Dear All,
it has been an exciting experience to go trhrough all these stories with you and I think you have found this blog unconventional and inspiring as the stories that it includes.
It has been a challenge for me to write a blog and as it was my first time, it is not perfect.
My only hope, really, is to have stimulated your imagination and your creativity.
We grow up and life gets tougher and more challenging but our imagination is one of life's most valuable gifts and, as we have seen, is often the trigger of a successfull business story.
Thank you all for reading my blog,
have an excellent life!
Emanuele
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Escaping from the City
I found it very interesting and inspiring and reflects a feeling that I have been cultivating inside me during my studies in the Uk.
It is a very nice consideration about the aims of young graduates and their future prospectives.
The author meets my idea of a productive world, filled with dedication and passion for what someone is doing and not merely passion for money.
Also, in times where everything it is becoming fast and leading to major problems (see the financial crisis and the subprime crunch) I think it would be good if young smart graduates moved back to create new product and services that make people feel and live better.
Creating a new company, creating new products and services is driven by energy and passion and not by greed.
Greed, together with trend is probably one of the major causes at the roots of the financial crisis.
The financial crisis has given us the chance to think and make serious reasoning about what really matters. I am not claiming that the whole financial system is wrong and I am not saying that financial services are not useful for the economy. Venture capitalists and banks can often be the trigger to transform outstanding entrepreneurial ideas into reality. What, in my opinion, has been underestimated is once again the persuasive power of money on the human nature. Human beings, as Francis Bacon used to say, are greedy and care mostly about their selves. After all, Smith and Marx, even if from different perspectives, had predicted this.
Education is at the basis and how young minds are formed and educated is crucial for our future.
I found really sad how in our society greed has been inspired and publicized; big Wall Street fish acting like divas, incompetent managers dropping their company in terrible conditions and pop out with millionaire bonuses are examples on how the social problem has been underestimated in the past.
But problems have to be solved at the beginning and that's why this article is very inspiring...
Please use the link to reference this article. Do not copy & paste articles which is a breach of FT.com's Ts&Cs (www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms) and is copyright infringement. Send a link for free or email ftsales.support@ft.com to purchase rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e55b9422-ec35-11df-9e11-00144feab49a.html#ixzz14tzWdQrj
A wise fellow recently gave me his explanation for the financial crisis: too many highly intelligent graduates went to work in the investment banks on Wall Street and in the City. I know what he means: such characters were too clever by half, pushing securitisation, derivatives, swaps and a plethora of financial instruments to such excess that they almost destroyed capitalism.
All that concentrated brainpower focused on one thing: making as much money as they could as quickly as possible. The legions of high-flyers with PhDs and MBAs queueing up to get jobs in financial markets had worked out a basic truth: the closer you are to the money, the easier it is to get rich.
They are right, of course. Doing tedious things such as inventing real products, manufacturing goods and providing genuine services for a profit is hard work and takes time. It requires travel to savage places with industrial estates, many miles from the money centres full of skyscrapers. Whereas if you just manipulate vast sums of money – via shares, bonds, options or even more complicated and obscure securities – you just have to shave off a tiny fraction from each trade, and pretty soon you’re raking in billions.
I hope ordinary citizens do not confuse such would-be financial geniuses with real entrepreneurs. I chaired a Prince’s Trust discussion last week with about 50 of the genuine article. They confirmed that they build companies because they have a dream, a desire to serve customers, see an idea become tangible, beat the competition and myriad other reasons – but that cash is rarely the chief driver. They are passionate and proud about the company – profit is a byproduct; they gain their fulfilment by seeing their creation grow.
But if you are an ambitious employee in the money business, how else do you measure success except with money? Moreover, if entrepreneurs speculate, they tend to use their own resources and suffer the consequences when it goes wrong. But when Stan O’Neal destroyed Merrill Lynch, Fred Goodwin blew up RBS, Joe Cassano obliterated AIG, and Dick Fuld led Lehmans to bankruptcy, it was taxpayers who had to fork out hundreds of billions to deal with the mess. A peculiar form of hubris must infect the bosses of major financial institutions. Let us hope that cohort of financial bosses is never replicated. Banks should not be left under the supervision of gunslingers whose sole objective is money; they should be managed by conservative stewards who are prudent rather than adventurous.
