On a warm day in May, a group of around thirty (mostly) women joined us at the G&V Royal Mile Hotel for our monthly Inspiring Women in Business Lunch. Our guest speaker was Tracey McNellan, a woman boasting an illustrious career in the fast-paced media industry.
From early on in the event, delegates relaxed in to the comfortable surrounds of the G&V, drink in hand, where they were given the opportunity to network prior to being whisked in to the dining room to hear from our guest speaker.
In something of a break from the norm, this Inspiring Women in Business event was held Q&A style with one of Tracey’s colleagues – Paul Harper of Heart Scotland’s drive time show – quizzing Tracey on a range of topics, from her early career to challenges she’s faced to radio’s place in today’s world. Paul informed the crowd that the last Q&A he hosted was with the lawyers of Steven Avery, the man made famous by the documentary Making a Murderer. This Q&A, he assured, would be much more light-hearted.
They covered Tracey’s career first, noting her background in computing and early love of music, which undoubtedly influenced the direction her life would later take. We learned of Tracey’s determined nature from an early age, where when she told her mother about her intentions to take on a sales role and being told she didn’t have enough experience in sales, she replied with a straightforward; “I’ll learn”. They spoke of her rapid career progression, winning the roles of Sales Manager at only 25 and Sales Director at 29, and her philosophy that – to counter those who believed she was too young for such a senior role – “if you’re capable enough, you’re old enough”.
Radio and the wider media industry are seen as ever-exciting and fun places to work, yet like most businesses they don’t come without their challenges. We heard next of some of the obstacles Tracey has faced in her many roles (and in her personal life, too). She spoke of her earlier marriage, the changes she has seen her workplaces undertake as the media industry has evolved, and her conflict of choosing between her career and her personal life – notably, a career move that would see her move to Nottingham for the role of Managing Director at Capital FM East Midlands, at the cost of leaving behind a life she loved in Scotland.
Tracey couldn’t stay South forever though, and eventually moved back to Scotland for the role of Managing Director at Global Scotland (Heart & Smooth), where even today she and her team face challenges that many radio stations face in a world of constant and rapid technological and societal change. She believes that radio must continue to “evolve and change rapidly”, and that in this time of ‘fake news’ radio must hold on to it’s status as an instant, yet trusted source of information.
We heard a little of Tracey’s life outside of work, too. While she admits that it can be difficult to ‘switch off’, she enjoys coaching other businesses and, while in Nottingham, took up a side project of becoming a yoga and pilates teacher.
Tracey then talked us through a typical day – well, as typical as one could be, given that “no two days are the same, because it’s radio [and] things happen, and we need to react”. That concluded the Q&A, and after applause, lunch arrived. The staff at G&V promptly delivered our plates, a delicious pork belly, followed by a dessert of honeycomb and ice cream, and tea and coffee.
During dessert, there was the opportunity for delegates to ask any burning questions – after which Tracey and Paul had to take their leave. Paul was due to host the drive time show in only a couple hours time and while we were enjoying their company, as Liz McAreavey said, “we’d rather not be responsible for silence on the air this afternoon”.
Our next Inspiring Women in Business Lunch will be held on June 27th at the Waldorf Astoria, where we will hear from Catherine Topley, Director of Corporate Services at Scottish Prison Service. Click here to book your place.
For UK businesses to the deliver the jobs, growth and investment needed to secure our long-term economic future, they need a competitive environment here at home. However, as we approach yet another General Election, the UK continues to lag behind its international competitors.
While corporation tax is decreasing, businesses remain disappointed at the lack of action on the high up-front taxes and costs of doing business in the UK. Companies continue to face unacceptably high input costs which weigh heavily no matter the stage of the economic cycle, company performance or ability to pay. The new tax year saw firms hit with a raft of changes adding to the upfront cost of doing business, including the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, Immigration Skills Charge, and a new National Living Wage.
Despite some improvements, the fundamental unfairness of the business rates system remains, with firms across the country continuing to pay the highest business property taxes in the developed world. In its current form, the business rates system creates a number of perverse incentives for business location, property improvement and plant and machinery investment. Businesses also continue to face significant difficulties in hiring staff with the right skills. The BCC’s Quarterly Economic Survey – the UK’s largest and most authoritative private-sector business survey – confirms that the proportion of firms reporting recruitment difficulties remains close to a record high.
