Growing again

We are now making moves to grow the team during the year ahead. The demand for on and off-line marketing services did not drop off during the recession for us so we were fortunate but it now seems that demand will increase further and we need to gear up for that. We have noticed a shift in the type of work we are doing towards websites and away from print media over the past three to four years and last year, for the first time, we employed our own programmers to work alongside the graphic designers in the studio. It is important that the websites we create for our clients are as functional and search engine friendly as they are visually appealing - and by having technicians working together with designers, we can achieve this much more easily than when we were outsourcing development.

For the first time ever we have employed a general manager with an IT background as opposed to a creative or print background. This will lead to a cultural change within the company and a cross fertilisation of skills which we are excited about. Our www.alphalaunchpad.co.uk initiative was set up to combat the recession and it was so well received last year that we've decided to continue with it. It allows clients to get a good deal, which is important for the types of clients it's aimed at, ie start-ups and older companies with new products or services to launch. But also it enables us to bring trainees into the business to learn on live projects. We are therefore welcoming applications from graduates and potential apprentices who will receive training under Launchpad as they begin their careers.

A very good book

I've just read One Day by David Nicholls and recommend it to anyone between the ages of 20 and 80. It deals with all of the life stages that we go through in a sensitive and highly moving way. The stories of two people unfold in parallel and they meet up from time to time - it is a chronicle of missed opportunities and "if onlys". Far more than a love story, One Day shows how we can become swept up in ambitions, always working towards something we perceive as better when, all the time, the really valuable things are under our noses. I liked it so much that I read in over a weekend then lent it to a friend.

I'm now reading Fool's Alphabet by Sebastian Faulks, having just finished his Girl at Lion D'or. I wasn't keen on the latter as the heroine didn't evoke any sympathy in my view. I wanted the main male character to come to his senses and stay with his wife, which of course he eventually did. The ex-mistress then thought briefly of dying before pulling herself together and moving on. My favourite of Faulk's books is Engleby - a psychological study of a killer set in modern times.

Choosing People

I've had to choose a new team member recently. Not easy is it? Looking back over all the people I've employed during the last 20 years, I wonder how I have been so lucky. I've worked with some really great people - talented, energetic, creative and fun to be with. There has been a surprisingly small number who have caused regret and actually, with those, I probably knew from day one that a mistake had been made but carried on anyway because it was just a gut instinct and nothing quantifiable. It always sorts itself out in the end though and you end up wishing you'd acted sooner. Laws about employment and recruitment are detailed and rigorously applied, and so they need to be. If you do it properly there's nothing to worry about. But it is a real responsibility and one of the hardest aspects of running a small business without the luxury of an in-house lawyer and an HR department.

I think the key to getting and keeping good people is to be totally open and transparent with everyone. Either they will like you and not want to abuse your trust, or they will cop out and move on. I always say that the people who share our philosophy are those who stay around the longest. Not that we're right and anything else is wrong - but if you don't hold good to your own principles, you can't really be a good leader. Anyway, we're all looking forward to Dave joining us a week on Tuesday. Have a good weekend all.