How to Lead By Example: Shaping Leaders of the Future

[00:00:00] Howard Bentham: Hello there, and welcome to OxTalks. These podcasts, powered by OxLEP, the local enterprise partnership for Oxfordshire and sponsored by leading national law firm Mills & Reeve, explore many current issues affecting the world of work, as well as highlighting the invaluable help that OxLEP offers and how they could potentially help your business thrive. I'm Howard Bentham, and throughout the series, I'll be talking to leaders from Oxfordshire with a proven track record of success. Hearing their advice and practical steps which could help take your organisation to the next level. All of my guests are keen to stress the critical support that is available from OxLEP and how it could be fundamental in helping your company or organisation prosper. Naturally, as the Local Enterprise Partnership for Oxfordshire, our focus is on local businesses and issues in these episodes, however, you may well be listening to us elsewhere. Many of the issues we experience here are very likely to be very similar to the ones that you're potentially facing where you are. With that in mind, do please share any thoughts and observations and join in the conversation. Head to our social channels. We are @OxfordshireLEP on X and Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership on LinkedIn, and to raise questions with us for future discussions, please use the email address in the podcast description, it'll be good to hear from you. In this edition, our focus is on leadership, more specifically, how to lead by example, shaping leaders of the future. Almost everyone that has ever had a job will have had a boss. In the simplest of scenarios, they are the person who gives you your instructions and keep you focused on the task at hand. Bosses can be much maligned and have to manage the delicate balance between the metaphorical carrot and stick. They have to inspire, cajole, motivate, be a great speaker and an even better listener, balance the books, work within the law, be creative and see the bigger picture, be a driving force as well as keeping everyone safe. They hold the power to hire and fire, offering job security and a future for staff, or having to let employees go when circumstances dictate. When you hear that list, it is clear that is an awful lot to place on one person's shoulders. Authority always comes with responsibility. Treat people as you would wish to be treated yourself, but it clearly isn't easy. Why do many bosses get it wrong? What is it that makes the great managers genuinely great? Our OxTalks guest certainly has the leadership x factor. He's excelled in sectors such as venture capital, investment and business development, at home as well as overseas. He's an award winner too, being named the Cherwell Businessperson of the Year in 2019 and just last year, picking up the Autocar Award as an Outstanding UK Leader. He is the founder and boss of arguably the centre of excellence for the historic motoring industry in the UK. I'm delighted to welcome to OxTalks, from Bicester Motion and Bicester Heritage, Chief Executive Dan Geoghegan. Dan, welcome. Before we talk about you and your story, I think it would be worth contexting what it is that you've created at Bicester Motion and Bicester Heritage. Not everyone will be aware that we have something very special indeed nestled into that corner of Oxfordshire. Tell us more. [00:03:37] Dan Geoghegan: Well, that's a very nice way of putting it. We set out on a journey about ten years ago, in fact it is ten years ago this year, to create a centre of excellence, which would be a focal point but also celebrate the skills around the historic car world and with that in mind we found a site just outside of Bicester on the ring road there, which was the former RAF station, RAF Bicester, which is well over a hundred years old now, but has found a new future. [00:04:05] Howard Bentham: And give us an idea of the impact that your business has had on Bicester itself and the wider Oxfordshire economy. [00:04:11] Dan Geoghegan: Well, I think rescuing a site which was derelict, it had last been used in 1976, but with a sustainable business plan has been really exciting for us, it's been really exciting for the area. But I guess in terms of, you know, sort of hard facts, we have brought fifty brand new businesses to Bicester, we have around five hundred people on site working and of course there are many more engaged in the classic car industry, which is thought to be around eighteen billion pounds to the UK economy and so I guess the entrance into the life of Bicester Heritage when you walk through that historic RAF station entrance slightly belies the vibrancy and real excitement that is going on there for quite a significant sector of the UK economy. [00:04:57] Howard Bentham: I love the passion, I can feel the passion, about the setup you've got there. The thing that sort of troubles me here is how come you are where you are at Bicester motion? You've got there via the world of venture capital, management buyouts and corporate discipline. Your previous life was nothing like the life you have now. This is almost like the old Monty Python gag that I want to be a lion tamer via banking and insurance. [00:05:21] Dan Geoghegan: I think there are some common themes in my career. A lot of that is about passion projects, getting excited about something and I've always enjoyed starting businesses, that sort of nought to sixty, let's get going, let's solve a problem, let's not sleep until we've got somewhere and bring people along with you and that's always been part of what I've been doing and I guess the other side in a more formal way or formal description is business development. I like piecing together businesses, having found an opportunity and try and do things in a, an uncomplicated, unpolitical, straightforward way just to get the customer what they deserve, when you promised it would be delivered for the values that you had promoted and that's always been important to me. [00:06:12] Howard Bentham: Our focus, obviously, in this podcast is leadership. Have you always wanted to be a leader? [00:06:17] Dan Geoghegan: It wasn't until I got the invitation to be here today, I really thought about leader and what that meant and I guess it has lots of definitional, you know, challenges as to what a leader is and I've always liked to do my own thing and try and bring people along with me and I guess that is the nub of it is not following the crowd, not being afraid to be a disruptor, but challenging ourselves to do things better, I suppose, and so I was grateful for the sort of the question because it really