Author: Martin Port

Kevin Keegan OBE relives Leeds United memories

Kevin Kegan OBE, talking about his history in football
Posted on by Martin Port

BigChange ambassador Kevin Keegan OBE has many great memories of Elland Road from his career playing for and managing top-flight football teams.

In May 2021, he returned to the home of Leeds United FC for an online event sharing the leadership lessons he learnt from the beautiful game with BigChange customers.

Stuart Dodsley, Head of Commercial at Leeds United, gave Kevin and BigChange CEO Martin Port a tour of the iconic stadium. (During the tour) Kevin told tales from the tunnel, reflected on stand-out games and discussed his time playing for, and against, the formidable Don Revie.

Read the video transcript below

Kevin Keegan OBE (KK): When I come here it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because of so many great memories. 

When you looked at the Leeds side, it was just full of international class players. I always used to think, you know, this is going to be the toughest game of the season. Whether it was Reaney, Cooper, Yorath, they were all such good players. 

[In the tunnel] I was always looking to see where Norman was, and whether he’d got big studs on, ready to sort me out. 

Stuart Dodsley (SD): Did you come out together or separately? 

KK: We came out separately in those days, so we didn’t have that confrontation luckily. 

Martin Port (MP): [Pointing to pitch-side advertising boards] Our advert appears, I think at three minutes thirty. Does it put the players off you think? 

KK: I don’t think that one does, but there is one where the dog runs around – you think ‘there’s a dog run on the pitch’. 

SD: So you’ve got your Leeds United Roll of Honour here. Perhaps the disappointing thing is it’s down to you some of this! 

KK: This was my first year, 70-71, and this is when I got sent off with Billy Bremner. So just take that out of there [pointing to ‘1974 FA Charity Shield’], we’ll just cover that up. 

[Pitch-side] That’s the biggest difference. We’d never play on a pitch like this even at the start of the season. 

SD: Elland Road here, fans are close to the pitch, they create their own unique atmosphere. There’s a reason England chose here to come, to play before the last World Cup. 

KK: Most grounds you come out the middle, there’s a couple you come out the corners, but Leeds is off-centre isn’t it. 

[In the dressing room] The whole squad would’ve fitted in here. The whole training squad when Don Revie was manager. [To Stuart] Is this the home one then? I bet the away one isn’t as good?

SD: No it’s a bit tighter (Both laugh). 

KK: My dad used to come and watch me when I played at Leeds because he only lived up the road at Doncaster. 

The thing that really gets me is if I start to look at the names on the stands. Don Revie, who was my manager with England, he was the biggest enemy in the world when we played Leeds. But when I got to know him, one of the really great people I met in my life. 

You know, the scouts from Leeds came to watch me play and I thought ‘Wow, that would be some move for me, because obviously I’m from Doncaster, I’m a yorkshireman, but it never happened. So I had to play against them, which was fantastic. 

[Pointing to the 60s period on the Honour Roll] Don Revie was here wasn’t he when they were just a fantastic side. That’s the sort of standard they’re trying to live up to now right. 

In the next 10 years it could be Leeds, Liverpool, you know, as dominant forces in the country. 

MP: You made our youth enjoyable. 

KK: What even scoring the goals against Leeds? You seen how many goals I scored against Leeds? (laughs)

MP: No, Bremmner and Keegan in our garden, it was the best. 

KK: Who was Bremmner? MP: Not me. (Both laugh).

What is a business without vision?

CEO Blog business without vision
Posted on by Martin Port

Without a visionary at the helm, a business cannot succeed. It may have the best product in the world and the best team in place but without somebody in the hot seat driving the strategy and setting goals, it will stagnate and ultimately fail.

You’ve probably heard it said 100 times but it bears repeating: if a business isn’t growing, it’s going backwards. 

