Unemployment is officially now at nearly 2.5 million (7.9%), but that’s not the full story. Many thousands more are without work. They are not on the dole figures and they don’t as yet cost the nation any quantifiable cash, but there is a cost, a significant one, that may be hard to define, but which will be felt in the very near future. These are the self-employed, the folks who decided to ‘go it alone’ or ‘get on their bikes’ and set up rafts of micro businesses. Many are facing ruin.
A micro business is, typically, a one-man band – trainers, journalists, freelance salesmen, home helps, mobile mechanics, plumbers, electricians, management consultants, among many more. They have worked on the fringes of mainstream business, mopping up spare capacity, often providing lower cost alternatives to better-known corporates. For many of them, work has dried up and they are, in fact if not officially, currently jobless.
Any official help?
There was a summit in Glasgow on the effects of the economic downturn, designed ‘to better support individuals and business facing hardship due to the economic downturn’. It brought together the Minister of State for Welfare Reform, the Education Minister, and representatives of various trade unions and others. That was two years ago. Since then what has happened?
At about the same time, a Think Tank called Race on the Agenda concerned itself with the effects of the downturn on minorities. Racial minorities. Mervyn King has spoken of the mounting misery in households facing the biggest decline in their living standards since the 1920s. But spare a thought for two groups whose misery is even more palpable: middle class dole claimants and the self-employed who have no work.
No one is immune
Talk to a former middle manager who has had to clear his desk and surrender his gleaming company car. In the good times, he mortgaged himself to the hilt and entertained at home, living up to the image of a successful businessman. Now, aged 50 or more, he has little prospect of a job. When his savings dry up, he’ll wonder whether he should stack shelves in the supermarket or offer to do odd jobs like painting and decorating – anything to bring in some cash. Some even take up mini-cabbing. A colleague of mine called for a minicab one evening and was embarrassed when the man who turned up used to be his senior in previous years, a man he used to call Sir.
It’s pretty much the same for the sole trader whose work has dried up. Competition is fierce for whatever work there is, and price cutting is sharp. Everyone is uncertain where the point of balance lies – the point at which they are disregarded because they are too cheap and therefore cannot be any good.
The real cost is to self esteem. When you sit at your desk all day, every day, trying to market yourself and no one buys, you rapidly start to doubt yourself. One new business getter for management consultants, wondered if he had any value in the market place. He started to describe himself as a one-trick pony that no one wants. As one who has made and lost a fortune in the past, he has what it takes, and he’s a highly skilled wheeler-dealer, but he was last seen looking for a job. Back in full-time employment.
Sadly, it’s a vicious spiral. When work stops coming through the door, you have to swallow your pride and go looking for it. But you are already feeling rejected by the market and past customers, so you put off writing those prospecting letters or picking up the phone. Fear of rejection is a paralysing force. And when you are working as a sole trader, there is no one to bolster you, remind you of your strengths, encourage you to keep trying.
Huge fund of potential
The number of people in this situation is very large. In 1999, there were 3.7m firms in Britain. Two thirds of them were sole traders. By 2007, that proportion had risen to three quarters of the 4.5 million firms. It was just before the start of the economic slowdown and the drying up of credit, and those 3.3 million sole operators turned over a massive £1,440 billion.
That’s a considerable amount of wealth creation, even if it is not mainstream. It derives from a huge bank of energy, drive and creativity. The more successful ones go on to create jobs and build larger firms. They are known as entrepreneurs. Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates of Microsoft and Sir Richard Branson are examples of sole traders turned entrepreneur. In the current economic wilderness, such people are a threatened breed.
Why are they important? Because their drive comes from doing the things they love, and that’s so much more important than just doing a job for a salary. Steve Jobs once said, “The only way to do great work is to do what you love.” We need people who do great work. Sole traders are, in effect, CEOs -- men and women with the drive, tenacity and creativity to solve problems and deliver successful outcomes rather than going through the motions.
