Rob Cameron

Abundance?

Rob Cameron — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:41:53 +0000

To borrow a line from a Madness song from the 1980s, “I’ve been driving in my car, it’s not quite a Jaguar”, no, it’s a nice Ford Mondeo. Whilst driving in it this morning, listening to Classic FM the presenter noted some news in the papers that Ferrari, the luxury sports car manufacturer, had recorded record sales for the first quarter of 2012; a 13% increase over Q1 last year. This caught my attention, with all the financial doom and gloom being reported at the moment

Britain entering recession, a double dip recession at that
Euro zone crisis
Greece in political stalemate at the moment over the austerity measure

This news seemed to contradict what is being widely reported. I did a little more research

Ferrari enjoyed a record sales year in 2011, up 17.3% over 2010
Ferrari sales in the UK we’re up 31% year on year for Q1
Other premium automobile manufacturers such as Land Rover and BMW also enjoyed record sales in 2011

Whilst it the case of Land Rover and BMW the growth of sales in China and other developing markets may attribute for some of these record sales, there is nonetheless still quite a pull for premium and luxury vehicle in Europe.

Clearly, someone, somewhere is able to make money in what are widely reported to be lean times. What is it about them that separates them from the masses who are struggling? Is it that they have a different mindset, can do? Is it that they have more drive to make things happen? Have they found an offer that there customers desire, a new way of delivering a product or service that gives them a competitive advantage? Do the believe in or harness abundance, where many only see scarcity or austerity?

Lots of questions… What do you think? Comment and tell me

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Don’t Dis the competition

Rob Cameron — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:41:51 +0000

Sunday afternoon, 6th May 2012… Blimey, an absolute age since I wrote or posted anything on this blog. That is a fail on my part, it would probably attract a “must try harder” if it was the subject of a school report. Anyway, I must…

To the point in hand, to the subject in hand.. The thing that made me put pen to paper, or more correctly fingers to keypad, the amount of commentary and remarks surrounding the almost certain event of Manchester City winning the Premier League of English football. I am, as a Manchester United fan, as disappointed as others that my team have failed to show up at times this season, have lost or drawn games that on paper that they should of won… But the thing that disappoints me is the reaction I have seen on my twitter stream heaping disrespect on the achievements of Manchester City, comments about them being mercenaries, having bought the title. I can recall 10 – 15 years ago, very similar accusations being fired at Manchester United it the halcyon days pre Malcolm Glazer when it was nothing to buy multi-million pound footballers almost on a whim. Nobody on the red side of the divide seemed too bothered then, when it brought (or as some may accuse bought) success.

It is worth looking at some of the biggest/richest teams in England and Europe Chelsea, Real Madrid etc, huge purchases, huge wages have not always guaranteed success. What has contributed most to the team’s success is a strong coach/manager who has been able to harness the talents of those within his keep and make them play as a unit. Much as this sticks in my throat, Manchester City have played some fantastic football this season. Let’s ‘man up’ and recognise that Manchester United have not performed their best at times this season and from a strong position a few weeks ago have let the advantage slide… We have only ourselves to blame for that. Nobody would be crowing about City winning the title, if we had not thrown away a 8 point lead and a slightly superior goal difference.

A few points that were inspired by this situation, these are a bit random but…

When I was in sales, very briefly, many years ago I was told not to pour scorn on the competition, to show professionalism, be complimentary to them but point out how our products/services were better. Otherwise, you are just being seen to be disrespectful and shallow
We have it within ourselves to control what we can control, it is up to us to maximise the opportunity we have… If we do not someone else might just. We cannot control what they are doing, but we can control and influence what we are doing
Money, the best resources does not guarantee success, Strong/inspirational leadership and desire are very important factors; As been born out many times in history

