TV Addict

TV ADDICT


I have had all sorts of ideas for blogs that I have been desperate to write over the last few weeks, but have just not had the time. Sometimes, when I am sitting in meetings, a flash of ‘good blog’ passes through my brain, but unfortunately it is usually accompanied by a rude word or complete dismay that I absolutely couldn’t publicize such a thought since the person giving me the idea is a client! (Any clients reading this...that is, of course, a joke…!).

Thinking about some of the conversations that I had today, though, I thought that I would develop my thoughts by writing them down.

Being in an office full of women, we have spent quite a lot of time today discussing the fact that this is a big weekend for those of us that watch UK TV; the Strictly Come Dancing Final. And whilst most of us agree that Harry has to win (I am sure I don’t need to explain why), there has also been some discussion about Jason’s ability to work so hard! And, in particular, some of his expressions: I particularly like his “It is not the destination that counts, it is the journey”… but my real favourite, by far, is ’Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. Couldn’t we all use this saying in our own business environments? Certainly in the service industry, generally, and in PR and marketing in particular, this could almost become our motto; after all, the results that we get for our clients, are nearly always down to the preparation…

This also leads me to a favourite saying of my old boss, which was ‘this job is all about attention to detail’. I used to think that if he said it once more, I would punch his lights out.. twenty plus years on and I say it to my team all the time! If you think about it, though…. wouldn’t you say that preparation, combined with attention to detail, are two of the key answers to being successful in just about any job?

Another favourite TV programme of ours is ‘Dragons Den’. If you don’t know what this is, in a nutshell; four of the most successful (and richest) self-made entrepreneurs in the UK listening to a very lucky person that has been given the chance to pitch an idea for a new business, or an existing business, to them, with a view to them investing into the business; normally the pitcher says words to the effect of ‘I am looking for a GBP 100,000 investment into my business, and in return I will give you [the extremely successful and rich entrepreneur’] a 20% (or so) share in my company’, and then follows this with a short overview of said company.

One of the reasons that Dragons Den makes such great TV is that the investors can sometimes be quite brutal, and the people pitching are often… well.. idiots! Here they are, with an unbelievable opportunity to pitch to people that could change their lives, and they blow it by lack of preparation (failure to prepare), being too greedy, or having a completely ridiculous idea. I tell you, given that same opportunity, I would march in and say that I am looking for a couple of quid for a 50% share in my company just to get one of them to go for it! Imagine where we could all go with an Alan Sugar (or for those Czech readers) Petr Kellner, as our 50% shareholder. Blimey.

So that leads me to a new saying, that I hope that Jason would be proud of: never underestimate the value that a successful person can bring to your business. Listen, learn from them, and reap the rewards. (One of the blogs that flashed through my head earlier today.

Jo