Can the nation afford to lose them?
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
We speak the way we think
Some years ago I was Senior Copywriter at The Reader's Digest. And yes, we did spend a lot of time discussing the positioning of the apostrophe in Reader's.
One of my colleagues, Donald, was an Art Director in the Creative Department. Donald had an extraordinary way with words. Some of our colleagues would stuff a hankie into their mouths, with eyes streaming with tears of mirth, and rush into another office to write down some of the things he said.
Donald ranked with Spooner, Mrs Malaprop and Sam Goldwyn in his mangling of language.
He developed MS and, to raise some funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and with his permission, we published a small book of Donald's collected sayings, under the title, "My Pear Tree Has Gone Bananas". If you ever got your hands on a copy, you'd have found it was "right up your cup of tea", as Donald himself once said.
When he struggled with powerful emotions, Don would mix his metaphors. Here are a few:
* This job is a right swine of a cow
* It's always better talking to the horse's mouth
* There was a little rat on the door
* I'm caught between the devil and the frying pan
Donald liked his food, and was heard to say:
* Can I have the Halibut Provencale without the garlic?
* I'll have fillet of sole off the bone.
* I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday; it all goes in one ear and out the other
* He comes around here and picks up all the crumbs that make up the cream
Asked about his illness, Don said:
* It's all to do with the spine ... because the legs are connected to the body, and the arms are connected to the head
* My legs felt like solid jelly
* I feel like death rolled up
* My doctor said I'm not as young as I should be
Feeling the need for emphasis, he would say:
* I don't exaggerate, I do six million jobs at once
* Five tenths of an inch is an inch in my language
When I coach people in the best ways to get their point across, I still remember Don calling it a disastrous success and asking, How long is a carrot?
He spoke the way he thought. Right up his cup of tea.
PKP
One of my colleagues, Donald, was an Art Director in the Creative Department. Donald had an extraordinary way with words. Some of our colleagues would stuff a hankie into their mouths, with eyes streaming with tears of mirth, and rush into another office to write down some of the things he said.
Donald ranked with Spooner, Mrs Malaprop and Sam Goldwyn in his mangling of language.
He developed MS and, to raise some funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and with his permission, we published a small book of Donald's collected sayings, under the title, "My Pear Tree Has Gone Bananas". If you ever got your hands on a copy, you'd have found it was "right up your cup of tea", as Donald himself once said.
When he struggled with powerful emotions, Don would mix his metaphors. Here are a few:
* This job is a right swine of a cow
* It's always better talking to the horse's mouth
* There was a little rat on the door
* I'm caught between the devil and the frying pan
Donald liked his food, and was heard to say:
* Can I have the Halibut Provencale without the garlic?
* I'll have fillet of sole off the bone.
* I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday; it all goes in one ear and out the other
* He comes around here and picks up all the crumbs that make up the cream
Asked about his illness, Don said:
* It's all to do with the spine ... because the legs are connected to the body, and the arms are connected to the head
* My legs felt like solid jelly
* I feel like death rolled up
* My doctor said I'm not as young as I should be
Feeling the need for emphasis, he would say:
* I don't exaggerate, I do six million jobs at once
* Five tenths of an inch is an inch in my language
When I coach people in the best ways to get their point across, I still remember Don calling it a disastrous success and asking, How long is a carrot?
He spoke the way he thought. Right up his cup of tea.
PKP
Monday, 14 February 2011
How to handle rejection in sales
A lot of people consider selling to be a confrontational conversion, lightly smeared with honey to make it seem agreeable. There are two reasons for that: first, the sales person wants to win, and second, the prospect wants to retain both his money and his pride.
Now, of course this does not happen in every sale, but it can be considered a typical model. Elements of the confrontation could quite easily enter any sale.
The second reason is that the sales person is scared of rejection. As you know, fear of loss or pain is a much more powerful motivator than the prospect of gain. Rejection brings loss of face - a concept not restricted to Orientals.
