MARTHA LANE FOX REVEALS SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A PRISON GUARD
GORDON Brown’s new digital inclusion tsar Martha Lane Fox has had a stellar career to date, but it’s reassuring to learn that she could happily turn her hand to something else should she tire of running Lucky Voice and charitable foundation Antigone.
Because Lane Fox has revealed that, in another life, she would have been… a prison officer.
The insight into the psyche of the lastminute.com co-founder, along with some words of wisdom, is being sent to entrants in the CNBC/Allianz Good Entrepreneur competition, which she is supporting.
Lane Fox says the best advice she ever received was from her grandfather, who said: “For god’s sake don’t become an accountant. Be a bookie – then at least you get to do it outside.”
Meanwhile the worst advice she gets is from her father, who always thinks her ideas are a disaster, “so now I’ve learnt to do the opposite of what he suggests”.
Whoever advised it, thank heavens she followed the path that she did. Not only has it got her into the Media Guardian 100 this week, but I don’t think the prison officer uniform would suit her stylish tastes.
MEAN CITY STREETS
If she had gone into the prison service, Lane Fox would have probably benefited from some coaching from Target Focus Training, a Vegas-based firm which has been coaching City-types “high density” self-defence. Or in common parlance, how to come out on-top in a kill-or-be-killed situation.
With clients coming from Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, TFT founder – and master combat instructor – Tim Larkin said that there has been a demand for his services since emerging markets opened up and people found themselves in potentially hostile environments.
But with bankers being the new public enemy number one these days, it is no surprise that the demand is growing all of the time.
But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean the City is overflowing with frustrated bankers looking for a fight. Larkin says that his training stresses that fatal outcomes can almost always be avoided, and teaches how to spot the signs and avoid them – a principle which can then be applied in everyday life and work.
Recognising the signs of disaster and acting to avert it. I wonder where that skill might have come in handy recently?
TRUE POWER
But it was all very gentile over at Raymond Blanc’s party to celebrate the 25th birthday of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, with guests including the French ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne and Lloyds Banking Group chairman Victor Blank.
But it wasn’t the guest list that attracted the French ambassador to attend an event which was taking place on the French national holiday, Bastille day. There were only three things that would ever get him to do that, he said: his boss (President Nicolas Sarkozy), his surrogate boss (the Queen) and, finally, Raymond Blanc himself.
Praise indeed. Fortunately, all it takes to lure some people out of their homes is the promise of a free sandwich (or ten).
SANDWICH WAR
But sandwich-swiping investors ruined everything for the rest of the guests at BT’s AGM last year. Having received complaints that the sandwiches had run out – not to mention the fact that the meeting had started too early for out-of-towners to buy off-peak fares – BT decided to act.
So, at yesterday’s annual meeting, which started at the later time of 11am, investors were given sandwich vouchers to redeem for their break time sustenance.
Perhaps they should have kept their mouth closed. But then again, it’s good to talk. And BT has to hit its £1bn in cost cutting target somehow.
Over at J Sainsbury’s annual meeting, complaints about the lack of healthy options in the supermarket’s meal deals were met with similar pragmatism.
“Calories aren’t always a bad thing,” said outgoing chairman Sir Philip Hampton. “It depends on what base you are starting from.”
The wiry-framed Hampton may be right, but perhaps calorie-counting customers will be hoping that a more like-minded replacement will be announced soon.
LIMBERING UP
Good luck to those of you who are running in tonight’s Standard Chartered Great City Run. And don’t forget that Standard Chartered have a year-long, Black Label Fitness First membership to give away to one City PM reader. To enter the draw, please tell The Capitalist which is the official charity of this year’s race? Email address is at the top of the page.
Here is a clue: Standard Chartered chief financial officer Richard Meddings will be running the race blindfolded.