What I do — Hamilton Business

It can be lonely at the top and I know the value of having someone you trust, to share the load. In essence this is what I offer…. Confidentiality, Confiding and Collaboration between us, will provide trusted counsel that you can turn to and ask, challenge and absorb from. Open minds, that are willing to listen, learn and engage are a powerful force for any business. And it's not only when a business is under stress that needs the help of trusted experience, it’s needed in equal measure when growth, prosperity and success is peaking, during the inevitable dips and peaks within business, the time to act is just as you reach the peak, as this will avoid the plateau and inevitable fast or slow decline. If you have the trust in yourself, we will find the trust in my experience and yours, to make growth easier or the recovery process less daunting.

Call me on 07810 355716 and let’s take the first step.

“It can be lonely at the top and I know the value of having someone you trust to share the load. ”

— WILLIE HAMILTON

Remarkably, many businesses, but family or independent businesses in particular, have no proper succession plan in place. On many occasions it’s taken for granted that a chosen individual will just pick up the keys one wet Monday morning and everything will carry on as before. If only.

When I was recently asked “What will bring the demise of most businesses within the next decade?” My response was not, technology, the world economy or even climate change but “succession planning”.

When a business owner retires or sells the business the uncertainty reaches into every corner, it works silently, at first, but then screams and devours the culture, collaboration and continuation of even the most established businesses. Effective succession management can take months, maybe years of planning and frank discussions that don’t always go to plan.

As an independent adviser and confidant, I can help you build a succession strategy that will prioritise the wishes for yourself and the business, guide your children if they are involved, support your leaders and mentor you, to negotiate through any potential trade or management buy-out, whilst keeping your business and your people buoyed and ready for the future generation of leaders.

Call me on 07810 355716 and let’s take the first step.

Many businesses focus on improving efficiency, customer service and increased margins but that only goes so far, and, frankly, everyone is doing it to some degree or another. The best way to success and to create value’ is to innovate your way ahead of the competition.

Vision is a powerful attribute recognised in many great business leaders, but those with tunnel vision are rarely remembered or renowned. Energising your people to see problems as opportunities, turning lethargy into energy and ‘thinking’ your way out of problems will deliver outstanding results. I can deliver the tools to start the thought process that leads to delivering clarity and developing your vision and innovation.

Together we will explore what type of organisation you are, or aim to be, and how to become receptive to new ideas in tandem with practical methods to implement the principles.

To quote management guru Gary Hamel,

“Many businesses know how to get better but they don’t know how to get different.”

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room” is a widely known business quotation and I can provide you with that brand assessment support.

However, this reworked quote “Culture is what happens when the leader isn’t in the room” which of course is most of the time in businesses.

I believe that no matter how recognised your branding is, whatever your business size or however strong your cash balance and EBITDA performs, if your culture isn’t the right culture, your business performance will suffer.

Culture is the unrecognised business strength within many of the world’s most successful businesses both large and small.

Recent reports from the likes of Gallup show that culture driven businesses deliver higher profitability ratios, experience increased trust between colleagues and senior leaders, improve work satisfaction that is equal to a substantial salary increase, are leaner on personnel, know their customers better and are amongst the most successful start-ups, alongside those that were more likely to obtain outside investment for future growth.

Culture is about the conduct and behaviour of everyone involved but most importantly culture is determined by the leaders and that leadership becomes the identity of that business. The right culture builds trust, commitment, loyalty. and improved performance.

Every business has its own culture, identifying what that culture is and how to improve it, is a challenge that most businesses find difficult to identify or just ignore, as culture doesn’t appear to be a priority or KPI.

If you have recognised, or even more importantly haven’t recognised the importance of culture in your business then I can help identify, instigate, support and deliver your cultural needs and then you can look back and witness the difference we have made across your business.

From initial setup, through to their peak trading successes, businesses leaders can be focused on investing in a plethora of business areas such as technology, design, marketing, sales, recruitment and team development, but how many business leaders invest in themselves?