Ramblings over. Have a good day

Don’t Dis the competition

Don’t Dis the competition

Rob Cameron — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:40:12 +0000

A few points that were inspired by this situation, these are a bit random but…

When I was in sales, very briefly, many years ago I was told not to pour scorn on the competition, to show professionalism, be complimentary to them but point out how our products/services were better. Otherwise, you are just being seen to be disrespectful and shallow
We have it within ourselves to control what we can control, it is up to us to maximise the opportunity we have… If we do not someone else might just. We cannot control what they are doing, but we can control and influence what we are doing
Money, the best resources does not guarantee success, Strong/inspirational leadership and desire are very important factors; As been born out many times in history

Ramblings over. Have a good day

Don’t Dis the competition

Random Acts of Kindness

Rob Cameron — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:54:12 +0000

I was watching my Twitter stream the other day when one tweet went up that caught my attention. A chap had bought coffee for him and his colleague on the way into work, only to find his colleague was not in. As he now had a coffee to spare, he gave it to the Security man in his building and to quote “Bless the old dude never seen someone so happy!”, the security man said “i’m going to cherish this!”. Isn’t it amazing how much joy one cup of coffee, which might have otherwise have been left to go cold on a desk or may have just been poured down the sink can bring. To that security guard it was an amazing gift, he probably sits at his post for hours a day being largely ignored; the busy people in the building rushing past him without a thought, so tied up in their day to day, rushing to their next meeting.

It made me think. I, and the other couple of thousand of people who work in the building where I am, probably are just like that. Walk in past the reception desk generally without even acknowledging the presence of the ladies on reception; not so much as a nod or a smile. Sad really isn’t it. We have a Costa kiosk in “The Street”, a part of the building designed to look like a continental ‘cafe’ area.. how often do I see discarded coffees, barely touched, half drunk, littering desks and tables. I wonder how much happiness it would bring to the ladies on the front desk if someone were to walk up and give them a coffee or a box of sweets in recognition of their efforts on our behalf. After all they are the first faces our visitors see, they are in many instances the first contact point for anybody calling; they are very helpful ladies who always seem to have a smile on their faces.

photo credit: jronaldlee

A few years ago, when I worked on a different site, we used to have a cleaner called Tom. He was a lovely Irish man, in his late 50s, he’d had his ups and downs in life but he was always there with a smile and a story. He really was an interesting man and was great to be around, if you took the time to speak to him. To those of us who took the time to, he brightened up your day.

How many other people have jobs like that? How about the office cleaners, the people who man the car park, the people who work in the canteen clearing tables and wiping down? They all play a part in how your ‘organisation’ runs, in creating your work environment and culture. I wonder how many of them actually feel valued or that their contribution is recognised?

Food for thought…

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Potential and choices

Rob Cameron — Sat, 21 May 2011 11:27:18 +0000

I was at a conference just over a week ago on Innovation, which was hosted in a very nice hotel near Marble Arch in London. The hotel was a perfect back drop for the subject, whilst looking traditionally British and high class on the outside the inside was a different ‘animal’. There were technical materials, wonderful blue ambient lighting, modern statues and lots of glass; a wonderful contradiction to the outer facade of the building. Just outside the conference suite, on one of the large walls was a quotation (sorry there was no citation so I do not know who wrote it) which I’d like to share with you; thought provoking and one to mull over.

A man is walking through life, determined and focussed. Or he is standing, rooted to the spot. Or he is dreaming. Whatever he is doing, he always has the potential to be different. By changing his mind he can change his state. When he captures and holds his potential he is still. When he releases his potential he is free to move and his mind is free to think. With each choice he makes, he releases one of his potential selves. As this self becomes real, it separates and gains its own potential in an everlasting cycle.

What thoughts does that stir in you? Let me know, write a comment below

photo credit: dougtone

Choices and consequences

Everybody’s Responsibility?

Rob Cameron — Sat, 14 May 2011 19:05:24 +0000

I was skimming through my Twitter stream the other day, when I happened upon a Tweet by Megan Berry (@meganberry) that said “Only big companies have job titles with innovation in them, in small companies everyone has to innovate”. This inspired a couple of thoughts, one about innovation as it is a topic that has featured highly in my activities recently; I shall save that one for a later blog. The other idea was about the underlying theme of the tweet, as I interpreted it; the whole area of employees taking responsiblity, being proactive and engaged.