I was reminded of this yesterday when I watched a video with Simon Sinek, the leadership expert and author https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN9hIg-_Mhw. He said, “I don’t like the term CEO. Everyone else in the C-suite has their job in their title. CFO. CMO. COO. CTO. We know exactly what you do. It’s in the title. What’s the CEO? What does an Executive Officer do? It’s not a well-defined title. We need to change the title to Chief Vision Officer. Someone who owns the vision.” 

I have always found that describing myself as “Founder and CEO of BigChange” never truly explained my role here. Yes, I started the business but anyone can start a business. You just fill out a form in Companies House and – hey presto! – you have a company. Yes, I’m the CEO – but, as Simon so deftly put it, what does a Chief Executive actually do? 

The thing that sets me apart is that when I launched the business eight years ago, I had a vision for where this business could go. Crucially, I understand our customer: what they want, what they need, and what they expect from a technology partner. When I’m talking to a customer, sometimes I even know what they are going to say before they open their mouth. That’s how embedded in this industry I am. I have total empathy with the people in the market we are trying to serve. 

This customer intimacy helps me to create goals for the business that are ambitious yet actionable. I know that my customers aren’t asking for anything complicated. They just want reliable technology that makes their business more efficient and lets them grow sustainably, year after year. They don’t mind paying for the product, as long as it does what they need it to. That is my great strength. 

I am the visionary driving BigChange forward to meet each new milestone. Yes, I have a brilliant team that comes to work and executes every single day. They do their jobs far better than I ever could – I am humbled by the talent we have in this company. But no one else can do exactly what I do. When I say that I want to make BigChange the market leader in every territory that we operate in, I say it knowing exactly how we’ll get there. I don’t have my head down, trying to get to next month’s target or hit next year’s numbers. I’m thinking five years – even 10 years – into the future. That’s my job and the role of the visionary. 

My relentless focus on the customer means that when I say I want to be the market leader, I don’t just mean the de facto leader because of the number of users and businesses on our books, I mean the leader in terms of the positive impact we make on our customers’ success. Growth for growth’s sake is not the goal. It’s about the transformative effect BigChange can have on the whole ecosystem – the companies run by people who are not so different from me. They want to grow, they want to provide stable livelihoods for their employees, they want to solve a problem well and do it better than anyone else in their industry. I am my own target customer. I know how to humanise our technology so it’s not baffling or overwhelming.  

I know that I am doing my job well because of the customer testimonials that come in each and every day. “Our business wouldn’t survive without BigChange.” “We couldn’t grow without BigChange.” Without my vision for this business, and the values I have put in place to underpin that vision, there’s no way we could be creating this kind of impact.  

I’m not saying all this to blow my own trumpet. I’m saying this because there is a big difference between a visionary and an operative. As Simon says in his video, the two mindsets complement each other. They cannot succeed without each other. What is a visionary leader without a great Chief Financial Officer or a skilled Chief Technology Officer? They would have vision and nothing else. But the operative simply cannot do the job of the visionary. They have their heads down while we leaders have our heads up, and our gaze focused at a point on the far distant horizon.  

So this is why I am changing my job title. From today onwards, I’m no longer Founder and CEO. I’m the Founder, CEO and Chief Vision Officer. 

Good idea for improving BigChange tech? Make it a reality with the Ideas Portal

BigChange Ideas
Posted on by Martin Port

Introducing a new space for you to suggest and share ideas about how to improve the BigChange system 

BigChange has always aimed to understand the day-to-day challenges faced by mobile workforces, and to develop the solutions that help. 

It knows that mobile workers using the system in the field every day have a great understanding of where improvements can be made. 

The BigChange Ideas Portal is the latest way of letting users get those suggestions heard. 

Users can find the Portal by clicking on ‘Suggestion’ in the Roadcrew tab of the BigChange system. Once there, you can sort ideas by Trending, Most popular or New – or suggest an idea of your own. 

To make a suggestion, just click ‘Add a new idea’. 

Try to explain your development suggestion as clearly and concisely as possible. Other users will need to easily see the benefit to them for your idea to gain traction. To help, we have shared a template: 

As a [your role], I want to [the problem that you face], so I can [the benefit you hope to achieve].

