The Informer October 2017

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Member in the Spotlight Robert Dubsky, CEO of Yacht Masters, discusses the fascinating world of superyachts

Under pressure How to make your team more resilient, even when the going gets tough

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I n f o r m e r Issue 09

October 2017

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THINK LIKE A TODDLER

Why regaining the skills you once possessed could give you fresh focus

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Meet. Work. Grow.

BANK The Clubhouse Bank is an enviable location in the heart of the City. Located on the 7th and 8th floors of Angel Court with panoramic views of the City, members will have access to our own private roof terrace as well as a stunning roof garden.

Only a minute’s walk from Bank underground station, Angel Court is the ideal location for members looking for the smarter alternative to an office in the heart of the square mile.

Opening Soon

INTRODUCTION

ADAM BLASKEY FOUNDER & CEO The Clubhouse

W e l c om e about The Clubhouse Bank and ask about our member referral programme.

This month, we are delighted to welcome back to The Clubhouse Paul Lindley, founder of Ella’s Kitchen, as our guest speaker. Having launched his business in 2006, Paul has grown revenues to over $100m with a simple mission to improve children’s lives through developing healthy relationships with food.

In 2013, the company was sold to The Hain Celestial Group for $103.5m – so please join us to hear more about Paul’s journey and about his new book, ‘Little Wins: The Huge Power of Thinking Like a Toddler’, also featured on page 4 of this issue.

THE CLUBHOUSE PRODUCTIVITY TIP

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We have a large number of members in the property sector – investors, developers, funders, advisors and consultants – so don’t miss our members’ breakfast on 1 November in partnership with Cogress, the property private equity platform, and Savills.

Finally, this issue we feature two of our members: our Member in the Spotlight on page 5 is Robert Dubsky, CEO of Yacht Masters, a superyacht broker. Then turn to page 7 to read about building a resilient team which works well under pressure, written by Miranda Wheatley Price, director of organisational change at change management consultants, Rubica.

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Pep Talk To be effective, any pep talk needs the right balance of three key components: empathy, clarity and meaning.

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Works at The Clubhouse Bank are taking shape nicely and, barring any unforeseen hiccups, we look forward to opening to our members on Monday 23 October.

We are thrilled with the level of membership interest we have received so far and if you would like any further information or to book in a tour with our Membership Team, please get in touch. Much of our growth to date has been fuelled by the referrals made by our loyal members, so if you have any friends, colleagues, clients, partners, suppliers or investors looking for a smarter, more flexible alternative to a London office, or a better way to do business, please let them know

WINNER Best Business Club

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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ENTREPRENEURIAL THINKING

Learn from your younger self Founder of Ella’s Kitchen Paul Lindley explains why ‘growing down’ is as important as growing up

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huge part of our success at Ella’s Kitchen stems from the fact that we’ve been purpose-led from the very beginning.

Just over 12 years ago, when I was mixing smoothie flavours at my kitchen table with my kids, I was driven by a desire to give them the best possible relationship with food – and to this day Ella’s Kitchen maintains that initial mission. We still exist to improve children’s lives through developing healthy relationships with food.

To do this, we’ve put ourselves in the little shoes of our customers – and this has set us apart in the market. Understanding what toddlers want and how they react to different flavours, textures and colours has allowed us to create innovative products and revolutionise baby food branding, packaging and quality. Some of our most popular ideas were inspired by my own children – for example ‘The Red One’ was named by my son, Paddy.

This ability to think like toddlers has been vital not just in our consumer research, but in creating a culture that has enabled us to take on industry goliaths. We’ve become the number one baby food brand in the UK, sold in over 40 countries, a leading purpose-driven business and a B Corp – the hallmark of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

All of this is humbling and an immense source of pride. It is testament to the toddler mindset that brought us the creativity,

determination, ambition, honesty and playfulness of a child boldly taking their very first steps.

This is what Little Wins: The Huge Power of Thinking Like a Toddler is all about – regaining the skills we once all possessed.

As a toddler we learned to do new things, we pushed ourselves and when it didn’t work we tried again until we got it. We didn’t suffer from fear of failure, or the embarrassment of being seen by others to fail.

One of the nine steps to ‘growing down’ I discuss in Little Wins is to be creative.

Creativity is a characteristic that toddlers possess in swathes. They defy convention because they don’t know what exists. There are no rules, no precedents, no limits, and they aren’t afraid to question the status quo.

The Polaroid camera’s story is a great example.

It was created when the inventor’s daughter asked why they couldn’t see the photo as soon as it was taken.

This ability to think outside of the box and never take no for an answer is just one example of how we can learn from our younger selves. Toddlers teach us to dream big and never give up. Tapping into their mindset can give us all a fresh impetus and focus, both personally and professionally. ● Paul Lindley is founder of Ella’s Kitchen and the bestselling author of Little Wins: The Huge Power of Thinking Like Toddler

“One of the nine steps to ‘growing down’ I discuss in Little Wins is to be creative.