Having worked in the City of London for a few years in the 1980s, my experience was that financial services can get very boring. This is not a bad thing – too much excitement at a bank is dangerous. I suspect quite a few bankers are frustrated in their jobs and are almost ashamed of what they do; they comfort themselves with huge salaries and bonuses, grand houses and luxurious holidays. This is the compensation for working in giant, highly regulated corporations that have no end-product except money. Secretly, I’m sure many of the highly educated, cultured participants would rather be spending their career in something more constructive – perhaps making bridges or cars or writing software. But, sadly, real engineering does not pay as well as financial engineering.
We should all hope that the pendulum has now swung away from high finance, and that very few of our brightest degree holders want to apprentice at Goldman Sachs. No doubt the rewards are still better there, but the reputation of the Masters of the Universe is not as glorious as it was. Of course we still need banks and stock markets and the other elements of the financial system. I don’t want to demonise the Square Mile and Wall Street. But we must ensure that not too many of the best young talents end up there. There should be a wholesale rebalancing towards other occupations – mainstream industry, in particular – by the brightest from our top universities. Last week I hosted my old college reception, and was encouraged when I met final year students. Working in an investment bank is no longer seen by them as sexy. This is great news.
source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e55b9422-ec35-11df-9e11-00144feab49a.html#axzz14tuIaXrN
Wednesday 3 November 2010
Tamara Mellon and her excellent intuition
Tamara Mellon and her excellent intuition
An intuition is sometimes the key to switch on the engine of a successful business story. The difficult part is probably to trust and follow the intuition and take risks.
Tamara Mellon, the founder and Chief Creative officer of Jimmy Choo, a fashion footwear and accessories brand, was chief editor of accessories at Vogue when, in 1996, found the shoemaker Jimmy Choo’s boutique in east London.
She thought that the creative potential of the shoemaker, mixed with her experience in the sector, could have led to the creation of a new icon brand for women.
Together they decided to launch a ready to wear shoes brand with production based in Italy and opened the first Jimmy Choo shop in Motocomb Street in London.
In 1998 Jimmy Choo opened stores in New York and L.A. and immediately started to appeal to young Hollywood stars such as Hilary Swank and Halle Berry
Mrs. Mellon understood from the very early stages of her company that the link between her company and Hollywood
To achieve this Jimmy Choo was one of the firsts brands that created customized items made to be wore at the Oscars Night.
Its strong presence in the market and in the mindsets of women was also established thanks to the cult American tv series “Sex & the City”.
All around the world women watching the comedy and aspiring to become like their idols saw the Jimmy Choo’s shoes at their “divas” feet and wanted to have them as well.
Growth however was not only achieved by responding to strong demand. Jimmy Choo during the years has been able to raise capital from various sources:
In 2001, when Equinox Luxury Holdings L.t.d., acquired Mr. Choo’s equity; in 2004 Lion Capital acquired a majority shareholding valuing the company £101 million; in 2007 Tower Brook Capital Partners bought the majority of Jimmy Choo’s shares for £185 Million.
With a mixture of capital injection and strong demand the company was able to achieve extensive growth during the years reaching its actual level of approximately 100 stores in 32 countries.
Below we report an interview with Tamara Mellon taken from the Financial Times “20 Questions”.
How would your PA describe you?
My last PA called me “the Buddha” because I always remain calm.
What do you like most about your job?
I love the variety of design – from an inspiration trip with my team to the concept development of new products – and the business management and brand direction with CEO Joshua Schulman.
And least?
I wish I could satisfy all the business requests and maintain a healthy balanced life being a great mother with enough time for my friends.
What time do you start and finish work?
I’m strict with my daily routine, waking early to ensure my daughter gets to school on time, maintaining exercise for a healthy mind and juggling work and meetings. The work day pauses when my daughter returns from school and resumes when she’s in bed.
When do you turn off your BlackBerry?
Holidays are a no-go zone.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?
Some of my jobs have been pretty laborious – but the experience all contributes somehow to my business.