got my brain working as to what does leadership really mean. [00:06:56] Howard Bentham: So, give us an idea of how old you were then, when you were the boss for the first time, paint the picture. [00:07:02] Dan Geoghegan: So I grew up in a family business, it was in the automotive industry and I think I set up my first, you know, trestle table outside the family business and was selling packets of crisps that I'd taken from my mother's drawer and probably at the age of 10 I think then. [00:07:21] Howard Bentham: Aside from the tuck shop then, where was the next serious business that you ran? [00:07:26] Dan Geoghegan: I think the first serious business followed a meeting with quite a well-known venture capitalist at the time, but from the Netherlands and he asked me some aspects of the automotive industry. So I acquired the rights for an automotive component and then, I put it back into production, having gained its exclusivity and I distributed that and so I set up a business which was trading internationally in small numbers but it enabled lots of conversations and lots of doors to be opened. That was probably when I was about 14 and then I put myself through university because that led to another thing and looking at brokering and historic vehicle brokering and that took me along a path to be invited to join a company that was in the venture capital business and they were well known for starting businesses and having a real shortage of horizons and plenty of blue skies. So they were really good at backing ideas and allowing energy and opportunity to produce something that hopefully would work. [00:08:33] Howard Bentham: Surely you weren't ready for the challenges at 14? That's amazing! [00:08:38] Dan Geoghegan: I think when you grow up in a family business and those conversations around the lunch table during the summer holidays, really, that becomes your vernacular, that's the way you talk and you understand what customers want and hear the trials and tribulations of running business. I think for some people that may not have been a natural fit, but for some reason it appealed to me and I really enjoyed working with my father and talking to people and those conversations led to other conversations which brought me here today. [00:09:16] Howard Bentham: When you see yourself as a leader, I think about people listening or watching the podcast right now, or a potential leader, but are in a subordinate role, how difficult is it to work, if you like, to someone else's tune that you don't particularly want to sing along to? [00:09:32] Dan Geoghegan: I found it difficult personally, so I found it relatively easy to sign up to the, corporate mission and to be part of a team that was trying to effect a change, to transform something, to co create. But, of course it seems obvious really, but we're all personalities and we all need to be able to represent our own views and our values and join a culture that respects that and so, I'm very sympathetic to building teams that really want to be part of that co creation. But it can be very difficult and, you know, I went to work for one corporation after university, I felt it quite difficult to find the fit and the drive. It may suit some people, it didn't suit me. Now we have a team at Bicester Motion where we have a really close knit group of people who base their involvement, I hope, on enjoyment, being part of a community, being proud of what we do. It's good for the career too because it's such a unique business. We're on such a growth path that it can really help that career progression in the more formal sense. But at the end of the day, we all want to get up in the morning and really want to achieve and it's impossible to excel if you don't enjoy what you're doing. [00:10:53] Howard Bentham: Are there particular styles of leadership in your view? [00:10:56] Dan Geoghegan: I think I can probably look at it in the negative sense, at least from a photographic point of view, which is that things I don't think work very well are micromanagement, not allowing freedom of discussion and pressurising to create something that is not well thought through. So I guess in positive terms that you might talk about empowerment nowadays, good communication, supporting people's strengths and protecting their weaknesses, and really trying to set the business and the individuals up for success. You know, we all know, that we have positives and negatives and things we do well and things we don't do well and what we try and do is pass the right ball to the right person and when that isn't allowed or can't be avoided because we're short handed or something has to happen in a certain way, in a certain time frame, then making sure that there is a support system around that. We don't get it right all the time, but we go at it in a very sort of open and honest fashion to ensure that we all want to turn up in the morning. [00:12:01] Howard Bentham: How would you sum up your style then? Are you from a top down man or a bottom up? It's fascinating to get inside your mind here. [00:12:10] Dan Geoghegan: I don't think there's a training course for this and you can, listen we can all Google what does it take to be a leader? But I think it's for me, it's down to values. Do we trust each other? Is our company moral? What are we, how are we treating the customer? Are they part of our process or are they at the core of what we do? And I think that what I'd like to believe is that we all share those values, that there is, you know, I often say there are, you know, when you live in an area, you might, well, if you drive into a ditch, will somebody, you know, come and pull you out? Does somebody clear the snow on your driveway, because you're unable to do so yourself? And I think we very much have that kind of organisation, which is built on mutual respect and trying to define success and make sure that we're as supported as we can be to deliver that. [00:13:01] Howard Bentham: Yeah, I guess you've talked about trust, crucially I'd need to ask all your employees the same question. But I guess for any manager, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, isn't it? The staff retention, happy workforce, a thriving business. [00:13:15] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah, and I, you know, it's hard to get it right all the time because I worked out that, when you're growing fast, you're under resourced. People are trying to do more than one job, there's not always enough time. [00:13:30] Howard Bentham: Puts a lot of pressure on people. [00:13:31] Dan Geoghegan: It does, and because we feel responsible, because we're those types of people, we don't want to let the team down