Business communities are therefore calling for the next government to commit to no new up-front business taxes or costs until the end of the next Parliament in 2022 and further, more radical, reform of the broken business rates system. This must include the removal of plant and machinery from business rates valuations which does so much to undermine business investment.
The new government must also do more to protect the long-term health of the UK jobs market, including improving the transition from education to business by guaranteeing universal ‘experience of work’ in all schools for under 16 year olds, and delivering a future immigration regime based on economic need – rather an arbitrary migration target.
Tackling these longstanding issues has come even more pressing with the UK economy set to enter a more challenging period. The first estimate of UK GDP growth indicated that the UK economy suffered a loss of momentum in the first quarter of 2017. With inflation rising it is likely that the Q1 slowdown is the start of a sustained period of weaker growth, as the UK’s over reliance on consumer spending becomes increasingly exposed.
Yet you wouldn’t really know this from reading the various party manifestos that have just been published with political posturing largely put ahead of the need to create the best possible conditions for long-term economic growth. While there were some bright spots, notably promise of further action on business rates and improving digital and mobile connectivity, these were largely offset by proposals for higher personal and business taxes, significant market interventions and cuts in immigration. While business confidence remains relatively strong this may not last if such short-term political thinking is put ahead of securing our long-term economic future.
Tackling these fundamental concerns will help ensure that our economy successfully navigates through a world full of turbulence, both political and economic, and crucially remains a great place to do business through the Brexit process and beyond.
Bookings are open for upcoming training events with Arts & Business Scotland, Introduction to Fundraising (Tuesday 13 June in Edinburgh) and A General Tax Guide for Arts and Heritage Organisations (Wednesday 21 June in Glasgow and Friday 23 June in Perth).
Introduction to Fundraising
Tuesday 13 June 2017 | Arts & Business Scotland, Edinburgh
Registration: 9:15am | Event: 9:30am-4.30pm
This popular one day course is aimed at individuals in Arts and Culture organisations who are new to or starting to fundraise. The day provides an overview of the current funding landscape in Scotland and creating an effective case for support.
Full details, address and booking here: http://www.aandbscotland.org.uk/events/2017/06/13/introduction-to-fundraising-edinburgh/
A General Tax Guide for Arts and Heritage Organisations
Arts & Business Scotland are pleased to be running this new event twice, with one in Glasgow and one in Perth.
Wednesday 21 June 2017 | Scott Moncrieff office, Glasgow and Friday 23 June 2017 | Perth Concert Hall, Perth
Registration: 8.30am | Event: 9am-12.30pm followed by lunch and general discussion
Speakers: Kirsty Murray (Tax Director) and Scott Craig (VAT Partner), Scott Moncrieff This new half-day seminar is a must for all financial or budget holding staff and anyone who wants to know how tax affects (and can benefit) arts and heritage organisations and individuals. This session will highlight available tax savings and cover corporate tax, VAT, gift aid, basic rules, common issues and opportunities.
Full details, address and booking:
Glasgow: http://www.aandbscotland.org.uk/events/2017/06/21/a-general-tax-guide-for-arts-and-heritage-glasgow/
Perth: http://www.aandbscotland.org.uk/events/2017/06/23/a-general-tax-guide-for-arts-and-heritage-organisations-perth/
ScotRail have released the latest edition of their Business Travel Newsletter.
In it, ScotRail outlines an outstanding result in the month of March, their plans to create 100 new electric car charging spaces, details of a new charity partner and more.
To see the Business Travel Newsletter, click here.
We are delighted to announce that the next Arts & Business Scotland Development Forum will take place at the National Galleries of Scotland on Thursday 1 June.
This event is also being promoted through our Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage programme, which through funding from HLF, has enabled Arts & Business Scotland, together with our heritage partner organisations, to encourage capacity building and skills development in fundraising across Scotland’s heritage as well the arts sector.
As the event is relevant to both the arts and heritage sectors, we are expecting a broad demand for tickets and therefore advise booking as early as you can to ensure that you have a place to attend.
The Topic in Focus is Capital Fundraising, which will provide a unique opportunity to hear from two speakers with considerable experience in this area. They will share their insight into and knowledge of the capital projects they have been instrumental in delivering.
