Some of Cornwall’s most recognisable businesses have provided inspiration and insights into their success at a unique new event called Thrive.

Owners and managers from Tregothnan, Ginsters, The Seafood Restaurant (Rick Stein), Niddocks, Proper Cornish and Classic Cottages were on hand to support more than one hundred fellow business leaders from across Cornwall. The full-day conference, held at the Hall for Cornwall on May 1st was delivered by the ERDF-funded programme Unlocking Potential and Event Cornwall in order for leaders and managers to pick up tools and inspiration to work smarter not harder to drive growth and success.

The event also hosted the compelling international keynote speaker Hamish Taylor. As a former chief of Sainsbury’s Bank, Eurostar and British Airways Brands, Hamish Taylor is dubbed the Master Thief because he “steals” ideas from one industry to innovate in another. Talking to an audience of Cornish SMEs from a range of sectors including Engineering, Media & Technology, Hamish told delegates:

Defining your business in terms of the benefits to your customers should be at the core of what you do. Gaining insights about your customers and using those to influence everything you do is the most powerful way to keep ahead of the competition.

Read the full article here.

The shortlist for the Cornwall Business Awards 2013 has been announced.

In total, 14 categories are up for grabs this year, including a new category – Best Family Business. Some 350 business leaders are expected to attend the awards gala dinner, at St Mellion International on May 16, which forms a focal part of Cornwall Business Week. The Cornwall Business Awards are organised and presented by the Cornwall Development Company, is association with Business Cornwall and the Cornwall Chamber.

Full shortlist

Young Businessperson of the Year

• James Chapman (Chapman Machinery)
• Cassie Lawrence (Cake Top Characters)
• Nikki Wagstaffe (Cornwall Music Academy)

Best New Business

• Cornish Sporting Club
• MyRJ Ltd
• Pixel Rain

Best Third Sector Business

• Cornwall Foundation of Promise
• Cornwall Hospice Care
• Pluss

Customer Focus

• Coastline Housing
• Cornwall Refridgerated Transport Services
• Stephens Scown

Employer of the Year

• MKM Extrusions
• Reflex Marine
• Sam’s Cornwall

Best use of Superfast Broadband

• Carbis Bay Holidays
• Driftwoods Spars
• Inspired Cycle Engineering

Most Creative Use of Design

• Benjamin Stedman Design
• Clayworks
• Sea Communications

Business Leader of the Year

• Matthew Lugg (MJL Group)
• Peter Moody (St Austell Printing Company)
• Henry Orchard (Henry Orchard & Sons)

Excellence in Marketing

• Cornwall Ferries
• Down by the Sea
• Merlin Glass

Most Dynamic Growth Business

• Clear-flow
• Radix Communcations
• TorFX

Best Family Business

• Brian Etherington Meat Company
• Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding
• KJ Rule & Son

Best International Business

• Gasworld
• Inspired Cycle Engineering
• MacMate

Business Innovation of the Year

• Insight Marine
• MacMate
• Stranger Collective

Entrepreneur of the year

• Amanda Barlow (Spiezia Organics)
• Tony Sampson (Cornwall Super Homes)
• Mark Grice (MyRJ, Redfuse Internet, Employ a Geek)

The funding will support addtional activity aimed at high growth businesses and is expected to create almost 100 jobs and boost the economy by £1.9 million a year.

The first will see Oxford Innovation extend its Agile programme across a wide range of business sectors. Agile is already credited with helping to create more than 50 jobs in Cornwall’s IT sector by coaching businesses to adopt more efficient and dynamic methods of product development.

The second programme is called Stepping Up and will deliver high-level intensive support to businesses looking for exponential growth. Aimed at a small number of local businesses, it will be a demanding programme where clients will be expected to commit to significant and rapid change.

Andrew Farmer, Oxford Innovation’s Director of Performance & Coaching, said: “This additional work recognises the value of the programmes delivered by Oxford Innovation in supporting high growth businesses. We seek, constantly, to innovate in our programme design and delivery for the benefit of our clients and the award of this valuable new funding recognises this.

“We are delighted to add another dimension to our engagements with the high growth business community of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and to have the opportunity to add to the growing reputation of Cornwall as a dynamic and vibrant business region.”