Creativity is a characteristic that toddlers possess in swathes.”

PAUL LINDLEY

Meet. Work. Grow.

MEMBER STRAPLINE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

ROBERT DUBSKY CEO Yacht Masters

Sailin g th e se a s of su c c e ss Tell us about your company and how it started.

Yacht Masters is a superyacht brokerage specialising in the sale and charter of larger 40m-plus yachts. As a broker, we broker the deal between the client chartering (renting) or buying and the owner or shipyard.

We’re a smaller company, as we really focus on building relationships with clients. I’ve been a yacht broker for 18 years and have always enjoyed concentrating on the larger yachts, as both the clients and products in that area of the market are fascinating.

I’ve never wanted the company to be a large brokerage, instead a respected, knowledgeable company with trustworthy, decent characters that clients want to work with and am delighted to say we work with some of the most impressive yachts and clients in the world.

What has been your biggest success to date?

I’m not sure I could pin it down to one particular event, but probably launching a superyacht brokerage just as the financial crash happened! When we were preparing to launch Yacht Masters, the market was booming. On launch, in February 2008, Lehman’s and Northern Rock had collapsed and financial turmoil caused the yachting industry real problems. Yacht Masters has done well and nine years later, I believe the way we operate makes us one of the most discrete brokers in the industry.

What project are you most excited about right now?

I would say it’s a combination of projects and the market. We are working on some exciting purchase projects, which will hopefully be concluded within two to six months, and our charter business remains one of our real strengths.

Both areas continue to indicate the market is improving, albeit steadily.

How has being a member of The Clubhouse contributed to the success of your business?

It has given us flexibility. We have an office in Berkshire, near Ascot, where our brokers can base themselves, or The Clubhouse Mayfair, when meetings are taking place in town, a boardroom environment is required, or simply a change of scenery.

I find the atmosphere in The Clubhouse conducive to a healthy working environment; everyone’s working, having meetings, planning. It has a very ‘entrepreneurial’ feel, which is very much in line with our company’s approach.

Where can members find you?

In The Clubhouse Mayfair when I am in London. Otherwise I tend to be all over the place, but although predominately in Berkshire.

QUICK-FIRE ROUND

Favourite place to go in London?

Mayfair. As much as I love several other areas, I like Mayfair’s architecture, the old pubs, restaurants and near village feel.

Who inspires you and why?

Although it may sound like a cliché, I’d say our clients. Not because of their wealth, but because there is one common denominator to their success that I admire – hard work.

Best bit of advice you’ve been given?

Don’t forget the objective.

If you were on a desert island, what would you bring?

Probably one of my dogs. Don’t tell my wife.

Which super power would you like to have?

Seeing in to the future.

What is the worst business ‘faux-pas’ you’ve committed?

Reciting a story I had been told by a friend selling his business, to an individual who was in the same line of business, but I had only recently met. Only to find that the ‘principal’ of the story was the individual’s family office and “I should not listen to everything I hear”. It did, however, break the ice!

yachtmasters.com

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FUTURE EVENTS

The Clubhouse

The Clubhouse

ST JAMES’S

ST JAMES’S

An Evening with Paul Lindley, founder of Ella’s Kitchen

Future Opportunities in the London Property Market

WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm FREE FOR MEMBERS £25 FOR NON-MEMBERS Paul Lindley is the award-winning British entrepreneur, bestselling author and founder of Ella’s Kitchen, an innovative brand of organic baby food, now the UK’s largest baby food brand with sales of over $100m across 40 countries. Paul believes the best businesses have a core purpose to do social good; he has developed a clean water for children program on the back of his second business, Paddy’s Bathroom, natural toiletries for babies and children.

This year,Paul published Little Wins: The Huge Power of Thinking Like a Toddler, encouraging creative and fresh thinking.

SA V E T HE D A TE

Paul Lindley

Katy Warwick

WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 8.00 am - 10.00 am FREE FOR MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS In partnership with Cogress, the property private equity platform which connects developers and investors, we are hosting a breakfast with Katy Warwick, head of London residential research at Savills. Katy be discussing the strength of the London market, from outer London boroughs through to the prime markets of central London, risks and drivers, and who is buying.

She will also set out the challenges for developers in this current market, and where opportunities for the future might be.

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

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Art

Theatre

Review

ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ARTS

HEISENBERG: THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE

THOMAS’S CAFE

Roseberys London presents their bi-annual Islamic & Indian Art auction on Monday 23 October. Highlights from the 400-lot sale include 55 lots from the Private Collection of Ruth and Cyrus Jhabvala (lots 10-65).

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala CBE (1927-2013) was an eminent writer, winner of the Booker Prize and two-time Oscar Award winner. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions lead by director James Ivory and the late producer Ismail Merchant. She is the only person to have won both a Booker Prize and an Oscar.

