Can you learn from others?
Anita Roddick’s recent death set me thinking about the wonderful example she has set to all of us in business. Starting with nothing in 1976, she built a global business with more than 2,000 retail outlets. From one store in the North Lanes of Brighton, she established a brand that is now seen all over the world.
What made her so special? People say she smashed the glass ceiling for women getting to the top in business, which is true. She pioneered environmental issues, campaigned tirelessly against animal testing and fought for fairness in third world trade.
At the same time, she used all of these to build her business, raise its profile and attract customers. She was the closest business person to Richard Branson in really understanding the power of using positive PR to increase brand value and, as a direct effect, increase sales.
But as we have seen so often with Branson, she also had the ability to know when to effect change, when to hand over to others more capable of running different parts of the operation and, finally, when to hand over the reins of the empire.
There are lessons we can all learn from her – to know your own strengths and weaknesses; to understand and accept that advice and support is not a bad thing; and to not fear putting your trust in others.
Most importantly, though, she taught us to recognise that we all have a time when we must hand over to others; that we shouldn’t accept actions that go against our moral and ethical beliefs; and that we should be willing to stand up for those beliefs.
Here in Sussex, we should all be proud of Anita – a great lady who ran a marvellous business.
October 2007
