5: TRY A SALON HANG
This is when you put lots of pictures on a wall, just like in a 19th-century salon. But you need to plan it out first. “You lay it out on the floor next to the wall you want to do it on. Say your biggest picture is going to go in the middle to the left, you put that on the floor in the middle to the left, and you just do it from there by eye.” When it comes to putting them on the wall, don’t worry too much about the distance between pictures. “You don’t have to measure it all out,” she says. “But you need at least 4cm [1½in] or 5cm [2in] between each work so it can breathe a little bit.”
WORK & CAREER
Going to work is never just about doing your job. You have to learn a whole other set of skills in order to survive and thrive in the workplace. Nobody’s going to give you a pay rise unless you ask for one, so how best to negotiate it? When you need to present a new product or talk at a leaving party, how do you do that with charisma? And when you’ve been told to take on an extra project, how do you get it done? We consulted the specialist in those areas and more. If an office job isn’t your speed, don’t worry – we’ve got a guide to writing a bestselling novel, too…
START A BILLIONDOLLAR COMPANY
Sir Richard Branson’s empire of more than 400 companies, 90,000 staff and a private island began with just £200. That was the money he put into Student magazine, which he set up at the age of 16 to give young people a voice at the height of the Vietnam War. From there he became a paragon of entrepreneurialism, founding a chain of record stores (and, later, a record label), an airline, a train company, a radio station, a series of gyms, a space tourism operation – all under the Virgin umbrella. Today, Virgin Group is worth an estimated $7 billion and Branson is one of the most influential people on the planet. We asked him for the crucial advice you must heed to ensure your next business venture flourishes…
1: FRUSTRATIONS ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF BUSINESS IDEAS
“I hated flying on other people’s airlines,” says Branson. “The experience was a miserable one, there was no entertainment, the food was dreadful, the staff generally didn’t smile, they were old planes. So, out of sheer frustration, I thought, ‘Let’s get a secondhand 747 and give it a go’, and Virgin Atlantic was born. With Virgin Records, it was out of frustration at not being able to get a record deal for Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells . I knew it was a great, beautiful-sounding record, but nobody would sign it. So I said: ‘Screw that, let’s start our own record company.’”
2: YOUR PRODUCT MUST BE BETTER THAN YOUR COMPETITORS’
“We’ve had a number of things that haven’t worked out – obviously Virgin Cola was the biggest one. But we had a lot of fun doing it and it didn’t do us any harm: if you take on the big guys and fail, people respect you for it. The principal thing I learned from it was we weren’t different enough. We had a fun brand but we were just a can of cola. Ever since then we’ve never launched anything unless we feel that we are head and shoulders above the competition.”
3: EMBRACE FLEXIBLE WORKING
“You’ve got to get a fantastic team around you and, in my opinion, treat them like you would your family. In Virgin Group headquarters, people can take as much holiday as they want and it’s paid. If people want to work from home, they can work from home. I’ve always worked from either a houseboat or an island – I’ve never worked from an office, and I’m sitting here now in a hammock looking over the sea and running a small empire with 90,000 people. Working from a pleasant environment, you can get more done and have more time to think.”
4: CARRY A NOTEBOOK
“I’m a bit religious about it. If I’m on a Virgin plane, I will get out there, talk to the staff, talk to the customers, and it’s that feedback that ends up making a company exceptional. If you don’t write things down, you don’t get them sorted. If I’m in a meeting with people and they’re not taking notes, I may not show it but I get slightly frustrated. A lot of people feel that taking notes is beneath them, that it’s somehow not something that chief execs at companies do. But I think they’re mistaken.”
5: DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE
Rather than getting bogged down in the day-to-day, you need to be free to look at the big picture (though be prepared to get involved when there’s a problem). “I’ve told a lot of entrepreneurs: once you’ve got the company up and running, replace yourself in the office and move out of the office. Let that person run the company. And then, because you’re not there, you’re not going to offend anybody if someone turns up wanting to see you and take up your time. If you’re a real entrepreneur, you’ll be moving on to the next entrepreneurial excitement.”
WORK A ROOM LIKE A MASTER CONNECTOR
Networking is officially a turn-off. A study by University of Toronto has shown that the mere mention of business cards or professional networks is sufficient to induce feelings of disgust – and yet those same researchers also found that networking is vital for getting ahead in your career. The key, according to Oli Barrett, is to change how you approach it.
Barrett was once anointed “the most connected man in Britain” by Wired magazine. The co-founder of social innovation agency Cospa has led 11 international trade missions, sits on multiple advisory boards, including that of the Centre for Entrepreneurs, and is credited with bringing speed networking to the UK. We asked him for five cast-iron tips to make networking more natural, more enjoyable and more effective…
1: DON’T GO IN COLD TO AN EVENT
Research the other guests and, if out of town, skim the local newspaper – it’s a great source of titbits, and your awareness will impress. Also consider how you’re going to introduce yourself. The key is to offer an array of hooks to get the conversation rolling. “I met a guy who realized the way he had been introducing himself was too boring – just his name and what he did. By giving a longer introduction – that he was from New Zealand, that he had stayed there for a long time as he loves surfing, but now he’s in California – he could offer four or five talking points.”