PREVIEW: 19-20 OCTOBER THE CLUBHOUSE ST JAMES’S

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When two strangers meet by chance at a crowded London train station, their lives are changed forever in this surprising and life-affirming new play starring the critically acclaimed Anne-Marie Duff and Kenneth Cranham. Playwright Simon Stephens explains, “We are living in uncertain times. Rather than being frightening, living with uncertainty might just be the start of the most remarkable adventure.”

3 OCTOBER – 6 JANUARY WYNDHAM’S THEATRE, CHARING CROSS ROAD, WC2H ODA DELFONTMACKINTOSH.CO.UK

Meet. Work. Grow.

Burberry has just opened its first ever café in its flagship Mayfair store. Named after the label’s founder, Thomas Burberry, this quinessential English eaterie hosts a variety of classic dishes, celebrating British suppliers. From Sutton Hoo chicken salad to Wylye river trout, Isle of Wight tomatoes to Irish Carlingford oysters, the menu is a tour of the bounty our country has to offer, in the refined setting of an English fashion institution.

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5 VIGO STREET, MAYFAIR 020 3159 1410

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PERFORMANCE

How to bui l d a re si l i e n t te a m

Support one another Resilient people don’t go it alone. The team-support culture keeps people from slipping out of stretch and losing productivity.

Resilient teams proactively support one another to get work done. To do this effectively, actively build mechanisms to help manage with pressure: ■ Create a balance between formal and informal support mechanisms. Formal processes, such as ring fencing time in team meetings to talk about work pressures, help people feel both heard and involved in managing work demand, and drives agreement on how to collectively manage. Informal mechanisms, such as a team breakfast, encourage openness,

Experiment and challenge Challenge one another on what and how things are done to improve efficiency. Improving where you are already strong is the basis of quick wins and a rapid way to make a notable difference in performance. Teams are more likely to improve a process or demonstrate a behaviour more consistently if it’s already happening. Recognise and reward workable solutions that have been piloted successfully.

A team that can perform well, even during a time of high pressure or change, is a powerful force. It ultimately cultivates a resilient team culture that can not only ensure business continuity, but also has the capability to deliver faster, bigger and better results. ● rubica.co.uk

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Optimum performance when you’re here

Leads to fatigue, poor judgement and poor decision making

Average LEVEL OF PRESSURE

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STRAIN

STRETCH

COMFORT

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OVERWHELMED

Leads to exhaustion, serious health problems, breakdown and burnout

BOREDOM

Reinforce clarity and focus Clarity on goals, priorities and roles is a fundamental building block of a highperforming, resilient team. Ultimately, if you did nothing else but continually provided clarity, performance and productivity would significantly improve. You can further build on this by creating a yearly and quarterly plan that clearly defines goals to anchor the team

and keep focus. Re-assess this regularly (at least once a quarter). On a monthly basis, define and adapt your priorities in relation to your goals to retain short-term motivation and push through periods of pressure.

and a feeling of belonging – key aspects of team culture that enhance engagement and diminish the feeling of isolation.

■ Look to have transparent conversations in the team at least once a quarter.

Tip: Share your own perspective – vulnerability can be very powerful and helps build a transparent culture.

■ Build optimism and team belief in overcoming challenges at team meetings.

Tip: Ensure you all get the opportunity to share one or two of your most challenging goals, the associated priorities and what you have achieved in relation to these.

PERFORMANCE

Operate within ‘stretch’ The performance-pressure curve (see graph) is a key indicator of how a team performs under pressure. As the level of pressure increases, the performance level also increases, to the point of healthy tension or ‘stretch’. The ideal is that at least 65% of a team feels supported to operate in the ‘stretch zone’ – where we all perform at our optimum.

The ‘stretch zone’ is a great place to build resilience as it provides stretch goals which challenge us to grow and develop. To reach this zone, leverage the performance-pressure curve to: ■ Encourage transparency and ownership about managing work pressure and demand. Resilient teams have open conversations about triggers that tip them into the ‘strain zone’. Inevitably, colleagues will seek to support each other through these periods which in turn enhances trust, communication and accountability.

■ Identify strengths within the team and discuss one or two areas where these strengths could be utilised.

■ Discuss (as a team) what is versus what isn’t working and identify areas to influence that are within the team’s control.

Working under pressure can result in high performance and strong results, says Miranda Wheatley Price, director of organisational change at Rubica

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e have all experienced periods of pressure and change in our workplace. These times can be testing, trigger stress and self-doubt in our ability to manage and deliver. The same sentiment applies to the teams we work with.

Yet a team who manages well during times of pressure or change is a team that ensures business continuity, is higher performing and ultimately delivers more. Critically, these teams have a culture of resilience.

So how do you attain a resilient team culture that sustains performance irrespective of pressure and change? Miranda Wheatley Price of Rubica, a member of The Clubhouse, has developed four key building blocks.

Maximum Adapted from P Nixon, 1979

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