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| UPCOMING PUBLIC KEYNOTES & WORKSHOPS |
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| The Millionaires Club |
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Flemings Hotel
Half Moon Street,
Mayfair,
London W1J 7BH
Thursday 29th January
6pm to 10 pm
More information
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| Dubai Various |
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Towers Rotana Hotel
Sheikh Zayed Road
Dubai
Tuesday 10th to Friday 13th January
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| Staying in the Helicopter Masterclass |
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Pearl Continental Hotel
Lahore
Pakistan
Monday 16th February
9am to 5pm
More information
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| MPI European Meetings and Events Conference |
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Lingotto Conference Centre
Torino, Italy
Sunday 1st to Tuesday 3rd March
More information
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| PSA Holland Convention |
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Hilton Hotel,
Antwerp,
Vlaanderen,
Belgium
Friday 13th March
0900 - 1200
More information:
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| Sales Excellence Forum 2009 |
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Warsaw Marriott Hotel
Al. Jerozolimskie 65/79
Warsaw
Monday 16th - Tuesday 17th March
More Information:
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| Entrepreneurs World |
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Nolita,
Great North Road,
Hatfield,
Hertfordshire, AL9 6NA
Thursday 19th March
1230 to 3.30pm
More information:
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| Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce |
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Oxfordshire Business Breakfast
Godstow Road
Oxford,
Oxon, OX2 8AL
Tuesday 7th April
0745 - 1000
More information:
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The Helicopter
Business Alert
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Q1/2009
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Do you know what? I'm fed up with only
hearing bad news - I think I've become
allergic to it!
Is it me or is the media now revelling in
it? Why else would the fact that Tesco's
Christmas period sales were 2.5% up on last
year be headlined as:
"Tesco's suffers worst Christmas growth
in five years"?
Why else why else would any movement in the
exchange rate be reported as bad news? -
thrown into stark relief
with the big movement in rate over just
a few months: a few months ago the pound
was at two dollars now it's around 1.40
but in both cases the media reported this is
bad news:
"Britain's exports hit by strong
pound"
and then:
"Weak pound makes holidays more
expensive".
The truth is that with the pound where it is
now against the dollar the UK has significant
opportunities to export - which has always
been a strength. That sounds like
good news to me!
In the last couple of months I've worked with
a training company, a steel stockholder and
an IT company - who are all doing very nicely
thank you. I've worked with a recruitment
company whose business is good and who, in
just the few weeks since I last saw them has
developed, tested and put on the market an
entirely new product in a new sector.
I have run workshops with the Chief
Executives of businesses including
recruitment, pharmaceutical,
security, fine art , accounting, software,
food manufacture and cleaning - all of
which told me they have, as of now, not yet
suffered any effects of the economic
downturn.
My brother's company runs conferences on new
technologies and is as buoyant as it's ever
been.
I'm a director of the chemicals group and
also of an instrumentation company and they are
both doing well.
I've read about a manufacturer of windows and
doors who can't get enough staff to cope with
demand and Premier Travel Inns is reporting
that it is humming at
present and simply can't build enough hotels
to meet demand.
The highest graduate starting salaries being
paid in the UK now are not in the City but by
Aldi who have an ambitious new store opening
programme.
I have recently met with Managers of two banks -
Clydesdale and Standard - neither of which have
any exposure to sub prime loans and are both
buoyant and confident.
Now it just maybe that I've only met with or
heard about the better companies or maybe
they are all late cycle - but I don't think
so.
Good news is seen as bad copy.
I remain firmly of the view that it is the
companies that are on top of their game, who
carefully plan their strategy, who are proactive
in the market and who are fleet of foot will do
very well throughout the next year or
two.
- and if you need a bank (but try not to!)
then talk to the ones who didn't let us and
the world down like Clydesdale (and their
parent National Australia Bank) and Standard
- they deserve our business.
Since my last newsletter I've had the honour
and privilege to take over as President of
the wonderful
Professional Speakers Association and my
theme for the year is
"Astronomical Aspirations"
I am a firm
believer that you should always shoot for the
stars and set aspirations and targets that
are out of reach - because,
frankly, you'll never achieve them unless you
do and it's amazing how often we do
achieve the impossible!
Many might say
that this is surely not the time to do it -
isn't now the time to hunker down and just
"survive"?
