fears, foibles, inadequacies and to top it all you need to do your job as well.

You need to be many things, a motivator, leader, shoulder to cry on, politician, protector, saviour, fair judge, innovator & creative dynamo. Can you remain calm in any situation, deal with the fights (there are always fights wherever people get together), handle the irate screaming customer who was told this morning the out of stock item was definitely in stock, take in the container delivery yourself and preserve the customer shopping experience with 3 people off sick, queue manage when the tills all switch off on a busy Saturday afternoon, explain to the customer who has just driven 60 miles to pick up a special request item that was meant to arrive yesterday (yes it is still in the depot 300 miles away and won’t be in for another 2 days, explain to a till operator that you fully

Strange thing management isn’t it; it’s not a career path we choose as a child, alongside the fireman, policeman, brain surgeon & astronaut. But one that a great deal more of us find ourselves slipping into, and yes I mean slip into, we never choose it, it kind of snuck up on us. At school your career guidance teacher takes you hand and sings the praises of a good university education, forgetting to mention that most arts degrees serve little purpose and hold no stock with most employers, i.e. psychology, philosophy, history and the list goes on, what job has this prepared you for, none, you find yourself with 4 years less experience in the workplace, ?15,000 in debt and any grandiose ideas of your career are quickly replaced with a desperation for a job, any job, as long as it pays the bills and allows you to start to enjoy life. Then 3 years later you are still in a call centre with the unsociable hours if you are really unlucky, hoping that in another year you can move up a grade and earn another ?500 a year, whoop-de-doop, I think not.

My case is like a lot of people, I done archaeology at university, and from then I just wanted a job, got my first trainee managers role and it's taken me on a path since then, that path a lot of people can relate to.

Where did I learn the skills to manage people, at what point did I become a manager, where was my passing out parade and the final exam that qualifies you as a manager, nowhere -- that’s where? Management is so well suited because no formal qualifications are required, prior experience is not a prerequisite as training will be provided, or so the advert said, 6 weeks on the job training and there you are fully qualified to ‘handle a group of people who you most likely don’t like, most likely don’t like you, you never picked them and you are expected to squeeze from them their best on a daily basis’, as said by Richard Templar in the rules of management.

Retail is the easier part, at its most basic form you open the doors, turn on the lights, take money, turn the lights of and go home. I can hear the horrified screams of all the dedicated retailers who like myself see successful retailing as an art form, a delicate balance between, under/over buying, buying the right range and steering clear of the items only ever destined for the sale rail, but you have missed my point, the hard part is managing the people that make retail such a vibrant, fun, challenging & ultimately worthwhile place to work.

You are landed with the above team, who if you are lucky enough might get to like you eventually, who makes up the team, here are a couple of typical characters; Colin who can be a great worker when cornered like a rat, Karen who works well when not surfing the internet for QVC bargains, Cathie who works diligently but gets easily distracted by Karen showing her a lovely range of cubic zirconium, John who is a extremely capable security guard but has a paranoia that his age is going to get him sacked so constantly needs to be taken and reassured that he’s not next for grave yard, Dawn who has sick kids so always need away with only 5 minutes notice, Angie who thinks you are a lazy sod cause she reckons she does all your work for you and finally your school leaver who gets their mum to phone in sick for them after a night on the drink or when a they catch a cold.

You are responsible for this teams emotional and physical well being, their development, their career path, their problems, fears, foibles, inadequacies and to top it all you need to do your job as well.

You need to be many things, a motivator, leader, shoulder to cry on, politician, protector, saviour, fair judge, innovator & creative dynamo. Can you remain calm in any situation, deal with the fights (there are always fights wherever people get together), handle the irate screaming customer who was told this morning the out of stock item was definitely in stock, take in the container delivery yourself and preserve the customer shopping experience with 3 people off sick, queue manage when the tills all switch off on a busy Saturday afternoon, explain to the customer who has just driven 60 miles to pick up a special request item that was meant to arrive yesterday (yes it is still in the depot 300 miles away and won’t be in for another 2 days, explain to a till operator that you fully

n a call centre with the unsociable hours if you are really unlucky, hoping that in another year you can move up a grade and earn another ?500 a year, whoop-de-doop, I think not.