The Portal includes a voting feature, so you can boost awareness of the ideas you feel would help most. You can also subscribe to an idea you want to stay updated on. 

For example, BigChange chose the most popular idea – “Make different job types show as different colours in the schedule” – to develop, and informed users when it was implemented earlier this month. 

Product Director Jonathan Isaacs said:

“For BigChange, it allows us to make better-informed decisions and pursue developments that matter most to our users, for customers, it lets them know their ideas are being heard and acted on. Users can give input on what they would like to see from BigChange, and crucially, receive notifications that let them know we’re listening.”

Footballer Clarke Carlisle tells us ‘It’s OK to talk’ on Motivational Monday

Clarke & Carrie its ok to talk
Posted on by Martin Port

“For 21 years, I’ve been living with depression. For 15 of those, I didn’t even know,” said former professional footballer Clarke Carlisle at the start of this month’s Motivational Monday. 

Clarke is a former top-level footballer, straight-A GCSE student, defender for England Under-21s, and chairman of the Professional Footballers Association. He is also a survivor of five suicide attempts – and he has devoted his post-playing years to helping others thrive and avoid the darkness that at times enveloped him.

His story is one of transforming your life by having the courage to ask for help. 

Two pieces of advice for people who think they’re suffering – or think they know someone who is – shone through. 

Clarke Said:

“Do you think about your thinking? Thoughts aren’t facts, they’re intrusive, they come in, and then it’s up to you how you connect with it. And think about if you need to share it. Men aren’t great communicators, but for 15 years my actions were screaming for support, before judging someone’s behaviours, think ‘is there something this person needs help with and can I help?” 

Clarke stressed the importance of talking about mental health and breaking down stigmas – drawing on his personal experience of burying your depression. 

His issues in facing up to his mental health started with a stoic, disciplinarian father and a mother with a stiff upper lip,

“What goes on behind this front door stays behind this front door,”

Clarke recalls them saying. 

As a member of an interracial family in 70s Britain, he was told early and often that,

“You have to be better than everyone else, to be seen as equal to everyone else.” 

He took this advice to heart, leaving school as a straight-A student and landing a spot in the Blackpool first-team at 16. 

A poor debut left him questioning if he was good enough, but scoring a 91st-minute winner in his first home match suggested he was.  

After several successful seasons, multiple man-of-the-match awards, and a call up for the England Under-21’s, a serious injury put him out for the season and left his footballing future at risk. That’s when the depression crept in. 

A lack of awareness about depression meant Clarke tackled the symptoms of his illness instead of the real issue. Even after the first of his five suicide attempts.

“My depression would manifest in crazy outbursts, binging and dangerous behaviour. At first I thought it was the drink, so I went to rehab. Afterwards, I was still staying in bed for 2-3 days, dodging work and family. I thought I was an idiot who couldn’t make responsible decisions.” 

That wasn’t true. Clarke became Chair of the PFA in 2010, became the first footballer to appear on Question Time, and commentated on the 2014 World Cup Finals. 

“Despite that every two or three months I was exploding into these behaviours. Anytime I felt my career was threatened, or my identity was questioned, my brain automatically connected it to that first suicide attempt. These behaviours were the uneducated mind trying to cope by oblivion and avoidance.”

Throughout his successful career, Clarke was often caught up by these dark thoughts. “It became my truth,” he said. “Because I didn’t share it with anyone it went round and round my head.”

Clarke was diagnosed with recurring, complex depressive disorder. This was the first step in understanding his illness and starting to heal. His wife Carrie joined Clarke to talk about how mental health affects the whole family, and about their shared recovery journey. 

“Clarke had been in that pit of despair for 20 years,” Carrie said:

“He’d climb out occasionally but it would suck him back in because he didn’t change his behaviours, change his beliefs, and he didn’t get professional guidance.” 

In 2017, Clarke went into psychiatric care. Carrie remembers how,

“it took him only 23 days, resting, eating, being diagnosed by professionals and treated properly for him to be well enough to come home”.

