As Team GB returns from Brazil and the dust on the Summer Olympics begins to settle, our MD Peter Church reflects on what business can learn from the greatest athletes on earth.

I’ve followed this year’s Olympic Games closer than any other. Waking up each morning to the overnight exploits of our dedicated Team GB members was truly inspirational; it’s even prompted me to don my running shoes for the first time in over a year! And now that the excitement’s all over, and our national heroes have made their way back home, I’ve had a chance to reflect on what business messages can be taken from the greatest sporting event on the planet…

Even the best of us need help

Needless to say, Olympic athletes are extremely determined and singled minded. You might even get the impression that many events are all about individual effort and commitment. However, what’s been clear in interviews with almost every medallist is that they couldn’t have done it without their support staff. One of the best examples of this was when Jade Jones, taekwondo gold medallist in 2012 and 2016, defied convention and pulled her coach, Paul Green, onto the mat following her victory. It just goes to show that no matter how successful you are as an individual, we all need help and support from time to time. So to all the warehouse, manufacturing and operations staff that have made me look good over the years – thank you for all your efforts!

Set short term goals

It’s good to have a few outrageously big ‘gold medal’ goals, but smaller, short term goals keep us moving in the right direction. On the face of it, every single Olympian sets themselves the same bold target of winning a gold medal. But as I listen to the athletes in interviews, I notice that many of them mention that they set specific times and milestones along the way that were 100% in their control, such as striving for a new personal best. Rome wasn’t built in a day after all, and setting strategic but realistic short term goals is the key to achieving ultimate ‘gold medal’ success.

Invest in long-term success

Short term goals should be set in conjunction with long term investment. In 1996, Team GB won a solitary gold, with Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent winning the men's coxless pair in Atlanta. The subsequent efforts of the UK government and National Lottery fund was instrumental in helping Britain achieve extraordinary success in the years that followed – Olympic funding plans are already in place for Tokyo 2020. In my opinion, current business thinking is tooshort term – one bad quarter and everything changes. Even if you can’t see the immediate benefits, a well-devised long-term plan is the best way safeguard your business for the future.

Don’t be afraid to be different

We’ve been running, jumping and swimming at the Olympics since 1896. You’d think that we’d be doing things the best and fastest ways possible by now, but over the years innovation and new thinking have played a key part in winning gold. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics marked the international debut of American high jumper Dick Fosbury and his celebrated "Fosbury flop”, which would go on to revolutionise the sport. Such pioneering techniques always start with the simple question: “Is there another way to do this?” It’s a good question to ask yourself from time to time. You may find that that method you’ve been applying for years and years isn’t the most efficient after all.

So while Rio will undoubtedly inspire and enthuse the next generation of sporting greats – and even convince people like me to get out of the house – there are lessons that the business community can take from it too.

As a purchaser of steel I have always paid attention to news about the UK and global steelmarkets. We are competing with many international chain companies and supplying a number of companies that want us to be globally competitive; we also have a good level of export sales. But with steel making up a significant part of our cost, it is important that our purchasing does not put us at too much of a disadvantage. A few years ago we unsuccessfully attempted to buy from Tata Steel; in the end we could not agree on something that worked commercially.

We make safety critical parts, meaning the quality and consistency of the steel we buy is very important. We have always specified European-made steel. The majority of the steel we use in our UK factory is made by a Scandinavian producer, and while price plays an important part in our decision, even more important is repeatability of machinability from cast to cast. This is becoming increasingly important, as we are introducing more automation and unmanned running to increase productivity. 

If you put China’s steel to one side, we must ask ourselves: ‘why can’t we have a competitive steel industry against other European producers?’ At the core of this is a lack of actions and strategy over many years to support UK manufacturing, which employs 2.6 million people.

UK manufacturers have higher electricity pricest han they do in many of Britain's European neighbours; between 2005 and 2014, the average price for industrial consumers in Europe increased by 66%. But prices also vary significantly across the EU. In Germany and the Netherlands, prices have remained fairly stable, increasing by approximately 25%. In the United Kingdom and Poland, however, prices have gone up by as much as 100%.

Business rates are based on a system dating back to 1572. In 2014-15, the Government collected a total of £22.9 billion in business rates, representing just 3.53% of the total UK tax income. It’s a strange fact that investments in certain types of plant and machinery result in an increase in the rateable value, and therefore the business rates. We need a fundamental reform of business rates for all – whether that be small, medium-sized or larger businesses – to encourage companies to invest in equipment.

