The Informer November 2017 by The Clubhouse

Member in the Spotlight William Forster of Valore Real Estate on maximising returns for stakeholders

The Art of Negotiation Develop the skills needed to get the results you want and secure the best possible outcome

T h e

I n f o r m e r Issue 10

November 2017

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STAY CONNECTED How to get the best out of your remote team

Meet. Work. Grow.

INTRODUCTION

ADAM BLASKEY FOUNDER & CEO The Clubhouse

W e l come solutions around; and Cloudcasting, creators of the iFace Digital Mirrors. Having been voted Best Business Club at the 2016 London Venue Awards, we are delighted to have won Best Meeting Room for The Greenhouse at this year’s awards. In The Informer this month, on page 4 we have a great feature on how to ensure your remote teams feel more connected and on page 7 a piece written by member Nicole Soames, author of ‘The Negotiation Book’, on how to negotiate like a pro. Our member in the spotlight this issue is William Forster from Valore, a thriving multi-disciplinary real estate consultancy.

THE CLUBHOUSE PRODUCTIVITY TIP #

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Define your purpose Every company can define WHAT it does, i.e. the products or services provided. Few companies clearly define to their stakeholders WHY they do WHAT they do. Clearly define your purpose and WHY you exist.

WINNER Best Business Club

This month we are also looking forward to three fantastic events: 14 November at The Clubhouse, St James’s is our members’ evening when we will be welcoming Jo Fairley, co-founder of Green & Black’s as our guest speaker. On 21 November, we will be hosting a one-off Media, Communications and Brand panel evening in aid of the MicroLoan Foundation, which transforms the lives of some of the world’s poorest women. Finally, on 22 November, please join us at The Clubhouse, Bank for our opening party – a great opportunity to come and see our most impressive Clubhouse to date and meet both members of The Clubhouse and members of our growing team.

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The Clubhouse, Bank is now open! Offering everything you already love about The Clubhouse and more: with floor-to-ceiling windows, panoramic views across the City, cutting-edge technology, inspiring breakout spaces, a range of meeting rooms, boardrooms and presentation rooms, along with our own private roof terrace. We are once again delighted to be working with our technology partners to ensure our meeting rooms offer the best experience for you and your business: MultiTaction in offering a MT Canvus video wall in The Greenhouse; StarLeaf who provide one of the most user-friendly video conferencing

WINNER Best Meeting Room

DESIGN & ART DIRECTION Christian Gilliham christian@cgcreate.co.uk 07951 722265 To promote your business in The Informer, please email adam@theclubhouselondon.com Copyright. The Clubhouse London Ltd

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REMOTE WORKING

How to make your remote team feel more connected

Investing in the people who work for you is key, but how can you make them feel valued and supported when they are based elsewhere?

he concept of a company headquarters and a network of local offices is becoming much less common, therefore bringing about significant changes in how businesses attract, recruit and retain the best talent. The traditional model of a company bearing the fixed costs and lease liabilities of office premises and filling functional, soulless office space with staff chained to their desks has thankfully changed. Modern workforces have different requirements and it’s important to respond to them. Hiring and holding on to staff is an expensive and lengthy process. According to a Fast Company article, in 2011 companies spent $45 billion on recruiting, yet 46% of new hires still left the organisation after their first year; according to a Global Workplace Analytics study, losing a valued employee can cost an employer $10,000 to $30,000. While you should feel driven to invest in your employees, what is equally desirable is that your employees are also invested in your company. Staff who feel connected and engaged are less likely to leave their jobs, which will save your business money, ensure smoother working practices and help retain top talent for longer. So how can you best collaborate, communicate, support and develop your remote team? Collaboration and communication Working from home or remotely can have its benefits, but productivity can sometimes suffer. Start with communication - an instant individual or group chat tool, such as Slack, is a great way to stay connected for quick Q&As while a Skype call is suitable for those discussions where eye contact really is necessary. However, even the best technology can’t create those “water cooler moments”. Informal run-ins, such a chat in the lift or while grabbing a coffee, can be when ideas spark or decisions are

made. Remote workers should therefore have access to inspirational and flexible meeting and work spaces to boost productivity, satisfy these impromptu brainstorms and be around like-minded people. Support and development Making sure your team has the technology they need to work and connect efficiently is key. Time must be taken to ensure the support is there and time isn’t lost trying to solve IT nightmares which drain both productivity and motivation. Homeworking can create social exclusion and concerns about the lack of wider opportunities or promotion, so if an employee wishes to attend a conference or course, they should be encouraged to do so providing they can demonstrate how it will benefit them, who they will meet and whether the skills obtained could benefit others in the business. Let them turn off Working remotely or flexibly can often translate to working all the time. We’re living in a culture of being “always on” but the backlash is beginning as people feel more overloaded than ever by 24/7 communication. Have clear guidelines on how you will communicate and when you expect them to be contactable. Feedback and meet-ups Out of sight should not translate to out of mind. Invest in feedback software, such as a weekly survey, to keep teams and leaders connected. Equally, while the benefits of working remotely are numerable, working from home or alone can be lonely. Regular meet-ups in creative environments are a great way to build teams, strengthen relationships and encourage collaboration. ●

Meet. Work. Grow.

