The membership based PLC meets informally in central Edinburgh on the first Thursday and Glasgow on the third Thursday of every month to share views, exchange information, build high level relationships, discuss current business issues and hear a well-respected Scottish business figure who have included, Bill Jameson, executive editor of The Scotsman, Nick Price, CEO of growing Edinburgh based, global HR recruitment organisation Bright Purple, renowned businessman Sir Andrew Cubie and Charan Gill MBE, the well-known restaurateur entrepreneur and Scotland’s renowned ‘Curry King’.

Sue Bruce has worked in local government for more than 30 years, beginning her career in the education field. She was appointed to the Director role in East Dunbartonshire covering Education, Social Work, Housing and Cultural Services in 2000 and then Chief Executive in 2004.

Sue then took up post as Chief Executive of Aberdeen City Council in December 2008 and was appointed to the top position at City of Edinburgh Council in 2010.

As Chief Executive for the City of Edinburgh Council, she is responsible for managing the second largest council in Scotland and the eighth largest unitary council in the United Kingdom.

She is accountable for the work of over 17,000 paid staff of the Council, who run the local authority on a day to day basis, and a budget of nearly a billion pounds.

Gordon Dow, CEO of PLC commented;

“We are delighted that Sue Bruce has agreed to be our keynote speaker on July 5th and this underlines the PLC’s determination to remain on track to become the most dynamic and innovative professional business club in Scotland.

We have a great bunch of sponsors such as HSBC Bank and legal firms Simpson & Marwick and Brechin Tindal Oatts, involved in the PLC and this coupled with our engaging list of speakers of such high calibre and stature sends out a strong signal to businesses and organisations throughout the central belt that, we are the business club of choice for Scotland’s corporate elite.”

Power Lunch Club also operates in Glasgow and next year will embark on an ambitious growth with a number of PLC events in Stirling, Perth and Aberdeen already earmarked.

Ends

For further information, please contact – Gordon Dow, Power Lunch Club on 079800 31730

Press Enquiries: Kevin Dorrian at Acumen on 0131 661 7027 or email kevin.dorrian@acumen-pr.com. URL www.acumen-pr.com

My Experience:

Take an MA in logic and metaphysics. Add in 30 years in PR and journalism. Stir in several major banks and several household names. Spice up with the launch of the world’s first online bank in 1985 (I have been online ever since).  Simmer gently for nearly 10 year in journalism for the Sunday Times, CA and IPC magazines, plus edited various business publications. Spice it up with training 1,000s of small business owners in publicity and a best-selling book: DIY PR (pub Batsford) based on that experience. Add a sprinkling of creativity from a career that started in the arts and over 10 years voluntary service on the Arts and Business Scotland Board-bank plus a serious interest in writing and photography. Serve up a well-seasoned PR and marketing professional that is comfortable working with PLCs and ambitious start-ups, generating results online and in the media.

What Drives Me:

Helping clients raise their profile, gain an edge over competitors online and in the media, to create jobs and make a difference.

What Inspires Me:

Being privileged to work with positive people and get results. Plus opening small business owners’ eyes to getting more results with less effort. We have recently started piloting Publicity Clubs: shared-cost publicity support for small business owners.

What is it we do for our clients:

PHPR is an award-winning public relations consultancy that delivers results: locally, nationally and internationally. Tell us where you want to go, who you need to reach, and the messages you have to get out there, and we’ll use a mix 30+ years’ experience and contacts to match your aims with the most efficient routes to market: online and offline.

We also green your supply chain, having been cited for “exceptional environmental performance” as a finalist in Scotland’s top green awards for business: VIBES.

Married to the broadcaster, David Calder, some say I took media relations to extremes! We run media and crisis management training together and offer a combined online video and marketing service for professionals and B2B companies.

Background:

PHPR is effective because we have a huge investment in training, resources and contacts.  We spend up to a third of our working lives in research, learning and networking, so that we bring the best tools and contacts to bear: on and offline.

We are one of the few Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ elite accredited practitioners.

bio to follow

www.businessmasterminds.co.uk

Bio to follow

http://www.alexandersloan.co.uk

(The Power Lunch Club is proud to support the Bright Purple Futures Programme, and here is a blog written by one Thomas Wilson, one of the apprentices who attended a recent PLC event as one of our guests).

Along with my fellow apprentice Deonne and our HR Officer Diana Plesniak, we were given the wonderful opportunity to attend the Power Lunch Club in Edinburgh on the 3^rd of May.

When we arrived I was very apprehensive at first, it was my first time at a networking event and everyone attending is a senior in business, but those fears were quickly driven out of my mind when Gordon Dow, the MD of the club greeted us. Gordon was very good with us, he made us feel extremely important and was introducing us to several senior people and that built my confidence up, as everyone seemed very keen to speak with us.