UK manufacturing needs more skilled workers. As a small company, we have worked hard to include apprenticeships in our development plan. Our experience with local colleges has been quite disappointing so far, and the new funding model linked to the apprentice levy seems overly complicated. Training and staff development must be about more than just apprentices – why can’t we have 100% tax relief for all training and staff development?

Unfortunately, we can’t rewrite history, but there are many things we can change to ensure we have a fighting chance against other European manufacturers. After that, we have to make sure we’re in a good position to compete with the rest of the world.

Often a member of the team offers to make me a cup of tea and I always decline. Staff numbers have grown over the last few years and I do not yet know everyone on a more personal level. Meeting staff in the kitchen as I make a cup of tea gives me a chance to have a chat with them and get to know them. Indeed the kitchen is perhaps the only place where staff from across the business regularly interact with each other. Some bosses might be concerned about time ‘lost’ in in the kitchen. They think employees are discussing sports or last night’s TV – and they probably are – but they might also be discussing the solution to a challenge or an improvement to a business process or service.

Our strong company culture and willingness to get stuck in and help out in different areas of the business has been at the core of our success in recent years. A company is essentially a group of people who are working towards a shared goal. Making tea is a ritual that brings people together and as they wait by the kettle they get to know if someone is under pressure and if they can lend a hand.

It’s also important to take a break from the computer screen and think about something other than work for a few moments throughout the day – and get up on your feet. Making a cup of tea is a good opportunity to do that. When I come back to my desk I feel more relaxed and my refreshed eyes often notice things that they hadn’t before. From this week I will be encouraging all staff to take a short break every now and then – and get moving. Our teamwork, productivity, and wellbeing will all benefit.

Twenty-three years ago, I pestered my then-boss to give me a car and let me visit some customers.  I had wanted to be a salesman for some time.  To many this may sound strange but I knew right from my first job on a market stall, at age 13, that “sales” was for me. I found lots of stuff difficult at school but I knew I was a good talker and I had the detentions to show for it. My part-time job in a sports shop gave me my first exposure to sales reps – they drove around in cars that someone else had paid for, showing people stuff and collecting orders. It did not even seem like a real job.

So I was 21 years old, had a brand new car and a list of people to see. What could be easier? Well, in fact, the first year was hell.  There was a lot more to being a salesman than I first thought. It required more planning, preparation and thought than I had ever imagined. Worse than that, people did not give you orders just because you went to see them.   I had had some sales training but was out of my depth. My boss was supportive, but he had taken a risk in giving me a chance and I did not want to tell him just how hard I was finding it.  

I was given a book, which I think was called “The Sales Handbook”, containing lots of tips and tricks to becoming a great salesman. Things improved, so I sought out more books and while my early reading focused on sales, with time it expanded into marketing, business and personal development.  About 10 years ago I started to read for at least 30 minutes every day. I have read some rubbish over the years, but I have also read some great things that have inspired me to develop some useful ways of working.   There are many recycled ideas out there and many I disagree with, but even these ideas I find useful, as they often make me more certain of my own thoughts on how things should be done.  

Last year I decided to give business books a break and started on autobiographies. I have to admit, I eased myself in with a few business people I had not previously read about, before getting stuck into a range of autobiographies by people outside of my normal interests.  I have read some amazing life stories and learnt how spending time outside your comfort zone and in the face of adversity can be good for you.  

Has all this reading helped?  Well I know it has not hurt me and along the way it’s given me inspiration to overcome some tricky problems and find my own way of doing things. How often do you read?

This week I had a conversation with my teenage daughter about how much she’d saved from her monthly allowance for Christmas. Well, it turned out that December had come around too quickly for her and now – shock, horror! – she had no money to buy Christmas presents at all. Was I surprised? No, not really, which made me wonder how many things in business are actually that surprising either.

In February 2010 we had some problems with stock arriving from our Asian factories, which we blamed on the Lunar New Year. A year later we had similar problems, this time due to bad weather closing the ports where our containers arrive. When we took a step back we realised that both events should not have been a surprise to us at all. Bad weather in winter and an annual holiday, widely celebrated across Asia, are in fact events that we can expect and plan for. We now increase our stock around this time and allow extra days for containers to arrive.

Something else that shouldn’t have been surprising was when I was recently asked how we had managed to grow our business in the last few years. I explained that we had made a point of looking after and speaking to our current customers to find out what they really wanted from us, as well as visiting and speaking with more new potential customers than ever before. My acquaintance was quite taken aback at my simple reply. It turned out that their business had not spoken to many new companies and the number of new customers they had was very small – so to me it was not surprising they hadn’t opened many new accounts.