What is your smartest business idea?
Setting up Jimmy Choo.
What did your father teach you about business?
Trust my instincts.
Have you ever lied at work?
Only when I was young and came in late with a hangover.
If you hadn’t been in business, what would you have done?
I’ve always had an inclination to work in fashion, starting with my days selling at Portobello Market, but my hobby is psychology.
Tips for working with private equity investors?
After three private equity deals, that’s a book.
Is business sexist?
It is less prevalent now than when I was younger.
What did the board say about you posing nude for Interview magazine?
It was an amusement, a welcome break from the business numbers.
Does appearing in the gossip pages hinder or help your business?
Being in the public eye is integral to the business.
Have your looks been an advantage or disadvantage in business?
Being well-groomed is part of living the brand.
What did Sex and the City do for your business?
It allowed Jimmy Choo a platform for global recognition at a time when we were fast becoming a household name.
Has your job made your personal life suffer?
I adore my job but it is incredibly difficult to balance a personal life.
How important is money?
It’s about the passion for what you do. If you are passionate, money will follow.
When do you want to retire?
I can’t quite envisage an end date, Jimmy Choo is such a personal involvement.
How do you want to be remembered?
For being an innovator in creating and marketing a global luxury lifestyle brand and hopefully an inspiration to women.
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Innocent Excellence
The fathers of Innocent
Would you ever give up your job to start a 500 pounds capital company that makes smoothies?
This is what, in 1998, Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright did, they started the Innocent drinks company.
Driven by the idea that people could live a healthier life and that companies could be respectful of the environment, they created, with a 500 pounds stock of fruit, a selection of smoothies that they started selling at a music festival in London. By that time they were still not sure about giving up their jobs to start their “innocent” adventure and with an excellent marketing move they as the company's history reminds us “ We put up a big sign saying 'Do you think we should give up our jobs to make these smoothies?' and put out a bin saying 'YES' and a bin saying 'NO' and asked people to put the empty bottle in the right bin. At the end of the weekend the 'YES' bin was full so we went in the next day and resigned”.
After having resigned they found a place in Sheperds Bush, London to base their headquarters, The Fruit Towers and started the company with the help of the american investor Maurice Pinto who invested 250000 pounds into the venture.
Since then, the company has been a continuous succes, experienced extensive growth and since 2002 to 2007 was the only company to appear in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 (the 100 fastest growing private companies in the UK) for five years consecutively.
The founders sold 58% of the shares to the Coca Cola Company raising around 90 million pounds.
The company has various challenges and aims and not small ones!
It aims to become the most sustainable company in the world but to do so there are a series of challenges that they have to face. In an interview Richard Reed states: “They can’t grow in the UK (bananas ndr). They’re coming on a boat, which will be running primarily on diesel, which emits CO2. So what do I do? To truly take carbon out of the business system, fruit from Costa Rica would have to stop. But that would mean no bananas. No bananas, no smoothies. Am I going to make that decision? No, I’m not. Am I going to find a way to get them here more efficiently? Absolutely right. We can all talk abut the little things and that’s the right place to start. But what happens when you get through that? That’s the bit I don’t know.”
This statement points out some of the biggest challenges that “green companies” have to face: business against environment, often is the issue.
What are they trying to do at Innocent is to merge the two things, like the ingredients of a fruit smoothie.....
The Ace Hotel Website
www.acehotel.com
And Some Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrywHXOJQgw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckzyIv6vh9o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMz3sk4RD0&feature=related
And Some Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrywHXOJQgw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckzyIv6vh9o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMz3sk4RD0&feature=related
Tips From the Founder
1. Create intimacy. There's a right size for every company, so find your sweet spot. "I've learned it's better to have medium-sized hotels and keep them busy and packed all the time than to create a bigger one that isn't," Calderwood says.
2. Be inclusive. Ace Hotels is named after the ace in a deck of cards, which is both the highest and lowest card. "We try to offer something that appeals to everyone," he says. "Don't lose sight of people as individuals--that's how you keep people coming back."
3. Follow the golden rule. "Our approach has always been to think about what we find interesting and how we would want to be treated, and then make sure we stick to that," he says.
