Chimp or Champ?

I am often asked what I do now. I say that I run a consulting and training company called Dynamic Relations. In fact, I am neither a consultant nor a trainer, I’m an entrepreneur. My speciality is working with dynamic leaders, with the aim that they ‘should learn without being taught’.

What is an ‘entrepreneur’? Webster’s definition is as follows: “A person who organises, operates and assumes the risk for a business venture.” The term ‘entrepreneur’ is often used to describe all small businesses, when few are entrepreneurial in any economical or psychological sense of the term.

In reality, entrepreneurs are often out there, knowing nothing, yet are doing a better job than large multi-nationals, who know everything. It is an ‘auto-didactic’ experience, or learning without defined direction....self-taught.

A close colleague once said of me, “Everything he does seems to work out in the end. It may be that he thinks everything through - but isn’t very good at communicating his reasoning.” When we started our laundry business, it was simply to make a living. With a first year turnover of £3500 it was inconceivable that 20 years later the company would be sold for £6.75 million.

  Using only two hand irons, we had to be different. I was trying to shape the future but there was no logical way of describing the direction I would take.

Animal psychologists have been surprised by the intellectual capabilities of captive apes. In fact ape intelligence evolved in response to the difficulties of locating fruit in tropical forests. These primates have confined themselves to their own cultural environment, acquiring skills and knowledge based on personal experiences.

  Similarly I have observed many managers and staff, and how they respond to the work environment. They concentrate on the ‘fruits’ in front of them that are easy to pick. I see businesses struggling, and ask, “where are you going and why don’t you consider doing it differently?”. These businesses are so busy picking fruit, they forget to use their intelligence to locate the really juicy fruits beyond their field of vision.

Businesses that manage change well are the most competitive. These companies see change as a new opportunity to increase efficiency, gain new customers and build profitability.

Unlike a ‘chimp’, businesses don’t have to learn through trial and error or pick the easiest fruit. It is widely agreed that 75% of all transformation efforts fail. All too often change programmes fail to achieve any real improvements and are dismissed as another failed management craze.

We are no longer limited to learning from personal experiences. We can now obtain information from the written word, the Internet, television and films, all created from the experiences of past and present generations.

Most managers cannot always be open with their subordinates or with people to whom they report. Man is still a jealous, greedy, competitive and selfish ape. These traits can create great rivalry and stress within organisations, so it is no wonder there are so many failures to change.

Darwin’s rule of ‘Natural Selection’ states that individuals, structures and cultures must have the flexibility to continually adapt and change to an environment of competition in order to survive and possess the competitive advantage.

Our group, Dynamic Leaders, provides a confidential, challenging sounding board to help senior managers of businesses to adapt and become ‘champs’.

I enjoy learning but not being taught. The concept of ‘learning without being taught’ represents a means of exploring organisations’ problems, solutions and new ideas with like-minded people. If you have a business problem, someone else has either had it, got it, or is likely to get it.

• David Coulter, managing director of training and managment consultancy, Dynamic Relations, is an entrepreneur and businessman living in north Dorset. He is better known in the industry as the founder of Stalbridge Linen Services.