Balance and simplicity the key to success, says Beaverbrooks boss

Anna Blackburn

Balance and simplicity are two important ingredients in the recipe for success, according to Anna Blackburn, chief executive of family-owned national jewellery retailer Beaverbrooks.

Blackburn was speaking to an audience of more than 100 people at TheBusinessDesk’s women’s business lunch, supported by law firm JMW.

She shared stories about her journey from the sales floor to being chief executive of a £119m turnover business, as well as giving insights and leadership tips.

As a mum of two young children, she admitted that although achieving that balance on a personal level is a continual challenge, with planning, prioritising, organisation and “lots of energy” it is possible to have a successful career and fulfilling family life.

In business she is an advocate of keeping things simple whilst communicating effectively with the audience you want to influence.

“All too often I believe people at the top of organisations, create complicated strategies that confuse people who implement the strategy or go over their heads that only serve to make the leader seem clever and important,” she said.

Few people outside of the family will know the Lytham St Annes-headquartered retailer as well as Blackburn did even before she accepted the role of chief executive in 2013.

She joined Beaverbrooks in 1998 as a fresh-faced graduate looking for a career in retail and says two key values of the business resonated immediately.

“I had just returned from travelling and volunteering in an African orphanage and I found the approach to giving something back very refreshing.

“Secondly, the belief in developing people internally resonated with me.  I was told in my interview that Beaverbrooks was a true meritocracy and if I worked hard and demonstrated the right attributes I would have a great career – this has certainly turned out to be true,” she said.

The family, which continues to run the business today, donates 20% of post-tax profits to charity every year and has given more than £11m since 2000 to various local and community charities.

“Our purpose as a business is Enriching Lives.  Simply put, this means making a positive difference to the work we live in, our people, our customers, suppliers and wider communities,” she said.

Blackburn says enriching lives is not just about time and money, it is about how people within the company work, interact and treat people.

“We believe in treating people in the right way and have the Beaverbrooks Way which everyone in the business works within. In effect, this is our moral compass,” she said.

The Beaverbrooks Way has five core values of passion, trust, fairness, caring and integrity.

“Mark (Adlestone, chairman) believed that values based leadership was the right way to take Beaverbrooks and the group worked together to articulate and set out our values.  The Beaverbrooks Way is integral in the business and all decisions are made with that in mind.”

To view a gallery of images from the event, click here.

TheBusinessDesk’s next women’s business lunch will take place on May 19, when we will be joined by guest speaker Victoria Molyneux, chief executive of online fashion brand WantThatTrend.com. Further details will be announced soon.

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