what’s worse than not getting a grant? – having to pay it back...

I've always held that grants are probably the riskiest type of money you can try and get – not just because of the time you need to spend researching and writing applications, then waiting for trustees to read your submissions, then responding to requests for more information, and eventually being awarded it (only to find that you can only spend it in certain ways), but for the reason that no-one ever tells you about: CLAW-BACK...

Within any grant awarded, you, the recipient, will sign an agreement and somewhere in the small print of it will be a clause that says if you fail to keep all the paperwork you’re supposed to, or don’t spend it on the things you said, or fail to engage with as many people as you thought you would, then you have to pay it back (after you've already spent it...)

And in my experience, advisors, grants officers and others will never stress upon you how real this risk is. And that’s a real concern as I know of several charities and groups over the years who've gone to the wall because they've been found wanting by the funder when it came time to file their reports and paperwork, and they've had to wind up in order to clear the arising debt.

From time to time, I'm invited to support various grant making programmes and initiatives – and I currently find myself having to serve notice on some local, fantastic groups who didn't keep their admin up to date and so now have to find a way to repay thousands of pounds. At its heartbreaking. So please, if you’re applying for grants – make sure you have proper admin systems in place to keep all the paperwork up to date that you’ll need as evidence for the funder. It may be glamorous or sexy or exciting, but it’ll mean you can keep meeting the needs in your community and stay credible in the eyes of everyone.

how ethical is your business advisor?

"my name is Adrian, and I've been a business advisor for about 15 years..." - sometimes I feel like I've a shameful secret about who I am that I can only be absolved of in a similar way to attending a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous...

And its nothing to do with me, but with those other guys - the small group of ill-informed advisors out there who through their practice end up causing more difficulty for the enterprises they're supposed to be supporting than they started with by directing them down paths that are wholly unsuitable or not making sure they've connecting them to sources of funding or further support that might be available to them.

And you won't always be able to spot them until its too late - because they look the part, they know the jargon and they exude a confidence that makes you feel you can't question their counsel. But you should - after all, its your enterprise, not theirs; you're the one who has to live with it while they can walk away; and what they think they know may not be appropriate for what you need to know.

If its starting to sound like getting a good business advisor is a bit of a lottery, take heart for there are some simple steps you can take to assure yourself that the person you've asked to walk alongside you does actually have your interests at heart (rather than their accountant friend who they're strongly encouraging you to sign a contract with...) -

• ask them for references: after all, if you were employing someone to do a job for you, you'd want to know that they've done good by others, right? And crying 'client confidentiality' really doesn't wash in these days of LinkedIn recommendations and testimonials...
• are they a member of a trade body? As a member of several myself, you can't get in without proving your merit, and if it starts to go badly between you, at least you have someone to complain to who can take actions against them (i.e. kicking them out of the club)
• finally, do they subscribe to a professional code of conduct? Codes of Conduct set out a transparent and ethical framework of what you should be able to expect of your advisor, and to which you can (and should) hold them. (the institute of consulting has a nice one for reference, but your advisor should be able to show you one which is relevant to your business type or market)

'but what about qualifications?' I hear you cry. Well, I'm afraid I don't see these as an indication that your advisor is any good at being able to support you, merely that they can pass some exams - after all, you may have got your Maths O-level or GCSEs, but how many of you could easily solve simultaneous equations now if I asked you? My experience is that while qualifications have a purpose, they're not the automatic assurance that you should be seeking;

after all, if your business is going to be ethical, shouldn't everyone else be who you invite to be involved with it..?

trains cause epic fail for Govt cycling initiative...

so - earlier this summer lots of people (including me!) got excited to hear about our Government wanting to encourage more of us onto our bicycles and investing nearly £80m to back up the rhetoric!

sadly, at the same time Northern Rail seem to be doubling their efforts to actively discourage cycling...