Chris Pomfret, Chair of the LEP and Deputy Chair of the Convergence Local Management Committee, which steers the Convergence programme said:

“Business growth within Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is the cornerstone of LEP economic strategy. Combined with the targeted investment into business support from ERDF Convergence it makes a strong foundation for Cornish businesses to spring from. Continued innovation in business support will help lead the region into a more sustainable economic future, which is exactly what the LEP and Convergence set out to achieve.”

Agile and Stepping Up will be delivered by Oxford Innovation’s team of business coaches who between them have more than 600 years of proven commercial business experience. Oxford Innovation’s Enterprise Coaching Division is headquartered in Cornwall at Greenbottom near Truro and employs 32 staff.

Benefits of the Agile programme will include faster product development; reduced risk in the commercialisation of new products or the launch of a new businesses; shorter lead times for start up businesses to begin trading; greater efficiency in process management and bringing clarity to the delivery of change management projects.

One local company that is already seeing the benefits of Agile thinking is St Austell-based promotional merchandise provider Fluid Branding.

Director Matt Franks said: “We have been working with Oxford Innovation to adopt Agile thinking throughout our business. They have introduced us to using Agile principles and tools for our investment into marketing automation systems, mapping our overall business growth strategy and importantly to enhance communications within our team. Oxford Innovation’s coaching style works really well for us and has been critical for us to take this journey.”

The Stepping Up programme will help businesses achieve a step-change in their growth and development and will cover strategies for developing significant new markets; investigating joint venture relationships; planning for mergers and acquisitions or raising capital for infrastructure improvements.

Since 2009, Oxford Innovation has supported over 320 high growth businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, in the process helping to create nearly 600 new high quality jobs. Last year they were awarded a three-year ERDF Convergence contract to deliver the Coaching for High Growth programme until 2015.  This offers up to 30 days of fully funded business coaching.

In 2012 the Lizard-based company experienced explosive growth following the launch of its unique pigmented plaster product, which offers an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to gypsum and lime plasters.

Clayworks spent four years researching and developing the product to come up with a unique recipe which is breathable and can absorb moisture and emissions, is non toxic and provides a complete finish available in a wide range of natural colours.

Since launching the product in 2010, Clayworks has become the specified supplier to the Nando’s restaurant group, initially being used in 30 UK outlets and now preparing to be used across the chain’s global expansion plan.

In July Clayworks won best eco product at the Built It awards and in November was announced as the winner of best surface finishes at the FX International Design Awards, and has subsequently been featured in the FX International Design Awards Winners’ Book – firmly putting Clayworks on the map of the mainstream international design market.

Clayworks also holds monthly plastering workshops to train conventional plasterers in the use of Clayworks clay plaster. They now have a network of over 60 plasterers worldwide.

Clayworks founders Katy Bryce and Adam Weismann initially started the company in 2002 called Cob in Cornwall, focusing on the restoration of vernacular buildings using lime, clay, wood, stone and straw. They then began designing and building new structures out of these natural materials and changed the company name to Clayworks in 2010 to reflect the manufacturing of their new clay plaster product.

They are the authors of two books, Using Natural Finishes and Building With Cob, both published by Green Books.

To help Clayworks make the transition from service-based to product-based business, the company joined the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded Oxford Innovation Coaching for High Growth programme, working with coach Clare Whitney on reformatting the business and producing a comprehensive communications strategy.

Adam Weismann said: “Working with Clare Whitney from Oxford Innovation has helped our business enormously. Moving from a service based company to a product based business was a challenge for us initially, but Clare has helped us make this transition a very successful one and she is now an important member of our team. We would recommend the services of Oxford Innovation and their network of highly qualified coaches to other high growth businesses in Cornwall in need of additional support or guidance.”

Oxford Innovation coach Clare Whitney added: “Clayworks has gone from being a handful of individuals literally digging up the clay and applying it themselves to harnessing their knowledge and turning it into a highly specialised and unique product, which after an initial struggle to be accepted by the mainstream design market is now growing explosively, both in the UK and worldwide. It is fantastic to see a Cornish company achieving such great success and it has been a pleasure to work with them for the past four years.”

