Professor David Miles CBE, Professor of Financial Economics, and Professor Nelson Phillips, Associate Dean of External Relations at the Business School, spoke to a global audience of alumni to share their expertise on the prospects for global economic recovery post-COVID-19 and Brexit.

Professor Miles argued that the economic impact of COVID-19 – at least in the near-term – was likely to be much greater than that of Brexit, which he said was less predictable. 

"Some people see potential upsides of Brexit, but I don’t think anybody in their right mind sees any particular upsides to COVID-19," he said. 

He discussed how the UK government response to the pandemic has been on a scale not seen outside of war time. The political and economic reaction to virus has been enormous. The government’s response to support the work force means approximately 25 per cent of the UK labour force is being paid for by the government. This massive increase in government spending comes at a time when income from taxes is low. “The government deficit is off the scale in terms of what was expected. It is optimistic to presume GDP is down 105 relative to last year, and it looks unlikely to bounce back in 2021.”

As Steve Jobs put it, “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.” And although the ultimate success is a mixture of high performance and right strategy, I am sure that many leaders will agree, it is better to have an average strategy with superb execution than a superb strategy with poor execution.

With the right structure and right team in place, from my experience these are the ‘8 Key Steps’ of a great execution: 

1. Connect the team with the company

For this to succeed there must be good relations and a positive working climate among the members of team. You then need to look at the greater scope: the sense of belonging (belonging to a family, to the company).

To make this happen, the team must be aware of all the key information and goals, as well as the Company’s vision, mission, purpose and values and how all these are connected with each other. Be realistic and pragmatic, instead of theoretical and utopic. A clear description of the team’s own mission will help them understand why they are there and what they have to do. Similarly, the team must be aware of the company’s overall objectives and strategies, the greater context must be understood.

2. Set high pace and standards

Two key characteristics of high performing teams are speed and accuracy. Make sure that the team moves at the pace of the fastest member instead of the pace of the slowest, not even the average.

Develop a laser-focused approach, by providing the team with all the necessary tools: training, coaching, performance reviews, sharing of best practices, hardware and software.

3. Aim correctly and clearly

Define the goals: What have we got to do and why? When we have got to do it and who is involved? Be optimistic and realistic. ‘Mission Impossible’ maybe a great Hollywood film, but it is a bad idea for business planning. Accompany these goals with a crystal clear set of SMART objectives e.g. measurable targets which serve to successfully attain the goals.

4. Analyse the situation

Get a deep understanding of the greater environment within which the team will execute its mission. Strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the economy and market situation, legislation, channels, key customers and competitors, available resources, obstacles and constraints etc. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategy and plan, and increase the confidence of the team.

5. Define the key challenges and the jobs to be done

Roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Decide on the key strategic decisions regarding the main challenges and the steps that need to be taken in order to succeed.

Be very focused and highly selective in this part. During the schedule you will meet various challenges, external and internal, that will blur the landscape. But you cannot do it all, you have to be selective. Make the right choices regarding the key challenges and the tasks you need to achieve.

6. Plan execution

Execution planning is one of the most essentials parts and must be embedded in a very concrete way within the schedule. It is about all the detailed steps which ensure that tasks are carried out successfully. If properly and consistently implemented, this will ensure a team exceeds expectations and executes the mission to excellent standards.

Execution planning helps to visualise what success looks like and schedule all necessary steps to make it happen. For example, from an FMCG commercial perspective it can be a platform that contains the details of consumer and shopper insights, market segmentation, picture of success, coverage plan, IT tools, training and change management, picture of success scorecard, incentive system and target setting and routines.

The risk with the above approach is that is can be seen as just another bureaucratic process. Also, it contains change and there can be resistance to this. What I have learned is that in order to make it work and effectively unlock potential, it is necessary to:

1. 1. Explain why a holistic approach to execution planning is needed and how it works.
   2. Keep it simple, lean and mean.
   3. Be persistent and consistent.
   4. Standardise and automate as much as possible.
   5. Turn your attention to change management and key people.

If done properly, employees will feel proud and happy to bring added value to the business, customers, and their own professional achievement.

7. Inspire and reinforce

This is the time for strong management and leadership – an important and inspirational chapter.

