Despatches June - August 2015
‘i’in team There’s
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Kevin Pietersen scores 355 for Surrey and he’s still not selected for England?
One of my favourite books is ‘Will it Make the Boat go Faster’ by Ben Hunt Davies. It’s a management manual on absolute focus on one goal – ie: how to make their 8 man craft win the Gold at the Sydney Olympics. And the importance of your team.
If they get too big for their boots, or start causing a bad feeling or impacting on the collective motivation they are bad for the team and inevitably bad for business. And indeed – regardless of their individual ability to score – the team as a whole will fail.
You see regardless of Ben’s individual determination and focus he could not win that race alone. It’s an 8 man crew and everyone has to be of equal strength, commitment and have the cohesiveness to dedicate themselves to that goal and focus TOGETHER.
In a team there are always going to be stars and supporters – that’s the way life goes - but the stars have to lose their ego and the supporters have to work with equal dedication so the whole team can make progress equally – because in any team, just like in any business, if you have one pulling harder than the others and, even worse, making the others feel crappy in the process – your boat or your business will just go round in circles.
Which is why Kevin Pietersen won’t be chosen for England this year. Because, sure, it’s tempting when he’s clearly such a talented player. And with England’s recent run scores, a big hitter and a spare hundred runs or so would come in damn handy. But – and it’s a big BUT – he cannot win alone. Cricket is indisputably a TEAM sport and no one man alone can win. It’s like Sir Alex Ferguson sacking Roy Keane in 2005 – arguably one of the most talented players he had at that time – but he spoke out against the leadership and spoke out against the team – and that was just not on. So often in life and business we focus on the big hitters, the big scorers, without acknowledging the corrosive impact that they are having on the whole team.
INSIDE: Disaster Recovery
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It’s difficult. Often we see the big win or the big score or the individual power and think easy win. But if it’s a team you are building – not a one man band whether it’s in sport or business – you need collective motivation, enthusiasm and loyalty. Not one egotistical individual who may bring the whole side down. Time to take a good look at your team and the egos within and ask are they all making the boat go faster? If not, time for change.
Franchise Focus
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R E T S A R E DIS T S A DIS RECOVERY
Diamond Logistics very own Daniel Allin, Chief Operating Officer, looks at why so many businesses fail to adequately stress test their business. How many of you as business owners rely too heavily on one client? It’s a very dangerous way to run a business. Every client, process, procedure, system, supplier and employee in your business should be replaceable – and at the drop of a hat if needs must. Ask yourself that simple question whenever you do anything… What would happen if this broke? And, if you don’t have the answer, you need to find one. Take users of City Link as a good example. Many thousands of businesses in the UK were affected by City Link’s recent entering into administration. How many of those businesses could have foreseen their closure? How many of those businesses had a backup carrier waiting in the background, or even a plan in the event of? Luckily for many Diamond clients, that back up was in place in the case of City Link’s demise. Our multicarriersolution has been designed with that very feature in mind. Our clients shipments were automatically placed through alternatives seamlessly. Diamond’s disaster recovery doesn’t just stop there either. Our telephone systems, broadband suppliers and IT systems have backups ready to go and our employees all know each others jobs in case of that occasional sick day. Employee self-preservation can be just as disastrous as a system failing, your broadband developing a fault or your courier letting you down. Recent research supports the idea that implementing a more holistic pre-disaster planning approach is more cost-effective in the long run. Every £1 spent on hazard mitigation (such as a disaster recovery plan) saves businesses £4 in response and recovery costs.
Control measures are steps or mechanisms that can reduce or eliminate various threats for organisations. Different types of measures can be included in disaster recovery plan (DRP). Disaster recovery planning is a subset of a larger process known as business continuity planning and includes planning for resumption of applications, data, hardware, electronic communications (such as networking) and other IT infrastructure, but can be typically used in operational scenarios too. A business continuity plan (BCP) includes planning for non-IT related aspects such as key personnel, facilities, crisis communication and reputation protection, and should refer to the disaster recovery plan (DRP) for IT related infrastructure recovery / continuity.
Disaster recovery control measures can be classified into the following three types: 1 PREVENTIVE MEASURES – Controls aimed at preventing an event from occurring.
2 DETECTIVE MEASURES – Controls aimed at detecting or discovering unwanted events. 3 CORRECTIVE MEASURES – Controls aimed at correcting or restoring the calm after a disaster or an event. Good disaster recovery plan measures dictate that these three types of controls be documented and exercised regularly using so-called “DR tests”. So, you’ve been warned. If you haven’t got a DR plan, create one – your business could depend on it.
Daniel Allin – Chief Operating Officer
“
I started my career in logistics as a warehouse operative for an old name in the industry and quickly worked through the ranks and have developed a genuine love for the industry ever since. After 19 years in logistics, I’ve been about a bit and have seen many domestic, overnight and International networks through various managerial roles. This also included my own courier company on the South Coast.
As Chief Operating Officer here at Diamond my job involves making the network, well, work. This includes the development of service offerings as well as negotiations with new and existing suppliers. More importantly, I make sure the network conforms to the very high standards we and our clients have become accustomed to. On plans for the future with Diamond The sky’s the limit. I’d like to see the business reach a global audience.
”
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Franchise Focus... The marketing department caught up with Dan O’Bryan and Alistair Harding from our newly established depot in Swindon.
Swindon
T 01793 238291 E swindon@diamondlogistics.co.uk Why logistics?
We have been involved in the Parcel Industry since the late 1990’s, the aspect of delivering any product has always intrigued us. The satisfaction of knowing it is possible to resolve a person’s transport headache by offering them a solution they may not have been aware as an option.
Our Mission Statement
Why did you choose Diamond?