and the key for me is not to exploit it, but to try and support it. But that's something I've had to learn. We had a very fast growth phase in our first five years, and effectively we were a handful of people, all doing different jobs. It was brilliant because we all knew everything that was going on and we broadened our skills, but not bringing on assistance and help and support and the team early enough put us all under pressure and of course it doesn't take a lot for that pressure to show. We were very fortunate. That in our business environment, we had portals where we could call, I suppose, ports in the storm where we could anchor and figure things out, but, I think it's a, you know, it's a real challenge. Of course, if your business is not going well, it's the same. You are trying to solve your problem and you have the responsibility of all of these people working with you and for you, customers who have an expectation. So the pressures are quite intense, whether you're growing or whether you are fanning the flames of a fire inadvertently. [00:14:44] Howard Bentham: I'm intrigued to know whether you need to have a grounding in the particular industry that you're in to be a good leader in that particular industry. Can you, if you like, be parachuted in with the management skills? [00:14:58] Dan Geoghegan: I've wondered that too, because I observe other businesses and there are senior executives, in fact not just executives, I think across the board, people who somehow can march into a situation and figure it out and work for the objective and solve that problem and I think that's probably born of, I guess the entrepreneur would say intuition, but intuition I think is born of experience and having clarity of vision and strategic objective and that ability to, I guess, check that you've been successful. So I think there are skills, yes, I think it works for us because we're impassioned and we have a vision and we like to march up a hill and plant our flag on and not take things for granted. But I think it would be difficult for our business to be as successful without that sense of drive that has really come from us being a startup, you know, we started a business, a new idea that was a disruptor in a sector and it has been successful, but it was not always predicted to be so by some observers, which of course makes you more determined. [00:16:15] Howard Bentham: Right, yeah. So there's a little bit of the siege mentality as well as there in there. [00:16:19] Dan Geoghegan: Well, I think so, in a way. [00:16:21] Howard Bentham: If someone tells you can't do it, you're going to do it. [00:16:23] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah, there's, I mean, I think you've got to be careful not to be bloody minded about it, because we're all about providing a solution that people didn't know they wanted. So that latent need is, you know, quite a tricky thing. So we're always having to prophesise and think what's happening next and invent some of the future and bring our team and also our stakeholders along to help support that vision. [00:16:50] Howard Bentham: You talk about the team, what qualities do you look for in a leader and in turn, does that impact on your recruitment strategy? [00:16:58] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah, I mean, again, it's a learned thing. I mean when we, I don't know, we have a barbecue at home, we invite people around who will get on with each other, who will add something to the party, won't sit in a corner doing nothing and I think that sense of hubbub and excitement is really important in the culture of what we do. So, we're looking for people who really want to be part of what we do, who believe it, who have the professional skills, they have to have the professional skills, but there's more than that. Because it's not a generic delivery, it requires agility and I guess the street smarts to engage and be part of a small team. I really look for talent and a sparkle and many of my colleagues, we're very fortunate, have figured out who we are, as you say, it's not known by everybody what we're doing, really understood the direction we're taking and perhaps looked for a fit beyond the generic and We have the same with the specialists we have on site. As I mentioned earlier, we have 50 specialists, leaders in their field, in a large industry, and it's not enough for those specialists just to say, well I don't mind being at Bicester Motion. No, they've got to want to do it and be part of that energy, bring something to the party, and we can share each other's stories and each other's successes. [00:18:28] Howard Bentham: Building a relationship with the employees and as you say, the other industries that are on site there, it is obviously important. How can you achieve that when you've got so many staff on the books? Because trust, you've touched on that already, trust is absolutely crucial, I've got to believe you. If I want to work for you, I've got to believe you. [00:18:49] Dan Geoghegan: I think that. It's about building an organisation that has those values. It's easy to pay lip service and we've all read the straplines of companies that transform the world and you know, look after the customer, all of that sort of thing. But it needs to be beyond the strapline, it has to be, lived and breathed and I think the key really is to ensure those first few steps of building a team are completely solid. So we're looking for A grade people. A grade people hang out with A grade people and hire A grade people. If you're not A grade, then perhaps, and I read a little paper on this recently, that perhaps they hire B grade people who maybe hire C grade people, and then there's an unravelling. I'm not saying there's not a place for that kind of organisation, it's just not what we can do because we're a small, close knit team. You know, we rely on each other and it works so much more efficiently if, you know, you have somebody who wants to be there, the old expression, a volunteer is worth ten pressed men, is absolutely true and that's been our experience over the last ten years. [00:20:03] Howard Bentham: Tell us about the opportunities that you have specifically for young people at Bicester Motion and Bicester Heritage. I mean, in the realms of apprenticeships, work experience, internships, that sort of thing. [00:20:13] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah, I mean it's a passion of ours too and when I wrote the business plan 10 years ago, we talked about that in that business plan, about knowledge capture and knowledge transfer, and the industry we work in is ripe for welcoming youngsters and there are lots of components from a