The Gospel according to Glen Manchester

Last Thursday night, 500 people gathered to celebrate the UK Growing Business Awards.    I was asked to present the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the man who won it was Glen Manchester, the founder and CEO of Thunderhead.

Manchester has charmingly forgotten to do his own PR despite exceptional achievements.    People do not forget to do their own PR in my country, so I find this rather sweet.    In accepting the award, he relayed what I’m going to call “The Gospel according to Glen”.     He spoke of building his technology for 3 years in the last downturn with his own money, and being delighted when it worked.   Then wondered if anything could be better than that and was delighted again to say –yes, getting a customer was even better.   And then what could be better than that – getting paid.   And finally, what could be better than that – making a profit.  

The elegant simplicity of this forms a nice contrast to the complex doom and gloom of the moment.   There you have it – the UK’s leading entrepreneur says that the secret to his success is building things that work, finding customers, getting them to pay and making a profit.    He didn’t need to go to business school to learn that, or hire consultants – he thought it up all on his own.

I would put to you, dear reader, that complexity is “out”, and simplicity is “in”.

Thunderhead papers up all of the transactions of larger enterprises; they are in global expansion mode.    I sensed, listening to Glen, at the awards podium, that he saw his success in his mind’s eye long before he achieved the Entrepreneur of the Year award.   It’s been a long journey, but he always knew he would arrive.   A champion is an extraordinary thing to behold.    The years of training, the discipline, the warrior drive and the ability to think clearly under pressure are etched in their face.

As he spoke, he almost seemed to be embracing the recession claiming it was giving him an opportunity to show what he could do.   He seemed to be saying – bring it on; don’t keep the pressure away - we can handle it.   We will thrive on the pressure.    We have been waiting for this moment in fact.     

I realised I would stay in the UK forever when I started reaching for my Spectator before The Economist on the weekends instead the reverse order.   But actually I think it is more the pleasure of seeing people like Glen succeed which keeps me seduced by the UK.    The talent without the overt ego – so charming, so British.    

Embrace the Gospel according to Glen.    You might find yourself getting a bit evangelical about it.