On the production side, our new manufacturing manager has started with improving efficiency. He reminded the team of Forumla 1 racing where everyone in the pit is expecting the car to arrive and has all the parts and equipment ready to go. We know when a machine will finish a production run and should have all the materials ready for the next one. Not being surprised when a machine stops saves as much as 10 minutes per working day. That’s 36 more production hours per year!

In light of these examples, I’ve now made it my mission to reconsider everything that usually surprises me and ask, ‘Is it really that surprising?’ Or ‘Could I have planned better?’

Whenever I go the gym, the well-trained receptionists invariably greet me with a polite ‘how are you today?’ I always respond cheerfully, saying I’m great, fantastic or brilliant. But too often their reply is less than positive.

How can you always be so positive?” the head receptionist asked me recently after two years of our little exchanges. Well, I have my health, two wonderful children, a loving wife and run a successful business, staffed by amazing people. She laughed: “No, you are really positive. What’s your secret?” This is what I told her.

1. Telling others I feel great makes me feel better even if the day is not going so well. I also find that a ‘not bad’ or ‘not so good’ response encourages others to share their less than positive thoughts with me – and two bad moods do not a good one make!

2. I like to keep a list of things that i have achieved in the last few years and when I’m feeling under the weather, these successes cheer me up. It’s amazing how far we’ve come! I encourage my team to keep their own achievements lists too.

3. I set myself goals and they help me to feel I am in control. While it’s good to set realistic ones, I also like to challenge myself. I would rather set 20 goals and fail a few than only set goals I know I will achieve.

4. I believe that you are responsible for your life and can change it if you want to. If you are unhappy, do something about it!

5. Always appreciate others and let them know. Telling others about great service you’ve received spreads positivity all around.

The next time I saw the receptionist, she wished me a ‘fantastically great workout.’ We both laughed but thanks to her newfound positivity, my gym session was indeed just that bit better than usual.

My job involves a lot of travel. Over the last eight weeks, I've spent just seven nights at home, but somehow still managed to fit in a family holiday in Cyprus. It was wonderful to spend some quality time with my wife and children and the weather was a huge improvement on our cold wet spring. The holiday also gave me the opportunity to indulge in some people-watching, something I don’t usually get the chance to do.

It was while watching my son, first trying to stand on his sister’s shoulders in the pool and then progressing to increasingly more and more acrobatic poses, that I noticed how great kids are at setting themselves goals. A determined girl was launching herself further and further into the pool with every jump, two brothers were challenging each other to swim the length of the pool underwater, while a small boy was continuously beating his own record for bouncing a ball on his bat.

Two things struck me. The first was how these children refused to be defeated. If they failed at whatever activity they were engaged in, they tried and tried again, experimenting with new strategies and techniques. They learnt from their mistakes, adapted and improved. The second was how small and gradual their goals were – just one more metre or one more bounce. They didn't set themselves huge unachievable goals like going from being a non-swimmer to swimming 20 meters in the first going.

Children are very used to having small achievable goals set for them – like moving from level 5A to 6C in Maths, saving up half the money for a new Xbox game or keeping their room tidy for a week (although we don’t much success with this one in our house!). But from my experience, adults seem to be incredibly bad at setting goals for themselves – and we hate them too! That’s why most New Year’s resolutions are forgotten by the 3rd of January and we take forever to give up smoking or drinking, even when our doctors tell us it’s killing us.

Watching the children around the pool on holiday made me reflect on my own goals and how realistic they are. It also spurred me into action towards a achieving them – there’s one in particular I know my wife will be pleased about! As a company, we will also be reviewing our goals, to ensure that the steps on the way to achieving our overall goals are small and
manageable. Of course it will be tough, but slow and steady wins the race!

This summer my wife and I took the kids on a mega road trip along the East Coast of the USA. Throughout the course of the holiday we must have eaten in more than 60 cafés and restaurants and – believe it or not – didn’t have a single bad meal! During one drive we started making a list of the top five places we had eaten – a difficult task, which soon turned into several top five lists for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was interesting how, even for our kids, the quality of the service played such an important part in our ranking.

The tipping system in the US, where staff rely on tips to bring up their wages, really does seem to drive good service. But I also think it’s down to the emphasis restaurants put on customer feedback. Some places simply included a link for online feedback on the receipt as is common in the UK, but most had a much more direct approach, with The Hamilton in Washington D.C. being the best example.