Bicester motion perspective that R&D and innovation side, through to Bicester Heritage, which is very much focused on the historic side, there are no shortage of opportunities. So, I think last year we saw 2,000 school leavers, talking about careers. So we did that through a charity that we founded called Starter Motor, which is really allowing those youngsters to see a different side of accepted industry. Now it might look like lots of, you know, old cars being driven around and it's all very, nice and neat and fun. But if you look beyond, I guess the first impression, we have manufacturing, we have design, we have, travel, we have accounting and property development and marketing, communications. There are a myriad industries that, or transferable skill sets that make up our industry. So that is a real focal point and we're looking to do more of that and actually pick up that way of interacting with school leavers across the country through Starter Motor. We have a great specialist on site called the Heritage Skills Academy, they marched forward five or six years ago and set up the only Ofqual accredited apprenticeship scheme for historic skills that had, you know, humble origins, seven students who came to site to, to work and be taught. Now we have over 150 students, apprentices being trained on site through that scheme operated by Heritage Skills Academy. So it has a really significant impact on our industry and of course it's nice to do and it's great to see the youngsters and they will come to appreciate the campus setting they worked on and in years to come they will be the alumnus program, they will be, it will be them running the industry. [00:22:29] Howard Bentham: You've actually seen from, if you like, the humblest of beginnings, careers, blossom from a start, as you've just talked about there. [00:22:36] Dan Geoghegan: Completely, one of the, year one, year two students, five or six years ago, is now an engine builder for a company that specialises on pre 1931 Bentleys and there's a specialism for you, and they're now manufacturing parts for Bentley Motor Company, so, you know, we've seen that startup flourish that's gone from a one man band to seven people. They're, really at the cutting edge and those success stories are a real pleasure to see. But there are some facts, you know, underlying all of that, that the industry has world class experts, but predominantly they tend to be one man bands and perhaps that road to apprenticeship, which they might have enjoyed, has been difficult until the last few years. So, our mission is to facilitate that knowledge capture, that knowledge transfer, so that these skills can be reignited and passed on. [00:23:35] Howard Bentham: And back to the leadership thing, can you spot a future leader at the apprenticeship stage? One of these, sort of enthusiastic school kids that have come and seen, as you described it, a lot of cars moving around on a day trip from school. Can you actually spot the leader there or do they emerge over time in these apprenticeships? [00:23:54] Dan Geoghegan: I don't think there's any hard and fast rule. There are certainly people on the course, and I was listening to one a couple of weeks ago. we passed by the course with some American guests who were interested in how we were doing things over here and he sort of stepped up and held them for, without boring them, which is always a good thing, just saying enough and he could measure that. Funny enough, he'd trained in digital media, so he'd had some training in that, but the world is full of extroverts who've been successful, but also introverts who've been successful and you know, I think one shouldn't look for the stereotypes, judge a person on their output, and their abilities to build a team and to lead. and so I think those are very different styles, but both work in the appropriate circumstances. [00:24:45] Howard Bentham: Let's, bring in OxLEP's communications manager, Rob Panting, into the conversation. Rob, good to talk to you. What are OxLEP doing to support the leaders of tomorrow? [00:24:54] Rob Panting: Thanks Howard, and thanks to Dan as well firstly, really fantastic to hear the work that's going on in your neck of the woods. From our perspective, we're always looking to evolve our business offer and our business support programmes recognising that leadership is a real key thing for all businesses, of course, but I think in particular for the small businesses that we predominantly support it's big for them. We gather intelligence quite often from our business community and our most recent impact report that we coordinated last year showed around about 20 percent of businesses that got in touch with us wanted to improve their leadership. Again, this is predominantly small businesses that we work with, but it's been identified as a significant area of support that's needed. So subsequently, we continue to evolve our offer. We've coordinated a number of peer network groups in the past, which brings together business leaders to discuss common opportunities, common challenges and difficulties that businesses face. We run a number of sessions around supporting women in business as well. So helping to identify those female leaders of tomorrow. So it's a big part of our work and in particular, I think post COVID, we've noticed there's a real rise in that requirement. [00:26:13] Howard Bentham: Is investment needed to ensure we have good leaders? [00:26:16] Rob Panting: Yes, I think, I mean, really going back to what I was just saying in terms of small businesses, times are hard for small businesses and any opportunity that they can find to access support like OxLEPs, which is essentially free support , for those businesses is critical. That said, there are of course other ways in which you can evolve as a business leader, and I think for small businesses in particular, identifying the need for that type of support, you know, it's a first step, but then finding that support is critical and that's where I think organisations like OxLEP come in to hopefully make a big difference. [00:26:56] Howard Bentham: Dan, picking up on what Rob's saying there, I mean, how do external organisations like OxLEP support your local recruitment strategy and ultimately find you the leaders of tomorrow? [00:27:06] Dan Geoghegan: Well, organisations like OxLEP absolutely critical to the business landscape, because particularly when you have small businesses moving fast, but also those bigger businesses finding some where, your stories resonate and you can share experiences, but also be promoted and feel some sort of endorsements that, if you like, promotes, amplifies our business missions, really