To avoid rejection, the sales person needs a protective strategy.
Some adopt a tough attitude, placing themselves in the dominant role, and the prospect in the role of supplicant. This old-fashioned macho approach is doomed to failure in the long run. Even short term gains may quickly be reversed with cancellations at the first opportunity.
Even the prospect wants to save face!
If you are selling, you need to build into your preparation a fall-back position. What is the least you will settle for if you don't get the sale?
It could be something as simple as an introduction to another prospect, or even another appointment in three months' time. It could be a referral to someone else. Viewed in the context of a new relationship, an immediate sale is not the only objective.
Work out what you will accept as an alternative to your main objective and you will be able to walk out with your tail up. Selling is hard, and no one can endure repeated rejections without being affected.
So protect yourself. Plan your fall-back position and give yourself another chance to feel good about the encounter.
Phillip
Now, of course this does not happen in every sale, but it can be considered a typical model. Elements of the confrontation could quite easily enter any sale.
The second reason is that the sales person is scared of rejection. As you know, fear of loss or pain is a much more powerful motivator than the prospect of gain. Rejection brings loss of face - a concept not restricted to Orientals.
To avoid rejection, the sales person needs a protective strategy.
Some adopt a tough attitude, placing themselves in the dominant role, and the prospect in the role of supplicant. This old-fashioned macho approach is doomed to failure in the long run. Even short term gains may quickly be reversed with cancellations at the first opportunity.
Even the prospect wants to save face!
If you are selling, you need to build into your preparation a fall-back position. What is the least you will settle for if you don't get the sale?
It could be something as simple as an introduction to another prospect, or even another appointment in three months' time. It could be a referral to someone else. Viewed in the context of a new relationship, an immediate sale is not the only objective.
Work out what you will accept as an alternative to your main objective and you will be able to walk out with your tail up. Selling is hard, and no one can endure repeated rejections without being affected.
So protect yourself. Plan your fall-back position and give yourself another chance to feel good about the encounter.
Phillip
Sunday, 13 February 2011
The eloquence of a celebrity handshake
Before the Scotland-Wales rugby match on Saturday, when Princess Anne was introduced to the teams, her handshake technique was very different from that adopted by Ireland's President, Mary MacAleese on Sunday. It spoke eloquently in body language.
Mary MacAleese went along the line quickly, keeping her right arm extended as she briefly shook each person's hand in turn. In effect, it was one handshake, shared by each person in the line. It signalled that she was moving on.
Princess Anne did it differently. After each handshake, she returned her arm to her side, making a fresh gesture for each person. It signalled that she was greeting each person afresh, giving that person his own share of her attention and time. It was superb!
When a dignitary keeps the arm extended, simply moving it along to the next person in the line, the contact is almost meaningless. In body language terms, it is superficial, a hello-goodbye, even if though I'm certain it was not her intention, because Mary MacAleese is a gracious lady.
What Princess Anne did, the way she returned her arm to her side each time, was a mark of politeness and respect, and very good manners. It was a fine example of the right body language, and I'm sure each person felt a significant contact with her, however briefly.
Gestures, even small ones, are the unspoken language that can sometimes add so much meaning to the spoken word.
Phillip
Mary MacAleese went along the line quickly, keeping her right arm extended as she briefly shook each person's hand in turn. In effect, it was one handshake, shared by each person in the line. It signalled that she was moving on.
Princess Anne did it differently. After each handshake, she returned her arm to her side, making a fresh gesture for each person. It signalled that she was greeting each person afresh, giving that person his own share of her attention and time. It was superb!
When a dignitary keeps the arm extended, simply moving it along to the next person in the line, the contact is almost meaningless. In body language terms, it is superficial, a hello-goodbye, even if though I'm certain it was not her intention, because Mary MacAleese is a gracious lady.
What Princess Anne did, the way she returned her arm to her side each time, was a mark of politeness and respect, and very good manners. It was a fine example of the right body language, and I'm sure each person felt a significant contact with her, however briefly.