No place to hide?

The tweet above suggests that in small companies everyone has to be engaged, whether that is in innovation, sales & marketing, administration. I know a fair few people who work in small organisations, as I did some time ago, where they have to turn their hand to just about anything to get the orders out of the door, get the cash flowing into the business and thus to get paid at the end of the month. The pressure is there and there is a tangible reason for making sure it all happens; there is a very clear linkage between the activity and you having a job and having money in your pocket.

Contrast that with a large organisation, where there are big departments, lots of big job titles. In many organisations like that, it is often difficult for the staff to see the direct impact of their day to day actions on the bottom line, no reprecussions in the short term for lack of engagement, lack of activity. I have seen and experienced this behaviour, where so much more could be achieved if employees contributed more but it is somebody elses job to do ‘that’. Where ‘that’ in the tweet above could be an idea for a new product or service which could really benefit the whole organisation.

Two heads are better than one

In the last line above the contibution of an idea that could lead to a new product or service was discussed. In companies with 10s, 100s or 1000s of employees, just how many great ideas might exist? Surely if the employees are not fully engaged it is a lost opportunity… right? All of those employees have their own world view, unique experiences, their own needs and wants. Each will have their own external network. They are capable of sensing the needs and wants of a potential customer base, how much would a company pay a market research agency for that sort of intelligence?

The same might also be said for sales and marketing. How many of those employees are advocates for the company? How many go out and create a positive impression of the company and extol the virtues of its product or service?

Do they?

I have my own views, however, I’d be really interested in hearing yours

How might you possibly energise that collective intelligence?
How might you create an environment that encourages engagement and participation?

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London Marathon: The road is long…

Rob Cameron — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:52:15 +0000

On Sunday 17th April 2011, I along with another 37,000 plus people lined up in Greenwich to participate in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon. I chose the title of this post for two reasons, firstly, the marathon in itself is a great challenge 26 miles 365 yards on your feet. However, it is (assuming you have followed a typical training programme) the culmination of a few months of training where you clock up several hundred miles of running. Let me share with you my marathon experience.

Marathon Training

Having found out that I had been successfully selected in the ballot for the London Marathon in October 2010, my initial thoughts (after the delight and then the “Oh dear what have I done” moments passed) turned to the training programme. Wow, let me tell you how many varieties of training programme there are out there… hundreds. Novice, beginners, intermediate, advanced, target times, varying runs per week; the choice is phenomenal. I looked at a number of them and then decided to add my own to the mix, as a hybrid of the ones I had read. A 19 week programme, 4 runs plus 1 to 2 sessions of cross training a week; long runs varying from an initial 8 miles to, what at the time were mind boggling, 20 mile runs later in the programme.

The training programmed commenced in early December, the cold, dark and sometimes wet mornings are enough to test the determination of the best of us. Then came the snow and ice of late December; there was some interesting training. I never realised how hard it was to run in snow, particularly when it was fresh snow on top of week old compacted snow.

As the weeks progressed and the distances grew longer, the sense of accomplishment and to a point confidence grew. Having run a half marathon in October, the first major success of the marathon training was a 14 mile run; the furthest I had ever run. That was soon followed by a 16, then an 18 and finally a couple of 20 mile runs.
The second 20 I did was a proper road race, a very hilly one at that. Having ran it, the whole thing, in 3:08:01 I was bouyed and confident about running the London Marathon.

Winds and turns

Having bagged two 20 mile runs in consecutive weeks, I was on a high. However, my joy was short lived. On the next long run, a modest 12 miles, I managed to damage my calf muscle after 7 miles. Not good, it was only four weeks before the marathon. I was seriously concerned that by the time it repaired and I could resume training I would not have enough time. I iced it, rested it and after a few days the pain subsided. I decided to lay of running for a few days and cycled instead to maintain a level of fitness. After a week, the calf was feeling better so I thought I’d try a run… bad move, I only ran about 10 metres and I felt it again. I was getting worried now, less than 3 weeks to the marathon, I had already lost a week’s training and looked set for atleast another week. As with the week before, I substituted bike rides for runs in the hope of maintaining fitness.