In order to achieve execution excellence you need to be able to:

• Make the team to perform consistently beyond expectations and exceed standards (A→A+).
• But for the team to be able to conquer such a challenging state on an ongoing basis, we need also to be able to bring change (B→A).

• Lead by example, from the front, by action, encouragement and reward.
• Lead by rules, exchange, inspiration and personality.
• Adjust to a situation, but also to transform teams, in order to make them stronger.

8. Evaluate

Evaluation of the implementation is an integral step. For the wheel of I.D.A.F. (Information→Decision→Action→Feedback↵) to roll effectively, you have to continuously measure progress, feedback, learn, adjust and improve.

Key Takeaway

Execution excellence is a game-changer and can give you a clear advantage over competitors. Although it is hard to achieve, it is not a rocket science and relies on strong decision making and active leadership.

Imagine how a great execution looks like and commit to it. And then it will happen. Because if you can dream it, you can become it!

5. Gyms are good, parks are better

When you’re thinking about starting a workout routine and getting in shape, probably the first thing that comes to mind is getting a gym membership. With the pandemic reshaping the world as we know it, it may be time to rethink this monthly service. Memberships are expensive and can get a little boring after a while.

I’ve rediscovered how great it is to exercise with fresh air. Working out outdoors is a great mood lifter, and there are so many options. You can go jogging, biking, hiking, do functional training, boxing, the opportunities are endless!

And if you’re not an outdoorsy kind of person you can always build your own little gym at home buying weights online, using YouTube videos and fitness apps. In the long run, it works out considerably cheaper than paying monthly for a gym, and you have no excuses (like bad weather or lack of time) to cancel it.

6. Netflix is not the only form of entertainment

Let’s do the math: three hours working on a report on your laptop plus four hours on Zoom meetings plus three hours binge-watching Netflix and … (I’m not even going to talk about social networks) = not the healthiest combination for your physical or mental health.

This also applies when we return to the office or classroom – try using your spare time on more constructive activities that will let your mind shift focus and help you relax while awake. Some of my favourite alternative forms of entertainment: getting stuck into a great book, puzzles (the 3D ones are really cool), board games, or organising your house like Marie Kondo.

7. Actually, you don’t need to spend that much

When we think about savings there’s always the question: do you really need to buy that latte macchiato when you’re on your way home? Maybe your answer is ‘YES, I REALLY NEED THAT’. However, one of the exciting parts of staying at home is that our savings have been kept in a vault. The pandemic has been a great opportunity to rethink our spending priorities and remember that we perhaps don’t need to spend as much as we thought to lead a happy, healthy and productive life.

8. Bikes are the new buses

Bikes are more popular than ever as a means of getting from A to B, here’s just a few reasons why you might want to get rid of your bus pass:

1. No permit required (your license is your helmet and your feet!)
2. No extra money for fuel (just a great meal before a long ride)
3. Less time-consuming and more straightforward routes (traffic is often diverted in London!)
4. Extra calories burned!

Most people, like me, used to rely on public transport. I had basically shaped my days around it. However, with people now more keen than ever to avoid crowded areas like buses or the underground, two wheels makes more sense than ever before.

9. Face coverings: bring them, use them!

As we move through the pandemic and learn more about the virus, most research seems to be pointing to the fact that face coverings can be helpful in reducing the spread of the virus. With many governments now advising face coverings in a wide range of public spaces, it’s good advice to carry one with you whenever you leave the house and wear it whenever it’s appropriate to do so.

It’s a simple solution that may be beneficial to those around you, plus it could become the norm in years to come, so it’s probably better to get used to the idea sooner rather than later.

10. Stay safe, stay happy!

One of the most important things we can all do during this time is to look after both our physical and mental health and be aware that while this is a challenging time, we are not alone. It’s okay to sometimes feel like you’re unsure about what’s happening. Try to do more of what makes you happy, keep a positive mindset and understand that better days are still ahead!

I hope these tips help you navigate life beyond the pandemic. While it’s not yet over, the world continues to move forward, and it’s lessons like these can help us all lead happier, healthier lives no matter what challenges come our way.

This blog post is written by Rory Ryan (MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management), co-founder of ZiO Health. He draws on his experience studying at Imperial College Business School and how his pro-active networking led to the creation of his highly innovative health tech company.

Working in the health tech industry has always been a goal of mine. It’s where innovation and engineering intersect with social impact. Having an opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of the patients and communities that I work with, was, and still is, an exciting prospect to me.

