Put culture first, learn that it’s ok to fail, and be more like Gina Miller

Friday 11th October was, and will continue to be, a significant highlight in my career. Some might say I’m biased, but I think Brighton Summit, hosted by Brighton Chamber of Commerce, is the best event of the year in this fabulous city.

This year I had the huge pleasure of hosting the day, introducing and speaking to three fantastic professionals about what it means to Crack On. It was humbling to share the stage with Hannah Dawson, Founder of the international success story, Futrli, Kamal Ahmed, Editorial Director at BBC News and finally, the woman best known nationwide for successfully challenging the government's authority to trigger Article 50 in 2016 and 2019, Gina Miller.

This year’s Brighton Summit: Crack On, was all about taking your business by the scruff of its neck, deciding what you want and going for it. The event didn’t just resonate with me on a business level though. It did much more than that.

Thought-provoking, inspiring and game-changing are often phrases bandied about, but this year I left with a fresh perspective, a new lease of life and the ambition to really crack on. So, here are my three takeaways from our three inspirational keynote speakers.

Hannah Dawson – Founder – Futrili

“It’s ok to fail – you’ll learn more from that”

Hannah kicked off the day and spoke about how she’s gone from a pub owner in Devon to the CEO of an international tech company whose first client was Tesco. She glossed over that one like it was nothing. Rather than focussing on all the positives she’s experienced along the way, she recognised the importance of failure and the valuable lessons we can learn from some of our toughest challenges. A fabulous speech from start to finish.

Kamal Ahmed – Editorial Director – BBC

“Culture feeds strategy which should feed tactics. Culture must always come first”

The role of news organisations has changed considerably over the last 10 years and Kamal Ahmed drew attention to his role in helping the BBC to evolve its relationship between the organisation and its audience. He reflected on how “Professor News”, once the Voice of God, just doesn’t resonate with today’s audience and how they must adapt today’s news and storytelling to Snapchat platforms, podcasts, online platforms and traditional formats. As a digital marketer that believes in using data to tell compelling stories, it was interesting to hear how similar his challenges are to those of a marketing agency.

More than that, he spoke about the importance of culture. About how an organisation’s culture should define its strategy and how that strategy should inform tactics. Without culture there is no strategy and without strategy there are no tactics. Now I’ve heard it, it seems simple but it’s something I’ve vouched to think about more when making decisions. 

Gina Miller – Activist and Businesswoman

“Don’t pretend to be thick-skinned, be more Bruce Lee”

The standing ovation, minutes of applause, and tears amongst the audience say it all really. Her astonishing career and passion for justice weren’t what stuck with me though. What stuck for me was when she told us not to pretend to be thick skinned. Often, it’s wrongly presumed that if you’re thick-skinned, you’re able to achieve more and to make a bigger difference. It’s simply not true. Rather than waste your energy putting on a thick-skin, use the negative energy directed at you and use it to do something positive.

That’s a wrap on my day at Brighton Summit and I don’t feel like I’ve scratched the surface. But finally, thank you Brighton Summit, thank you Brighton Chamber of Commerce, and thank you to our wonderful businesses. I am hugely proud to be a part of such a strong community here in Brighton and look forward to seeing where we’ll go and what we’ll achieve over the next year.

My key takeaway? Be more like Gina Miller.