No prize for coming second ...

Whenever we lose in business or in life, we try to be stoic, and console ourselves with brave thoughts about lessons learned, about how we performed. 

Because, as the saying goes, winning isn’t everything. OK. But then again, it is!

On Thursday night it was the British Business Award’s gala dinner hosted by Her Majesty’s Ambassador to China, Caroline Wilson together with the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Liu XiaoMing. Supported by Graham Stuart MP and Minister for Exports Department for International Trade (DIT); HM Trade Commissioner, John Edwards; Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, Fang WenJian and other organizations including Department for International Trade; China-Britain Business Council (CBBC); Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the several British Chambers of Commerce in China.

I had made it as a finalists in the Best Leader category celebrating excellence in leadership, enterprise and endeavor that uniquely guides and inspires sustained business success in the British and Chinese business communities.

From over 150 applications I thought, I made it, I’m a finalist along with some of the biggest household names and their leaders. I was happy thinking wow, if I’d only done a little worse, I would be one of those many people that’s not here as a finalist.

But on the night I came up short. I hate it. I went from being happy just to be a finalists to unhappy having just missed out on winning.

To sit there in front of the cameras, in front of my team, in front of the enormous Cooper Turner Beck logos and photos of our company’s achievements being displayed on all the screens ... putting on brave face, when I just wanted to be the winner! And as the results were announced just wanting to be somewhere else!

May be it was that being a finalist reflected upon the entire Cooper Turner Beck leadership team and in particular those in China driving our business forward, and I was worried that they too wanted to be number one, and now they would feel they would be looked upon as mediocre, as a team that didn’t achieve, even losers.

But to be able to achieve what we have achieved as a Cooper Turner China Family in the last 2.5 years and be the leader of that team just goes to show what we really have inside our hearts: a belief in our people and in our Cooper Turner Beck family.  

We are tough, resilient and we never give up.  

My congratulations to all the winners in particular Penny Burgess, WE Red Bridge who won the Leadership Award and to all us finalists and other entrants.

And yes, we are stoic and can console ourselves with the brave thought that our next victory may be learning to live with losing!