Monthly Archives: August 2011

Succession Planning

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With the leading news in USA Today that Steve Jobs has resigned due to ongoing health challenges – the world will be asking who will fill the iconic leaders shoes.

Succession planning has been strongly communicated by Apple of late and the recommended replacement for Jobs is the 13 year Apple veteran – Tim Cook.

The Apple board fully support Cooks placement – though one may question how Cook will gain momentum to follow in the iconic Jobs footsteps.

It is an interesting development for Apple, said to be at the heart of HPs decision to explore selling its PC division.

I wonder how impactful the usually news leading photocalls will be when Jobs is no longer there to introduce the latest Apple innovation.

Our wishes of course go to Steve Jobs and his family, with his challenging health issues.

The developments certainly highlight the need for succession planning in an organisation.

This is something Insight with Passion work with the majority of our clients on, particuarly in those businesses with pivitol leaders.

For more information on how we can help you contact one of the team today…

Goldsmiths Embracing Retail Theatre

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This morning news of Goldsmiths new concept store, debuting at Westfield Stratford, popped into my inbox. With mere weeks to go until IWP’s Kate and Richard present our seminar ‘Retail Theatre – Bringing the shop floor to life for your customers’ at International Jewellery London I was impressed to read how Goldsmiths had revamped their shop floor to appeal to a younger market.

With cutting edge technology Goldsmiths are hoping to create a more interactive experience for their customers at the store, named ‘the boutique’, and ‘autonomous Retailing machines’ will allow them to purchase jewellery as if from vending machines – very interesting!

Director of Operations for Westfield UK, Bill Giouroukos, said; “The boutique by Goldsmiths is the perfect example of a traditional and tested shopping experience reinventing itself and adapting it to a new, younger audience. We are sure it will be a tremendous success.”

The store will even cater for those less interested in jewellery – with a ‘chill out zone’ offering Wifi technology and drinks facilities – meaning those more jewellery-obsessed can spend time blissfully browsing the offerings.

Commercial Director of Goldsmiths, Richard Gerrard, is proud of what the company has achieved with ‘the boutique’ “Goldsmiths is proud to be challenging the existing status quo in jewellery retailing with the launch of boutique. We have created an inspiring and interactive lifestyle-led environment, developed a distinctive sales mantra and engaged with technology in a way that appeals directly to our target customer – and this fresh and inventive approach cannot be rivalled elsewhere in the market.”

The store will open mid-September, now to find a reason to visit Stratford… well… it’s the birthplace of Shakespeare, oh, and I love diamonds!

Great price, shame about the service

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We live in a bargain age, apps including Groupon, Living Social, KGB and Voucher Cloud all offering us an array of enticing deals in hospitality, retail and travel. The Voucher industry has in 2011 experienced a boom – reportedly up 15% in the first quarter of 2011 by the British Retail Consortium – not surprisingly those tightening purse strings are having an impact on how we ‘treat’ ourselves.

I too cannot pass on a bargain – some examples on today’s voucher apps;

  • £26 for a 2 hour cupcake decorating class (OK so I might be doing more eating than decorating…)
  • 3x driving lessons for £19 (yes I can drive but there’s no harm in proving it..)
  • Discounted Lingual Braces (I have no idea… but doesn’t it sound interesting?!)

Days and days might pass without the investment of a voucher, but last weekend I did decide to treat myself. My favourite restaurant was offering 2 mains and 2 glasses of bubbly for a largely discounted price and I couldn’t complain.

However, the evening proved more complaint-worthy as it progressed.

‘Second rate’ and ‘citizen’ have never gone hand in hand so effectively, firstly my partner and I had to wait 15 minutes whilst the waiter thumbed through a long list of names (ultimately to realise my name wasn’t on the list), persistent requests for further drinks were ignored and then the main arrived… a mere child’s portion of a plate. I understand that businesses offering such a great price may have to cut back a little, but I would rather pay full price and receive the impeccable service often dished out there than be treated with the level of discontent I experienced.

It surprises me how ‘night and day’ the quality of the service at that restaurant was and this incites a strong feeling of disdain – here at IWP we offer a ‘plus one’ service to all of our clients. In fact, we treat each client as King.

From our long term original clients, to our ‘Access for All’ clients (often charities) who need our assistance to survive, I truly do believe businesses can never allow a compromise on the level of customer service they provide. I hope that unlike my (now un-favourite) restaurant other businesses jumping on the voucher bandwagon will give those customers the respect they deserve and see them as investment in finding new long term and loyal customers.

Inspiration and where to find it

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I have just finished meeting a iconic lady who has long been an inspiration of mine. Though she carries a public persona, she has inspired me with her success, her determination and her ability to transfer her skills from business to charity and family.

It have enjoyed our meeting tremendously and found that I have gained 4 or 5 fantastic suggestions for success.

How was I lucky enough to enjoy this meeting – I simply asked. I was fortunate enough to meet at a dinner last year and held my nerve whilst I approached her and asked for a meeting.

I asked if the lady would ‘mentor’ me in a session for which I would happily make a donation to a charity of her choice.

It has taken challenging diaries and contact to make it happen – but certainly worthwhile.

It has long been my philosophy to engage with mentors. If you ask any top sportsperson, business guru or indeed celebrity – they will usually have a mentor or too who has inspired and assisted them.

I have a long term mentor who has now helped me for over 6 years. In this time our relationship has grown into a solid friendship – but one that has blossomed out of a mutual respect.

I still have mentoring sessions with her – and they will be as straight talking as ever. For me, that is the value.

We all need the ability to understand that alone, we simply cant know everything or ensure that every decision is the right one.

By having people we look up to and admire helping us to ‘sanity check’ our behaviors and develop us, we can enhance our performance and achieve better success.

One of the most amazing learning points for me, is when a mentor talks about what they have got wrong and how they overcame the challenge.

I was so fortunate to enjoy a one to one session with the late Anita Roddick – I was blown away by her openness and honesty – and the mistakes that became some of the businesses biggest success.

My mentors have helped shape my goals in both business and personal life and I can honestly say that I hope to continue with my mentoring sessions and finding new mentors along the way.

I am never scared of asking ‘how or why’ or how I can continue to make improvements. I know I can offer an even better service to my clients and indeed coaching for the IWP team.

IWP offer a coaching and mentoring facility as part of our transformational business packages. Please contact Jenny in our office and ask for some details on this:-

No 7 Get Real

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The 10th of August will see No 7 break the mould in the beauty industry – by not breaking the ‘mould’.

On Wednesday they will launch their ‘Ta Dah!’ campaign using appropriately aged models to flaunt their products, and this is where they stand out – they will NOT be air brushing them.

Finally – a beauty company celebrating reality! Thank you!

I have been working for Insight with Passion for over a year now, and in that year I have come to realise that potential customers value companies they can trust. Truth, honesty, clarity – no smoke screens, no hyperbole just simple straight talking truth. It’s not difficult.

This is what frustrates me about the beauty industry, and what makes me so proud when companies like No 7 step forward and treat their customers with the respect they deserve.

Only recently L’Oreal was reprimanded by MPs who put pressure on the Advertising Standards Authority to rule adverts for their make up brands Lancome and Maybelline should not be run due to ‘socially irresponsible’ air brushing.

This is applicable across so many industries, to offer such a mis-representation of the services or products you provide will only serve to dishearten customers when the results achieved lack the promises made.

I commend companies taking a stand for honesty – it certainly is the future of business. Here at Insight with Passion we pride ourselves on combining honesty with creativity – a value we believe should be at the centre of every business.