Gestures, even small ones, are the unspoken language that can sometimes add so much meaning to the spoken word.
Phillip
Anorchidism: another *recent* affliction?
Last evening, my Barbershop group, The Kentones, gave a fund-raising concert at Petts Wood, in support of a charity called the Anorchidism Support Group. What, I hear you ask, is Anorchidism?
It's a rare condition that people find hard to talk about. It's the absence of testes in boys.
It's embarrassiing for the parents and, in later life, for the boys themselves. Treatment involves injections of testerone in early life, and gels or creams in adulthood. The Support Group was set up in the UK in 1995, because parents of the affected children did not know where to get help or reassurance (other than medical). They felt isolated and even guilty.
All this suggests that the condition is relatively new. It is still not known what causes it.
I am therefore inclined to ask, is this a recent affliction caused by the environmental changes that Man has brought about? We already know about plastic migrating into our food, and oestrogen in the water supply. And remember Thalidomide?
Is Anorchidism another consequence of our misuse of chemicals or some other abuse of our environment?
Phillip
It's a rare condition that people find hard to talk about. It's the absence of testes in boys.
It's embarrassiing for the parents and, in later life, for the boys themselves. Treatment involves injections of testerone in early life, and gels or creams in adulthood. The Support Group was set up in the UK in 1995, because parents of the affected children did not know where to get help or reassurance (other than medical). They felt isolated and even guilty.
All this suggests that the condition is relatively new. It is still not known what causes it.
I am therefore inclined to ask, is this a recent affliction caused by the environmental changes that Man has brought about? We already know about plastic migrating into our food, and oestrogen in the water supply. And remember Thalidomide?
Is Anorchidism another consequence of our misuse of chemicals or some other abuse of our environment?
Phillip
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Books I no longer finish
I am an avid reader and often have several books on the go at the same time. In the past I used to struggle on, to finish them all, no matter how long it took, as though I were the Mastermind quiz master (I've started so I'll finish). But a few years ago I decided not to finish reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, because I found it hard going, and it was far too long. I felt a little guilty, because he's from Calcutta, and so am I.
Soon after that decision, I met up with a schoolmate, who had also lived in Calcutta, and inevitably he asked me if I had read the book. When I told him of my decision, he gave a deep sigh of relief and confessed that he had also been unable to finish reading the book.
Since then I have given up on a number of books. I no longer feel an obligation to struggle to the end. Although I am still reluctant to throw out any book, I place a post-it note inside stating my decision, and replace it on the shelf upside down so that I know to avoid reading it again.
Like most people, I have some books that I bought because I thought I should read them but never got around to doing so, and probably never will. Books such as the one about motorcycle maintenance and the one about the history of time. I like biographies, and bought books about or by such luminaries as Sven Goran Eriksson and David Frost, but lost the inclination to read beyond the Introductions. And then there' s a book that gives equal weight on the spine to Arnold Bennett and Margaret Drabble, so I am uncertain who wrote about whom, and can't be bothered to find out.
I read quite fast and, when absorbed, will make the time to read the current book at every opportunity, but these days I'm prepared to be ruthless and set aside the tome that fails to grip.
What's more, I no longer feel guilty.
Soon after that decision, I met up with a schoolmate, who had also lived in Calcutta, and inevitably he asked me if I had read the book. When I told him of my decision, he gave a deep sigh of relief and confessed that he had also been unable to finish reading the book.
Since then I have given up on a number of books. I no longer feel an obligation to struggle to the end. Although I am still reluctant to throw out any book, I place a post-it note inside stating my decision, and replace it on the shelf upside down so that I know to avoid reading it again.
Like most people, I have some books that I bought because I thought I should read them but never got around to doing so, and probably never will. Books such as the one about motorcycle maintenance and the one about the history of time. I like biographies, and bought books about or by such luminaries as Sven Goran Eriksson and David Frost, but lost the inclination to read beyond the Introductions. And then there' s a book that gives equal weight on the spine to Arnold Bennett and Margaret Drabble, so I am uncertain who wrote about whom, and can't be bothered to find out.
