How you can become world class

Apr 1 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

SWIMMING champion Chris Cook and his mentor Simon Hartley have joined forces to teach their secret formula of success to firms across the region. Andrew Mernin sits in on a session as three rising stars of North East business find out what it takes to be world class.

IN ONE corner stands an Olympian who, despite admitting to being shorter than his peers and having no natural ability for swimming, has taken on the world and won.

In another corner is his mentor Simon Hartley – a sports psychologist whose former clients include Premiership football teams, Olympic cyclists and top-flight rugby clubs including Newcastle Falcons.

Sat opposite are three young North Easterners who, at first glance, could be taken as college students but are actually well on their way to creating their own multi-million-pound business empires.

The youngest of them is 17-year-old internet entrepreneur Jonathan Grubin who runs website businesses MiniG Media, Free4U and Live Newcastle and is also preparing to take his A-levels this summer.

Sat next to Jonathan is Durham University graduate Emma Ailes, who set up events company Tinderbox two years ago and has since worked on a number of high-profile exhibitions. Completing the trio is 29-year-old Greg Phillips who, in just five years, has built North East Bakery into one of the biggest bakery chains in the region, employing over 100 people and rapidly approaching its target of £5m-a-year turnover.

“What does it take to be world class?” Hartley asks the entrepreneurs, glancing across to North East Olympic swimmer Chris Cook.

South Shields-born Cook spent close to a decade being trained by Hartley in his career which saw him win two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and represent Great Britain at the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games.

Having retired earlier this year, Cook and Hartley are now focused on transferring their formula for success from the pool into the boardroom.

The pair have launched a new venture which they hope will transform the performance of businesspeople in the region through a programme of seminars, workshops and training called “You Can Be World Class”.

At today’s session probing questions are met with honest answers as the three entrepreneurs get to grips with exactly what their ultimate ambition is and where the future of their business lies.

For Phillips, being world class “is about standards and how high you set the bar and how obsessive you are about achieving those standards of quality and consistency”.

According to Grubin it’s about benchmarking yourself against your rivals and making sure you’re always one step ahead of them, and meticulous attention to detail.

“For example, we spent an hour recently going through what weight of paper we wanted for our new contracts,” he says.

Ailes believes to be world class in the creative sector means not being afraid to do things differently from your peers.

Having helped turn Cook from a swimmer who competed outside of the elite in his early career into a genuine Olympic Gold contender, Hartley knows what world class means – he also knows what it doesn’t mean.

“It’s a myth that only certain people can be world class and you have to be touched on the head with a magic wand.”

Pointing to Cook, he says: “Here’s a guy who a few years ago if you asked him if he wanted to be an Olympian that would have been top of his hit list. But a lot of people in sport would say it’s too difficult.

“If you fancy joining an elite group and being in the top 3% in the world, what’s stopping you? The answer is usually only you.”