MEMBER STRAPLINE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

WILLIAM FORSTER DIRECTOR Valore Real Estate

B u ild i n g on su c c e ss Tell us about your company and how it started. Valore Real Estate is a multi-disciplinary real estate consultancy that aims to maximise value for stakeholders through investment, development and asset management. In January 2017, we launched Valore Capital Partners (VCP). VCP specialises in the design and delivery of mixed use developments in London and the South East, leveraging Valore Real Estate’s expertise in sourcing, capital structuring, design, architecture and development to deliver maximum returns. What has been your biggest success to date? Our Development Consultancy has had the most consistent success. We have delivered a wide range of projects from multi-unit residential developments in and around London to office, retail and industrial refurbishments. Most recently our head of development, David Daly, managed the design and build refurbishment of Workspace Group’s headquarters in London. The project involved the conversion of a large Victorian industrial building into a modern office space. This has ultimately led to the formation of Valore Capital Partners, whereby we act as principle developer on our own schemes. Our most recent acquisition was in Wimbledon Village where we are converting an old Victorian House into eight luxury apartments.

What project are you most excited about right now? As much as it may sound like a cliché, we are most excited about growth. After four years we now have a solid platform and a great team to build on past success. We are also speaking to some interesting high-profile investors and potential non-exec directors who can help us build our profile and tackle new opportunities. How has being a member of The Clubhouse contributed to the success of your business? The Clubhouse has been incredible for us. The St James’s and Mayfair locations work well and our clients are constantly impressed with the facilities. The flexibility works and is important since we are regularly on site. I think the most enjoyable aspect, however, has been the people that we have met from so many different industries. Where can members find you? We are usually working in central London mid-week. Due to the nature of our business and the large amount of property companies based in Mayfair, we mainly work out of The Clubhouse, Mayfair.

QUICK-FIRE ROUND

Favourite place to go in London? Roka on Charlotte Street has to be up there. Who inspires you and why? Roger Federer. To be at the top of your game for so long, winning two grand slams this year with two sets of twins has to be admired…. Best bit of advice you’ve been given? When we were starting out, we were advised to very much focus on fewer things done well and it’s been our focus ever since. If you were on a desert island, what would you bring? A fishing rod. Which super power would you like to have? On the basis the previous month’s member in the spotlight said ‘to see in the future’ I would go with the ability to change a bad decision! What is the worst business ‘faux-pas’ you’ve committed? I think I may have turned up to a meeting in a black-tie from the night before with a Subbuteo set I won in the raffle under my arm. Wasn’t my finest moment. My client never lets me live it down; that said we still do a lot of work together, so it can’t be all bad.

valorerealestate.co.uk

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FUTURE EVENTS

The Clubhouse

ST JAMES’S

BANK

An Evening with Jo Fairley, co-founder of Green & Black’s

Please join us to celebrate the opening of The Clubhouse, Bank

SA V E THE DA TE

TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm FREE FOR MEMBERS £25 FOR NON-MEMBERS Jo Fairley is one of the UK’s leading female entrepreneurs. After becoming the UK’s youngest-ever magazine editor, at the age of 23, she set out on her entrepreneurial journey in 1991 when she co-founded Green & Black’s chocolate, now a £100 million a year brand. The success of Green & Black’s has enabled Jo to become a serial entrepreneur, via an award-winning organic food store/bakery, The Wellington Centre (a nine-room wellbeing centre) and The Perfume Society. Please join us to hear about Jo’s extraordinary career from launching Green & Black’s on Portobello Road to its sale to Cadbury in 2005.

Jo Fairley

Angel Court

WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 6.30 pm RSVP ESSENTIAL Please join us for the opening party at The Clubhouse, Bank located at One Angel Court in the heart of the City. Just moments from Bank tube station, our first Clubhouse in the Square Mile is truly unique, offering everything you already love about The Clubhouse and more. Floor-to-ceiling windows, with panoramic views, cutting-edge technology, inspiring breakout spaces, a range of meeting rooms, boardrooms and presentation rooms, along with our own private roof terrace. Come and join us for an exciting evening when we will unveil the next chapter in our journey.

HOW TO BOOK: VISIT THECLUBHOUSELONDON.COM OR ASK AT THE FRONT DESK

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Charity

Art

Review

MICROLOAN FOUNDATION

MORE DIMENSIONS THAN YOU KNOW

COYA ANGEL COURT

A one-off Media, Communications & Brand Panel Event raising money for the MicroLoan Foundation, which transforms the lives of some of the poorest women in the world. Learn from some of the leading innovators and experts within communications, moderated by ‘brand guru’ Rita Clifton CBE. Speakers include Shruti Malani Krishnan, co-founder of Powr of You, Lucy Ward, creative director at Trouva, Marjella Alma, CEO and co-founder of Datamaran, Emma Kane, CEO of Redleaf PR and Allegra McEvedy MBE, co-founder of Leon.