As sub-contractors with a network of nearly 30 vehicles, ranging in size, offering a 24 hour per day operation we found we were providing a high end service but the rates we were being paid did not reflect the reward we deserved. In December 2014, We picked up on a promotional email and from there we were sold on the idea. Fortunately, we work with people who don’t just take things at face value. However, with every question we asked Kate or Dan, the more we wanted in. When it became apparent we were not going to be carrying out 60 - 80 deliveries per vehicle per day, won’t be needing to supply vehicle support at our expense despite the unrealistic expectations put on drivers by the Industry, we knew it was the right one. It also felt like one of those opportunities whereby getting in early enough the benefits were going to be better because this concept is brilliant and it is only a matter of time before the SME’s ‘click’ and work out, “Let the National Carrier do the deliveries but let a business, like Diamond, who cares about your freight, collect, and look after your requirements”.
What can you offer businesses in your area?
We offer the old style customer focused service that was essential part of the operation when I first came into the Industry. I see a lot of the existing values we had then being endorsed by Diamond but with a far superior I.T. Platform that adds value to the whole logistics package that each client receives.
What have you learned since joining the network?
Very few customers are getting the service they were expecting when they originally signed up with their National Carrier. However, they seem resigned to a level of acceptance where they convince themselves there isn’t an alternative. In some respects, when making a presentation of service a stock answer is “We heard this all before, reps come in promise the world then we find...” This is our opportunity to change the face of the industry (and sounding like a politician) “is our opportunity to get back to the core values of this customer focused service industry!
What are your goals for 2015?
We want to be that £1m per year depot and I would only be doing the SME’s of Swindon a disservice by not offering them the opportunity to sign up to Diamond Logistics, Swindon. We will take away the headache they have of dealing with major national network providers where you are simply another account number.
Here are Kate’s recommended readings that will inspire you to help achieve your goals and ambitions in your own business.
Will it Make the Boat Go Faster?
Kate’s Book Corner
Ben Hunt Davies
Achieve the Impossible Professor Greg Whyte
The Big Leap
Gay Hendricks
Business Nightmares Rachel Elnaugh
Work in mutual benefit, delivering time-critical delivery solutions to our clients. Provide great career opportunities to our team and subcontractors. Contribute positively to society on local, regional and global levels. Be a really good company to trust, work for and to belong to.
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Basildon
Derby
Slough
Birmingham
East London
Southampton
1 Noble Square, Courtauld Road, Basildon, Essex SS13 1LS T 01268 857 854 E basildon@diamondlogistics.co.uk Unit 31, Evans Easy Space, Middlemore Road, West Bromwich B21 0AL T 0121 667 8283 E birmingham@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Blackburn
Glenfield Business Park, Philips Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 5PF T 01254 403013 E blackburn@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Bolton
Unit 2, Moses Gate Workshops, Manchester Road, Bolton BL3 2QG T 01204 896 359 E bolton@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Bournemouth
Unit D2 Cirrus Court, Aviation Park West, Bournemouth Airport, Dorset, BH23 6NW T 01202 069460 E bournemouth@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Bristol
Unit B 7A4 Victoria Road, Avonmouth Industrial Estate, Avonmouth, Bristol BS11 9DP T 0117 911 9664 E bristol@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Coventry
Unit 14, Stampings Blue Ribbon Industrial Estate, Foleshill CV6 5RB T 024 7666 6240 E coventry@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Croydon
7a Beddington Gardens, Wallington SM6 0HU T 020 8003 4668 E croydon@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Unit 5C Sinfin Industrial Estate, Sinfin Lane, Derby, Derbyshire DE24 9GL T 01332 897 674 E derby@diamondlogistics.co.uk Unit 27 Walthamstow Business Centre, Clifford Road, London E17 4SX T 020 3603 9458 E eastlondon@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Guildford
Unit 9, The Pines Business Park, Broad Street, Guildford Surrey GU3 3BH T 0845 591 7334 E guildford@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Leicester
420D, Thurmston Boulevard, Leicester, LE4 9LE T 0116 298 6953 E leicester@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Lichfield
Unit 33 Britannia Enterprise Park, Britannia Way, Lichfield, West Midlands WS14 9UY T 01543 889601 E lichfield@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Milton Keynes
Denbeigh Business Park, Unit 3C, 23 First Avenue, Milton Keynes, MK1 1DX T 01280 875583 E miltonkeynes@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Northampton
Brixworth Coldstore, Old Harborough Road, Northampton NN6 9BX T 01604 806314 E northampton@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Norwich
The True Centre, 31 Caister Road, Great Yarmouth NR30 4DA T 01603 859401 E norwich@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Plymouth
Unit 13 Faraday Mill Business Park, Prince Rock, Plymouth PL4 0ST T 01752 547992 E plymouth@diamondlogistics.co.uk
914 Yeovil Road, Slough Trading Estate, Slough SL1 4JA T 01753 257 299 E slough@diamondlogistics.co.uk Unit 30, Claylands Road, Bishops Waltham, Hampshire SO32 1BH T 02380 988919 E southampton@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Sussex
7b Durban Road, South Bersted Industrial Estate, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO22 9QT T 01243 885729 E chichester@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Swansea
Zone 3 Kenfig Industrial Estate, Port Talbot SA13 2PE T 01792 828040 E swansea@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Swindon
Unit 8 Wroughton Business Park, Swindon Road, Wroughton, Swindon, SN4 9BH T 01793 238291 E swindon@diamondlogistics.co.uk
Head Office
Unit 9, The Pines Business Park, Broad Street, Guildford Surrey GU3 3BH T 0845 591 7334 E info@diamondlogistics.co.uk
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Bath, Manchester & Twickenham Find out how you can start your own courier franchise just like these guys. Simply email
franchise@diamondlogistics.co.uk
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