No - I really don't believe it
is - as
I've said earlier in this piece it will be
the businesses with ambition and exhibiting a
high
quality of strategic thinking and flexibility
who will win through.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to be spending
time in the Middle East, Italy, Poland,
Pakistan and India and I'm fascinated to see
how the world and it's economies look from
their perspectives.
I'll keep you posted.
On another topic - are you Twittering and
using Linkedin?
I have recently got business directly through Linkedin
- you should try it.
I've just started to Twitter - click here if
you want to follow me - and it is also said
to be good for business - worth a try?
Finally let me remind you of the "Helicopter"
awards
for outstanding
service and for lousy service.
Two "Golden Helicopter" Awards this
time - including the first ever DOUBLE GOLDEN
HELICOPTER AWARD!
I welcome nominations in
either category.
Explanations of why they're being
recommended should be put on my blog
to back up the
listing.
I hope you enjoy this newsletter and find it
valuable
and may I thank you for your support and
smiles.
If you want to see skill in adversity have a
look here!
PPS. Do read the BBCs Business Editor, Robert Peston's book "Who Runs Britain" - fascinating and frightening AND if you haven't yet seen the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" you simply must!
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A Modern Parable
A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American
company (GM) decided to have a canoe race on
the Missouri River Both teams practiced long
and hard to reach their peak performance
before the race.
On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.
The Americans, very discouraged and
depressed, decided to investigate the reason
for the crushing defeat. A management team
made up of senior management was formed to
investigate and recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8
people rowing and 1 person steering, while
the American team had 7 people steering and 2
people rowing.
Feeling a deeper study was in order; American
management hired a consulting company and
paid them a large amount of money for a
second opinion. They advised, of course, that
too many people were steering the boat, while
not enough people were rowing. Not sure of
how to utilize that information, but wanting
to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the
rowing team's management structure was
totally reorganized to 4 steering
supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents
and 1 assistant superintendent steering
manager. They also implemented a new
performance system that would give the 2
people rowing the boat greater incentive to
work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team
Quality First Program,' with meetings,
dinners and free pens for the rowers. There
was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes
and other equipment, extra vacation days for
practices and bonuses. The pension program
was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and
some of the resultant savings were channeled
into morale boosting programs and teamwork
posters.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid-off
one rower, halted development of a new canoe,
sold all the paddles, and cancelled all
capital investments for new equipment. The
money saved was distributed to the Senior
Executives as bonuses. The next year, try as
he might, the lone designated rower was
unable to even finish the race (having no
paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable
performance, all canoe equipment was sold and
the next year's racing team was out-sourced
to India ...
Sadly, the End.
Here's something else to think about: GM has
spent the last thirty years moving all its
factories out of the US, claiming they can't
make money paying American wages. TOYOTA has
spent the last thirty years building more
than a dozen plants inside the US. The last
quarter's results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in
profits while GM racked up over 20 billion in
losses. GM folks are still scratching their
heads, and collecting bonuses... and now
wants the Government to 'bail them out'.
IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY
with thanks to Paul Bridle
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Dangerous? Oh Yes!
You may recall me mention in my last
newsletter about the life expectancy of
Harbour Pilots.
I had this from Stuart Robson:
Dear Roger
A comment in your latest missive caught my
eye. I experienced getting off and on a Pilot
Cutter, via the rope
ladder down the side of a 256,000 ton very
large crude carrier, off Anglesey, in gale
force 8.
You bet it is
dangerous. The problem with the evolution is
a bit like a lot of things in business. First
you have to time
your leap. The supertanker is not really
moving up and down, riding the waves, but the
cutter is. It's best
to look before you leap, as not all the waves
are the same height, and you want to jump at
the top of the wave,
or you are going to bust your legs on the
rising cutter.
As soon as you hit the
rope, you climb as fast as you
can, because you just don't know if this wave
is going to be an even bigger one.
If you miss, or slip, then you could have a
long way to fall to the relative safety of
the descending deck of
the cutter, but it just won't be in the same
place it was when you left it. (Sound like
business to you?) If
you slip and miss the cutter, the sea will
break your fall more gently, but now, your
body, and specifically,
your head, is between two very large masses
that have a tendency to bang together from
time to time. If you
literally miss the boat, you immediately wind
up in a very dangerous place.
Just like
in business, you must
recognise that to do the job, you must really
go for it and you have to accept that if you
gave it your best
shot, it still might not come off.