However, running my own business within the industry was just as important. Before studying my Master’s, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur when I was working in the north of England and overseas, understanding that networking opportunities and learning from leading experts in relevant fields would make all the difference in achieving my goal.

Having this mindset before I even began my Master’s Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management at Imperial College Business School meant that I made it my mission to maximise the potential of my programme, both inside, and outside the classroom.

Creating connections over coffee

My main objective when joining the MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management programme was that I would leave with my own business in high tech or deep-science. With this in mind, I used all of my free time to network, constantly taking MBA students, PhD students and doctors for coffee, while also attending the School’s networking events. I was fortunate to have access to such a fantastic community situated in the heart of London and I was keen to make the most of it.

After a month at the Business School, and countless coffees later, I met a medical doctor studying an MBA at Oxford University via an advert I placed on a networking website. Soon after, I met an Imperial College PhD scientist who was working in a new area of biosensing. Combining our diverse backgrounds and drive to develop biosensing technology further, our startup ZiO Health was born.

Seeking inspiration from innovative peers

Imperial College Business School has some of the world’s leading scientific research groups, so while I was studying my programme, I joined the Entrepreneurship Smart Camp. Immediately I was inspired by how ambitious, intelligent and entrepreneurial the people I met were, and in just a few weeks I knew that studying at the Business School would accelerate my entrepreneurial journey.

And I was right, the MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management programme was exactly where I needed to be. I found the Venture Capital and Growth Finance module of the programme invaluable. When we got to the stage of needing to raise investment for ZiO Health, it equipped me with what proved to be very useful information on term sheets and funding calculations.

Growing international

Thanks to the networking opportunities that formed this partnership between myself and my co-founders, ZiO Health now develops technology that can test molecules in blood and other fluids as well as developing products to serve non-health care applications. Our portable testing devices give instant results, empowering people to make informed decisions about their health from their homes.

After I graduated from the Business School, my co-founders and I developed a prototype of our technology and managed to raise investment from a US-based venture capital company. Five years on we’ve built an international team with global offices. Thanks to this expansion we developed multiple patents, have developed innovations surrounding two sensor technologies and initiated product development and research partnerships in the US, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Spain, Poland and the UK. None of this would have been possible without the foundations of a strong international network.

Looking back over the past five years I see my experience at the Business School as a formative time that helped launch my entrepreneurial career. Making the most of every opportunity to network and develop connections within my industry is what got me to where I am today. MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management is not just about the qualification, but the unlocking of a network that can provide a wealth of opportunity for your future entrepreneurial endeavours.

Meet the Business School Careers APAC Team and see their Top Tips

Imperial College Business School Careers has two staff dedicated to the APAC sector: Bei and Tara.

Bei (Xiaobei Wu) is an experienced bilingual Career Consultant (APAC Career Lead), and is normally based in the London. She engages with current students and recent alumni for the APAC region. Based on her 15 years’ wide ranging experience from school counselling, international recruitment, to university career service, she is providing a wide range of award-winning career support to students across multiple programmes. She has an BSc in Psychology, an MSc in Management of Training and Development from The University of Edinburgh and trained by The University of Warwick as qualified Career Consultant. As an ex-international student herself, Bei has a deep understanding of APAC students’ hopes and concerns and is always passionate in supporting this group.

Tara (Tara Linyi He) is the Head of Employer Relations (APAC). On top of her employer liaison hat, she is also providing career support for APAC alumni as a career consultant. She is based in Singapore but is visiting and engaging with companies in mainland China and across APAC on a regular basis to discuss employment trends, employment opportunities and candidate requirements, and with alumni to offer career coaching. Tara holds an MBA from Singapore Management University. She is a Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP) and Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF). Her passion is connecting people to resources that support their career aspirations.

Top Tip One – Improving employability and maximising success for APAC students

Firstly, complete the Career Primer and gain access to The Hub and Symplicity, and make the most use of career resources there.

It sounds so obvious and simple, but you will be surprised how many students are not aware of the depth of resource available on these platforms and how helpful those resource can be. For example, if you do not know how to write an appealing CV to an employer, we have step by step CV guidance in the Careers Primer; or if you’re interested in consultancy firms but want to know more about their work life, or how to break into the area, we have the Consulting Careers module that can help. If you need help with online testing, we have resources to allow you to practice the up-to-date psychometric tests; or if you already have an interview invitation, we have a database where you can find company/industry insights to give you an extra advantage during your interview!