For more information about Oxford Innovation and its Coaching for High Growth programme, which can deliver up to 30 days of fully funded business coaching, please explore this website.

For more information about Clayworks visit www.clay-works.com or call 01326 341339.

Joanne Tracey, David Prior and Richard Lawrie have joined the team and bring with them an impressive range of skills, knowledge and networks.

Oxford Innovation’s 26 business coaches have more than 600 years of business experience between them. They offer intensive, fully funded assistance for up to 30 days to high growth potential SMEs and individuals looking to start up businesses.

The Coaching for High Growth programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which aims to build a stronger economy in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Andrew Farmer, Oxford Innovation’s Director of Performance & Coaching, said: “Our aim is to work closely with local businesses to maximise their growth potential and achieve outstanding and enduring results, and that means having coaches who have first hand experience of the issues facing our clients. Joanne, Richard and David bring with them exceptional knowledge and understanding which I am confident will have a hugely positive impact on the businesses they will work with.”

The three new members of the Oxford Innovation coaching team are:

David Prior – David joins Oxford Innovation having been the MD of several manufacturing and service businesses. An early career in accountancy before moving into sales and marketing in the IT industry led David to director level positions in sales, marketing and general management and over 10 years’ experience as Managing Director of a high tech, manufacturing company with operations in the UK and USA. David is an innovative and creative business coach and mentor who has developed business strategy for high growth businesses in the UK and USA and helped organisations and individuals to start, manage and grow innovative businesses.

Joanne Tracey – Joanne is an experienced and multi-skilled engineer with a proven track record in operational and strategic NPD (New Product Development) projects within innovation, business start-up and multinational corporate environments. Joanne brings with her a huge amount of experience in change management, strategic development and product portfolio growth. She is also adept at helping businesses build effective teams, infrastructure and working methods as well as integrating best practices, team work and tool development to promote longer term business growth with autonomy and self-sufficiency for all involved.

Richard Lawrie – Richard has extensive management experience having founded and managed Pure Blue Natural Spring Water in March 2005 – growing it to the best selling drinks brand, by volume, in the South West. In addition to this, Richard also brings with him valuable knowledge from his time as Commercial Manager at Proper Cornish Ltd; European Marketing Manager for Global Exchange Systems (GXS) and in a variety of sales and marketing roles at Mars Inc (now Masterfoods).

Since 2009, Oxford Innovation has supported over 320 high growth businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, helping to create nearly 600 new high quality jobs in the process.

Last year Oxford Innovation was awarded a three-year ERDF contract to deliver the Coaching for High Growth programme until 2015.  This offers up to 30 days of fully funded business coaching.

Oxford Innovation is extending its Coaching for High Growth programme in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly thanks to £700k Convergence investment.

The funding will support two additional areas of activity aimed at high growth businesses and is expected to create almost 100 jobs and boost the economy by £1.9M a year.

The first will see Oxford Innovation extend its Agile programme across a wide range of business sectors. Agile is already credited with helping to create more than 50 jobs in Cornwall’s IT sector by coaching businesses to adopt more efficient and dynamic methods of product development.

The second programme is called Stepping Up and will deliver high-level intensive support to businesses looking for exponential growth.

Andrew Farmer, Oxford Innovation’s director of performance & coaching, said: “This additional work recognises the value of the programmes delivered by Oxford Innovation in supporting high growth businesses. We seek, constantly, to innovate in our programme design and delivery for the benefit of our clients and the award of this valuable new funding recognises this.”

Since 2009, Oxford Innovation has supported over 320 high growth businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, in the process helping to create nearly 600 new high quality jobs.

Last year Oxford Innovation was awarded a three-year ERDF Convergence contract to deliver the Coaching for High Growth programme until 2015. This offers up to 30 days of fully funded business coaching.

Oxford Innovation who introduced Agile methodologies to Cornwall businesses as part of the ERDF funded Coaching for High Growth programme are delighted to be supporting the event again in 2013.

Tickets are now on sale for Agile on the Beach – a two day conference taking place on the 5th and 6th September – which explores how Agile methodologies can revolutionise the way businesses work. The focus of Agile is developing efficient and effective systems that reduce the risks of projects running over budget and schedule.