Another week passed, I had not had any reaction to the exercise so it was time to try the calf again. Thankfully, this time I managed a 2.5 mile run/walk with no after affects. I had lost two weeks of running training and the cycling had worked slightly different muscles in a different way. Therefore, the first couple of runs were quite odd, it took a while to regain running form. I managed a ten mile run the weekend before the marathon and was happy that my calf was okay after that.

The Build Up

The final week before the marathon, in running terms was easy only a couple of 3 and 4 mile runs. On Thursday 14th, I travelled down to the Excel centre in London to register. what a wonderful experience, slick registration and a great exhibition. Holding that number in your hand made it all seem so much more real. I left a message on the wall, wishing all of my fellow runners good luck.

And so to the weekend, thanks to the great work of Donna Aquino (@donnabb27) and the generosity of W1 Magazine (@w1magazine), I was able to stay overnight in London. I travelled down on Saturday, which allowed me to attend the pasta party hosted by BLISS – the charity I was running for, on Saturday evening. It was a lovely occasion, and great to meet the BLISS team, the charity for babies born too soon, too small, too sick; for whom I ran the marathon to raise funds.

The Main Event

Sunday 17th April was finally here, after 19 weeks (133 days) of training the day had arrived to participate in the London Marathon. I was staying in Kensington, the start was in Greenwich so I had a good bit of London to navigate… about an hour’s worth of travel according to Transport for London. I was up early, 06:20, I had breakfast, got ready and was out of the hotel for 07:20. I walked to Notting Hill Gate Tube station, unfortunately the more convenient Shepherd’s Bush and Holland Park stations were closed, as was the Central line. As I walked I saw two or three other runners, all of us armed with our red kit bags. My journey was Circle Line to Westminster, Jubilee line to London Bridge, then South West Trains service to Blackheath. As I got nearer to the destination, the busier and busier the trains became. Whilst on the Circle line tube, I met a nice lady call Diana who was also running her first marathon with her daughter. However, she was on blue start while her daughter was on red. I offered to accompany her to blue start, so we chatted for the remainder of the journey. What I thought was going to be an hours journey turned into a near 90 minute one, such was the volume of traffic through Blackwall the trains were queueing to unload.

Once off the train, I joined the human snake making it’s way to the blue start compound on the park at Greenwich. I arrived there at around 08:50, with a little under an hour til the mass start. The sky was still overcast at that point. I dropped my kit off at the kit lorry and found the Lucozade Sport and water stands and grabbed a couple bottles of fluids to drink before the start. I milled around for a little while, then made my way to ‘pen 8′ my start point. The sun was out now and the air was getting warmer; it was at this point I saw a bloke in a furry wolf suit with a very hot looking head to fit on. I commented on how brave he must be running in the outfit, it was going to be warm enough in normal gear let alone in a furry suit. We struck up a conversation; the guy’s name was John, he was running his 10th marathon, 5th London – he was running with his wife, who was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood – it was her first marathon. The next 15 or 20 minutes passed quickly with conversation, before we knew it there was a surge and then a gentle walk toward the start line; the gun had gone off. It took nearly ten minutes from where we were stood to cross the start line.

