This blog is intended to be an ‘antidote’ to the cult of the celebrity entrepreneur and business leader. Few would argue against the premise that we are in the ‘age of celebrity’, yet in business there are many leaders and entrepreneurs who go about their business in a quiet but highly effective manner. I feel it is time to provide some counterbalance to this focus on icons and instead be aware that it takes a team to build a successful business and that most of us do not have a ‘grand vision’ of changing the world but a humbler and more opportunitsic view of what we do.
My perspective is of one who has some 30+ years of business experience in a wide variety of settings, a public company retailer, a family business, a ‘Big Four’ professional services firm, three different Fortune 100 companies and for the last 18 years taking my business Interactive Ideas Ltd. from start-up to medium-sized multi million pound company.
I have also been an angel investor, a non-executive director of a NASDAQ company and a trustee of a couple of small charities. During my career, I have met and observed senior management in literally hundreds of companies. I have complemented the many lessons I have learned both from practice and observation by reading a great deal of the academic literature on the theory and practice of management and been a Visiting Lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation at both Middlesex University Business School and Westminster University Business School.
This blog is my attempt to translate my experience and observations into coherent thoughts on business, management and even some of life’s broader challenges. I hope you enjoy it and find it of some use.
In addition to my organisational background, I hold a first-class Hons. Degree from Queen Mary College, University of London and an M.B.A. from Middlesex University Business School. I have attended several other universities in different capacities and am a Fellow of the Royal Society for encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Mike Trup