Anyone trying to board a Northern Rail service (at any time) with a bicycle will know how hit and miss it is as to whether there'll actually be a bike rack on a carriage, and if there is, if there'll be space to squeeze another frame in. But Northern seem to have now gone one better and seem to be actively discriminating against cyclists: they're about to close a tunnel for maintenance works for 5 months during the upcoming winter period, and during this time have arranged a replacement bus service between affected stations.

Now, any cyclist will know that replacement bus services can sometimes struggle with any passenger carrying more than a shoulder bag... so I made enquires at my local station office in Todmorden and was assured that pushchairs and wheelchair users would be accommodated, but that they were unsure about bicycles.

So, a few emails to Northern Rail customer services later, and I've been told that there will be no provision made for 'non-folding bicycles' - this means that if you're travelling by train with your bike, you'll need to cycle the 15 miles between stations yourself, in winter, and having done it myself (once!), you'll need to give yourself at least an extra hour and a half and be in really good shape to cope with the inclines...

Of course - the folding bicycles refer only to the brompton-style commuter bikes, and lovely as these are, not many people in the valleys have them as their wheels are too small to be able to cope with the hills in these parts.

So - for the next 5 months, I'll be forced to use a car for travel, as Northern Rail have failed to make provision for me as a passenger with a bicycle, while every other group of passenger will be catered for.

No wonder they've their own hashtag on twitter: #northernfail

why I helped to kill a C.I.C.

I've never made a secret of my personal views about the Community Interest Company legal form that was designed by the government to better support and encourage social enterprises - but I've also always been clear that if there's a clear advantage that it can offer to an enterprise based on their specific circumstances, then I'm happy to throw my weight behind them in making sure that they gain this status.

Over the years I've been asked on numerous occasions by CIC's how they might 'un-become' a CIC after its become apparent that they've incorporated with this form on the basis of poor or mis-informed advice. All have then come to realise that the hassle and implications to undoing this form outweigh the cost of their carrying on with it. All, that is, until recently when I was invited to formally meet with the Directors of a CIC to help them decide if they should dissolve it, after they felt that this status was hindering more that helping them.

It transpired that winding up the CIC was the best thing they could do - because having this status was actually damaging their potential to achieve their social goals: 

- partner organisations (including some statutory agencies) just didn't 'get it' so they were wasting time regularly educating different people in the same organisations as to what it meant to be a CIC, 

- the investors they were targeting didn't want to get involved because of the statutory caps that would limit their return to below market rates, 

- through customer dialogue it had been identified that all the contracts that they were winning were on the basis of the quality of their service and had nothing to do with their legal status or identity as a social enterprise,

- and perhaps most dangerous of all, there was a culture emerging of 'just doing enough' rather than striving for excellence as owing to those statutory caps and the asset lock, staff didn't feel motivated to take risks or put in the extra effort that can make or break a growing enterprise as there was no mechanism that would allow their 'sweat equity' to be rewarded at at future date...

So - the papers have now been signed and the process of dissolution is formally in motion. By the end of the month there'll be one less CIC on the register.

But why share this story of apparent failure in the otherwise rosy world of social enterprise? Because sometimes things go wrong because we're offered bad advice and guidance and don't always know how to spot it; because legal forms can sometimes put the success of an enterprise at risk through no fault of its own; but mainly because sometimes we need to be told its OK to feel that what everyone else is raving about as being brilliant isn't working for you.

the paradox of taking holidays and why tents need plug sockets...

So - its September and I missed sharing any insights or encouragements last month. Sorry about that, but I've a great excuse - you see, I was technically 'on holiday'!!

Holidays are a strange feature in the third sector - if asked, just about all of us would agree how important it is that people are supported, nurtured, encouraged, and that includes being well rested: taking holidays! But for those of us in formal leadership or senior management roles, lets face it: how easy is it really to be able to give ourselves those things that we're prioritising amongst the people we're supporting/working with/walking alongside?