The speaker for the day was Richard Marsham, who is head of the Leith Agency. It was a very interesting presentation and some of the adverts that Richard talked and showed us were also interesting as I had seen them on the television.

The television advert up first was the IRN-BRU advert when the snowman and the boy are flying in the air, when Richard spoke about that I was gobsmacked because I never thought for a second that it would have been created in Leith of all places!

Another advert that I really enjoyed was a Knife Crime advert. I thought this was a fantastic idea, Richard had a video of the making of the advert and it must have took weeks to create, as it was graffiti sprayed on a wall and it was moving across the wall as if it were people. I think it was a great way to engage with the sorts of people who would be thinking about carrying a knife. It makes people relate with the advert, as a lot of people in these circumstances will have most probably been involved with graffiti. A fantastic quote from the advert was “No Knives, Better Lives”

Once Richard had stopped presenting and answering the questions put to him, Gordon Dow then took to the stage. He was speaking about how our CEO Nick Price will be speaking at the next Power Lunch session and Gordon then introduced Deonne and I to the audience by making us stand up! But not to worry as I have been made to stand up in front of a group of people I didn’t know previously, because Nick made us do a Mexican Wave in front of the whole company on our very first day of starting our apprenticeships and that broke the ice, so this didn’t seem that daunting either!

Then it was time to network and have a spot of lunch and I spoke to several people who are from very interesting backgrounds and they seemed to be really interested in what we are doing here at Bright Purple.

But the most interesting person I spoke to was Mark Beaumont. Mark is a record breaking round the world cyclist. Gordon introduced us to him and I was actually nervous, but I had several questions running through my head to ask him. But Mark got the first words in and he was very interested in what we were doing and had several questions he wanted to ask us. Mark was actually leaving as he had somewhere else to attend and Deonne actually ran after him and asked for his autograph – autograph hunting at a business networking lunch, what next? All in all it is something I will never forget as he is an inspiration to many, including myself.

I know Gordon will be reading this, so Gordon thank you for providing Deonne and myself with such a fantastic opportunity to listen and learn in the company of senior business people.

To leave your comments, please click here

http://brightfuturesprogramme.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/the-3-ls-listening-learning-and-lunch/

The system is designed for use by any small business from accountants, to vets, to builders, to mechanics, to dentists, to IT support, to retail shops, to hairdressers.  Indeed the list is unlimited.

Members can access content to help with sales, marketing, systems, team and personal growth.  The content format is video, audio and document based with easy navigation across the sections.  Additionally, each site section has tried and proven examples which can be downloaded, personalised to the member’s business and used straightaway.

New members complete a roadmap questionnaire which produces a simple report and allows the user to navigate to the areas of the system where the right answers are waiting to be used.  For example if a business wants to grow its sales and turnover, there is a section on generating leads which includes tips, sample adverts that work, scripts for sales people to use and so on.

And to keep the momentum going, each member receives a video module and e-class module every week on a topic relevant to business growth.  Members can also join a live webinar weekly to discuss their needs and challenges with their business.  And if a member misses the webinar, it can be accessed and listened to later.

The Tannahill Partnership believes that the power of the system will not only help businesses grow and develop but, properly used, it will ensure businesses come out the other side of the recession stronger and fitter for the future.  Duncan Tannahill, founder of the Tannahill Partnership said: ‘This system is not for the faint hearted.  It is truly a tool to help businesses reach massive goals but only if they want to and have the guts to step up a gear or two.’

While the system is comprehensive, it may not be able to answer every question or challenge that a business owner faces.  So, a simple online ‘contact us’ section allows the member to pose their question which is then answered personally by email or phone.

New members choose from two sites.  One is focussed on typical small business growth needs and the second site is designed for businesses who want to grow their businesses on the internet. The sites do what it says on the tin and are called www.businessresultsachieved.com  and www.internetresultsachieved.com

Members joining either site are not locked in to long term contracts.  In fact, members trial the site for the first 30 days for free and then can opt out at any time without penalty.

Businesses wanting to find out more can take a guided tour of the system at www.businessresultsachieved.com/guidedtour

The Tannahill Partnership’s vision is to create sustainable prosperity and prevent business failure.  The expectation is that members using this new system will prevent them becoming part of the horrible statistic that states that only one in five new businesses every reach their 5th birthday and most small businesses never reach sales of £1.0m annually.

Ends

For media and further information please contact:

Duncan Tannahill at The Tannahill Partnership Ltd on 07725 044 061 or email duncan@tannahillpartnership.co.uk

The Tannahill Partnership Ltd was formed in 2005 by Duncan Tannahill to encourage and support growth in the SME sector.  Today the business operates across the UK and offers services to a range of companies, public bodies, charities and senior executives with the vision of creating sustainable prosperity and growth.