4. Be original. Just because something sounds crazy to everybody else doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. But don't jeopardize the bigger picture if it doesn't make financial sense. Because that really would be crazy. --J.W.
Ace Hotel, Unconventional Excellence
Alex Calderwood started his company less than ten years ago but it has already become a symbol of excellence, at least in the US.
With no business background but a strong passion and dedication for what he was doing, together with his partners Wade Weigel and Doug Herrick in 1999 he started his first Ace Hotel in Seattle with a starting capital of less than $ 2 million raised with a mix of debt, investors and personal funds.
Unconventional as its founder, the Ace Hotel is filled with creativity and naivety, pieces of art and hi tech solutions. Every room has a high speed wifi connection and a flat screen tv, but you might sleep in a bunk bed and find beside the bible a copy of the Kamasutra.
The Seattle boutique hotel has only 28 rooms gained from an old building and transformed in bright rooms to which you can access by walking through narrow, arty-minimal corridors.
The Hotel was such a success that started having positive cash flows after the first year and maintained a successful performance during its second year as the occupancy rates were on the same levels of those of the most established hotels in town.
After the success of the first Ace Hotel Calderwood decided that times were mature to start expanding the business in other american locations. He opened in Portland, in 2002, in Palm Springs in 2009 and in Manhattan earlier this year.
Manhattan branch has been already a blast. Hotel reviewers have rated the Ace hotel as the most successful model for hotels in New York.
What is so special about the Ace hotels is that the experience is not merely limited to hospitality but the hotel itself becomes an attraction for the visitor who can enjoy an 100% experience which includes art, lifestyle and fashion. Yes, because Calderwood creates a link between his hotels and the local art and cultural community. In New York for instance, there's a dj set in the hotel bar and the hotel was given to young directors to shoot their movies.
Calderwood also created a barbershop which can be found in the Hotel and a line of limited Converse shoes which he also developed in Japan.
Below we report an some bits of an interview made by the Us magazine “Entrepreneur Magazine” with Calderwood, who explains us more in depth what Ace Hotel is.
You opened up two hotels during a downturn. Did anybody tell you that wasn't a good idea?
I think in any industry, if you are offering something special and have an understanding of your customer, in good times and bad, you'll adapt and prosper. We are flourishing because our positioning and our brand [coincided] with a shift in what people are looking for. If we had been a more generic product offering, I would have been more freaked out.
But your hotels were immediately successful. How did you achieve that?
I can't give away my secret sauce! Ha--I wish I knew. But one thing that's served us well is that we've paid particular attention to embracing the local community. From the point we start, we build relationships with the community by reaching out to local vendors and artists, to get them as emotionally invested as possible. You try to become part of that fabric.
How does a hotel gel with a local community?
A hotel can be a catalyst for visitors to a new city. It's a place where locals and out-of-towners can interact, and often the people who want to stay at a property like Ace are curious about the local scene.
Ace's business model is very successful, yet you've said before you don't consider yourself a good business person.
I didn't attend business school, so there are a lot of basic things that would have made the process easier if I'd known how to raise capital or anything about debt markets. I think my team and I would have made more money if we'd done things a more traditional way.
I think we're very entrepreneurial, though. What we're good at is taking assets that are either distressed or complicated--in some way not appropriate for traditional hotel operators--and embracing the challenges as opportunities to create value.
How so?
In Portland, the building we bought had a smaller and older elevator, and there was a shared bathroom component. It's also on Stark Street, which is an area that, at the time, would probably have scared off more traditional operators. But we knew from our experience in Seattle that our core customers--creative professionals and cultural enthusiasts--would be open-minded to being in edgier locations. And in New York, we got the Breslin, a really amazing turn-of-the-century historical landmark in a small little neighborhood. You can overlook it because at the street level, it had become an area of wholesale knockoff goods, and it didn't look that pretty. But even if the culture's not quite there, you can tell when a place has good bones.
Can Ace foster that culture?
To an extent. It takes time, but we do start by looking at the context of the building and the city. We try to create a sense of place in the city you're in. Every hotel is different, but there's a similarity of spirit in the design--an honesty of materials and a simple approach that celebrates the original architecture.