important to us and Oxfordshire is a, you know, a very varied landscape from rural to technology and innovation and old skills and I think it's a unifying factor to have a focal point that has a voice and visibility that helps us all create strong businesses and indeed recruit the leaders of tomorrow and give them the opportunity to climb the ladder and lead the way. [00:27:55] Howard Bentham: Rob, share some examples of good practice that you've seen in this area. [00:27:59] Rob Panting: Yeah, I mean, there's many good examples, I think, of, businesses that we've supported. over many years now, I guess picking up on a point that Dan made, which is quite interesting around, we're almost talking about entrepreneurship and actually the business leaders of tomorrow taking control of their own destiny and I think that we found that there weren't many positives off the back of COVID, but one of those positives perhaps was those people with ambitions of becoming leaders and Dan was talking about creating cultures, people really taking the bull by the horns and developing their own small businesses that hopefully grow into larger businesses that have a culture that they are happy with and that they lead with and they can build their teams accordingly. I was doing a bit of reading beforehand and, interestingly last year, so 2022, there was 750,000 new businesses registered in the UK, which I think was only second to the year prior to COVID, if memory serves me right. People will Google that and probably say I'm incorrect, but, certainly the 750,000 figure is correct for 2022, which I think demonstrates people wanting to create businesses of their own making, of their own culture and a business that they are very happy to lead and recruit into. So there's certainly, I think, great examples. as I say, there's many that we could name that we've worked with, but many great examples of businesses who are looking to create, you know, a culture and ultimately a leadership that people will buy into. [00:29:33] Howard Bentham: Dan, Bicester Motion has a very interesting approach, picking off your, website here, focusing on the past, present and future of mobility across its heritage, innovation, experience and wilderness quarter. Wilderness? [00:29:47] Dan Geoghegan: Bit of wilderness out there. [00:29:48] Howard Bentham: Okay. Is there a high level of staff training associated with the different roles at the organisation, including leadership, of course? [00:29:57] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah. I mean, I think there are, you know, charity begins at home. So having chosen the right colleague, hopefully, then giving them exposure to all of the decision making processes and allowing them to participate in all the decisions that are made and whether that is creating the planning permission proposal for a zone or talking to other business leaders, showing visitors what we do and allowing them to present is really a great way of empowering and maturing those skills and that intuition. Of course there are courses and programmes and we are very supportive of that, but to imbue our colleagues with our culture and our values, the best way is to involve them. But that also requires support and having an HR function that can really listen and support, guide, allow, I guess, a listening post to the opportunities that we might be missing, but also the concerns is really important and that really feeds into the culture. [00:31:09] Howard Bentham: Rob, are we doing enough to create good leaders in this country? They've certainly had more than their fair share of challenges over the last couple of years. [00:31:18] Rob Panting: A personal view, not necessarily OxLEP's view, I think we can always do more. I think there has been, as you rightly touch on, a huge change in the way businesses operate in the past few years, you know, it's very much an employee's market now. People are looking for the job roles that suit them and companies that align with their culture. I think probably maybe 10, 15 years ago, you looked at the job opportunity first versus the culture of a company. Therefore, there are, I think, there's a need for business leaders to understand that being a business leader now versus maybe 10, 20 years ago is very different and you need to be switched on to probably what employees are looking for, therefore the support remains key for leaders, the peer support that we mentioned earlier on, I think is a particularly important one, understanding what business leaders are like from different sectors and how those, how that leadership might transfer into your business or your sector is a good way of learning and certainly the evidence that we've picked up and understood from the support that we've given, particularly in the last three or four years, has demonstrated that. [00:32:29] Howard Bentham: Leaders obviously are there to help elicit change, Dan you've touched on that as well. You've got some expansion plans, of course, where you are in Bicester. How many jobs do you anticipate creating and particularly for young people? [00:32:44] Dan Geoghegan: Well, as I mentioned earlier, we have 500 people working on site at the moment. That refers to the Bicester heritage, the Heritage Quarter. But that only sits on around 5 percent of the site we have. So I think we could potentially provide jobs for thousands of people. We have great support from the District Council and the County Council to bring forward our plans really to do service to the knowledge economy. The idea of the Oxcam Arc, the knowledge corridor, is really alive in our minds to be part of that and to be effective there, to lead, I suppose, it really relies on the ability to recruit bright people who really want to be involved in that transformation. It relies on the infrastructure and the support that we get from not just the councils but OxLEP. We're on a mission and we're happy to be part of that leadership pack, but we're not the only story in town, and we're really enjoying being part of a broader story, and Bicester is on its own journey too, for a long time the focus for technology and innovation has been Oxford, Oxford city, and rightly so, but the opportunity is now bigger than just the city centre, it is for all, and it will allow many people, many families to access a trajectory which is really thrilling and, and that's not just about Oxfordshire, but that's about the country as a whole in our post Brexit environment. Our post COVID environment is, there is a thrilling story to be told, and we're looking forward to leading our part of the charge. [00:34:30] Howard Bentham: Just picking up on Rob's point about the prospective