2: DON’T BE WEIRD
While you can simply walk up to guests, your opener should call out what you’re doing: “Do you mind if I introduce myself?” It’s preferable, however, to be introduced by the host. “You can say to her, ‘This is a brilliant event, all sorts of interesting people – who’s here?’ That has given me higher-quality introductions than anything else.” Having met someone, don’t ask, “What do you do?” Many people hate their job and the question can imply judgment. Instead, try, “What’s keeping you busy at the moment?”
3: DON’T BE A BUSINESS CARD BUFFOON
Never hand over your business card at the start or end of a conversation. “To me, that’s a bit salesman. My ideal time is at a particular point where you’ve identified a mutual interest – ‘I’d be very pleased to drop you a note about that.’” That approach is especially beneficial, as networking is all about showing you can be helpful to someone, thereby building goodwill for the future. Barrett likes to have a set of personal business cards alongside company cards. The former are practical (if he changes job, he won’t lose the contact) and also make the other person feel special.
4: DON’T FLUFF THE EXIT
Room-working newbies often find it awkward to leave a conversation. A good tactic is to introduce the other person to someone else, and then say goodbye. However, it’s also perfectly acceptable to be more straightforward. Barrett’s favourite line is: “I know you’ve probably got other people you want to meet. Will you excuse me, I’ve just got to go and say hello to a colleague?” You can then sign off with: “Are you staying for the rest of the evening? I might see you later on.”
5: DON’T MISTAKE WORKING A ROOM FOR NETWORKING
Want to create a connection with someone? Follow up. Offering to meet near their office for a 20-minute coffee is effective, as are brief handwritten notes. “I know someone who sold a company for over a billion dollars. The secret of their success was sending handwritten notes to investor
s they met along the way.” More importantly, maintain connections. If Barrett sees an interesting news article, he sends it to at least two people with a message saying, “I saw this and thought of you. No need to reply.” He also has Google alerts to prompt him to write when someone has had good (or bad) news.
ASK FOR A PAY RISE – AND GET IT
Think you’re a good negotiator? You may be wrong. Adam Grant argues that even experts use strategies that, although widely perceived to be effective, are actually counterproductive. A professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and the author of Give and Take (2013), Grant uses data-led research to establish tactics that actually work – and has taught his findings to major organizations such as the US Army, World Economic Forum and Google. We asked him for the most fruitful way to handle that necessary but difficult conversation: asking your boss for a higher salary…
1: BEFOREHAND, WORK OUT WHAT YOU WANT
Establish a target salary range based on industry benchmarks and – if possible – the revenue you create for the business. Also, calculate the value of your next best alternative to a raise, such as taking a job elsewhere. “Then you won’t accept anything worse than your backup.”
2: IN THE MEETING, CREATE A MOOD OF COLLABORATION
Build rapport, sharing information that can’t be used against you. When it’s time to talk salary, show that you’re serious but fair-minded. Grant likes the line: “These are my goals, I’d love to figure out a way to achieve them that’s also reasonable for you.”
3: DON’T JUST ASK FOR MORE MONEY
Put multiple items on the table – your salary, your job description, perks – in different combinations: “I’d be thrilled with a 20 per cent raise and an opportunity to change my title; or a 15 per cent raise and a shift in role.” As it’s no longer a simple “yes” or “no” question, psychologically your boss is more likely to choose one of your options – all of which involve a raise.
4: THE NEGOTIATION
Justify your demands based primarily on your contribution to the company. If your boss makes you a decent counteroffer, you should still try to nudge him upward. Decrease your initial offer by ever smaller amounts (to suggest that you’re nearing a hard line) until you reach agreement.
5: WHAT IF THEY REFUSE TO OFFER ANYTHING AT ALL?
Ask if there is someone else in the company you could speak to. If there isn’t, say, “That isn’t viable for my long-term plans, so if that’s the bottom line, I may have to see what else is available. But I don’t want to do that so if there is a way to avoid it, I would love to explore that.”
GIVE A SPEECH THAT THEY’LL REMEMBER
At the British Conservative Party conference in 1977, a 16-year-old boy stole the show with a stirring speech so accomplished that Margaret Thatcher declared it “thrilling”. That boy was William Hague, who would later become a Conservative MP, rise to serve as the party’s leader and, in 2015, be made a life peer: Lord Hague of Richmond. His talent for public speaking has underpinned his successes, and he is regarded by many as one of the finest political orators – and, indeed, after-dinner wits – of his generation. The key, he says, is planning every speech. “I don’t know if I’m at thousands or tens of thousands, but I still, even now, always prepare, because every audience is different,” he says. As for what to prepare, and how to deliver it…
1: THE OPENING IS FUNDAMENTAL
“What goes into the first two minutes is worth ten times more than what goes into the 20th minute,” says Lord Hague. That’s because people decide whether to listen or tune out right at the start. “There’s not a fixed rule to how you begin, but it’s got to be something which gets their attention. The classic way, of course, is with a self-deprecating joke or story that shows that you’re not a pompous, arrogant person.” He says he has a large stock of stories he likes to pick from: “Embarrassing situations of international diplomacy, rude confrontations with voters…”
2: DON’T JUST PUT PEN TO PAPER
Every speech should have an argument, even a speech at a wedding, so sketch out the structure first. “There is some limit to how many ideas can be in a speech. A rule of three is pretty good.” When you start writing, pepper the speech with moments that get the audience to interact – perhaps make them laugh, clap or respond to a question – as this keeps them engaged. “When I was trying to get selected as an MP, my rule was to get the selection committee to ‘do something’ every 90 seconds.”