With a wave to the camera, I broke into a jog and so started my first marathon. There was a reasonable crowd lining the route, I looked forward and could see a sea of runners, all sorts of running vests; club runners, charity runners and the occasional fancy dress outfit. There was little room for passing or overtaking, it was very much a case of being carried along in the pack. I quickly settled into a steady pace, covering each of the first three miles in around ten minutes/mile pace. Just before 3 miles, the Red start runners merged with us it became very congested at that point and the pace slowed a little. It was around that point, my left ankle started to tingle a little. Initially, I didn’t take much notice but by 5 miles I knew there wasn’t something quite right so I stopped and checked – the compeed strip I had applied hadn’t stuck properly, had lifted and a small amount of sock lint had gathered under it which was running my ankle. I quickly pulled off the strip and sorted my socks and trainer out. But, I had done them up too tight and had to stop around 8 miles to loosen it off a little. By now the sun was high in the sky, beating down, the air was hot and there was little shade. I found this quite uncomfortable, I had spent much of my training running at 5am in the morning and even my long runs on Saturday’s were usually done and dusted by 10:30 – I was not used to this type of heat and it was sapping me. I was taking on plenty of fluids and eating sweets regularly but I was feeling it. It was great to see the runners in fancy dress, I saw the Rhino, a Smurf, a Penguin to name but a few. I kept on running, just after 12 miles we went over Tower Bridge; what an amazing site. Then right onto the Isle of Dogs, I went through the half way point in 2:13 – still maintaining a close to 10 minute mile pace. It was a long straight drag, with the faster runners coming back some 6 or 7 miles ahead on the opposite side. I pushed on but by the time I got to between 16 and 17, I was suffering and I changed my strategy. I started to run a couple of hundred metres in every mile, this allowed me to loosen my legs up a bit. This worked well, from 21 onward it was probably 300 or 400 metres in a mile (about 1:3) walking to running. I was a bit disheartened to have walked a bit, having completed two twenty mile runs in training without walking, in the end though it was a good decision. I took a couple of nurofen at 19 miles, that combined with the gels, sweets and lucozade seem to kick in about 23 miles when I started to feel somewhat better. Of course it could be that it coincided with getting to the Tower of London, the crowds were massive and very vocal; calling out your name, cheering you on, what a fantastic boost.

The Embankment was soon upon us, various charity cheering points all along it, the crowd were fantastic, round by the Palace Of Westminster. Still splitting running and walking it was past the 25 mile point, then 800m to go, 600m to go, 385yds to go just by Buckingham Palace and a laboured jog to the finish line By my watch 4:40:01. The official finish time 4:39:45. Yes! I had done it, completed the marathon. I was floating on air metaphorically or was that the fact I couldn’t feel my legs

What a fantastic experience. The culmination of all that training, now the proud owner of a Virgin London Marathon medal.

I ran the London Marathon to raise funds for BLISS (@blisscharity) the charity for babies born too soon, too small, too sick. You can donate at http://www.justgiving.com/robjcameron-VLM11.

2011 Virgin London Marathon: T-7 days and counting

Rob Cameron — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:29:46 +0000

Well folks, it is getting ever closer. As I write this blog post, it is now only 7 days until I line up in Greenwich to start the 2011 Virgin London Marathon. Eighteen weeks of training behind me, a lot of personal achievements, personal challenges and the occasional hurdle and one week left to go; which in the scale of things will be a relatively easy one. Two four mile runs and a three miler to complete before the main event next Sunday. I’m sat here at 1pm, now by my calculations next Sunday I should be somewhere around 18 to 19 miles in, heading for a new personal running best Every step beyond 20.1 miles will be a personal record for that moment, to there will be lots of small wins on the way to the 26.2 miles. That’s a win will feature strongly in my vocabulary next Sunday.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you wonderful people who have provided support, shown an interest and by doing so have contributed to the successful navigation of this journey which will culminate next Sunday with me pounding the streets of London.

