Click on the link to read my article, Why We Can No Longer Rely On Financial Services, which has just been posted on BNET.
© Stuart Cross 2010. All rights reserved.
Archive for the ‘Stuart's World’ Category
Why We Can No Longer Rely On Financial Services
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010Stuart Quoted On BNET
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009I was recently interviewed and quoted on BNET for an article called Why Women Aren’t Making It To The Board
In many ways this is an old, familiar story, but why do you think that women are still in short supply along the executive corridor, and what, if anything, do you think should be done about it?
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.
Video Testimonial
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009This year I’ve been working with Simon McCandlish, the Director of Pharmacy and Healthcare at Boots the Chemists, and have helped him and his team develop a new strategy for growth. I’m delighted and grateful that Simon has taken the time to share his reflections on the experience.
Hello Lenton!
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
As part of my mid-life crisis, I’ve started playing guitar in a rock band. On Saturday we played our fourth gig (I can use the word “gig” now that I’m in a band) at a football club in a Nottingham suburb.
Unlike our previous gigs (see, I’ve said it again) we did not take any kind of fan base with us on Saturday – and it showed. In earlier shows we have had 20 or so family and friends in the audience, leading the applause and the dancing.
On Saturday, the crowd at the football club’s social evening had come along to meet friends, to chat and have a few drinks. They were hardly aware that a band was on at all, and most only gave us passing interest.
The reaction of the band was interesting. We started making more mistakes than usual and put less effort into some of the solos and big finishes. At the end, instead of congratulating each other and reviewing the set, we simply packed our stuff away, loaded up our cars and went our separate ways.
Businesses need committed fans; customers who are willing to lead the cheering and the dancing. They help you raise your game, as well as increasing the interest of other potential customers who may have otherwise ignored your offerings.
How many cheerleading fans does your business have, and is this number stagnant, in decline or growing? The answers to these questions are likely to be your best guide to your future success.
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.
Bathroom Industry Leaders See Opportunities For Growth
Thursday, October 29th, 2009October 29, 2009
For Immediate Release
Bathroom Industry Leaders See Opportunities For Growth
The UK bathroom industry is sensing recovery from the current recession. A survey of senior executives from the bathroom industry, organised by the Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association (BMA) and Morgan Cross Consulting, highlighted their increased optimism about future growth prospects.
All those surveyed said that their business would deliver profit growth in the next 12 months, and a third of the executives believed that significant opportunities for profitable growth are emerging in their key markets.
“Our members are moving from a position of protecting existing business to driving new growth,” said Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive of the BMA. “Critical to their future growth strategies are accelerating new product development, improving customer service and entering new markets.”
“Our recent annual conference underpinned our members’ focus on the future,” said Mrs. Orgill. “This industry’s leaders are pragmatic and practical and if they see new growth opportunities, then I’m sure they will deliver them.”
Stuart Cross, the founder of Morgan Cross Consulting and who led a keynote session at the BMA conference, said that the survey had highlighted the importance of businesses having a clear strategy for growth. “We asked BMA members what lessons they had learned from the last 12 months,” said Mr. Cross. “The key message coming back from them was the importance of being on the front foot and being proactive. This means business leaders must know where they are trying to get to and have a clear strategy for growth.”
The Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) is the trade association for manufacturers of bathroom products trading in the UK. The BMA represents the interests of 35 major bathroom-manufacturing groups with a collective 76 well known brands in the market place. The manufacturing base directly employs over 9,500 people across 61+ sites around the UK, and the combined annual turnover of the membership is in excess of £1 billion per annum.
Morgan Cross Consulting helps world-class companies dramatically accelerate profit growth. Since its launch in 2006 the firm has attracted clients including Avon Cosmetics, Alliance Boots, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Groupe Aeroplan.
Contact Details:
Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive, Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association, Federation House, Station Road, Stoke on Trent, ST4 2RT. Tel: 01782-747123. Web: www.bathroom-association.org
Stuart Cross, Morgan Cross Consulting, PO Box 9210, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, NG24 9EG. Tel: 01636-52611. Web: www.morgancross.co.uk
End End End
The Beauty Of Failure
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
A couple of things happened yesterday to remind me that, when it comes to business, failure is seldom fatal.
First, I read Luke Johnson’s article in the FT, which argued that setbacks and failures were the crucibles in which great business leaders are forged. Far from being the death of executive careers, Johnson argues that they can, with resilience and commitment, be their launch pad.
Second, and far more memorably, I had a phone conversation with the ex-boss who made me redundant over three years ago.
During the course of our conversation, we discussed the possibility of me helping this manager’s team develop a new, more radical growth strategy.
We may or may not end up working together (although I would be more than happy to help). The big lesson for me from this, however, is that our reputations and careers are not written in stone, but are more like a garden.
With careful nurturing and pruning, gardens bloom and prosper and are more than able to withstand periodic frosts, dry spells and floods. Healthy growth will soon reappear.
Our careers are similar. The odd setback may hurt our ego, and possibly our wallet, but the experience from failure can be invaluable.
And careers, like gardens, which are immaculately groomed are, well, a bit boring aren’t they?
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.
Speaking At The BMA Conference
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009I have just returned from speaking at the Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association’s (BMA) annual conference earlier today. The managers and directors attending this year’s conference have been hit hard by the recession, but, in conversation, they remain quietly optimistic about the next 12 months.
Yvonne Orgill, the Executive Director, is a great leader of the association, and, working closely with her team over the past four years, has developed a strong and dynamic conference. Other speakers at today’s event included Richard Hytner from Saatchi & Saatchi, and design guru Wayne Hemmingway.
I really enjoyed my session, which was called “Strategies For Sustainable Success” and the questions raised by the audience have, as ever, provoked further thinking. Here are three of the questions:
- How do you really develop the organisational commitment to deliver strategies that raise the bar? (A theme that has also been taken up by Stefan Stern in the FT today)
- What are the best ways to developing and embedding customer service capabilities in manufacturing firms?
- What do larger companies need to do in order to be able to offer truly customised solutions to their customers, and how should they be organised to make it happen?
I will be thinking about these issues, and probably blogging on them, in the coming weeks.
© Stuart Cross 2009. All rights reserved.