Our waiter Dan ‘knew his product’ and gave mouth-watering descriptions of the specials. He asked if it was our first time eating there, and what our favourite foods were, and recommended a few things from the menu. But the biggest surprise came at the end. After we’d paid the bill the manager came over to our table to ask us what we thought of our experience at The Hamilton. When we replied in true British fashion with a simple “great” he asked us three further questions:

• Was there something you would have liked to see on the food or beverage menu that was missing?

• Was there anything your server could have done, said or explained to make your experience more enjoyable?

• If you had a friend visiting Washington next week would you recommend us and why?

To us reserved Brits these questions could seem a bit pushy but it was done in a relaxed and friendly manner – and I believe it was a far better way for him to get feedback and sort any issues than through an online form or TripAdvisor. Now back at home I’m wondering how I could incorporate this direct feedback approach into our interactions with customers and what my  three questions might be.

At one of our weekly management meetings I mentioned how I thought we had all been getting a bit slow at answering the phones recently and asked everyone to keep an ear out when it rings. One of the newest members of our team was surprised at this – saying how we were about the quickest to answer the phone at any company she had ever worked for. That may be so, but there is always room to improve – and it reminded me of some excellent customer service I once received in a hotel in the Middle East.

For the past few years I have been lucky enough to get away with my wife for a long weekend at a very nice hotel in Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE. With a 5 star rating on Trip Advisor, it boasts great food, excellent rooms and staff that couldn’t be any more helpful.

Breakfast is to be found at a large self-service restaurant with a spectacular selection of food from almost every part of the world.  It may sound silly but one of the things I found most impressive was that when you chose something which requires a spoon to eat it, the waiter would notice and have a spoon waiting for you at your table before you’d even got back to your seat. One morning I decided to test the staff and picked out only foods that needed a spoon and each time I returned to my table a clean spoon had magically appeared.

On our most recent visit, however, the hotel had employed a new manager and we quickly noticed some changes, the spoons, alas, being one. This year we had to ask for spoons (I know – outrageous!). Although they arrived almost instantly, causing no disruption to our breakfast, it did make me think that the standard of service had dropped.

Going back to our management team meeting, we talked about the small things that can greatly affect customer experience and from now on, we are all looking for opportunities to give our customers a ‘spoon moment’ and deliver amazing customer support.

There are many parallels between the worlds of sport and business – and, showcasing some brilliant and appalling football, this year’s World Cup offered rich pickings for lessons about strategy and teamwork in action. Here are my top three conclusions from Brazil.

1. It’s all about the team

In the run-up to the World Cup there was a lot of talk surrounding the star players. Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Balotelli and Andres Iniesta were all cited as players capable of carrying a nation single-handedly into the final – and yet all were on their way home after the group stages. In business you could compare these players to the star salesperson, who struts around the office proudly telling everyone how great they are and how they are saving everyone's jobs as a result of their latest great deal. My experience is that you can only be the star salesperson when you have a great team around you delivering on your promises.

In my mind it was the defensive unit of Argentina, marshalled by Javier Mascherano not Lionel Messi that took them to the final. Germany, however, were the ultimate demonstration that the strength of a collaborative and selfless team far outweighs that of a lone star. As a business we need to acknowledge and celebrate the operational and administration departments that make us look so good week in, week out.

2. You have to take risks

USA’s Tim Howard’s 16 saves against Belgium were enough to set a new World Cup record. Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico also made a name for himself with a number of amazing saves. Statistics show that the USA had the best defence in the tournament, making the most blocks and tackles but neither the USA nor Mexico progressed to the final. Germany had the second best defence – but Germany also had the best passing record and the top goal scorer. A well-organised business with good processes is the foundation which keeps customers happy and coming back, but to grow and develop you need new customers and products. You can’t win in any discipline unless you’re willing to take calculated risks, go out into  different parts of the 'pitch' and try and score with some new customers and markets.

3. You have to believe

I sat with a friend to watch the Germany vs. Brazil quarter final and as we watched all the pre- match build-up, he turned to me and said: “Brazil are going to get thrashed.” They just didn’t look up for it. The Brazilian team completely overplayed Neymar’s injury and the lengths to which Brazil’s federation went to get team captain Thiago Silvawho’s suspension overturned sent a clear message to the rest of the team: we do not believe we can win without these players. Brazil lost hope and forgot to play. There are many occasions in business when we could convince ourselves things are not possible. We have all heard things like ‘we can never get that finished this week’, or ‘that company will never deal with us’. Opportunities and chances are dead before they are even started in a self-fulfilling prophecy. But a little belief can go a very long way.