Charles Beer, managing partner of the Crown Group, shares his business secrets
Mentoring isn't a choice, it's an instinct
My biggest mentors have always led by example. For me, mentoring and developing my team hasn't centred around sitting them down and consciously relaying my 'pearls of wisdom', it has been through giving them the opportunity to witness and experience how to deal with people in different situations.
I have always maintained that you can learn most by being part of something. The biggest influences in my career have been a number of people who have given me the scope to explore business, whilst helping to shape and hone my thoughts and skills along the way.
Surround yourself with people who would approach things differently to you
While this has its own obvious challenges, it can only enrich your business. It sounds incredibly clichéd but you really can learn from everybody. The key is to identify people for your workforce who think differently, but are all committed to the same cause. Some of the best people I have worked with have been individuals who are never afraid to challenge and question everything I have thrown at them. It is through these conversations that you get the best for your business.
Have courage in your convictions
I have the utmost admiration and respect for people who have had a dream and followed it. I particularly admire those who have had a real passion for doing something brilliantly and have achieved success as a result, as opposed to those who wanted success first, so found something to help them achieve that.
Neither is more or less impressive, but one is much harder than the other to achieve. It takes a lot of drive and determination to achieve success based on what starts as a passion, I'm proud to say that our business is testament to this.
Don't be afraid to change
Sometimes, moving away from what you have built, nurtured and loved over the years can be really difficult, however, I was always taught that you must continually question whether what you did yesterday will be right for tomorrow. A good entrepreneur will always be looking to benefit from that gap in the market, so you need a degree of self-reflection to enable you to stay ahead of the game and evolve.
You can't buy trust
Trust works both ways and you have to earn it. Whether it's between businesses, staff, or suppliers, you need to be sure that you are able to trust one another.
We have some amazing people in our business who have been with us for many years, not just because they are great at what they do but because we have earned each other's trust over time. I always believe that trust must always be valued and recognised, which is why staff who have been with me a long time hold more senior positions and have more influence on our business.
Don't ever lose sight of why you are in the food business
I spend a lot of time making lots of commercial decisions on a daily basis, but it is important that I don't lose sight of the fact that I am in this business because I love food. Professionally, I make a conscious decision to spend time in our venues and businesses at the customer end to understand how our food is received.
On a personal level, I make a point of ensuring that my two young children truly understand where their food comes from, so much so that we often grab our wheelbarrow and head down to a local farm to choose our own meat and vegetables.
Being commercially-minded is very important in our industry, but food and service is the glue that brings it all together.
CV HIGHLIGHTS
1987 Checked myself out of grammar school and got a summer job in the catering department at Chessington World of Adventures
1991 Joined the catering operation at Earls Court Olympia
2000 Joined Crown Group as operations director of event catering business
2006 Named as chief executive of the Crown Group
Business motto
Challenge the status quo. You can never sit still in business.