Coaching and Mentoring is probably something that very few of us have actually experienced, mainly because of a lack of open minds with peers, superiors or even themselves to invest in themselves.

Coaching or mentoring, what’s the difference?

Put simply Coaching will usually focus on a more structured, formal approach that may deliver immediate improved performance within a job role. Mentoring will be more long term, sometimes appear to be more informal, goes beyond the immediate job function and is more about your personal development both currently and for the future.

However, neither will work without trust, open minds and honesty.

The first step is being honest with yourself and answering the question

“Do I recognise that I need the help and support that coaching or mentoring will bring?”

Unfortunately, those of us that don’t recognise that they need the support, are the ones that need it the most. Honesty is a core requirement when working with me, as I can’t support you unless you are honest with yourself and I am honest with you. It’s hard to be honest with yourself but it can be even harder hearing honesty about yourself (good or bad) and that is exactly what you will get from me.

An open mind is the next step

Regrettably, even when being open minded and recognising the need for support, stubbornness or the insecurity of asking for support, stops most of us from investing in ourselves. A lack of open mindedness will never deliver self-improvement in business (or in life) and it’s the strong and the brave that are open minded enough to take the next step of coaching and mentoring to grow, develop and bring prosperity for their business and for themselves.

The final step to take is almost a leap of faith, trusting yourself to be honest with yourself, trusting your mind to open up, to challenge, change and reality. We will both take that leap together, be honest, open minded and trust in each other, show respect for our individual experience, opinions and achievements, to ensure we deliver self-improvement for you and your business.

Your wisdom is within you, but “Willie’s Wisdom” will bring it out of you.

It’s lonely at the top especially if it’s your own business. The need for reassurance and guidance, the opportunity to sound off, share and confide are all necessary requirements for everyone and at every level, but even more so at senior level.

With decades of senior management experience behind me from across a myriad of business disciplines and at every level, investing in One-to-One advice will provide 24/7 contact, on the ground support wherever it’s needed and whenever it suits you.

This a personal, bespoke service, that can be called upon when needed and even when it’s not needed, just because you want and deserve, the security and reliability of trusted experienced support around you.

Personal health checks on ourselves and our family, MOT on the car, regular reviews on our investments and savings, are all required in life at some point.

Your team will probably all receive annual appraisals but it’s unlikely you will have ever had an independent review of you and your business.

Allowing me to get under the bonnet of your business, as well as the interior and exterior, can provide a full MOT and a backup service to keep you running at your most effective and efficient. Book your MOT now and keep your business roadworthy.

If you’re in need of a Chairman to help, support and guide your business I can bring you new focus, external input, alongside trusted and tried leadership expertise.

If you’ve never had a Chairman, you are probably missing out on one of the most important functions within your business. I can support you with skills and experience that will provide good corporate governance, director training, etiquette and best practice within your boardroom through a seamless working relationship of collaboration. All backed up with a proven track record of success across a plethora of differing businesses and business disciplines within operations, marketing, negotiation, finance, strategy, distribution, retailing and manufacturing.

Non-Exec’s are often the unsung heroes of successful businesses. Whilst I don’t have a superman outfit under my suit I can bring you independent, non bias advice and input, into your business either at boardroom level or within a core function of your business.

Self-interest, non-partisan and parochialism do not come from successful Non-Exec’s. They must provide clarity on the real needs of a business, listen, learn and advocate solutions as well as hold responsibility for the broad interests of the business, impartially and independently. This is what I will bring as a Non-Exec in your business but I won’t bring a sales pitch for any of the services from within HamiltON Business, as they will be provided non gratis within my Non-Exec appointment.

I’ve held successful roles as a Non-Exec within many businesses and had Non Exec’s successfully working with me within my own businesses, if you believe my experience and track record of success can add to your business, let’s talk.

Call me on 07810 355716 and let’s take the next step together.

LET'S TALK BUSINESS