Why we need role models like Paul Lawrie?

The success of Team GB at the London Olympics highlighted values that we admire in sport – their commitment, professionalism and sportsmanlike conduct were lauded ahead of the more commonly seen excesses from selfish individuals more typically promoted by the media.

But we have role models outside the Olympians such as Scottish golfer, Paul Lawrie, who this week won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, making his 3rd European Tour victory in the last 18 months. But why should we consider that former Open Champion, Paul is a role model given that the sport he plays is considerably better rewarded than many of our Olympic competitors?

Paul Lawrie wins the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles by 4 shots

At 43, Lawrie is one of the oldest players on the European Tour and despite his Carnoustie win in 1999 and Ryder Cup performance in Brookline later that year, success in terms of tour wins has not always flowed freely, as the media have pointed out. But he has stuck with it and proved that hard work and determination do pay off, securing wins in Spain, Qatar and now Scotland alongside a clutch of top 5 finishes and re-gaining his place in the Ryder Cup 13 years after his first appearance.

Despite being one of a select few to win golf’s most treasured titles, Paul is a modest and grounded individual committed to his family and his local community. Based in his hometown of Aberdeen, he regularly speaks of his talented boys, the support of his wife Marian who accompanies him on both tour and fund-raising events for his foundation which he set up in 2001 to encourage young golfers to play to the best of their ability and have fun, and now supports football, curling, swimming and hockey.

It may not look like the week before Christmas 2009!

Paul Lawrie also has a great work ethic which makes him a pleasure to work with, whether it’s a photo-shoot on the shores of Aberdeen in a polo shirt at Christmas, or meeting sponsors and playing golf with guests. Regardless of his schedule, or current playing form he’s always amiable and got a story to hand to engage with people on the day which goes far beyond professional obligation.

Paul Lawrie wins the Andalucia marks his
return to winning form in March 2011,
winning the Andalucia Open

Paul demonstrates to us is what hard work and persistence can achieve, as well as displaying great personal attributes. He richly deserves his recent return to form and the success that has brought him. We wish him all the best in the Ryder Cup and hope that he can retain his place for the 2014 event taking place at Gleneagles in Scotland, which would surely be a great prize for him.

Read Paul Lawrie's blog
Visit Paul Lawries Foundation 

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Our approach to flexible working: pt 1 - The Office

When Fifth Dimension decided to move offices at the end of 2011, the goal was not simply about finding an alternative office but to implement a genuinely more flexible working environment that would benefit the individuals while still being no less effective for the company and our clients. There was also talk about the impact of the Olympics on business in London and with the experience of various transport interruptions and security alerts in the Capital, then it also made sense to have better contingency plans.

Many people in different organisations already work from home in some sort of arrangement. At Fifth Dimension we started doing so around 10 years, though arising out of circumstances rather than a planned strategy. As individuals within the company got older their circumstances changed, and location or family life meant that commuting to our office everyday was not so easy.

But this has largely been applied to the software developers, who invariably have longer defined tasks to work on and notably less interaction with clients.

Our goal was to consider how to apply this to the whole organisation, and the move of office provided the perfect opportunity to initiate a new era.

The first step was to give notice on our existing serviced offices which gave us a timetable and commitment that something had to be done.

We considered that we should really commit to do things differently, rather than just tinkering which led to the question: “Do we actually need an office?”

Clients like to know you have an address, but this can easily be solved with a virtual office service where post can be addressed. Many provide meeting rooms, so that client visits can also be accommodated as required.

Employees also need a place to congregate – even if not on a daily basis, physical interaction is important in a business. A new alterative to the serviced office, which can be expensive, is a shared workspace (such as Club Workspace). Provided on an individual membership basis, this is a large serviced office where individuals from different companies pitch up and work. This is not dissimilar from the members club approach, though without the usual bar and restaurant attached it is aimed more at start-ups, and small companies who require a more formal working area.

Currently though, neither the shared workspaces or members clubs provide suitable storage for ancillary office equipment such as scanners or printers, or to keep the physical items that we need to store such as card or packaging samples.

So, we looked for a suitable self storage unit close-by, and the result was a fortunate encounter with SafeStore – we now have an office in their building and access to cheap self-storage as we need. We have a physical office to meet and work – meetings tend to be held in much the same way as before – for partners, it tends to be coffee shops and business hotels, and clients tend to be at their premises.

Next time: how do we cope with communication, networking and the post.