Understanding his illness, speaking out about his problems and finding help from the right professionals all helped Clarke’s recovery. He urged anyone who felt similar to do the same. 

His message couldn’t come at a more pressing time. He said:

“Not all depression is trauma-based,” he said. “We’re only just learning about how it can be passed through genes, but it can even come about after a period of sustained stress and pressure. How long is that period? Six weeks. And we’ve spent the last 15 months in a pandemic.”

Clarke and Carrie were joined by Leon McQuade from Andy’s Man Club, a mental-health charity dedicated to getting men talking about their problems. He cited the terrible statistic that every two hours a man takes his life in the UK, but said how change is coming as more men speak up honestly about their experiences. 

The charity runs 50 clubs across the UK, creating safe, attentive spaces for men to open up about their struggles. Its awareness campaign epitomises the biggest takeaway from this month’s Motivational Monday – ‘It’s OK to talk’. 

Next month we’ll be joined by the TV presenter and Invictus Games medallist JJ Chalmers. Our charity partner will be Help for Heroes, of which JJ is a patron. we hope you can join us then, you can register here: http://bigchan.ge/MM-JJ-Chalmers.

The first 100 days

BigChange outstanding to work for 2021
Posted on by Martin Port

Four months ago, Joe Biden was inaugurated, becoming the 46th President of the United States. At the same time, I was preparing to announce an American triumph of my own. 100 days ago, the US investor Great Hill Partners came on board, pledging both capital and expertise to help BigChange supercharge growth and reach new markets around the world.

It is said that the first 100 days of a presidency sets the tone for the entire term in office. So how has BigChange fared since the formation of its new partnership? 

Here are the highlights: 

Still the best company to work for

Few accolades mean as much to me as the Best Companies 2 star award. It recognises outstanding employee engagement, and has become the absolute industry standard. Achieving this accolade again means the world to all of us on the management team here. We know that BigChange would be nowhere without the extraordinary team who go the extra mile every single day, so I am proud and humbled that they love working here.

We’re on a mission

One of our first tasks after the investment by Great Hill Partners (GHP) was to review our purpose and mission. A lot of time and energy went into this process as it lays the foundation for the next phase of our growth. Some of our values and mission have remained constant since the beginning: to make our customers more successful, to raise the bar every day. But we have also put a renewed focus on sustainability. Our platform helps customers to slash their carbon emissions, reducing paperwork dramatically and helping drivers spend much less time on the road. This is now written large in our purpose, alongside new and important values such as building an inclusive and diverse company. 

Gearing up

A few weeks ago, I posted about how OKRs contributed to Google’s runaway success https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/goal-setting-strategy-took-google-1trillion-martin-port . Objectives and Key Results is a tried-and-tested management methodology for measuring and monitoring your company’s progress when you have big and exciting goals in sight. I’m glad to say that our OKR strategy is now up and running. We are now on a growth journey that I believe will take us from a valuation of £100m to £1bn. OKRs will be a vital part of this strategy, keeping us all engaged and focused on the next milestone. 

Wider share ownership

I’m passionate about employee ownership. I believe it is the best way to create and maintain an engaged, passionate team. GHP believed in my vision to make every colleague here a shareholder or have a loyalty bonus. Right now, every member of the team who joined before February is part of these schemes, and is right here with me on this growth journey, knowing they will share in our successes. It’s an exhilarating time for us all. 

A few new faces

The pandemic may have made hiring a little more complicated but our brilliant HR team and managers have successfully brought on 30 brilliant new starters over the past three months. And we‘re still hiring! We have also made some senior appointments that give us a real edge in this marketplace. People like our new chairman Richard Warley and new chief marketing officer Nick Gregory will help us dramatically accelerate our growth over the coming years. 

Investing in the next phase

So, how has GHP’s investment been deployed? The big focus is on Product Development and we have earmarked £5m to spend on innovation across our whole technology stack. The team here are already working on new features – I hope to be able to share more on that soon. We are also now officially on the acquisition trail and are actively looking for complementary companies in the US and in Europe too.   

