i-brand e-bulletin: March/April 2007

name: Malcolm Harding

position or title: Managing Director

company: Furniture File Ltd

website: www.furniturefile.co.uk

location: London

What has been your most valued professional achievement?

Restructuring my business so I could run it remotely from my house in Barbados where I have spent the last two years with my family.

Name the five most distinctive characteristics or attributes that have helped you to achieve your success:

• Determination - when I get the bit between my teeth...
• Ability to take risks and hold my nerve
• Dedication - willingness to see a job through
• Desire to succeed at what I do
• Able to balance work, family and play

What makes your business distinctive?

• We introduced real choice into the contract furniture market. Furniture File was the first genuine 'one-stop shop' for contract interiors
• We are all very knowledgeable about furniture and able to offer sound impartial advice.
• We listen to and understand our client's requirements and use our experience to source and propose furniture that answers their aesthetic, budgetary and performance criteria
• We are accessible and have a passion for furniture and interiors

What key skills have helped 'you' your Personal Brand become distinctive?

• Able to multi-task but focus on the specifics
• Good listener - able to find solutions and resolve issues
• Creative and practical with empathy for interior design
• Passionate about good design - enjoy what I do

Where do you look for inspiration?

I read extensively and love history and biographies. I find inspiration in business pioneers like the East India Company, in innovative designers like the Bauhaus movement and in design, art and architecture generally.

When the going gets tough what helps you through?

Drinking a bottle of good wine with my wife. Going for a run. Listening to Mozart or AC/DC live. Watching my kids laughing. Walking along the beach.

Advice you'd wished you'd had when starting out?

• Develop an exit strategy, particularly with regard to partnerships
• Don't waste time talking to banks
• Concentrate on what you are good at. Outsource the rest.

Most Valued Brand?

Apple. By combining cutting edge technology with super slick design they have created pure emotion. People don't just buy their kit they want to be a part of the Apple culture. People fall in love with their products.

Most inspirational famous Personal Brand or Celebrity Brand?

Philippe Starck. He's a funky innovator that has designed and delivered for over forty years. He has given furniture and product design a welcome shot in the arm and is still able to surprise.

Rules of Management: The Definitive Guide to Managerial Success (Paperback) by Richard Templar (Author)

brief synopsis
If you have recently been promoted to a management position and are finding yourself a little overwhelmed by the new problems, politics, people issues, work overload and demands, Rules of Management will give you rules on how you relate to people and how you conduct yourself. This book is filled with light-hearted yet practical advice, examples, workable hints and tips to make your managerial life easier to deal with.

buy now

All the answers you want to know on how you can make networking work for you.

name: Helen Mitchell
company: Parallel Media Group
role: Business Development Manager

How would you define the term 'networking'? What does it mean to you?

1. What is your business; What/Who are you selling, why? Be able to define this in one sentence

2. You need to be clear in your mind what it is you want to gain from the Event/Function you are attending.

- gather as much information about the event/function, like whose business is it and who will be attending and the type of business attendees are in

- relevant attendees: make them a project and research what is it they do. Know your target audience

3. Be yourself and clear about your 'worth'

How would you define the term 'networking'? What does it mean to you?

Personally, networking is about building, creating and expanding relationships which can assist you in developing your goals and aspirations... be it in business or socially.