Hauser & Wirth presents Jack Whitten’s first-ever solo exhibition in London and the gallery’s inaugural project with the artist in the United Kingdom. Whitten is an American abstract painter celebrated for his innovative transfiguration of paint in works equally alert to materiality, politics and metaphysics. Curated by Richard Shiff, this presentation has a historical focus, bringing together a large number of Whitten’s paintings from 1979 to 1989.

TUESDAY 21 NOVEMBER: 6.30PM. £45 THE CLUBHOUSE, ST JAMES’S

UNTIL 18 NOVEMBER HAUSERWIRTH.COM 020 7287 2300

Meet. Work. Grow.

Underneath The Clubhouse, Bank is Coya, the highly acclaimed Peruvian restaurant celebrating vibrant, contemporary Latin American cuisine in a stunningly designed setting. You’ll be entertained as chefs skilfully prepare food in one of three open kitchens: the ceviche counter, the open charcoal grill and the central kitchen. Don’t overlook the bright and colourful Pisco bar and lounge, which specialises in bespoke pisco infusions, over 40 tequilas and an extensive rum list.

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COYARESTAURANT.COM 020 3907 0000

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NEGOTIATION

How to n e g oti a te l i k e a p ro

s a commercial skills trainer and coach, Nicole always reminds people that developing their negotiation skills doesn’t happen overnight. Just like learning a new language or training for a marathon, it takes commitment, ambition and hard work to achieve the extraordinary. The great news is that negotiation is like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it will become. So based on more than 13 years developing and delivering commercial training programmes around the world, here are Nicole’s top tips to help and inspire you to raise your negotiation game – with customers, colleagues, family or friends. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail Preparation is absolutely key to negotiation success, so before every negotiation, make sure you write down a list of what you are hoping to achieve. Then, write down what you are prepared to offer in return – after all, negotiation is about finding an overlapping position with the other party. As part of your preparation, anticipate any curve balls you think may come your way and plan how you will respond. This will help you manage and control the negotiation conversation during the meeting itself. Remember – in negotiation forewarned really is forearmed! Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right! (Henry Ford) These wise words by Henry Ford clearly show the power of a winning mindset. We’re often our worst enemy when it comes to

Nicole Soames, CEO of Diadem Performance, author of ‘The Negotiation Book’, and member of The Clubhouse, shares her expert advice on how to develop your negotiation skills so you can get the results you deserve negotiation – talking ourselves down before we even get to the negotiating table. So before every meeting, remind yourself what’s great about you, your company and your relationship with the other party. Boost your confidence by thinking back to a time when you successfully turned around a challenging situation. Finally, visualise what success looks like – this could be signing your name on a new contract or walking through the door of your new house.

Master negotiators understand that you need to be appropriately ambitious throughout the negotiation process if you want to secure the best possible outcome

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for! Master negotiators understand that you need to be appropriately ambitious throughout the negotiation process if you want to secure the best possible outcome. So always start the negotiation ahead of your ideal as you are unlikely to get a “yes” to your opening offer. It’s important to prepare your highest and lowest offers before each negotiation – contrary to popular belief I don’t advise preparing a walkaway position as I believe you are more likely to end up there if you do. Instead think of your “low” offer as the bottom of your happy zone and your “highest” as the highest believable position. You will be amazed at the results. You cannot negotiate with those that say what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable. (JFK) It’s crucial to remember that communication lies at the heart of every negotiation. You therefore need to draw on your empathy to understand what makes the other party tick. By putting yourself in their shoes and creating wins for the other side, you are far more likely to balance the playing field and find an overlapping position agreeable to both parties. Remember, people like doing business with people they like – so your goal should be to build a relationship based on trust that leaves both parties feeling like winners. A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. (Churchill) Finally, as this quote from Churchill shows, you need to be resilient and solutionorientated if you want to achieve a win-win outcome. By adopting a glass-half-full attitude, you are far more likely to bring different variables to the table and avoid what I describe as the three Ds of negotiation – deadlock, disagreement and disappointment. Remember to dial up your EQ and draw on your resilience to help you bounce back from any obstacles in your path. Instead, focus on taking the learnings from any setbacks so you can move the conversation forwards and close the negotiation like a true professional. ●

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MEMBER STRAPLINE OFFERS

❂ Our ethos at The Clubhouse is to make our members, and their businesses, more successful. A major part of this is to provide members with exclusive offers and benefits from a range of partners. 5

JetSmarter 90 Day Trial + One FREE JetDeal seat on ANY JetDeal Flight

The Athenaeum Exclusive access to corporate rates

Gentlemen’s Tonic 20% off all services and a goody bag worth £26 on your first visit

The Colony HQ Exclusive day memberships for only £50 per day

Mews of Mayfair 25% discount off lunch or dinner

Hiscox Tailored solutions for all your personal insurance needs

Hush Mayfair 20% discount off your bill

No. 1 Lounges 25% off lounge access, plus complimentary Premium Security

Mayfair Pizza Co. 25% discount off lunch or dinner

Montblanc Complimentary bespoke nib consultation

Moneypenny Call handling from £99 pcm

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The Stafford London 20% off the best available rate