Since your academic studies will demand a lot of your time/attention from September, now is the perfect time to focus on career preparation. The earlier you can complete the career primer course and gain access to the rest of the resources, the better position you can be for the job market!

Top Tip Two – Securing a job in the UK

If you have less than 2 years full time experience and are planning to launch your career through campus hire (The Milk Round), you need to start your preparations now. The big employer graduate schemes in the UK start hiring one year in advance, with some big finance firms closing their application stages as early as September. In the upcoming month, you need to decide your target employers, prepare your CV, prep for online tests and video interviews, so you will ready to go when the application window opens. If you are not sure about any of the above, you can book one to one consultation appointments with a Career Consultant (starting with a Career Welcome Meeting is recommended).

If you have more than two years full time experience and are expecting to go via the experienced direct hire route, you have more preparation time, since the peak time for job hunting is typically around May to July.

You should start researching your areas of interest and actively engage in networking. This will maximise your opportunities over the next 10 months. If you are unsure how to take advantage of the various e-networking opportunities available.

Please note: you will need to complete the Careers Primer to gain access to a career appointment booking, so do not forget Top Tip One!

Top Tip Three – Recommendations for returning to APAC after graduation

Firstly, you need to familiarise yourself with your target countries hiring practices, which may differ for graduate and experienced hires. You need to know the key dates for your experience level and sector. This will inform your personal approach to securing a position in your home country. If you are not sure how to start, come and have a chat with the team.

As always, start networking as soon as possible. Today is a good a day as any to start. Make sure you keep your network warm whilst you are in the UK. With modern communication, keeping these contacts live is easier than ever. By keeping in touch with your networks, you will gain an understanding of your home market. Employers have cited a lack of knowledge of local markets and customers as a concern. By demonstrating you have, not only, world-class academics but also local knowledge you will be seen as a true ‘global candidate’.

If you want to know more, or want to create your personal career success plan, complete the Careers Primer and book a career appointment with either Bei (Xiaobei Wu) or one of her colleagues! Tara will not be available for career consultations as she is busy engaging with potential employers to generate new opportunities for you. Be sure to keep an eye out for these.  

Bei Wu - Career Consultant APAC

Dean Francisco Veloso addressed an audience of global Business School alumni in an Open House event. He explored the current challenges and how the Business School has been reacting these, from COVID-19 to racial equality. In relation to the lockdown that was imposed in the UK in March 2020, he discussed the three stages of transition the School has been through:

• Stabilisation – How the School reacted initially to transitioning to online teaching while ensure consistency of learning and remote exams in a very short space of time.
• Enhancement – How have we built on this, taking into account student experience and ensuring we continue to meet the needs of our student population.  
• Innovation – How can we take this learning to the next level, how can we build on what we have already achieved and innovate even further. What will blended learning for the future look like? It will take the best of digital delivery to create a hybrid multi-modal teaching environment at the forefront of education. As well as how we are continuing to engage with our alumni and external audiences through online events exploring current global scenarios and current Imperial research.

Alumni had the chance to pose questions which included:

• To what extent has the Business School partnered with private and public organisations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic via providing resource support or thought leadership?
• How can alumni help the school in its endeavours for equality and opportunity for all?
• Jobs and companies are dealing with unprecedented challenges and people losing their jobs. How can Imperial offer the opportunity of a network that can help ample networking opportunities? What are the steps?
• Do online classes give you more opportunity for interacting and doing projects for companies - so the course has more components that interact with real problems, corporate teams and current challenges?

Our thanks to all the alumni who joined us and helped make this an engaging and productive exchange of ideas.

Why Angel Invest? There's nothing else quite like it

Over the last few years I’ve built up a small investment portfolio and my aim is to have investments in 100 startups. In this post I’ll give some background about why I think being an Angel Investor in startups is a good idea, and a fascinating and exciting space to be in. And to help you make better decisions when it comes to investment.

What do we mean by the term ‘investing’?

Investing is a broad term and will be used more and more. I predict that, in a similar way to the last decade ending with everyone calling themselves an ‘entrepreneur’, the 2020s is going to end with everyone calling themselves an ‘investor’.