How else does Ace do things differently?
We're resourceful in the development process. When we take over these old buildings, we try to use as much of the existing architecture as possible. We don't do gut renovations. In all the hotels, we used what was there, so we have all these quirky room layouts. It drives our salespeople crazy. In New York, for instance, there are like 54 different room types. But we see that our customers enjoy it, because each time their room is a little bit different.
So there are benefits to not doing things the "right" way.
Sure. We didn't come with any baggage of "this will or won't work," and it's served us well over time. I mean, financially, the [Seattle] building was a good purchase, but it was a very, very old building. We didn't think we would do more than one. I owned the Rudy's Barbershops with Wade, and we thought Seattle would benefit from this kind of hotel--so we said, "Let's just do it."
And you dove right in.
Yes. Naiveté had a lot to do with it, but I think that unconventionality is one of our strengths. As we've become a bigger company, we hear more and more that this isn't how we should do it. But I never [stop] asking, "Why not?" or being willing to experiment. Like with our turntables.
Turntables?
I wanted to put turntables in our Portland hotel rooms, and there were a lot of questions about it--about the needles and what would happen if people stole the records. So I just said, "Let's try it with inexpensive records and charge them like a minibar item, and we'll keep the needles at the front desk." If it didn't work, it wouldn't be that big of an investment.
And?
It's now a signature element of the company. We have turntables in three of the hotels, and we repeatedly get feedback about them. In fact, I just bumped into a boutique hotel operator who asked me if I'd mind if he put turntables in his rooms.
Is the company going through a transition phase?
Yes, we're completely restructuring. When we did Seattle and Portland, it was a small group and a design-build--but very satisfying. New York and Palm Springs were more conventional processes because we had development partners. We learned good things from both ways, and now we're rethinking the best way to blend both.
What's been the most difficult part of the process?
Every business decision comes down to creating a positive working dynamic. We've been fortunate in finding really good talent, so the challenge will come in the next phases in doing more hotels, because it's not possible for me to be everywhere at the same time. We're discussing how to keep the same spirit because right now I'm involved in every aspect of the organization. That's going to have to shift, but I want to stay lean and mean and make sure the resources are focused on the creative side.
Will it be difficult to let go?
It won't be terrible. I'm not the clearest communicator, so people who thrive here have to like figuring things out on their own. What I'm good at is finding talent on a lot of levels and giving people encouragement and latitude to be entrepreneurial. It may not end up exactly how I would have done it, but I can accept that.
How does the focus on the creative process help your business?
I love the art of business, and I work like any creative professional. Finding artists or even buildings is an organic process, so I'm always looking around, asking for recommendations. Last night I was reading a magazine and I ended up tabbing one of the artists. I don't have anything for him now, but he sounds interesting, and now his work is in my brain. Something will come up that he'll be perfect for.
You're going to make staying at an Ace hotel an immersive experience.
Exactly. There's not a big expansion plan, but I visualize our business going deeper. We want a collection of hotels--but not a chain.
Any parting advice?
Follow your instincts and do your own thing. What we do works for us, but if you're chasing after something, you've already set an expectation. In any creative field, it's fine to be inspired, but you should figure out your own spin.
I think that the direct words of who actually made and built the success of our story is the best way to transmit this to you; no commentaries could be better and could not communicate the same enthusiasm and excitement of the founder.
Wednesday 6 October 2010
King Giorgio, The Story of Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani was born in 1934 in Piacenza , a province city 80 kilometres south of Milan
His family was a low bourgeois family, his father was a public “yuppie” and his mother was coming from a family of home makers.
Life in Piacenza
During the war, when Piacenza
After the war in 1949 his family moved to Milan and Giorgio who just finished his high school studies had quite a shock moving from quiet Piacenza to the crowded and noisy Milan
As he stated “It was hard to leave the nature, the smell of the countryside, of the grass and of the courtyards”.
Driven by this sense of nostalgia Armani decided to follow medicine studies, determined to become a countryside doctor.
But when he was called to military service and had to spend two years in a military hospital he understood that being a doctor was not his path.