employees wanting to bring their own culture to work and align with a business that they feel they would fit with. What are you doing to educate the workforce about more sustainable vehicles given that they're rising in accessibility and popularity? I guess obviously you talk about 1931 Bentleys. Will there be a classic car petrol market in 15-20 years? [00:34:57] Dan Geoghegan: Well, I can report that already on the pump we have, renewable fuel, sustainable fuel which is made from 80 percent waste products. So, fuel will exist just in a different form and the problem is not the engine, it's the fuel that goes in. So, that problem is being solved, we have a really exciting specialist on site called Zero. Now they have an exclusive deal with the RAF to create sustainable net-zero aviation fuel. They've also just signed with Rolls Royce, so those changes are not the future, they're here and now, it's happening and it's really very exciting. Personally, I walk to work or cycle to work and have done Pretty much my whole career. So I think that we all take a personal responsibility to preserve our futures and to be part of that broader community story. [00:35:47] Howard Bentham: Dan and Rob, thank you both for the moment. We'll chat again shortly. It's good to have you along for OxTalks, the podcast powered by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and sponsored by leading national law firm Mills & Reeve. If you want to get in touch with the team at OxLEP, to comment on what you've been hearing, find us on social media. We are on X @OxfordshireLEP or via LinkedIn, search for Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Perhaps you run a company or organisation that's looking for some specific help or simply need a steer to the most appropriate business advice available. Why not try the OxLEP Business Support Tool? OxLEP's Business Support Tool is here to help your company. Whether you're just starting out, growing or ready to take on a new business challenge, If you're looking for the latest advice and support, complete our Business Support Tool today and get set to receive a bespoke action plan for your organisation. Head to OxLEPbusiness.co.uk to find out more. Are you looking for high quality, tailored legal advice in Oxfordshire? At Mills Reeve, we're passionate about supporting the community and strive to keep local work local through our expertise, contacts and international network from our Oxford office. Our experience is vast, spanning areas such as commercial, corporate law, finance, ESG, employment, family, private client, and planning. We can achieve more, together. To find out how we can help you, get in touch at www.mills-reeve.com Let's chat more to Dan Geoghegan from Bicester Motion and Bicester Heritage in Oxfordshire. Dan, let's look at improving the skill levels of your workforce and wider impacts like well being and mental health. The modern workplace utilises a wide range of skills and that list is constantly growing. What are the core skills you're helping your employees to learn and develop? [00:38:00] Dan Geoghegan: I think part of that is helping them understand what they want and post COVID, I think lots of people are reconsidering what they're doing, why they're doing it, who they're doing it for, where they're going to do it and for how much and how much of the time. So, I think that's an open conversation that we have and we're beneficiaries of people being on the move and I guess that onboarding process is really important to try and get our message across and go on that journey together to make sure the fit is right and that right fit is absolutely critical to our business. Once on board, pathway professionally is fairly clear because we have a number of key projects, we have a number of chartered surveyors on the team and various professionally qualified people who have been on their own career path and imparting that runway to our colleagues and sharing that expertise is, I think the way it should be, it should come from within. We do absolutely, look at training courses and, professional HR assistance. But I think that's where we've become good at choosing the right people and growing them with the organisation. [00:39:12] Howard Bentham: Rob, the well being of staff ultimately falls upon the boss's head. How is that managed at OxLEP? [00:39:17] Rob Panting: I would like to think that Nigel, our Chief Executive, would say very well. I think there's a, again speaking from an OxLEP perspective, because we're quite a small and agile organisation, around about 30 to 35 members of staff at any one time, there's a culture that we're all supportive of each other. I think also more widely in terms of the well being of all staff, which the leader benefits from, people who listened to the podcast previously, will recall that we moved to a four day working week pilot in April, and we see that as a way of supporting people's well being, ensuring that they're well motivated when they come back to work on a Monday morning, they get the relevant and required rest. Rest is just as important to performing well in the workplace, there's other benefits as well in terms of usage of flexi-time, which all companies will ultimately have and I think touching on a point that we mentioned earlier on, it's an employee's market. So actually making sure equally for leaders as much as the rest of your staff team, recognising the benefits that are available within a company are really important and you know, business leaders move and I'm sure that they're looking at what culture they're buying into as well. So, you know, wellbeing remains very important for OxLEP and I think, again, picking up some of the previous points, particularly post Covid, if a business isn't already switched on to well being, then really they probably should be at this point. [00:40:41] Howard Bentham: Who looks after the Chief Executive Dan, at your place? I mean, potentially, joking aside, you're going to have more stress than many others in the organisation. So who is caring for your well being and mental health? [00:40:53] Dan Geoghegan: Well, I've got a great team around me, and we've got a great board. So my board of directors have by and large been on working with, me on this project from most of them for 10 years, so they've come on the journey. The telephone always gets answered, so when we have to discuss, I guess, getting some soundings on some ideas, it's really useful, and we have that structure on a monthly basis, so we have a board call and then in person meetings every three months. The colleagues I work with, I think we're all very respectful and supportive, and you know, we all have our challenges