A ‘mega early bird deal’ is on offer until the end of March with tickets available at last year’s price of £195. The conference also offers campus accomodation and a beach party, giving attendees further opportunity to speak directly to speakers and socialise with other businesses in the evening.

The conference considers all aspects of Agile in the work place; ‘Agile Business’ and ‘Teams’ looks at how your organisation and teams operate, suitable for general as well as technical businesses. It also looks in depth at ‘Software Craftmanship’.

Businesses that operate as an Agile enterprise have flexible business models, highly motivated teams and enjoy continuous development and delivery of their products or services. They are highly adaptable as they recognise and adapt to change quickly and deftly, enabling them to thrive in an ever changing business environment.

Dan North, the originator of Behaviour-Driven Development, has been confirmed as the first Key Note Speaker and the conference is soon to release a call for papers with an exciting array of topics including Agile product development and Agile marketing.

Agile is a remarkable business tool which is responsive to customer needs, emerging marketings and changing technical, social, political and economic landscapes. Businesses enjoy high growth and success using the Agile philosophy, methods and tools.

To find out more visit www.agileonthebeach.com or follow on Twitter @Agileonthebeach

For details of all tickets available and to book your place visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/5135380060

Oxford Innovation, which in addition to the ERDF funded High Growth programme in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, delivers high growth business support programmes throughout the UK, Wales, Saudi and Africa, is using cutting-edge neuroscience to investigate pioneering ways of enhancing the delivery of its mentoring and coaching services to businesses.

The Truro-based company commissioned research into the relative merits of delivering business coaching remotely, compared to more traditional face-to-face methods.

This involved connecting Oxford Innovation clients and coaches to electrodes to measure electrical activity inside the brain and on the surface of their skin during real coaching sessions. One session was delivered face-to-face, and the other using Skype, and the results compared.

The technology used to measure the conscious and unconscious responses of clients and coaches is more normally associated with diagnosing brain disorders and in polygraph – or lie detector – tests.

Andrew Finley, commercial director at Oxford Innovation, said: “Our team of business coaches works hand in hand with businesses to help them grow and the perception has always been that this support is best delivered face-to-face.

“But given the rural nature of a place like Cornwall, rising travel costs for businesses and pressures on their time, we wanted to test that assumption and investigate whether telecoaching could be an alternative.

“That meant using cutting-edge neuroscience techniques where we wired up our volunteer coaches and clients and measured things like empathy, attention, motivation and mental effort during real coaching sessions.”
Andrew said the results were surprising: “What we found is that there was actually very little difference in outcome between face-to-face coaching and telecoaching, and that in certain situations, telecoaching actually led to a better response from the client.

“In some cases telecoaching elicited higher levels of attention and motivation, suggesting a deeper and more effective engagement, but clients generally felt more empathy with their coach during the face-to-face session. What is clear is that, to be effective, the two disciplines require different methods of delivery, language and techniques. Being totally committed to the highest levels of professional training and the constant development of our team, we are using the research to look at how this can inform our training to ensure that we can make all our coaching sessions – whether face-to-face or delivered remotely – an even better experience for our clients.”

One business that is using telecoaching with Oxford Innovation is The Day That in Hayle in West Cornwall. Launched by photographer Gavan Goulder, the business has been taking a dawn photograph every day since the summer of 2005 and now sells them across the UK as unique gifts to mark a special day in people’s lives.

For the last two years Gavan and his team have been part of Oxford Innovation’s high growth programme with the support of coach Richard Hall.

Gavan said: “The coaching support has been superb and although I personally prefer face-to-face there are times when that’s just not practical, especially if there’s an urgent issue. Having Richard on the end of a Skype call is better than doing it over the telephone because you have more interaction, and it gives both of us flexibility when it’s difficult to meet in person.”

Coach Richard added: “From my experience telecoaching can bring more focus on the agreed actions of the coaching session because the client’s full attention tends to be on the screen. But the real value of the research is in making sure that our clients have a consistent and first class coaching experience, how ever it is delivered.”

Oxford Innovation is now looking at how telecoaching might open up more opportunities for coaches with physical impairments or mobility issues, and is employing techniques used in the television industry – including lighting and backdrops – to enhance the telecoaching experience for clients.