Alan Horn, Director of Development at the Glasgow School of Art, will share his stories on leading on various capital projects. These include the award-winning and innovative £12.7m Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal, the successor Riverside Museum Appeal and the £32m Mackintosh Campus Appeal to reinstate the Mackintosh Building within the heart of a rejuvenated campus following the devastating fire in 2014.
Gill Poulter, Heritage Director at Dundee Heritage Trust, will share some key learning points and top tips from the significant capital fundraising achievements made by the Trust, to deliver the High Mill Project, Verdant Works.
We also pleased to announce that our sponsorship story will be on the ongoing developing partnership between National Galleries of Scotland and Aegon UK. From the initial sponsorship of the MC Escher exhibition matched by a New Arts Sponsorship Grant to most recent sponsorship of The Goldfinch (a flying visit from iconic painting).
This event is completely free to arts, heritage and business members of Arts & Business Scotland, as well as invited business guests. There is a small charge of £10 for non-members.
For full details of the event and booking please visit:
http://www.aandbscotland.org.uk/events/2017/06/01/development-forum-edinburgh/
I’ve been lucky enough to do some travelling in recent weeks and it’s interesting to compare our culture with others – the warm welcome and hospitality of the East, their work ethic and culture of enterprise, their generosity of spirit and friendship. Maybe the sunshine makes everyone happy – it worked for me, or was it the brief relief from the politics of home. No talk of Brexit, General Elections and Indyref#2. Bliss.
My admiration for the Eastern culture made me reflect on emerging economies and how Scotland is at risk of falling behind as the pace of change and technological advancement continues to accelerate. The pace of change is now the fastest it’s ever been, but it will never be this slow again. We cannot ignore the new era of algorithms, social media and robotics that run our lives, manage our homes and allow us to browse, compare, order and pay for goods and services at the tap of a screen.
How does Scotland compare at this level? Do we have the culture to adapt and compete? We talk about being world class – but what does that mean? What takes a business from emerging, to mature, to world class? And how do we create businesses that are global market leaders?
For Scotland to flourish we need a strong and stable economy across a diverse range of sectors. We need wealth and job creators who reach out to the rest of the world to trade our products and services.
Scotland has real strength in its education system. The innovative research and development in FInTech, robotics and AI regularly lead to spin-out companies from our universities. We are world leaders in the Oil and Gas service sector, in Financial Services and we have abundant natural resources in fish, agriculture, aquaculture and talent. And of course we have whisky – 80% of food and drink exports come from the golden nectar that is Scotch whisky – the best in the world.
So, there’s no shortage of products, ideas and enterprise. But the challenge we are faced with is – how do we harness this and create global businesses that surpass the start-up years and accelerate to scale and market leadership? We need to lead, educate and support entrepreneurship, recycle the knowledge and experience from our successful business leaders. We need high speed digital connectivity and we need to encourage the ambition for international trade whilst ensuring businesses have access to international markets to support them in competing on the world stage. And we need a skilled workforce to help build these businesses – a workforce that is diverse, ambitious and resilient.
The Scottish Government can only deliver its economic strategy if the business community is strong and grows significantly in the coming years. The public sector accounts for over 50% of the workforce and real growth in employment and the tax base can only come from the private sector. If we want to improve public services, we must pay for them.
The Scottish Chamber Network and other business organisations are working hard to ensure we embrace these opportunities and also have the support to compete and fully exploit the advantages we have in abundance. Scotland is open for business and never mind the Silk Road – we have the Tartan Highway!
On Wednesday morning we were hosted at The Data Lab in South College Street by Craig Paterson and his colleagues.
They are two years old, and part of University of Edinburgh. Recent new members of the Chamber – Craig gave an interesting run through of what they do and what data science means for business. Their overarching aim is to develop high value jobs in Scotland in the area of data science. They will take a business problem you have and using your data, apply their teams to it and draw out practical solutions for you.
They have over 90 MSc students available to them and a team of full time experts as well. They will work on small or large projects and costing is done on a day rate basis. They do receive some Government funding and their remit is to drive revenue and productivity growth in Scotland.
Craig began by reference to the Gartner Hype Cycle – he said ‘Big Data’ is in this cycle currently. It is a hot topic and everyone refers to it as the silver bullet which will solve all our problems (real and perceived!). Then this hype reaches a peak and starts to decline as reality kicks in and there is disappointment at the belief that whilst it may work for other businesses, it doesn’t work in mine.
