WE all want a fulfiling career in life and, when I was at university trying to decide where to head, I was lucky enough to back travel and tourism.
I had decided to look for a career in industries with the best growth potential. The building and steel industries were early contenders but I chose travel because it was clear that holiday sales were booming as people grew more affluent and had more leisure time. It was a good decision.
I decided the best place to start was at the sharp end as a travel agent. I grew up in retailing. My father had a drapers shop in County Down in Northern Ireland and I was always buzzing around the shop when I was a little boy. I began selling from 13 years old. It was then I learned that everyone should be welcomed and acknowledged and every customer, whether they are spending 5p or £500, needs the same level of respect and service.
Shortly after graduating, I found myself sitting at a travel agent’s desk in London. Those early days as a travel agent were fast moving and eye opening.
At WH Smith Travel, Colin Sturdy was a great inspiration, developing my understanding of negotiating with partners and the importance of delivering what you promise. It’s a lesson some people in today’s multiple retail head offices could learn from.
One of the great advantages of starting on the shop floor is that you learn which companies are respected. One of those companies was Butlins and so I joined it. I was excited by the prospect of shaping your own product. Those six years working with people like marketing director Tony Wright taught me the importance of strategic thinking, sound planning principles and creative expression.
It was a similar interest that led me to join DFDS Seaways (formerly Scandinavian Seaways). I was looking for a fresh challenge and something that spanned international boundaries.
DFDS Seaways group passenger director Bo-Lennart Thorbjornsson has helped to broaden my knowledge of international markets and we are currently poised for a tremendously exciting year as we rebrand, relaunch and announce our new sailing schedule including a daily Newcastle to Amsterdam service.
While I’m no longer in the sales front line, I make a point of going back to it as often as I can. I walk around travel agents and observe what people are asking for and how agents are able to serve them.
It can be both an uplifting and a depressing experience. I am sometimes amazed that the services offered are a blatant mismatch with the brief detailed by the customer.
But on the positive side, I’ve seen some excellent work. Good agencies clearly invest in training and competitive remuneration packages to keep their people motivated, enthusiastic and committed. This reflects one of my guiding principles. Look after your employees and invest in their continuing development and education. I also think it is important to encourage creativity, innovation and flexible thinking around sound commercial frames.
When you have other people working for you, get the best you can and then let them do their best. As Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘the best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done and enough self-restraint to keep from meddling while they do it’.
Investing in your team means investing in yourself as well. No matter what position of authority you reach, it’s wise to allow time to develop your own skills, such as IT management thinking and team building.
I’ve always enjoyed playing team sports. It’s useful to listen and learn about team-building skills from an early age.
My final guiding philosophy is easy to say and sometimes harder to do. Keep a balance in your life. In your early working life, you have to seek and take responsibility and be hungry to absorb knowledge and experience. But if you have a family, create time for them. I also believe the old cliche ‘fit in body and fit in mind’ and took up marathon running in my 40s.
1978: graduated East Anglia University, Norwich.
1978: Polyglobe Travel London, trainee retail travel manager.
1979: WH Smith Travel, London, deputy retail travel manager, promoted to manager Ealing Broadway and later Holborn Circus.
1982: Butlins marketing executive working on brands such as Butlins, Freshfields, Leisure Caravans and School Venture Weeks.
1984: appointed marketing manager for Butlins and managed brand relaunch as Butlins Holiday Worlds and launched Breakaways short-breaks brand.
1988: sales and marketing manager for Scandinavian Seaways, the ferry operator and tour operator across the North Sea with five routes to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Holland.
1992: appointed managing director.
1999: overseeing relaunch as DFDS Seaways.
l Every problem is really an opportunity.
l The customer is king, know him.
l There is nothing permanent but change itself, so plan for it.
l Get the best people possible to work for you and invest in them.
l Learn from your competitors.
l Commend good performance openly. criticise in private.