Sir Clive Woodward was responsible for the England rugby’s team greatest turnaround and one its most significant triumphs to date.
The self-confessed rugby newbie didn’t turn the team’s fortunes around by ripping up the playbook and starting again.
Instead, he implemented a series of incremental inches – which may have seemed insignificant – but together they paved a powerful road to victory.
The same methods have been applied in business.
In the latest instalment of the Press & Journal Business Briefings, in association with Kelvin TOP-SET, an expert panel will examine the inches up for grabs for today’s firms.
From oil and gas to sport, the diversity of the panel is underpinned by a drive for better business.
North-east business leaders will gather on June11 at the Marcliffe hotel and spa to discuss how little changes within business can lead to ultimate success.
Leading the discussion, the panellists will include Bob Keiller, chairman of Scottish Enterprise, Professor Gary McEwan, chief executive of Elevator, David Ramsay, group director of Kelvin TOP-SET and multi-business award winner Jeanette Forbes, founder of PCL Group.
Sponsors of the event, Kelvin TOP-SET, said they were excited to be able part of the day.
A spokeswoman added: “We are delighted to work with the Press and Journal on its upcoming Business Briefing event, aimed at helping companies in their drive to develop and improve business and safety performance still further.”
Panellist Ms Forbes said she hoped the discussion would help enlighten others about the significance of diversification and how a giving a little bit back to the community could add a lot to the economy.
She said: “One thing I have always said is that in business you always have to put something back into a city from which you take a living. It doesn’t matter how big or how small that is. It doesn’t even have to be money. Time and contacts are all important commodities which can make a difference. But if everyone was to put a little bit back into the city the overall impact would be enormous.”
Ms Forbes, a qualified systems engineer who established PCL Group in March 2000 after she was made redundant during a downturn in the oil and gas industry, owns a trendy venue, Grape & Grain, on the city’s Thistle Street.
Last week the bar won an award naming it best wine bar in Scotland for its wine selection.
She added: “The only reason I decided to open the bar was because Sir Ian told us all we need to start diversifying away from oil and gas if we want to continue in business here, so that’s what I did.”
Prof McEwan added: “Entrepreneurial leadership demands that we respond to our ever changing environment. The very best leaders can sense the wind changing and make incremental adjustments, refining constantly rather than allowing changes that were foreseeable to suddenly force them into radical action. I’m looking forward to the panel discussion, particularly how culturally in business it is easier to implement refinements than to institute sweeping changes.”