Special mentions to
Donna Aquino (@donnabb27) – for featuring my story in W1 magazine, for kindly arranging accommodation for me and promoting my sponsorship site
W1 Magazine (@w1magazine) – for publishing my story, sponsoring my accommodation and publising my sponsorship site
Paula Trovalusci (@paulatrovalusci), Hannah Coleman (@dreamwalls), Karen Brimacombe (@ReedHarrisTiles), Carole Newman (@CaroleNewman), Helen Wilson (@helenwilson34), Mark Forrest (@mackferret), Andy Smith (@chapter7design), Brian Hawkins (@DesignVenue), Bina Briggs (@plainTalkingHR), Kathryn Roberts (@kathrynroberts1), Paul Weston (@paulweston33), Keith Kelly (@PAgroupUK) – for their continued support, interest, promoting my sponsorship site, sponsoring me etc
Sorry If I have missed anyone

so into the last week I go, ready and raring to go

2011 Virgin London Marathon: 3 Weeks and counting…

Rob Cameron — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:17:08 +0000

Can’t believe where the time is going, the last post I wrote was on why I was running the 2011 Virgin London Marathon for BLISS. That was on the 12th February, blimey. Not normally that ‘lax’ at getting posts onto my blog. Perhaps it goes to show how much I’ve had on and how the training for the marathon has consumed my time; well worth every minute though.

Since I wrote the last post, I have had some major wins. When I wrote the post on 12th, I had missed a week’s training due to illness. However, I soon bounced back and recorded a personal best distance the week after of 17.2 miles. Since then I have completed two 20 mile runs. The first around my area, 20.1 miles, I did in 3hrs 12mins; the second, an organized road race in Ashby de la Zouche I completed in 3hrs 8 mins. Only one ‘fly in the ointment’ when I pulled my calf on a 12 mile run over the last weekend… but that is feeling better now and I’m ready to recommence training during the next week. To be honest, the rest has done me good I think. I’m ready for the run in to the marathon now.

As I reflect on how far I have come, it is interesting to think that less than two years ago I hadn’t run for nearly ten years. Before that, the furthest I had run was about 6 miles. Since doing my first 2 mile run/walk down the Grand Union Canal back in May 2009, I have completed a half-marathon, stretched my personal best distance to 14, then 16, then 17 and finally 20 miles. I used to be in awe of people who ran anything like 8 or 10 miles, let alone half and full marathons. I always saw that as beyond me, never having been a runner. Always wondered how people managed to run those sort of distances

The lesson in all of this as I approach the marathon on 17th April. With a goal, a strong reason why you want to complete that goal, a plan, some personal growth & development, determination and a good dose of support from people around you, you can achieve an awful lot; things that once you may have considered beyond you.

3 weeks to go and I’m ready for the challenge

Thank you for all of your support and encouragement!

If you’d like to sponsor me I have a at http://www.justgiving.com/robjcameron-VLM11

Virgin London Marathon – Why I’m running for BLISS

Rob Cameron — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:35:49 +0000

On April 17th, I will be lining up for the 2011 Virgin London Marathon; a point in time that will mark the culmination of 19 weeks of training. Regular readers of my blog, my posterous blog and twitter will have seen my progress through snow and cold of the winter months. As we now approach the spring and the weather is getting better the training will become more enjoyable.

I have chosen to BLISS, the charity for babies born too soon, too small, too sick. There are so many worthy charities and causes out there, however, BLISS is one close to my heart.

Virgin London Marathon – Why I’m running for BLISS

I have chosen to run for BLISS because my own daughter was born prematurely in April 1999. She will be 12, a week or two before the London Marathon. All in all, our family was cared for by the neonatal and special care baby units at Warwick Hospital. My daughter was born at 32 weeks, weighing 3lbs 2oz; luckily apart from the earliness of her birth she was well in all aspects because of the care received. She has subsequently grown into a healthy and happy young lady.

There were many who were not so fortunate, their children being born very early and suffering some form of long-standing health problems or disability. However, in years gone by none of us may have expected to have a child survive that had been so early.

I also know many people that have benefitted from the care given by special care and neo-natal units, I want to give something back; I would like more people to enjoy the outcomes that I have, a happy and healthy child

Running for BLISS in the London Marathon – will you sponsor me?

There are many calls on you and your finances, however, if you can spare a small amount and would consider sponsoring me to run my first marathon, the Virgin London Marathon, I would be extremely grateful. I have set up a
Justgiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/robjcameron-VLM11

Thank you. Bring on 17th April 2011 and the 2011 Virgin London Marathon