A camel is a horse designed by committee…..

Not many people know this, but I am a massive fan of the original Mini. The Mini’s creator, Sir. Alec Issigonis was an incredibly successful automotive engineer enjoying success with the Morris Minor first before he gifted the world with his petrol championing Mini.

What has this got to do with anything you may ask? Well, Sir Alec when he was still just plain Alec once coined the phrase ‘a camel is a horse designed by committee’ or in other words he was underlining the ineffectiveness of incorporating too many conflicting opinions into a single project.

Now I respect Sir. Alec Issigonis hugely, but I’m not so sure I agree. You see, two years ago I formed a Raring2go! council of franchisees following some sage words of advice from the British Franchise Association. My council is a committee.

Forming my Raring2go! council was by far one of the best moves I could have taken in my business and one I am proudest of. In the case of Raring2go! my ‘council’ works and it works really well. For instance, when Raring2go! was ready for an overhaul of its magazine design, the council stepped into action and came up with a brilliant solution. The council are all on the front line of our business so they are perfectly placed to judge what will and what won’t work so who better to come up with strategic solutions to business issues. We unveiled our new designs at our 2014 conference and the rest of the network of franchisees started applauding. It was richly deserved applause too.

My council have been and continue to be a tremendous sounding board where honest opinion and straight answers fly thick and fast. We meet twice a year face to face, which is no mean feat given we are widely spread across the UK but we work pretty well via email too. When an issue arises I email them and I kid you not, they come back to me straightaway. There is a two way buy in and it’s a wonderful thing to see in action.

My peers sometimes ask me if I feel that perhaps I’ve lost some level of control by having a committee of franchisees playing a pretty major part in decision making in my business. I say no, not at all and I mean it! I’ve gained a critical friend upon whom I can rely for honest opinion, hard work and determination; determination to make changes in our business that make a difference to all within it.

So whilst I get it that rule by committee can be fraught with problems, conflicting opinions and differing views; it’s clear that in my case and Raring2go! my committee (council) underline the effectiveness of many different voices in a single project and come up with winning solutions.

The Raring2go! franchisee council is one more thing that distinguishes us and sets us apart from our peers, contemporaries and competitors.