Well, this year I was away for a whole week and 2 weekends (mixture of camp-site and a friends' cottage in the South Lake District) - may not sound much, but was the longest official break I've taken from being self-employed for about 3 years. But every day, I trekked about half a mile to be able to get a signal on my phone to get for any urgent messages or emails - and despite scheduling client projects and contracts so that nothing should suffer for my absence, there were 2 contract opportunities that arose that I've missed because I'd promised my family that I wouldn't be bringing work with me (and frankly, working on a camp-site can be a tad tricky with precious few plug sockets!).

But I'm back and feeling good for having been able to devote myself solely to my tribe for that time - sharing new adventures and (mainly) enjoying spending time together. The only downside has been knowing how hard it was to be able to schedule just a week, and then seeing the 'out of office' emails from others in public bodies and larger private companies, saying how they're away for up to 3 weeks!!

super-powers revealed!

so - thanks to all of you who answered my 'call' a few weeks back when I asked what my superpower is.

it was humbling in places to read what high esteem some of you hold me in (and comforting to know that there are some of you I can always rely on to make sure I keep my feet on the ground...)

I've copied all the responses below for reference (anonymised, naturally - got to protect those secret identities!), but what seems to be coming out of them is that my superpowers are:

1) the ability to take complex information and ideas and present them in ways that are easy to understand and relate to

2) connecting diverse and wide-ranging sources of information to help cut through issues quickly and concisely

thanks to you all for 'playing along'.

Adrian

• laser-beam analytical skills
• the ability to understand people/scenarios/language quickly (a hugely under rated talent IMO) and its obviously 'super' (difficult) because of the sector that you choose to ply your trade in, most social entrepreneurs have their own 'language' in my experiences to date !!
• When I ask you about something, you form a web of interconnections and links, allowing us to swing straight over ground which has been previously trodden, and avoiding existing pitfalls
• conviction. You always demonstrate a clear belief in what you are doing or saying
• vastly useful in-depth knowledge of charities, social enterprises, and co-operatives, and their role within our economy
• respond to a complex question in a factual and personable manner. I have seen you do this on several occasions, putting the questioner at ease with not only the response but also the manner of the reply
• Stats and normal distributions could b used to categorise you in the six parts per million category....... or even at one in a thousand that’s 99.9% of them not as good as you
• You are Hyper efficient, easy to reach, informative on most subjects and a jolly fellow to work with.  Why do I call you, because you are easy to speak to, a good listener and able to discuss through what are often tricky situations as well as offer advice.  You get things done quickly and are always willing to go beyond what is required of you to support me in my quests.  There!  Supportive, efficient, good communicator, get things done and never let me down
• Being able to translate strategic vision into something useful on the ground. 
• Insightful and being able to reference good practice and findings from the work you've been involved in and topics you've researched and reflected on over the years
• Being able to spot weaknesses/gaps and challenges in a proposal and make useful suggestions  
• Sensible but also entrepreneurial - a risk taker
• Honest, ethical and fair and challenging authority where necessary 
• translating legal structures and governance into something none legal people can understand 

Some people also likened me to:

• professor X
• the A team
• being a Babel fish (hitch-hikers guide)
• spider-man

secret super-powers...

we all have one - something we can do that others struggle to, and that people are in awe of us when we use it: a skill or ability that marks us out from the crowd, and is the thing that makes us special in the eyes of those we work with;

and I'm wondering what mine might be - don't get me wrong, I'm pretty clear about my various skills and abilities (just check out my 'modest' profile), but I'm not sure I'm that clear on which of them the people I walk alongside cherish and value the most;

I've therefore decided to ask. So - if you get a message from me in the next few weeks, this is your chance to tell me what you really think it is that I can do that's better than anyone else. 

And why am I doing this? Well, I'm curious, and its been a while since I did some good evaluation on myself other than taking recommendations on Linkedin (of which I seem to gathering quite a few!) and seeing people tweet about me occasionally. And because its only by better understanding how other see me that I can best strengthen and enhance myself against any future super-villains and their kyrptonite...