David Calder, MD at BITwebTV

David Calder, of BITwebTV, and Business Technology journalist for Caledonian Mercury, produced this video of Richard Marsham speaking on the 3rd of May at the Edinburgh Power Lunch Club, 

www.microsoft.co.uk

Along with Santa, turkey and good cheer, comes the telling that we need to be setting our goals (or making New Years Resolutions) for the incoming year. Well, that’s the message anyway! Yet statistics show that very few people actually do – only somewhere in the region of 4% of the population take the time to sit down and really think about what they want to achieve in their lifetime, and of those that do, few write it down.

This got me thinking about why the figure is so low and just what is it that stops people?

•  Is it the day to day activities we all must do just to reach the end of a day, leaving people too tired and listless to think about what they want out of life?
•  Or perhaps we really do not know what we want and the thought of choosing one thing is actually eliminating all the other stuff that could be available.
•  Or do we just slump in front of the TV  ignoring the immense potential of our own lives if we took charge of its direction?

I remember asking one man, “Where would you like you and your company to be in five years?” He looked at me, frowned and after a big sigh said,

 “In five years? I don’t know where I’ll be at five o’clock”

 The one thing for sure is that we all want to be happy; we just need to figure out what makes us so. If we think about being happy, what our ideal life would be like to achieve that state; we get an idea of what it will take to reach that ideal. By thinking about what we want in the future, we are able to make decisions easier in the present. Is this taking me towards or away from my aims and how can I track my progress? It becomes clear as we realise what we need to do to bring that ideal state into being.

I find it is sad to think most people won’t get round to deciding what they want out of life, leaving themselves living a half-life, frustrated, overwhelmed and without clarity and focus.

So what is a goal/resolution? It is evidence of your dream. Thinking about options and choices is the beginning of living that dream. It’s important to spend time fleshing out your goal, filling in as many details as possible, make it really live in your imagination.

Only then can we start the process of transferring it from our thought into a reality where it can be seen.

The wise Earl Nightingale said, “Success is the realisation of a worthy goal” and what makes it worthy is that it is aligned with what you value in life.

“We cannot do everything at once but we can do something at once”

Calvin Coolidge (30^th US President)

Everyone is individual and how we personally think and act can give us options on how we can take this forward. Some people like to write down their goals in their journal, I Believe that by committing your thoughts to paper it gives them more meaning in your head. Some people like to create a vision board; a collection of pictures of what they want to achieve. Others just want to write down what they want to do, to be and to have in their life.

Goals don’t always have to be material things like houses, boats and cars – they can be feelings too; of happiness, calm and peace. A good way to hold the imagine of the last thing that needs to happen for you to say, “Yes, I have achieved this” as a way to measure your success. Measurement is essential as it gives you a snapshot of where you are in relation to your goal and allows you to alter your path when you need to so you stay on course.

Here are some key questions to think about:

1. What do you want
2. When do you want it?
3. What makes it important for you to have this?
4. What are you willing to give up in order to achieve this?
5. How will you know when you have achieved this?

So now you are left with a choice!

1. Set aside some time to sit down, think about your future, write down the way you want it to be and then start working towards it. By doing this you become one of the few that takes control of their life, their work and their energy!

2. Do nothing, deal with what life throws at you and be prepared to help us four percent to reach our dreams instead.

I leave you with that choice and this quote!

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it!”

George Bernard Shaw

http://www.miworld.org.uk/

IT phone scams have been around for a number of years, but yet again today I received another call and thought it was worth sharing some advice with other members.

The scam works where the caller offers ‘computer support’ but in reality is setting out to defraud.

Last year alone the Metropolitan police closed down 19 websites that were believed to be scams – teams at Indian call centres were ringing computer users claiming to be from IT support companies. The users were then told there were problems with their computers, which could be fixed.

After being told to download a program that hands over remote control of their computer so the caller can install ‘fixes’, the PC users are told of a charge of up to £200 for subscription to ‘the preventative service.’ But in the majority of cases the ‘fixed’ computers never had any problems in the first place.

The reports of people being cold called and bullied on the phone are both widespread and troubling. There will never be a situation where a company will legitimately cold call you saying they have detected errors on your computer. If someone calls you unsolicited claiming to want to help you fix your computer, we offer the following advice:

• Be wary of unsolicited calls about security problems, even if they claim to be from a well-known company.
• Never provide credit card or bank details, to an unsolicited call.
• Do not go to a website, type anything into a computer, install software or follow any other instruction from someone who calls out of the blue.
• Make sure you have up to date virus protection and security for your PC

Cheers

Angus

Angus Kerr

Mob: 07920 746 224

Fax:  0871 714 3781

Customer Support:  0845 22 33 11 6

Web: www.pcsupportgroup.com

LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/pcsupportgroup