Sound
like business to you?
When I got to join the same ship from France,
they had a different solution.
The Allouette helicopter (not your's) put me
down, and picked me up from the deck! Here is
another business
analogy. I wonder which method was more cost
effective? The Pilot Cutter could do a lot
more work, and carry
much more payload, but it cost a lot to buy
and maintain and it had a crew of four.
The Alouette was not cheap, but it probably
had a better resale value and it had one
pilot, but really only a
couple of uses, and had an entirely different
set of dangers to boot.
On a different occasion, I went into St
Nazaire on another supertanker. The pilot,
having successfully boarded,
was required to drive the ship directly
towards the rocks, and then make a turn to
the right to stay in the
deep-water channel. If this sounds
far-fetched, it is not. It is actually quite
common, as the estuary of any
major river is most often the sunken
meander-plane of old, and the deep bits snake
about in a serpentine shape.
When the Pilot commanded the helmsman to
change direction, he also had radio contact
with an emergency crew on
the emergency steering system, just in case
the steering system chose that moment to
fail. The ship would be
heading directly at the rocks, and the bows
of the ship, which were a quarter of a mile
away from the bridge
steering position, would be a quarter of a
mile from the rocks, when the right helm was
commanded. It would
take about three times that distance to stop.
The rocks would be so close, that from
the bridge, you would see
no open water over the bows, just rocks. I
can assure you that the pilot was a man of
many years experience, but
the tension on the bridge was tangible.
Sound like business to you? Sounds like a
credit crunch, with a
potentially very loud crunch, to me!
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The "Helicopter" Service Awards
I find myself increasingly putting the
service I receive
from organisations into one of two categories
either "outstanding" or " lousy" - there doesn't
seem to be just 'average' any more.
I've introduced therefore
"Golden Helicopter"
outstanding service awards and "Ditched
Helicopter" lousy service awards
You'll find the story behind each in my Blog
Please add your comments and any
recommendations of your own for awards.
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Ditched Helicopter Awards
- for Lousy Service
Alfa Romeo
British Airways
Audi
Selfridges
Intercontinental Hotels
Air Canada
Carlisle City Council
British Airways - again!!
Abbey Bank
Seven Sands Hotel, Dubai
Find out why here
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Roger Harrop is a former plc CEO,
International
Speaker, business advisor,
author, mentor and consultant who inspires
and entertains his audiences with his acclaimed
Staying in the Helicopter series of speeches,
seminars,
workshops and masterclasses focussed on
transformational profitable
growth. Over 5000 CEOs, business leaders and
others have achieved
massive growth in profits and sales through his
thought provoking and entertaining speeches
laced
with real-life stories, anecdotes and humour.
He is President of The Professional
Speakers
Association and a Speaker of the Year with The
Academy
for
Chief Executives
What People Say
"Roger, we have seen a sustained
increase in
revenues and profits as a direct result of
attending
your workshop. Thankyou ! "
Martin Mulligan, CEO,
Martin
Mulligan Group Limited
"Without question Roger's workshops have
been the catalyst in enabling our six operating
companies to unlock the door to profitable
growth and
without exception, everyone has a real desire
to be in
the renewal room and when there, reside in it
permanently!"
Trevor Hebdon,
CEO, H&H
Group plc
"Roger Harrop's Helicopter analogy is a
great one. Having the skills to rise above
the clouds to set the vision and see the big
picture, but also the ability to fly down low
and drive the details are both essential
skills for a successful President or General
Manager. Roger's pragmatic approach and
outstanding delivery make his message
meaningful for all audiences."
Dan Daniel,
Group Executive, Danaher
Corporation
"The sessions were really good - Roger is
particularly skilled at asking the right
questions to make you find the answers to
move forward yourselves as opposed to telling
you what to do. He is a perceptive man who
is clearly skilled in motivating and getting
the best out of people. It is refreshing to
see the train of thought his influence has
provoked company wide."
Caroline Singleton, Sales Representative,
Thomas
Graham & Sons Limited
"It is no coincidence that the Group's
dramatic
improvement in performance, over the last 18
months, relates directly to Roger's
association with
us"
Ian McKernan, Chairman & CEOMolecular
Products Group plc
"Congratulations! - your workshop scored 8.9
in the survey results which is very good"
Maneesh Garg, Education Chair, Young Presidents
Organization, Lagos
T:
+(44)1491613635
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