Venture Capital (VC) is a catch-all but a good catch-all for Angel Investing. It’s capital for the (ad)venture. The type of companies that the investment goes into are startups; newly formed businesses that are started with the aim of achieving massive success and impact. Think Facebook when Mark Zuckerberg was still at Harvard, Uber when it was one of Travis Kalanick’s side projects, or Airbnb when they were selling breakfast cereal.

As with many adventures though, Angel Investing is risky. Very risky. For every Uber there are thousands of startups that fail to get anywhere close. But the thing that people often forget when thinking about how risky investing in startups is, is that the maximum amount of money investors can typically lose is 1x whatever invest. And with the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Enterprise Investment Scheme tax breaks for UK Angel Investors it’s often less than that.

With risk comes reward and the upside for Angel Investing can be huge. For example one angel investor who put $25k into Uber in their 2010 seed round turned out to be worth over $124m at IPO (May 2019).

Why become an Angel Investor? And why now?

I first started learning properly about VC at Imperial College Business School when studying for my MBA. I studied Software Engineering at Durham University during the early years of Facebook, Gmail and Twitter. I programmed enough code to know how websites like those worked and the incredible impact they could have. After Durham I moved to London and worked as an Analyst and Architect for some software companies. I worked at three different companies inside two years. I moved around a lot because I was hungry to work hard but wanted to have impact and get the rewards for that hard work. After a while I realised that it wasn’t going to happen.

So after joining the third software company in 2008 I started exploring the idea of gaining an MBA to give my career a boost. I was accepted at Imperial College Business School and that changed everything. Studying Software Engineering at Durham meant a classroom of 32 other male undergraduates. No women. And no one really talked to each other that much, except online. Business school was thankfully more diverse. I met people from all sorts of different industries and stages in their careers and learnt a huge variety of subject matter. Durham was pretty much a maths degree with a bit of programming whereas Imperial was almost two years of strategy, accounting, marketing, economics, statistics, organisational behaviour, corporate finance, entrepreneurship, private equity and Venture Capital. VC was by far my favourite — the chance of having a small stake in a bunch of young, fast growing, virtually limitless potential companies was certainly appealing.

With risk comes reward and the upside for Angel Investing can be huge.

After graduating in 2010 I got a job with a small investment and advisory firm in London. I was taken on to work on London’s ‘Gateway2Investment’ programme, a GLA and EU backed programme to help London’s (mostly tech) startups become more investment-ready. In the next 18 months the team helped 52 companies raise over £23m in equity investment. This was right at the start of the latest wave of entrepreneurship. Now it’s common to be an entrepreneur, but back then it was a bit weird — why, just after the credit crunch, would anyone want to start a startup?

What I saw during 2010 and 2011 led to me co-founding 9others. What started over one meal for me and ‘9 others’ in December 2011 has grown into a global network of over 4,000 attendees in 47 cities around the world. At each meal entrepreneurs share a challenge and help each other out and it’s through these trusted relationships that drives everything I do. It’s because of 9others that I’ve met the founders of Uber, CityMapper, what3words, OneFineStay, Stripe and many more. No matter what happens (even a global pandemic) I will always be able to host a meal with 9others.

Throughout 2012 and 2013, I caught the bug for investment. In 2013 I left my job and struck out on my own, consulting with startups and some big companies that wanted to learn from them.

In 2016 I co-founded Dot Matrix Group (DMG). DMG is a syndicate of Angel Investors (68 at the time of writing) with a growing portfolio of startup investments. The investment opportunities typically come from the 9others network as that’s where I can get to know people, help out and learn how they operate and conduct themselves. We work hard to add value with the network and expertise of ourselves and DMG syndicate members.

So far so good?

Getting to this point has taken 10 years. A lot of it has been pretty gruelling but I’ve absolutely loved it too.

What I want to do now is help more people explore the possibility of becoming an Angel Investor by understanding the decision making process you need to go through.

There’s lots to consider: There’s deal flow (getting visibility of enough opportunities), there’s access (being able to invest in the hot deals) and being patient and having good judgement (balancing gut feel vs hard analysis).

So why do it? For me it’s the opportunity to contribute to and learn from some of the smartest people in the world. And with that there’s the chance to get a return unlike any other.

You can connect with Matthew via LinkedIn or on Twitter, or read more in his blog.