My case is like a lot of people, I done archaeology at university, and from then I just wanted a job, got my first trainee managers role and it's taken me on a path since then, that path a lot of people can relate to.

Where did I learn the skills to manage people, at what point did I become a manager, where was my passing out parade and the final exam that qualifies you as a manager, nowhere -- that’s where? Management is so well suited because no formal qualifications are required, prior experience is not a prerequisite as training will be provided, or so the advert said, 6 weeks on the job training and there you are fully qualified to ‘handle a group of people who you most likely don’t like, most likely don’t like you, you never picked them and you are expected to squeeze from them their best on a daily basis’, as said by Richard Templar in the rules of management.

Retail is the easier part, at its most basic form you open the doors, turn on the lights, take money, turn the lights of and go home. I can hear the horrified screams of all the dedicated retailers who like myself see successful retailing as an art form, a delicate balance between, under/over buying, buying the right range and steering clear of the items only ever destined for the sale rail, but you have missed my point, the hard part is managing the people that make retail such a vibrant, fun, challenging & ultimately worthwhile place to work.

You are landed with the above team, who if you are lucky enough might get to like you eventually, who makes up the team, here are a couple of typical characters; Colin who can be a great worker when cornered like a rat, Karen who works well when not surfing the internet for QVC bargains, Cathie who works diligently but gets easily distracted by Karen showing her a lovely range of cubic zirconium, John who is a extremely capable security guard but has a paranoia that his age is going to get him sacked so constantly needs to be taken and reassured that he’s not next for grave yard, Dawn who has sick kids so always need away with only 5 minutes notice, Angie who thinks you are a lazy sod cause she reckons she does all your work for you and finally your school leaver who gets their mum to phone in sick for them after a night on the drink or when a they catch a cold.

You are responsible for this teams emotional and physical well being, their development, their career path, their problems, fears, foibles, inadequacies and to top it all you need to do your job as well.

You need to be many things, a motivator, leader, shoulder to cry on, politician, protector, saviour, fair judge, innovator & creative dynamo. Can you remain calm in any situation, deal with the fights (there are always fights wherever people get together), handle the irate screaming customer who was told this morning the out of stock item was definitely in stock, take in the container delivery yourself and preserve the customer shopping experience with 3 people off sick, queue manage when the tills all switch off on a busy Saturday afternoon, explain to the customer who has just driven 60 miles to pick up a special request item that was meant to arrive yesterday (yes it is still in the depot 300 miles away and won’t be in for another 2 days, explain to a till operator that you fully

ly don’t like, most likely don’t like you, you never picked them and you are expected to squeeze from them their best on a daily basis’, as said by Richard Templar in the rules of management.

Retail is the easier part, at its most basic form you open the doors, turn on the lights, take money, turn the lights of and go home. I can hear the horrified screams of all the dedicated retailers who like myself see successful retailing as an art form, a delicate balance between, under/over buying, buying the right range and steering clear of the items only ever destined for the sale rail, but you have missed my point, the hard part is managing the people that make retail such a vibrant, fun, challenging & ultimately worthwhile place to work.

You are landed with the above team, who if you are lucky enough might get to like you eventually, who makes up the team, here are a couple of typical characters; Colin who can be a great worker when cornered like a rat, Karen who works well when not surfing the internet for QVC bargains, Cathie who works diligently but gets easily distracted by Karen showing her a lovely range of cubic zirconium, John who is a extremely capable security guard but has a paranoia that his age is going to get him sacked so constantly needs to be taken and reassured that he’s not next for grave yard, Dawn who has sick kids so always need away with only 5 minutes notice, Angie who thinks you are a lazy sod cause she reckons she does all your work for you and finally your school leaver who gets their mum to phone in sick for them after a night on the drink or when a they catch a cold.

You are responsible for this teams emotional and physical well being, their development, their career path, their problems, fears, foibles, inadequacies and to top it all you need to do your job as well.