I read quite fast and, when absorbed, will make the time to read the current book at every opportunity, but these days I'm prepared to be ruthless and set aside the tome that fails to grip.
What's more, I no longer feel guilty.
Friday, 10 December 2010
Common Culture Clashes
We increasingly encounter the people and cultures of other nations, both in business and elsewhere, and we need to understand how and why clashes will occur. In my training programmes on cross cultural communication (www.pkpcommunicators.com) I help people to identify why and how people from other cultures behave differently. Here are 10 of the most common flashpoints.
1. When you notice a 'violation' of any rules or norms, you tend to think it's the ignorance of others, for example, when 'foreigners' jump the queue.
2. If these violations persist, you suspect people are being deliberately rude and in some cases downright dishonest. You expect them to learn and conform after being corrected once.
3. You are more likely to accept that they have a different set of rules after you have been abroad and justified your own departure from their 'norms' by saying, "Doesn't matter. I'm a foreigner/visitor."
4. The more similar two cultures are, the greater the shock when discrepancies surface, especially if you share a common language. You expect them to be 'just like us'.
5. Cultural friction is aggravated by communication breakdowns. People who do not understand what you are saying will often look blank. While their intention is to avoid the problem of language, that blank look (and avoiding eye contact) may cause you to consider them stupid.
6. When there is a cultural clash, people tend to give up easily rather than fight for principles, partly because it is difficult to explain, and it sounds weak to say, "Where I come from, we believe in ..."
7. Groups look for external referees and arbitrators when they are unable to communicate with each other. They want more than translators. They want someone to confirm that their way is right.
8. People who communicate effectively usually get their own way! Two factors matter most: one is command of the other's language, and the other is a smiling, patient approach that includes listening carefully to what the other person is saying.
9. People become embarrassed when they have to communicate in 'new' ways (remember trying to speak a foreign language at school?) They limit what they want to say to their available vocabulary, and rehearse their words before speaking.
10. When abroad, there is a common tendency to seek the company of compatriots, as a welcome relief from coping with the foreign language and customs. This not only gets in the way of understanding the local scene, it actually reinforces entrenched prejudices.
1. When you notice a 'violation' of any rules or norms, you tend to think it's the ignorance of others, for example, when 'foreigners' jump the queue.
2. If these violations persist, you suspect people are being deliberately rude and in some cases downright dishonest. You expect them to learn and conform after being corrected once.
3. You are more likely to accept that they have a different set of rules after you have been abroad and justified your own departure from their 'norms' by saying, "Doesn't matter. I'm a foreigner/visitor."
4. The more similar two cultures are, the greater the shock when discrepancies surface, especially if you share a common language. You expect them to be 'just like us'.
5. Cultural friction is aggravated by communication breakdowns. People who do not understand what you are saying will often look blank. While their intention is to avoid the problem of language, that blank look (and avoiding eye contact) may cause you to consider them stupid.
6. When there is a cultural clash, people tend to give up easily rather than fight for principles, partly because it is difficult to explain, and it sounds weak to say, "Where I come from, we believe in ..."
7. Groups look for external referees and arbitrators when they are unable to communicate with each other. They want more than translators. They want someone to confirm that their way is right.
8. People who communicate effectively usually get their own way! Two factors matter most: one is command of the other's language, and the other is a smiling, patient approach that includes listening carefully to what the other person is saying.
9. People become embarrassed when they have to communicate in 'new' ways (remember trying to speak a foreign language at school?) They limit what they want to say to their available vocabulary, and rehearse their words before speaking.
10. When abroad, there is a common tendency to seek the company of compatriots, as a welcome relief from coping with the foreign language and customs. This not only gets in the way of understanding the local scene, it actually reinforces entrenched prejudices.
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