Frustrations, issues and challenges are faced in The Den at the Custard Factory

Last night we headed towards Birmingham City centre and attended a taster session meeting at the custard factory.

The meeting was being hosted by a newish group called ‘The Den’ and its aim being for its members to meet once a month and share the frustrations, issues and challenges they face, as they grow their business. They then provide each other with practical solutions and hold each other accountable for the actions that they plan to take.

It’s fair to say that a majority of those in attendance appeared to be either new or recent start up’s which is a good thing when you consider that the founder of ‘The Den’ Joel Graham-Blake is also Birmingham’s local champion for Start-Up Britain.

With some familiar faces in attendance such as Gary Lennon, Sue Cartwright, and Edward van der Kleijn.

Joel kicked off the meeting by explaining the methodology of ‘The Den’s’ purpose and how in a very short space of time (since April 2011) its target and purpose has moved from that of a traditional business networking meeting to one of purpose, education and insight.

As the purpose of the meeting was to act as a taster session the meeting was then handed over for some role play and team building, after which a coaching/mentoring type talk took place on how best to delve into your inner depths and ask yourself questions.

Not to go on too much about this particular meeting or its content. Because if you want to know more about it you’ll have to go and assess for yourself as the next taster session is on the 14th October. All we would say by going to such meetings is that it does raise certain questions regardless of whose meetings they are.

We have taken part in several team-building exercises over the years, and it’ always amazes us how when in a team, people get carried away with themselves to rule the roost. For an exact similarity to what we mean, compare those team-building exercises you see on ‘The Apprentice’ when no one in the team is listening to one another.

Well, it’s fair to say that last night the same scenario happened again, with members within the team saying they don’t understand the concept for the presentation talk, and others ignoring that fact and heading off at a rapid pace into the big blue yonder on a mission to say what they wanted to say regardless.

Don’t get us wrong, this is not said to criticise the task itself, but if the team members walk away from such an event and realise that they failed in becoming a team. Or failed to recognise that they were trying to hog the limelight, then is there a need for team building tasks other than to have a good old laugh at other people.

The coaching talk touched on marketing and networking, and in part, the two go hand in hand and can be joined together by being able to connect with other people with the use of a story “sell the story and not the product”.

Now being in marketing ourselves we know this, which is why we write these blogs as a record of what we do, whether we attend events and who we see there.

But you have to be careful, that any story you tell is not made up for a start, and perhaps more importantly that your story is not competing in the “my story is worst, better than your story stakes”.

It isn’t hard for anyone to know when a story is made up, or that when a story is moving away from a story to that of seeking sympathy.

Everyone has a personal story and believes us when we say that, some are far worse than others; they either chose not to tell or cannot bring themselves to relive the story. So on the selling of the story point, we’d always advise airing caution.

Team building at the lower end along with coaching and mentoring can all seem airy-fairy stuff, and to be brutally honest unless you’re open to listening and not so much of the thinking then it will serve you well. However, if you’re a thinker and strong-headed then perhaps you should do it all yourself and be quite clear that you have and know all the answers.