support has turned into a government funded industry not primarily focussed on responding to local indigenous businesses but on focussing support on strategic priorities (high tech/biotech/creative and digital).

Perhaps in these straitened times we could afford to let this government backed Business Support industry to just fade away and encourage more employers like Harvey Nichols to play a full part in supporting local enterprise.  The engagement of businesses in this sort of civic society, using their expertise to develop a viable and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem will surely create much more value for society than so many corporate social responsibility projects that end up with Lawyers painting community centres….

…and if you are looking to spend £300 rather than £3000 pounds on a Leather Handbag that is ‘Made in England’ you might try Liz Cox.

Intervention Styles for Enterprise Coaches and Business Advisers

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  • Ever wondered what to say or do next to help a client make progress?
  • Or got frustrated when a client does not do what they said they would do?
  • Or had a client that said all the right things but never seemed to make any progress?

In this one day workshop I will introduce you to 4 styles of intervention that can really help your enterprise clients to make progress. Whatever the situation that faces you one of these styles will provide you with the way forward.

Early Bird Tickets Available until the end of this week – Friday 4th June.

Based on the values of person centred facilitation, the 4 styles will provide you with a set of informed choices about how to work with your clients to make progress.

  1. Acceptant – how to help your clients to open up about their ideas and see things in a fresh light
  2. Catalytic – how to help your clients to ‘see the wood for the trees’ by using simple modles, theories and ideas to clarify their thinking
  3. Confrontational – how to work with clients when their words and actions just don’t add up. Perfect for challenging cleints without you or them ‘losing the plot’
  4. Prescriptive – how to work with clients when it is imperative that they do what you say – you really do know what is best for them.

These styles are specified in both the SFEDI standards for business advisers and in their endorsed award for enterprise coaches. I have been using them in my own practice now for well over 15 years – and they work.

At the workshop you will learn about each of the 4 styles, how and when to use them, and you will have the chance to practice some or all of them to see and feel how they work in practice.

Book Now for an Early Bird Ticket

What Others Say…

“Mike Chitty has not only helped me become a better coach, he’s also helped me unlock my personal potential. Wonderful, inspirational trainer!” Jason Martin – Senior Enterprise Gateway Director – Business Link South East

“Working with Mike Chitty has been the most important investment in my career to date. The quality of each client interaction has really gone up; we learned and practiced a coaching model to add some structure and science behind client meetings in real scenarios and I also left the sessions with a host of new analysis tools to help clients make sense of how they can make progress. Furthermore it was an opportunity to experience some high quality coaching for myself from, which I got tremendous value. This experience has also greatly enhanced my strategic contribution to enterprise development in my area.

Mike Chitty is at the forefront of enterprise coaching in this country as a practitioner, trainer and strategic influencer. If you are an enterprise coach, you simply should experience Mike’s training as soon as possible if you want to have the greatest possible impact.” – Simon Paine – Enterprise Gateway Director SEEDA

“The enterprise coaching training was excellent. The subject matter covered theory and included practical application, it was thought provoking. It challenged my perception of my coaching style which I had become comfortable with, and tested my limits in terms of acceptance. It provided a number of tools which I was then able to use in a positive way with my clients. I would recommend the course for continuing professional development.” – Barbara Morton – Enterprise Gateway Director – Business Link South East

“Having experienced Mike Chitty first hand running enterprise coach training, I found him to have a wealth of knowledge. Knowledge that wasn’t just theory, but strong, practical and powerful ways of engaging people from priority groups and delivering enterprise coaching.

These ways of engagement and delivery have been put to very good use in the work that I do, helping people to achieve their objectives. Mike balances his training with getting you to think very carefully about what you are doing, challenging how you are doing things and challenging why you are doing things. Mike’s prolific writings (check out his blogs and tweets) on the subjects such community development, personal development and enterprise development make engaging and thought provoking reads. Mike has been a very positive eye opener in many ways and will turn your thinking on its head. I relish the next opportunity to experience Mike’s training, consultation and knowledge.” Gareth Sear – West Sussex Enterprise Gateway Director