around childcare and trying to be in certain places at certain times, and of course, illness. So we have a culture which I think is respectful of the freedoms that we have and again, through selecting a team that has the same values, that has never been an issue for us. But also, we have a great environment, it is a campus, you know, it's green, lots of trees, historic buildings, you can bring your dog to work or borrow one from another colleague and I see that every week. It'll be almost a mismatch between the dog and the person because somebody is taking somebody else's dog around the site for a walk. So creating a great place to work is the beginning of, I guess, that foundation and selecting those values that really are part of the company's DNA makes for a bright future. [00:42:13] Howard Bentham: So your employees have the opportunity to undertake volunteering, extracurricular activities and support their well being and give back to the local community too, I believe? [00:42:22] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah, we have looked quite a lot going on really. I think the RAF, who predate us back to early last century, so 1917, were always part of the local landscape and we seem to have picked up some of that. So we see the triathletes and the cycling club and cross country runners and all sorts of activities helping the site come to life in a different way. We have broadened our events reach to be not just automotive, but to be more encompassing of the locality. We support charities in the locality, which are you know, personal to us. So if we've got a colleague who says, well, my son is playing football for the Bicester Colts, can we get some support for the kit? Then we'll willingly do that and it creates a sense of involvement and depth and link, which is beyond just box ticking from an ESG perspective. So we're really like authentic activity, and today, you saved me from Be Military Fit. So we, there is an outdoor activity of exercise, which again, great team building stuff that happens every week. That might [00:43:31] Howard Bentham: have been good for your well being! [00:43:32] Dan Geoghegan: It is, I hit the gym this morning, so that was okay and I guess there's a serious point there when you ask about who looks after the CEO and I think it's important for us all to have a professional view on, you know, how we look after ourselves and what we eat, how we get exercise, how we wind down and that leisure side, that life balance, you know, it's really difficult in any world, let alone the modern world with so much going on and being thrown at us. But it's really important to try and find that rhythm and you know, being able to work outside with a fitness trainer on a, you know, three, four hundred acre RAF station is a great thing to talk about in the evening. [00:44:09] Howard Bentham: Brilliant, Rob, tell us about the career and enterprise company work that OxLEP is involved with. [00:44:15] Rob Panting: Yeah, it's actually picking up on a topic that Dan mentioned earlier on in terms of inspiring the, I guess not just the leaders of tomorrow, but the employees of tomorrow. We're very lucky in Oxfordshire to have a real range of strong sectors, a variety of sectors, so Dan's place of work is a real champion of automotive, visitor economy as well. Our Oxfordshire Careers Hub have created a number of initiatives, one being teacher encounters, which aims to provide information to teachers across the county in terms of what businesses we have on our doorstep and in turn the opportunities that, await young people in the county. So we are taking teachers into those workplaces and linking them up with professionals across those industries and hopefully those teachers can go back and tell young people, look, you know, these are the brilliant career opportunities that await you in Oxfordshire, and it's not just that side of work, but also a number of other face to face initiatives, including CareersFest, which is probably our biggest event of the year and similar to what Dan just mentioned in terms of bringing young people into the workplace and showing what they've got. We work with, I think for the last event, around about 80 to 85 employers, range of sectors, hands on experiences for young people to see what's available to them. So hopefully some really good leaders of tomorrow will emerge from that type of engagement. [00:45:47] Howard Bentham: That must be music to your ears though, because that access to find the next generation is crucial. [00:45:53] Dan Geoghegan: Yeah, and it's our problem because the future is our problem, you know, they're our children and but beyond problem it should be an opportunity and we take great excitement, great thrill, great pleasure in seeing people succeed, whether that's our specialists or our colleagues and so our job is to enable success and to really grow people and to enjoy their successes. It's a real pleasure and why would it be any other way and that leadership, while somebody's on a particular rung of the ladder, it doesn't mean they can't be a leader and it doesn't mean those ideas are not worth listening to and so, I think that leadership really is about allowing the space to express and engage in the organisation and it becomes a great pleasure then to see what transpires from that and we have one colleague who said, listen, we've got 350 trees, we've got a wilderness quarter, why don't we grow our own trees? Can I get a greenhouse? Who wants to get involved? And where do I get the pots from? And that's an initiative that's, you know, happened this year and it was great fun to see it go. Somebody has really taken the charge, and... [00:47:08] Howard Bentham: Again, isn't it? You've got like minded people with a passion and it can only be a good thing. We've got a couple of questions from our social channels. Dan, how important is it for CEOs to share leadership responsibilities? Does this also allow greater opportunities for others within the business too? [00:47:25] Dan Geoghegan: I would say critical. I mean, one of the great complaints or criticisms, observations even of entrepreneurs is that they keep everything close and don't build an organisation and don't hand over the keys. That's something I'm very conscious of, building that organisation so that I can step back and share the responsibilities. But I also have to look to my shareholders, you know, if I'm incapacitated or not here for whatever reason, then what happens to the organisation? Having it operate in a self centered way doesn't help anybody. It's more stress, it is more glory if it goes well, but we like to share our organisation and I'm more than happy to