He talked about the V journey of data science; Volume, Velocity, Variety, Veracity and now Value. His feeling is that the most important question we must ask of our business data is – what is it’s purpose? The difference between a data analyst and a scientist is the value added by a data scientist. The Datalab prides itself on always keeping the practical business problem at the heart of the data work up.
The next area he addressed was the rise of Artificial Intelligence (most relevant for business is the area of machine learning) and suggested we need to think about the opportunity for more thinking jobs than manual labour and how this affects the world of commerce. They work on giving executive education around how to get the most out of the data work that is available. He reminded us that we keep the human overlay on top of any algorythmic modelling we do. He gave an example of the New York Ambulance Service. They positioned ambulances out in the City having analysed where most people have requirement for them. However it was found that much of the time the crew would not be in those places. When asked why – they explained there was no where to buy coffee or find a restroom! So then the map was redrawn and waiting points were found that satisfied the human need as well! Stirling Council had done a similar route map and had found drivers were not sticking to it as it wasn’t near to a sausage roll bakery!
In wrapping up he emphasised that scoping the real problem is crucial in data science. Question and Answer session was engaging and I think we are all getting more educated about this fascinating new era of big data and how to keep using it for improving profitable revenue growth.
The Datalab can be contacted via info@thedatalab.com or by calling +44 (0) 1316514905.
Being a leader or manager can be a challenging and lonely role especially in a SME company. On a day-to-day basis often alone you are required to deal with a wide variety of challenges from growth opportunities and customer complaints through to staffing issues and operational matters. It can often feel a very isolated role, one where you don’t achieve everything you want and where a perceived lack of feeling valued can be tough to handle.
But it is also an inescapable fact of life and our ability to deal with isolation and not feeling valued has a major correlation in determining how successful and happy we feel.
Happiness is often seen as the opposite of depression, however according to psychologist Peter Kramer resilience is the opposite of depression. If you think of anyone who you admire, most of them didn’t get where they are today without any negative experiences, rejections or failures. In fact the opposite is often true, that part of your admiration or belief in them comes from the how they coped with the journey, to where they are now. Most of them distinguished themselves by their ability to keep on trying to jump over life’s hurdles, even if a few of them have tripped up on the way.
So what do resilient people do that sets them apart from others who can become demotivated and disenchanted by not feeling valued and working in isolation. Firstly, they tend to have a realistic optimistic outlook rather than blind optimism. This means that they combine a positive outlook, with the critical thinking that can dominate in some pessimistic approaches, which together can lead to greater resilience and thereby happiness. I believe resilient people prepare for the worst, expect the best and accept whatever comes along and don’t see using plan B or C as a failure.
Resilient people experience both positive and negative emotions and building resilience is not just about blind optimism but also experiencing the setbacks. Rather than just looking on the bright side and ignoring any negative feelings, they let themselves experience both their positive and negatives feelings and let them sit side by side. This enables them to both acknowledge that they are disappointed or upset while at the same time understand how they can use this life experience to their benefit in the future. Another way of thinking about this would be to say that they accept and rationalise the negative experience and turn it into a learning experience.
What else do they typically do? They ignore rejection. Rejection wears down our self esteem and confidence, making it harder to bounce back and the more times it happens the harder that bounce back is. As a result, it impacts on our happiness and wellbeing. We all experience rejection and it is an inevitable emotion of life and choosing to reject rejection can ensure that you don’t became a prisoner to your own self limiting beliefs. It is important to be aware that everyone is experiencing different paradigms of life or situations and in some cases no matter what you say or do, they will always reject you, your ideas or thoughts. If you adopt this mindset/ approach that rejection says more about them than you, it will help you rationalise not to take rejection personally.
Resilient people are also good at noticing, appreciating and celebrating all success that come their way whether big or small. In this way it keeps them from feeling that the world is against them and that ‘everything’ is going wrong. Research has shown that the ideal ratio is 3 to 1 positive to negative experiences for building resistance and boosting your happiness. In any review situation always start off with ‘what went well’, before reflecting on ‘what didn’t’ and never finish without answering the question ‘what I will do differently next time’, as this helps rationalise the negatives and build confidence as you turn the rejection/failure into a learning experience.
