October 23, 2013

Karren Brady: Pitching for Success

Businesswoman and media personality Karren Brady was the guest speaker at Adobe’s Digital Marketing Journey on 22 October. Figaro Digital’s Eilidh Wagstaff was on hand to hear about the five most important words in the English language and the six qualities that drive success

Karren Brady begins her presentation at Adobe’s ‘Digital Marketing Journey’ conference by admitting she’s no digital marketing expert. Instead she’s here to discuss something she does know a lot about: succeeding in business.

“The hardest thing to change in a business is its culture,” says Brady. But this is exactly what she managed to do at Birmingham City FC, the club she joined as Managing Director in 1993, aged 23. She paints a vivid picture of how poorly the business had been managed before she came on board. There were toilet blocks without roofs, contra deals that saw seats in the club’s executive box swapped for bin bags and there wasn’t a single computer in the whole organisation. Fast forward 15 years and, after a radical transformation, Brady oversaw the club’s sale for £82 million.

How did Brady, and her team, manage to turn Birmingham City around? The first step was employing the right people with the right attitude.

“In life there are people that make things happen, people that watch what happens and people that wonder what’s happening.” Brady is only interested in the first category. But to get good people in you have to let some employees go. “I was on the bus with the [Birmingham City] team to an away match in Newcastle. One of the players said, “I can see your tits from here”. I said, “Well you won’t be able to see them when I sell you to Crewe’.” True to her word, two days later and he was sold.

Key to Brady’s success has been her ability to enthuse – and reward – loyal employees. “What’s in it for me? These are the five most important words in the English language,” says Brady. She clearly understands that staff need to be motivated if they are going to perform well. And while financial bonuses do drive people, she also tries to instil a sense of purpose in her colleagues. During her time at Birmingham City she made sure the club served its local community. “In the end we had nine full-time teachers working with the community and 35 full-time community officers going across Birmingham teaching kids anti-drugs, healthy living. Those became the things we stood for.”

In her 25 years as a business leader, Brady has worked alongside the likes of Lord Sugar and Sir Philip Green. After analysing her high-flying colleagues, she has noted six qualities successful people tend to have. These are the ability to thrive under adversity; ambition; determination; persistence; a good attitude; a clear sense of direction and the strength to stay positive. Looking at Brady’s own career you might be tempted to add fearlessness and a good sense of humour to that list. A journalist present at her first press conference at Birmingham City told her, “You might not have a dick but you have great big balls.” It’s an anecdote Brady still relishes.

In the lounge, after the talk, I overhear a woman telling her colleague that Brady’s speech inspired her so much it made teary. A rare response to a digital marketing event. But maybe it’s rare to find a woman who has remained at the top of a male-dominated industry for so long and who still really enjoys what she does.