3: WAKE UP YOUR VOICE
A good start is to get some fresh air. “Before a big conference speech, I would go for a walk on the seafront at Blackpool. Or before Prime Minister’s questions, I would always go and walk around St James’s Park.” A dose of sugar just beforehand also helps. “This can be having a spoonful of sugar in your tea. Or the more decadent version is to have a drink of port, which, having a high sugar content, does actually increase the volume of your larynx. In the House of Commons, when there were 400 Labour MPs against me – and they could make a lot of noise – then I used to have the sugar in the tea.”
4: FOCUS ON THE PHYSICAL
Keeping fit is vital. “You need big lungs and that enables you sometimes to give a continuous sentence or paragraph without interrupting your breath – to suddenly do that can be an effective technique.” When delivering the speech, project from the chest rather than the throat. You should also aim to convey excitement about what you’re saying and make gestures. “You see MPs stick their hands in their pockets. It’s distracting to do that, and the body language looks like, ‘I don’t care about this situation.’”
5: MAKE THE ENDING COUNT
“The value of the ending is that it’s probably the bit they are going to remember the most.” It should summarize the argument but not repeat it – you could use a new anecdote, say, or new forms of language. If you have a strict time limit, prepare the ending as a separate item to which you can directly jump. Afterward, if appropriate, take questions. This shows that you know your subject matter, and being open to discussion improves the atmosphere in which your speech is received. “Generally, you should overrule anyone who is advising you not to take questions.”
ACE THE JOB INTERVIEW
When the Bank of England, Stanford University or MetLife need to fill their most senior positions, they call Odgers Berndtson. The high-profile headhunting firm is run by Kester Scrope, and he says that sometimes even the smartest candidates need to brush up on their interview technique. “You would be amazed and appalled by how badly prepared people often are.” Research is vital – not only to push the right buttons, but also to find out if you actually want the job in the first place. If the prospect does excite you, here are five tips to avoid common pitfalls…
1: RESEARCH THE PERSON WHO WILL BE INTERVIEWING YOU
“If you can create a sense of empathy by finding common ground with somebody, that is incredibly helpful,” says Scrope. “So, if it turns out you went to the same university, when they ask you about your education, you can mention that. They will be flattered that you’re interested in them.”
2: BE STRATEGIC BUT DON’T DECEIVE
Aim to make a good impression – arrive ten minutes early, prepare a question to ask at the end. Don’t, however, pretend to be someone you’re not. It’s a drain on brainpower, and the truth will out. Similarly, don’t exaggerate past successes. “They’ll see through it, and it just calls into question everything you’re claiming.”
3: SHOW THAT YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE JOB
“Sometimes people come a cropper because they don’t want to look too keen. This comes across as rather haughty. That’s a turn-off: it will make the employer concerned you won’t stick around. Tell them you’re excited about the job, and show that through energy and enthusiasm. They’ll want to see those qualities anyway, as they are the key to leading people.”
4: PREPARE FOR CLASSIC TRAP QUESTIONS
Example: “What are your weaknesses?” For this one, consider what your refer
ees will say about you when they’re asked the same thing. So be honest – though don’t choose anything damaging – and, crucially, explain your strategy for offsetting it. You might say: “I get over-committed with work, but my passion for sport helps give me balance.”
5: RESIST ANSWERING SIMPLE QUESTIONS WITH CLICHÉS
Take: “Why do you want to work here?” Rather than talking about how they’re the best in the business, Scrope suggests trying: “The values of the organization fit me and I think you have an amazing opportunity to take the business from A to B. It would be fantastic for my career to be able to be a part of that journey.”
WRITE A BEST-SELLING NOVEL
Think it’s tough to publish your first book? Tony Parsons has some words of encouragement. “Actually, you’re in quite a good position,” he says, “because you can be anything – there’s no expectation with you.” Parsons speaks from experience. While working in a London gin factory as a teenager, he wrote his debut novel, The Kids (1976), and was inspired to switch careers. Alongside regular newspaper and magazine columns, he would go on to produce a run of bestsellers, including his breakthrough Man and Boy (1999), The Family Way (2004) and My Favourite Wife (2008), before pivoting into crime fiction with the DC Max Wolfe series, now on its fifth instalment with 2018’s Girl on Fire . Maintaining such a high hit rate is a function of talent, yes, but also know-how…
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