Out of the Darkness

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Entrepreneurs on the Novation Enterprise Platform Programme were treated to an inspirational day that saw them journey the world’s highest peaks and to the cricket world championships. As part of enhancing their leadership and team development skills, two exceptional speakers worked with the group and shared their life experiences.

Ian McKeever, Broadcaster, Author and Adventurer, spoke of how in 2007 he broke the World Record for the ‘Seven Summits Challenge’ by climbing each of the Continent’s highest peaks in a time of 155 days. And how in 2009 he was part of a team that attempted to row the South Atlantic Ocean in a new world record time and create history by becoming the 1st crew to ever row an ocean in under 30 days. As compelling as these personal stories of adventure and achievement were, what was of most interest to the group was how he managed to sell these adventures to sponsors, to get sufficient buy-in for his ideas that would make them become reality. As many of the entrepreneurs are starting their own businesses and are still at the early stages of getting customers and funders on board, Ian’s insights were met with keen interest.

Following on from the personal leadership qualities necessary to get buy in for your vision, the group learned how to get the best out of their teams. Adrian Birrell, International Cricket Coach who brought the Irish Cricket team to success in the Cricket World Cup in 2007, explained the concepts and techniques he uses to get the best from all members of a team. By a combination of building strategic collaborations, getting team members to bring something extra along with their core competency and working on “1 percenters” little things that you can do that may make a big difference, a team can become greater than the sum of all its individuals.

Useful insights to help keep these entrepreneurs on track to building successful businesses.