Wednesday 4 November 2009

Robert Craven - Entrepreneur Guru - What would you do if you were in his shoes?



This was posted at the Business Support blog and I have taken a few lines from it.


"....Finally, I come to the aspect of what I would do if I were Robert Craven.


What could Craven do, occupying as he does the position of a leader in his marketplace (Consultancy).


Anyone involved in assisting SMEs wishes to help raise the standards and expertise of small business management.


As a market leader in UK Business advice and assistance Craven also needs to protect himself from business consultants trying to use or cheapen his business material.


So what’s my suggestion?


It is simple. Robert Craven (RC) already does a fantastic business presentation for UK SMEs in his business series: “Lets talk, More profit”. Market himself/rebrand himself as a business guru ‘celebrity’, increasing his ‘reach’.


He is already known as an author but he would benefit from raising of his profile. Creating top quality DVDs of his material (e.g. More Profit and Bright Marketing) and, with the help of the best PR in the business, he can try to -reposition himself as the celebrity business guru, such as the like of Alan Sugar.


Does this need TV to achieve it? I suspect it does, but that is where professionals come in.


The point is to rebrand Craven as a celebrity (i) is achievable and (ii) which bring him all the rewards he deserves (increased prominence, respect for his materials, financial return etc)."



Your thoughts?

29 comments:

Andy Haynes said...

As a distant admirer:
... one of the UK's best kept secrets - absolutely
... stunning events with Barclays - what are they going to do to push this unique asset they are working with?
... Business Links - some work with you so why not more? Likewise accountants!
... Books - great assets, great to see you in Director this month - they are missing out as well.

Robert there is no serious 'competition' and no door to break down. Just lean against it and it will burst open. Get your partners to value what you do and promote you with the backing you deserve. TV? Why not?

To quote you "Stop pi***ng around".

Andy

Andy said...

Craven should read what he writes
1 clear compelling proposition
2 over-deliver on promise
3 take ownership of territory or niche
4 stop being so modest

Andy

Mark D (London) said...

Get rid of the facial hair.
More Top Tips
More masterclasses
More name-dropping
More examples and case studies
Less small fry stuff (eg twitter)
Be a big dog, not a little dog!

Francis said...

More of the same. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Francis

Lance Cross said...

Keep the 'tache, it's part of your brand.
Going on TV would open up the market for all of us consultants to small businesses by increasing the appetite in the marketplace. To keep up with the Joneses, everyone will want their own guru.

Peter Ball said...

I am going to cut and paste from my comments from your 'what is the message?' post:

"1) It is all your fault
2) Stop procrastinating
3) Speed is of the essence
4) Decide which side of the fence you're going to sit on
5) Just do it - now
6) Take massive action
7) DIY my foot!"

So, Robert, How do you plead?



Pete (via LinkedIn)

Henry said...

RC can doubtless impart his knowledge to the people, and the people need that knowledge ! Communicating knowledge is a skill, and any medium that spreads the word is a very suitable medium indeed. Sounds like a magnificent idea. Onwards !

Breckland said...

You need a TV show Robert

Brad Donkin said...

Bradley Donkin

Maybe you should do a bit more partnering with people like the Think London, London First and all the International Chambers of Commerce. This way you will be able to do some business with International start-up's in the UK.

By the way this is a very clever way of get new ideas for free. I think I will try it myself very soon.

Best of Luck,
Brad

Anonymous said...

"A British professor of psychiatry, Anthony Storr, states in his book, Feet of Clay: A Study of Gurus, that he confines the word guru (translated by him as "revered teacher") to persons who have "special knowledge" who tell, referring to their special knowledge, how other people should lead their lives.

"He argues that gurus share common character traits (e.g. being loners) and that some suffer from a mild form of schizophrenia. He argues that gurus who are authoritarian, paranoid, eloquent, or who interfere in the private lives of their followers are the ones who are more likely to be unreliable and dangerous.

"Storr's criticism of gurus includes the possible risk that a guru may exploit his or her followers due to the authority that he or she may have over them, though Storr does acknowledge the existence of morally superior teachers who refrain from doing so.

"He holds the view that the idiosyncratic belief systems that some gurus promote were developed during a period of psychosis to make sense of their own minds and perceptions, and that these belief systems persist after the psychosis has gone.

Stop calling yourself, or allowing yourself to be called 'Guru'!

LM

Andy Haynes said...

re "GURU" - see the blog...
http://www.13thmaninbusiness.com/business-experts-on-personal-development-can-help-todays-managers/

"In my humble opinion In the UK there is a shortage of business gurus.

Names like Robert Craven nicknamed by the Sunday Times as the ‘entreprenueur guru’ spring to mind, but there are not many."