Giving back

One of the best things about success is that it gives you the ability to help others. Ever since the launch of BigChange, we have consistently supported great charities and causes – this was true of my last business too. So, we haven’t let the excitement of the last 100 days distract us from giving, and we have helped four charities during that time, including the mental health charity Mind and Friends of Alfie Martin, which supports the neonatal units at St James Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary.  

Writing this has given me a chance to reflect on what we have achieved in a short period of time. I really do hope that the past 100 days define our new partnership with GHP; I can’t wait to see what the future has in store. 

Racing driver Nic Hamilton hopes to ‘help and inspire’ thousands of school students with inspirational story

Nic Hamilton, BigChange
Posted on by Martin Port

Nic Hamilton, the British racing driver who overcame cerebral palsy to compete in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), is sharing his story with thousands of young people at schools across the North of England to help them develop new skills and a positive mindset.

Continue reading “Racing driver Nic Hamilton hopes to ‘help and inspire’ thousands of school students with inspirational story”

Why Nic Hamilton?

Nic Hamilton and his brother Lewis Hamilton
Posted on by Martin Port

Back in 2017, a young man arrived at the BigChange office in Leeds to give a Motivational Monday talk.

He wowed the team here with his story. Born with cerebral palsy, his parents were told he would never walk. But, even as a young boy, he displayed the resilience that marks him out as an exceptional human being. He went to a school for the able-bodied, and worked hard every day to manage his condition so that he could walk alongside his peers. 

When he got to secondary school, he had to carry a heavy school bag, and found himself struggling to keep up with classmates who ran between lessons, so he decided to try a wheelchair. 

Four years later, the muscles in his legs had wasted away and he was no longer able to walk. But he refused to give up. He taught himself to walk all over again, putting himself through a gruelling regime of stretches and exercises. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to stay inside stretching at break times while his friends had fun and chatted outside.  

All of this alone is enough to showcase this man’s indomitable spirit. But his story didn’t end there. 

Nic Hamilton has gone on to follow his brother Lewis into the world of racing. He has never let his condition stand in his way, and has competed in some of the industry’s most prestigious events, including the Renault Clio Cup series. He has to work harder than any other driver in the sport – a simple acceleration or use of the brake can cause him immense discomfort. “I think of myself as a Paralympian competing in the Olympics,” he once told me. “There is no one else like me in this sport, doing what I’m doing.” 

That chance meeting, four years ago, was the beginning of an amazing relationship between Nic and BigChange. I am proud to say Nic is now an ambassador for the business, and still engages with the team here on topics like resilience and the power of never giving up. He also goes out into the community and talks about our shared values: our commitment to road safety, the importance of building an inclusive society, and our passion for making a big change in the world. 

I wanted to talk about Nic today because I think that his story has never been more relevant and important. Many young people are feeling disenfranchised as a result of the global health crisis. Nic is an example of what can be achieved when you keep the faith and never give up. He wasn’t born into privilege: both he and Lewis are self-made men, who have worked hard to get where they are today. At BigChange, we prize that spirit and determination very highly.  

As a CEO, I think about the purpose behind this business every single day. I know that when people meet Nic, and hear about his extraordinary life, they will know exactly what we stand for as a company. As a Board Member of Business In The Community, I was delighted when Nic agreed to give a talk for the charity at a school in Bradford, in partnership with the Prince’s Trust. The kids were blown away by his strength, authenticity and humour.  

Nic has all the qualities I admire. At BigChange, we want to support the doers, give equal opportunities to all, reward hard work, consistently strive to be at the top of our game, and try and make the world a better and fairer place any way that we can. 

We recently pledged to continue supporting Nic’s career and upcoming races; it has been thrilling to see him compete in recent years. It has been an absolute privilege to be involved in his journey in some small way, and to watch his career unfold. I know that great things lie in store for Nic and I just wanted to express my gratitude to him for a wonderful partnership. Thanks, Nic. You are the best.