| What motivates you to come into work each day?
I love the fact that many of my clients have actually become my friends. I even got an invite to a whole wedding, not just the evening event. I have been told that makes me a close friend.At Minerva we talk about relationship and engagement as an important part of living life. I feel lucky that my work and social life all mingles together nicely.
What’s the problem with 21st century companies?
There is a lot of focus and money spent on improving technology to improve service, unfortunately there is not the same level of investment spent on the people and therefore many companies suffer from ‘all tech, no heart’ syndrome. Unfortunately, this tends to defeat the object of improving service!
What are you most proud of?
As I’m in my 40’s, I’m proud of the fact that I haven’t turned into a cynic or a pessimist yet! Although, I have been told it can happen at anytime without warning. So I am going to keep taking the pills.
Biggest mistake
Not preparing enough for my speech for a Building Society Association conference in Harrogate in 2005. The auditorium was packed and I was standing on the same stage that Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton had once stood upon. Despite the fact that I’ve been public speaking for a living since the age of 23, it all went a bit pear shaped I’m glad to say my preparation is a lot better now!
Consultancy cliché
When we prepare for a project, we do research, write a report and make our recommendations. If they’re accepted I often hear someone on the client-side say that they once recommended something similar but were ignored because they’re not consultants!
How did you end up doing this?
A passion for living life to the full, and taking the opportunities life presented to me. I started as a Rank Xerox engineer and now I am a Director of Customer Relationships. Who would have guessed it?
Any other business?
I’d love to be a professional winemaker with a little vineyard somewhere, making small amounts of extremely good wine.I always have a couple of cases at home for sharing with friends (which as you can guess doesn’t last a very long time). What could be better than talking to people over a social glass of wine? Yum! Yum!
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