Andy Haynes said...

... and it finishes
"In my mind, as Robert Craven always reminds the UK SME business community, we don’t get far trying to go it alone."

I think RC puts less emphasis on SME and more on business community.

Andy

R said...

I think modesty, humility and honesty beats celebrity hands down every time. Sugar, Bilimoria and Peter Jones are all in the limelight to benefit their ego, not their audience.

Better methinks to challenge the value of celebrity entrepreneurs than to seek to join them.

R

Richard said...

Robert you already do a sterling job, however some adapation would of course benefit your business.

DVD's of course, more written material, mp3's, podcasts etc etc.

Keep up the good work.

Richard Smith
http://www.theinternetconsultancy.com

Anonymous said...

Fix the why before you address the what.

Be clear about your motivation, purpose and objective(s) first.

This sets your context for subsequent activity.

Unknown said...

Thank you all for your fascinating insights and feedback.

As always plenty of food for thought.

I have to thank Julian who posted the original blog at the Business Support blog who started the ball rolling.

Cheers

Robert

Always Consult said...

Robert, ask yourself one question " what is it I want" You will already know the answer-just go with it.

You have a fantastic reputation by all who know you and those who have attended your presentations.There are many more people who need your expertise and advice. Let's see and hear more about you in the national media arena!

Steve H said...

Hi Robert, how about using 'marketing' on the internet for small business', like twitter, blogging, YouTube & google etc etc.. that would be interesting!

Steve

Morag said...

The time is ripe...
Seize the Day!
Morag

Jerry McG said...

Let your actions speak for themselves.

Unknown said...

Thank you. All of you.

Robert

product-innov8tor said...

Some late thoughts:

How about Ecademy TV ?

The advice you received about TV has to be right, Google are waiting patiently for the advent of Internet on the TV to rocket their advertising revenues.

So "niche TV" cannot be long in coming. I want to see a cross between Gerry Robinson and Kevin McCloud, explaining why government project disasters happen, and what they need to do to avoid them....

(A best seller, I'm convinced of it ...)

And then there is looking for a different direction, perhaps adding to your portfolio.

I want to promote training in entrepreneurial and networking skills to my local council as the way forward out of the recession.

We should remember that over 50% UK employment is in small businesses, and with corporates shrinking and outsourcing, this figure will only grow.

So instead of targeting SMEs, how about targeting the corporate community with "intrapreneurial" and "outsourcing" skills ?

Please contact me direct at peter@londoncms.com if this is of interest.

Kind Regards

Peter Jones
London College of Management Studies
"Uniting Global Trade and Education"

product-innov8tor said...

Some late thoughts:

How about Ecademy TV ?

The advice you received about TV has to be right, Google are waiting patiently for the advent of Internet on the TV to rocket their advertising revenues.

So "niche TV" cannot be long in coming. I want to see a cross between Gerry Robinson and Kevin McCloud, explaining why government project disasters happen, and what they need to do to avoid them....

(A best seller, I'm convinced of it ...)

And then there is looking for a different direction, perhaps adding to your portfolio.

I want to promote training in entrepreneurial and networking skills to my local council as the way forward out of the recession.

We should remember that over 50% UK employment is in small businesses, and with corporates shrinking and outsourcing, this figure will only grow.

So instead of targeting SMEs, how about targeting the corporate community with "intrapreneurial" and "outsourcing" skills ?

Please contact me direct at peter@londoncms.com if this is of interest.

Kind Regards

Peter Jones
London College of Management Studies
"Uniting Global Trade and Education"

Steve H said...

Hi Robert, how about using 'marketing' on the internet for small business', like twitter, blogging, YouTube & google etc etc.. that would be interesting!

Steve

Robert Craven said...

Thank you all for your fascinating insights and feedback.

As always plenty of food for thought.

I have to thank Julian who posted the original blog at the Business Support blog who started the ball rolling.

Cheers

Robert

Andy Haynes said...

re "GURU" - see the blog...
http://www.13thmaninbusiness.com/business-experts-on-personal-development-can-help-todays-managers/

"In my humble opinion In the UK there is a shortage of business gurus.

Names like Robert Craven nicknamed by the Sunday Times as the ‘entreprenueur guru’ spring to mind, but there are not many."

Brad Donkin said...

Bradley Donkin

Maybe you should do a bit more partnering with people like the Think London, London First and all the International Chambers of Commerce. This way you will be able to do some business with International start-up's in the UK.

By the way this is a very clever way of get new ideas for free. I think I will try it myself very soon.

Best of Luck,
Brad

Breckland said...

You need a TV show Robert

Robert Craven said...

The difference between entrepreneurs and most consultants: http://su.pr/62mBHw