You need to be many things, a motivator, leader, shoulder to cry on, politician, protector, saviour, fair judge, innovator & creative dynamo. Can you remain calm in any situation, deal with the fights (there are always fights wherever people get together), handle the irate screaming customer who was told this morning the out of stock item was definitely in stock, take in the container delivery yourself and preserve the customer shopping experience with 3 people off sick, queue manage when the tills all switch off on a busy Saturday afternoon, explain to the customer who has just driven 60 miles to pick up a special request item that was meant to arrive yesterday (yes it is still in the depot 300 miles away and won’t be in for another 2 days, explain to a till operator that you fully

are a couple of typical characters; Colin who can be a great worker when cornered like a rat, Karen who works well when not surfing the internet for QVC bargains, Cathie who works diligently but gets easily distracted by Karen showing her a lovely range of cubic zirconium, John who is a extremely capable security guard but has a paranoia that his age is going to get him sacked so constantly needs to be taken and reassured that he’s not next for grave yard, Dawn who has sick kids so always need away with only 5 minutes notice, Angie who thinks you are a lazy sod cause she reckons she does all your work for you and finally your school leaver who gets their mum to phone in sick for them after a night on the drink or when a they catch a cold.

You are responsible for this teams emotional and physical well being, their development, their career path, their problems, fears, foibles, inadequacies and to top it all you need to do your job as well.

You need to be many things, a motivator, leader, shoulder to cry on, politician, protector, saviour, fair judge, innovator & creative dynamo. Can you remain calm in any situation, deal with the fights (there are always fights wherever people get together), handle the irate screaming customer who was told this morning the out of stock item was definitely in stock, take in the container delivery yourself and preserve the customer shopping experience with 3 people off sick, queue manage when the tills all switch off on a busy Saturday afternoon, explain to the customer who has just driven 60 miles to pick up a special request item that was meant to arrive yesterday (yes it is still in the depot 300 miles away and won’t be in for another 2 days, explain to a till operator that you fully

fears, foibles, inadequacies and to top it all you need to do your job as well.

You need to be many things, a motivator, leader, shoulder to cry on, politician, protector, saviour, fair judge, innovator & creative dynamo. Can you remain calm in any situation, deal with the fights (there are always fights wherever people get together), handle the irate screaming customer who was told this morning the out of stock item was definitely in stock, take in the container delivery yourself and preserve the customer shopping experience with 3 people off sick, queue manage when the tills all switch off on a busy Saturday afternoon, explain to the customer who has just driven 60 miles to pick up a special request item that was meant to arrive yesterday (yes it is still in the depot 300 miles away and won’t be in for another 2 days, explain to a till operator that you fully understand her desire to go home on time but you really need her to stay on another 3 hours while you cover absence.

How many of these scenarios do you recognise, they all happen, not all at the same time, but from time to time you need to wear a different hat, you will wear many different ones and they all need to fit pretty well?

Independent retail is a hard game, and we know it, I suffered from the feeling of inadequacy and not being a proper retail manager because I never had a M&S, River Island or Arcadia Background, that somehow all my years of experience managing people, buying ranges, phasing product in/out, putting stores into sale, increasing margin, finding brands, dropping brands at the right time all counted for nothing.

What I needed I believed was ‘blue chip experience’, the holy grail of retail, that by getting this ‘blue chip experience’ I would be a proper retailer, would be saved from the fate of working for an independent, could hold up my head with the best Sainsbury’s & Tesco had to offer.

For my experience I picked the daddy of the flat pack world, the big blue shed, the temple of IKEA where turnover in stores can top ?100 million. The world's biggest furniture retailer, started with Ingvar Kamprad vision from his farm in Sweden Elmtaryd and town of Almhult, he built a behemoth with simplistic ideals that still hold true today, a desire to offer affordable designed products to all the people, and yes I am a convert to the cult of IKEA.

The question is did IKEA make me a better retailer, in short yes, it also made me a better manager, I had the good fortune of working with the best management team in the UK, my boss was a hard task master but I now realise that Ruth Huxley was the best manager I ever worked under, Ruth had great vision, she lived the IKEA ethos and preached it to all, even the store manager you had lost it along the way. Years after leaving IKEA I still regret not having Ruth as a mentor, even though I never listened to her, bemoaned her interfering, felt outrage at my lack of promotion she never put a square peg in a round hole, always talked sense and always knew what was right for me even when I didn’t, I became the person I am after a few great years at IKEA, may their alan keys never get lost.