listen and to hear the ideas and a very successful entrepreneur came to see me a couple of years ago and he said, you know, I never learn anything by talking and I think that's a quite a good adage. [00:48:20] Howard Bentham: We're enjoying you talking there, so we're learning lots from you. Another question from our socials, is leadership taught or in fact a natural talent that some people just possess? [00:48:30] Dan Geoghegan: Probably a bit of both and I think the, really important thing is to, for us all to be in places where we feel confident that there is opportunity, we're supported, and our natural skills will come to the fore and, you know, my father said, you know, I don't really mind what you do, but just enjoy what you do and then there's a possibility that will flourish and so we all have to go on our own journey to figure out what it is, why we're here and where we want to work and who with and that's really the bedrock to success. [00:49:02] Howard Bentham: Is it taught or is it just something you can do, Rob? [00:49:05] Rob Panting: I think ultimately Again, personal view, not OxLEP's view. Probably slightly more you want to be a leader, but I think you're constantly evolving, constantly learning, dan's absolutely right, I think not just leaders, but for any person in the workplace, listening is very important, not just absorbing people's ideas and suggestions, but evolving your own character and your own professionalism, I think it's critical that you do listen and also, you know, it's not just in the world of business. We're all influenced by other external factors, whether that be sport, exercise, reading a good book, you know, all, of those moments of inspiration, I think, form your, leadership credentials and, you know, I for one, try and absorb as much information as possible. If I become a leader in the future, I think certainly it would have been a rounded journey that I would have, entertained. [00:50:04] Howard Bentham: Let's get some final thoughts from you, Dan, if we may. Given your personal and business successes and all you've learnt along the way, if you were to meet your younger self, what advice would you give him? [00:50:16] Dan Geoghegan: I think listening more is a good thing because being very confident is a positive, but there is a lot to learn out there and I think also bringing on help sooner. So having started a few businesses, of course, it's you know, an incredible experience to start something and see it grow, but in that excitement and rush and busyness, sometimes I think the lesson I've learned is that getting some support early helps that business grow and I guess be a better place to be in those early years. [00:50:56] Howard Bentham: Was that sort of, if you like, ego stopping you asking for help or what was it? [00:51:00] Dan Geoghegan: Too busy. Just too busy [00:51:01] Howard Bentham: Too busy? [00:51:03] Dan Geoghegan: Just too busy because there's so much going on and I remember somebody asking me you know, what keeps you awake at night and in a flash, I said excitement and it was true. You get up in the morning, you're on a mission, it's, great. But the ability just to stop and say, right, you know, let's take a snapshot here of where we're at and how we get to the next piece is sometimes you just get, you know, knocked down in the rush and it has, that also has its benefits because there's an immediacy and the business is growing. But tooling up is probably, and getting help is really key. [00:51:43] Howard Bentham: I remember somebody saying to me once, Oh, you worked really hard, you got your head down, you're running really quickly, but where are you running to? Is that a part of the problem as well, that you don't see what you're trying to achieve? [00:51:53] Dan Geoghegan: I would say the opposite and so having that vision of knowing where you're going and that doesn't mean it's inflexible or it lacks agility, because that's always being fine tuned, is what keeps me moving, you know, I've got to get there, and so that's I guess the, as they say, on your own you travel faster, together you travel further, and I think that's something that we can all learn in business. [00:52:22] Howard Bentham: Finally, to a young leader of tomorrow listening to this right now, what's the one key takeaway then that you can distill down from our conversation for them? [00:52:32] Dan Geoghegan: Start. I think that's, you know, just start. If you have an idea, if you want to be successful in an existing organisation, a professional career, making that first step and then, you know, my experience is there's no substitute for hard graft. I was looking at an aviation company history record from around about the second world war and their apprentices, they weren't judged on qualifications and how they did at school. They had four areas and, the first area was timeliness, you know, be on time, the second area was presentation, are you smart? Do you take some pride? thirdly, attitude and fourthly, aptitude, and that's, I often think about that and maybe from your own background Howard, it's about the metal of the person and I think hard work and determination, there's, no way around it. So find something you like and really get on with it. [00:53:34] Howard Bentham: Dan, amazing to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much, Dan Geoghegan from Bicester Motion and a big thank you also to OxLEPs communication manager Rob Panting too, and thank you for listening to OxTalks, sponsored by leading national law firm Mills Reeve. There are now a number of editions of OxTalks available from where you normally get your podcasts. Check out some of my previous conversations, including with Makespace Oxford's Andy Edwards on repurposing unused buildings in the county, Tim Bestwick, Chief Technology Officer at the UK Atomic Energy Authority on transformative technologies, and Chas Bountra from Oxford University with his vision to retain world class talent here in Oxfordshire, all well worth a listen. Please spread the word, tell your friends or colleagues about us, and if you feel so inclined, leave us a review. Feel free also to share your thoughts and suggestions on our socials. Plus you can email your questions for inclusion in future editions too. Please use the email address in the podcast description. It's always good to get your input. Remember, business support in Oxfordshire is just an email or a phone call away. The OxLEP Business Support Tool can signpost you to expert help in a matter of minutes. It's definitely worth taking a look. Find it on our website, OxfordshireLEP.com. But for now, from the whole OxLEP team, and from me, Howard Bentham, it's goodbye.