Returned to Milan
After this experience he was moved to organize the windows and after a really short time he was already in chief of a menswear store.
In 1964 he was hired by Giorgio Cerutti to design the collection of Hitman the menswear brand of the firm.
After 9 years in Hitman Armani decides to leave and opens an atelier with his friend and boyfriend Sergio Galeotti with whom he will share his life until his death in 1984.
After 2 years they open the Giorgio Armani S.p.A. with a capital of 2500000 liras (approximately 800 pounds).
Since then Armani starts to experience a growth that year after year leads him to reach the nick-name of Re Giorgio (King Giorgio).
In the 80’s Armani sings the costumes (that he calls dresses) for a series of Hollywood cults such as The Untouchables, American Gigolo.
The link between Armani and Hollywood
In the 80’s Armani also demonstrate an outstanding entrepreneurial spirit by expanding his operations to Japan
The basis built in the 80’s will lead to an incredible expansion of the brand Armani which in the years 2000 starts a process of renovation which leads to the creation of Armani Prive’, and an Armani Teathre.
In 2001 he also makes an important strategic decision for the company when he decides to acquire all the steps of the production line, to focus even more on the Made in Italy
But Armani is not stopping and is planning to open the first Armani Hotel in Milan soon......
At the present time Armani has an estimated capital of 4.5 billion dollars.
Armani is our second example of stories of excellence and shows us further more how excellent creativity linked to excellent management can lead to a truth story of excellence.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Nerio Alessandri, "the Bill Gates of the fitness industry"
He chose to name it Technogym, the wellness company to underline his focus on technlology improvements and attention to perople’s well-being.
He wanted to develop a new concept in the world of fitness, a concept that now, some 20 years later is shared within all of its 1400 employees and some 30 million users.
People and their well-being have always been a primary issue in the plans of Mr. Alessandri and as he stated “My personal training places somewhat more emphasis on wellness rather than on a traditional fitness regime. One difference between these two terms is that in fitness the stress is on looking good whilst in wellness it is on feeling good”. These are the concepts that he tries to stimulate in his employees and in his costumers; feeling good rather than merely shaping the body.
The attention that Alessandri paid to shape is body was used as well to shape his company. He focused a lot on his employees and worked hard to make them share the same values. This continuous work led him to win the 2003 “
Great Place
Great Place
But values and culture, even if they have a vital importance in a company’s life cycle, are not sufficient tools to succeed in business.
Alessandri has been able to integrate the values of his company with a global oriented vision of business.
Charming marketing and attention to the new markets are two of the keys that Mr.Alessandri used to succeed. After the success in the European market Alessandri decided to enter the American one, in 1997. To understand the culture of the new market Technogym hired American professionals. The move seem to have worked: in the first years of its activities in the U.S. Technogym achieved average growth rates of 30%.
One of the success factors though has been the fact that Technogym did not rush up its entrance in the American market with massive investments. It first tried to understand its culture, values and needs and then integrated its activities and its production line in the U.S.
The new goal for Technogym, a part from maintaining its leadership position in the market, is to fully profit from the growth of the new markets such as China
A goal that Technogym may find easier to achieve given that they anticipated the other competitors when it became the only supplier of the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Beijing 2008 and also the Asian Games 2006 helped Technogym to achieve a privileged position in the market.
Below there are a few links which I hope you will find interesting. A good example of the company's culture and marketing activity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qof9F3MkIK4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gams_h5qaM
This is the youtube page of Technogym which offers a various range of videos about the company.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TechnogymSpa?v=6Hpbnsx36Gc&feature=pyv&ad=5368434867&kw=wellness
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Welcome Message
Welcome to Stories of Excellence,
from today every week we will be talking about excellence and how to achieve it. In this journey throughout the stories of those who created symbols of excellence around the world I hope you will be able to find inspiration or simply amusement.
Every business starts with a vision, a dream that a human been wants to see realized.
Of course management it is not a perfect science, it is not maths and two plus two not always equals four. It has to be shaped to fit the vision or the dream as we called it.
That is, in my opinion, the major aim of management, transforming dreams into stories of excellence...
Emanuele Visconti
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