200 Days of Lock Down...musings of a CEO

One of the best speakers I have had the pleasure of seeing is a guy called Jeff Grout. If you don’t know him, it’s well worth searching for him on youtube for a dose of inspiration. At the start of lockdown he was a guest at Elite Leaders, and he came up with a phrase that I hadn’t heard before… “we’re all leading in a VUCA World”.

VUCA stands for:

As a father, a son, a boyfriend, a friend, a colleague, a customer and a CEO – VUCA completely resonates with me and I am sure it will resonate with all of you too. We’re all trying to do our best given the unprecedented nature of what we have faced.

On a personal level, I have been guided by a piece of advice that John Walton gave to me when I was sat in an Air BnB in soho the night that the theatre district closed… he said “JT, remember that people will remember the way that you made them feel”.

I’ve not been perfect, I’ve undoubtedly made some mistakes… but in all of my personal, individual roles, I’ve done what I thought was right and have communicated in a way that I hope has been positive, calm and re-assuring. I hope I have led and put myself in the shoes of others before acting and making a tough call.

As a daddy, I have seen more of Eva and Charlie than I could have ever wished for.  They, like all of our kids, have missed routine, they have missed their grandparents and being able to play with their friends… but the past 100 days has seen them return to school, get back to playing football and get back to playing in the garden with grandparents. Seeing them interact face to face again with my mum and dad is probably my favourite highlight of the past 100 days.

As a boyfriend. I am blessed to have met such an incredible woman who has more drive and determination than anyone else I know. To have prepared Hair2o for opening only for Leicester to go into a special measures lock-down was very tough… but the salon is open and ready for you to go and visit. Jade would love to see you… ;-)

As a son. I have had the pleasure of playing golf with my dad again and having BBQ’s in the garden for special occasions. Whilst hugging and kissing is prohibited… that isolation we felt in the first 100 days has gone and relatively normal service has resumed. My dad featured on my most read linkedin post, and we had a great “socially distanced” party in the garden for my mum’s birthday. The reaction to that party from all of our friends suggested that we all needed it. We all needed that level of human interaction, that level of banter, to play music loud, to sit around a fire drinking wine together and telling stories from years gone by… the olden days, when the world was “normal”.

As a friend. I feel incredibly grateful. I am privileged to have such an incredible friendship group. People I trust completely, people who have my back… you all know who you are... but a special shout out to my pal and old Macs colleague, Matt Gissing, who generously allowed me & my tribe to use his home as a holiday house for the first week of August - you're a legend.

As a colleague. Being part of a brilliant team makes work fun. I have been blown away by the resolve, tenacity and sheer desire shown by my “Macsketeer” colleagues. Not letting the team down will always be a huge personal motivation for me and I feel as if the whole team share the same value. I can’t wait for everyone to be in the same room again one day (soon).

As a CEO. Day 0-100 was all about survival. About working it all out as best we all could. Day 101-200 has been about looking to the future and working out a New World Strategy in order to (hopefully) thrive again… As a business, Macildowie has evolved and if it hadn’t been for lock-down, there is no way that we could have innovated to the extent that we have in order to bring our new and unique Recruitment and Retention offering to the market. The early signs are incredibly positive and we have reason to be very optimistic for the future. 

Finally, after three and half years of renting in Swithland, I move house on Tuesday and as such would like to thank our Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, for the stamp duty holiday… a saving I am hugely grateful for.

That’s all from me for a week whilst I move… I wonder what the 300 day milestone will bring… it’ll be the 3rd of January 2021 that is for sure!

Stay safe everyone

JT