Oxford Innovation is funded by the ERDF Convergence programme and offers up to 30 days of fully funded intensive coaching and assistance to help business in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly realise their growth potential. For more information visit www.growcornwall.co.uk

Pinpoint accuracy – an asset in business

Giant multinationals trample and consume small independent businesses on a daily basis. For every high-street chain, thousands of shops have bitten the dust. For every supermarket, countless startups and artisan producers are nursing their bruises. In business as in life, Goliath generally tends to leave David in a heap of exhaustion and debt.

As we know however, scattered amongst the masses there are always some small individuals and companies who seem to come out on top. Against the most powerful and intimidating adversaries, these people seem to do more than just survive – somehow they thrive.

The commonly accepted explanation is that these feisty, small businesses are just lucky – their time will come. But upon closer examination there’s often a recurring theme. These proverbial ‘Davids’ are not actually waging war with their larger, more powerful competitors – they’re playing a different game.

As multinational businesses spread across continents and become ever more expansive, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to hold niche expertise. The Davids of this world capitalise on their own narrow but deep pools of knowledge to build global reputations in specialist areas. This niche expertise is often the only tool capable of taking down large, aggressive competitors. Slingshot accuracy against cumbersome force.

A case in point here is Tim Smithies’ company, Metronome. Tim specialises in ‘lossless’ quality Baroque and Renaissance music. Not only does he provide a phenomenally high end product, but his business is focused on a precise niche with a loyal following. Tim is also one of the very few people around the world with encyclopedic knowledge and experience of both this music genre and the production of the recordings. No matter how big the Goliaths of Amazon and iTunes become, Tim has something they can never touch.

Many businesses have such expertise within their teams, but find it difficult to capitalise on a resource that is stored only in someone’s head. It can’t be packaged and sold like the rest of the product range so all too often the greatest weapon in their arsenal is never used. With this in mind, Tim has used his own knowledge to slowly but surely cement himself as an expert in his field. Now globally recognised, Metronome is seen not just as a provider of superb Baroque recordings, but as the first port of call for those who want the best product and advice in this niche genre. Amazon and iTunes certainly won’t provide this service, so connoisseur consumers seek out the experts in their field, in this case, Metronome.

To all businesses facing giants this begs the question, is there a niche you could fill with your expertise? Is there a person in your ranks who holds the key to profitable and appreciative markets, who could forge a path that your competitors could never follow?

When businesses face Goliath, using limited clout will rarely if ever be a sensible strategy. Far better to find and use pinpoint knowledge of niche markets. Like David, these businesses will then have a well-targeted approach and slingshot accuracy.

Business Coach – Mujeeb Rahman 

Businesses are typically established to generate profit – to exchange goods or services for money, to generate wealth. But should the brief end here? A growing group of challengers believe not.

Emily and Mark Anderson, founders of The Challenger’s Almanac project put it simply:

‘We believe that business, as the most powerful human force on the planet, has massive potential to be a force for good’

Startup businesses and long-lived multinationals alike are at constant risk of losing their way. Financial pressures and profitability can blind businesses, disorientating and distracting their leaders and ultimately undermining the ideals which launched the venture at the outset. The convenient answer to this, of course, it to accept ‘profit over principles’ as a status quo. But perhaps this needn’t be the case.

The Challenger’s Almanac, much like a sailing almanac, will help guide businesses and entrepreneurs towards a new era of business. As their Kickstarter bid notes, ‘Challengers are beacons which inspire and encourage others to follow’.

As a society our collective conscience is maturing. Increasingly we seek genuine integrity and are willing to put our time and money into ensuring the survival of ‘Challengers’ – brands and businesses that don’t just meet a need, but represent beliefs and ideals.

‘These Challengers positively impact everything they touch. They are beacons that inspire and encourage others to follow.’  The Challenger’s Almanac aims to bring this ethos into the spotlight as a respected, and indeed expected, approach to business. Through a book, a website, videos and  community, The Challenger’s Almanac heralds a shift in business paradigms. The momentum of this inspiring project will continue to build only through those willing to push for change.

Their Kickstarter crowd funding bid ends on 30th November. Your support could go a long way.

For more information contact: meg (at) thechallengersalmanac.co.uk