November 2005

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2005</I></div> <div> <I>The following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 9 November 2005</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Infect your business with enthusiasm</B></div> <bR> <div> Over the last month, several unrelated events led me unexpectedly to the theme for this column.  Speaking at a leadership development programme for the owners and directors of growing businesses, I introduced them (as I previously have readers of this column) to the simple Virtuous Cycle of Business model where the leader looks after the team, who in turn look after the customers, who look after the business, which looks after the leader.  The leader's primary role, this teaching model argues, is to create, maintain and enhance the environment in which their people work.</div> <bR> <div> Then I had one of my periodic conversations with an old client of mine who continues to go through the excitement and the challenge of serious growth in the business he owns and leads.  He said that one his recent `flashes of the blindingly obvious' was that he needs to put much more of his time into motivating his team - to keep up the collective spirit of his business - to inspire and be positive at all times, even when doing so might be difficult.  His is a naturally confident and outgoing personality, but despite that he has had to make a conscious decision to adapt even more to his leadership role and to focus mainly on taking his very capable team with him rather than trying to manage them whilst also doing a bit of everything in the business.  He has understood and agreed with himself just what a leader's real job is.</div> <bR> <div> Finally I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to a remarkable lady a few weeks ago at a Norfolk Network event, and the message of today's article was complete.  Dawn Gibbins is an effervescent example of what a modern business leader can be like. Happy, bubbly and wholeheartedly enthusiastic about - it would seem - nearly everything, she told the audience her story of how, as a twenty-something daughter of a `mad inventor' she helped to found a specialist flooring company that has grown to be a £25 million business with 200 employees, offices in 22 countries and manufacturing sites in seven.  Along the way, she's picked up a Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year award and been appointed the youngest ever MBE for services to industry.</div> <div> What sets her apart from many other business leaders I see is her wildly infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy.  She said that she has `the best job in the world' that includes being able to be a visionary, an energizer, an adventurer and a stimulator of happiness amongst her people.  In Dawn's company some of that happiness and fulfilment comes from being treated like grown-ups (`dare to share' information with everyone), celebrating success on a regular basis and conducting and then acting upon employee surveys.</div> <bR> <div> Another key to Dawn Gibbins' success lies in recruiting other leaders for her business `who dispense enthusiasm' every day. Enthusiasm is contagious - I believe passionately that whenever possible business leaders should seek to infect their workplace with enthusiasm.  And if enthusiasm doesn't come naturally to you, seek it elsewhere, either in the people you recruit to help you run the business or from outside.  One of the lessons Dawn Gibbins has learned in her journey to success is that from employee satisfaction comes customer satisfaction and from that comes prosperity.</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>