Russell Wardrop – Daily Business Magazine

CEO and co-founder, KWC Global

What does the company do?
Teaches professionals how to sell, lead and grow
www.kwcglobal.com

Where is it based?
Glasgow

Turnover:
About £2 million

Briefly outline your working day:

I’m an early riser, usually up around 5am whether in Glasgow or London. Coffee first, then an hour of writing and looking at emails and what needs attending to. We are working on a new website just now and that’s both pleasure and pain (IYNYN). Maybe a bit of yogaerobics.

If I’m client facing, it’s hugely varied. In the past few weeks there has been a keynote in London to 230; a pilot programme on Value proposition for Big Four; Rainmaker for a global engineering business with a colleague Richard Norris; working with six directors on their partner pitches and an online keynote to 80 this morning. No two days are the same.

Evenings are for cooking, sport and switching off the phone at home, or walking somewhere nice and getting food when away.

What are the biggest challenges facing your business right now?

Sales, because sales solve everything. Numbers are looking very good for next year but that can change in a heartbeat, so we are on it every day.

Keeping pace with technological change, particularly AI, while ensuring training stays human, relevant and commercially focused is front of mind.

We are top end, though, providing deep expertise to senior professionals: AI isn’t going to be doing that any time soon. It’ll help us be more efficient and serve client better though.

What should be done to overcome these challenges?

We love it when a prospect grills us on outcomes, because they will be doing that with our competitors.

Businesses need to see learning not as an overhead but as a strategic investment. With the right design and measurement, training moves from cost centre to profit centre.

If they do that, they’ll take our value proposition seriously, because we do that.

Has the Scottish Government called it right on taxes?

No. You can’t tax us into growth.

What we’ve been doing for too long is discouraging hard work, eliminating risk taking and eschewing personal responsibility.

Has Brexit impacted your business?

Minimal direct impact since our client base is global. Travel logistics can be a little trickier and there has been some cross border tax that’s more of a pain.

Do you use public transport?

Yes, I’m often on the train between Glasgow and London. It’s productive time as well as down time, and much nicer than flying.

I also take the train from Johnstone to Glasgow often and the tube in London.

Do you think this is the right time to call an independence referendum?

Nope, and I voted Yes last time. Not for another 100 years.

If anyone in the SNP wants to know why, come see me and I will give you 100 reasons why you’ve blown it.

What do you drive? Petrol or electric?

I’m as far from being a petrol head as it’s possible to be but I have a beautiful, Red, BMW 330e. A hybrid.

It’s a work of art and give me 25 miles on the electric, enough to get me to mum’s and back.

Would happily switch to all electric, as long as it’s red and a BMW.

What are your short and long-term goals?

Short term: grow turnover to £3 million while maintaining margins.

Long term: build a legacy of professionals worldwide who say, “I made partner because of the Rainmaker programme.”

Do you favour a four-day working week?

We already have a half day Friday, have done since lockdown. I favour flexibility as productivity matters more than presenteeism.

If you can deliver in four days, great, but the biggest lie we tell young people is they can have it all in four days or less… or even from the beach in Bali.

Put the hours in and become an expert as perspiration beats passion all day long.

What is your company doing to support the green agenda?

We’ve reduced travel by delivering globally online and I take the train as often as I can.

I’ve reduced my air travel by a huge amount, maybe 90%, significantly cutting our carbon footprint while maintaining impact.

Are you a purpose-led company?

Absolutely. I’m a stoic: seek purpose, find contentment and jewel it with joy.

Our purpose is to transform professionals’ confidence and performance to help them achieve results that change careers and companies.

And our strapline is “Prepare to Grow”.

Enquiries about taking part in this Q&A should be directed to livenews.db@gmail.com

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