The old saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ comes to mind, as it also helps to build a strong support network. If you get knocked down or rejected, it is important to have the resources to bounce back asap. which includes having a network of people who you can lean, on as social support boosts your resilience to stress and disappointments. Your support network is a great way of getting a different perspective/ paradigm view of any given situation.
Resilient people out for growth opportunities which will boost their self-reliance, personal self confidence and ability to make decisions which in turn makes them feel more in ‘control’ and gives them greater self esteem and an enhanced ability to bounce back from rejection and failure and leads to a greater feeling of happiness and contentment. Greater self confidence and reliance means they are happier with uncertainty or new situations and can persevere longer in the face of repeated knock backs or negative experiences. Those who have mastered the art of resilience know that setbacks and challenges can be our most powerful learning and growth opportunities. Remember that many of the world’s most successful people have been made redundant, fired or rejected/ turned down by others and have used that experience to learn both for the future and about themselves.
And finally they appreciate what they have and enjoy being alive. Appreciation and enjoyment are known to boost health and wellbeing and resilient people tend to have better physical and mental health than those who focus on complaints and problems. Appreciating what you have is an excellent way of keeping life’s everyday stresses in perspective and reminds us of the most important things.
Remember the overall ethos needs to be prepare for the worst, expect the best and take what comes and enjoy. After all we should never forget that as a business leader, day in day out, we are key in enabling our organisation to prosper and grow, creating employment and making our colleagues working lifes more fulfilling and interesting. You are the person which makes things happen, turns ideas into reality and makes a positive impact.
On Tuesday 22nd September I will be at Edinburgh Chamber delivering a one day workshop on Business Planning & Strategy Development. Contact the Training Team for further information or call them on 0131 221 2999 (option 3)
Drivers heading for the West End from the south of the City and Lothian Road could soon find their journey simplified if the City of Edinburgh Council approves changes to current traffic arrangements.
A review of traffic management in the city centre has been completed following the start of tram passenger services.
Among the recommendations in a report to the Transport and Environment Committee on 26 August 2014 is a proposal to allow all traffic to travel westbound from Hope Street to Queensferry Street, rather than buses only as at present.
Traders from the West End called for this in a deputation to the committee on 18 March 2014.
They noted that with the removal of the left turn from Lothian Road into Shandwick Place to facilitate trams, it had become difficult for private vehicles, cycles and taxis in particular to access properties and businesses in the West End.
The report also asks members to give the go-ahead for further investigation into the option of introducing a right turn from Queen Street westbound into Queen Street Gardens East.
Another recommendation, which follows on from the start of the new Experimental Traffic Regulation Order in George Street, is to change the priority of Young Street from an eastbound to a westbound direction.
Residents and businesses here have expressed concerns about a perceived increased volume of traffic and in particular, more vans and heavy good vehicles, since the George Street scheme was first implemented earlier this summer.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “Now that trams have been running for a couple of months or so, it’s a good time to make any appropriate alterations to surrounding traffic management so that we can make it as straightforward as possible to get from A to B in the city centre.
“We know that West End traders have had concerns about access to their businesses so the proposal to open up Hope Street for all westbound traffic into Queensferry Street should make things much better.
“I was pleased to meet recently with residents and businesses in Young Street to hear how their street has been adversely affected by increased traffic since we started the ETRO in George Street. This narrow cobbled street is simply not fit for the volume and nature of traffic it’s been experiencing of late. Changing the one-way direction will help divert traffic away from Young Street and on to Queen Street, which can accommodate commercial and through-traffic far more comfortably.”
If you are serious about taking your business to the next level and want to learn how to turn your Marketing and Advertising into an investment, rather than an expense, a great investment of your time would be to attend this 3 hour seminar on Monday 20th October at 6.30pm.
Brad Sugars is a regular columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine and is the author of 15 books including “Buying Customers” and “The Business Coach”. He founded the World’s No1 Business Coaching Company, ActionCOACH, at just 22 years of age and has since grown it to 1,000+ world class business coaches in over 50 countries. In short you are about to experience three hours with a bonafide business genius.
All you have to do is register at www.buyingcustomers.com and quote promo code: SCASM18.
If you want to find out more please feel free to contact Alan Smith via the contact details below:
Mobile: 07972 310997
Email: alansmith@actioncoach.com
