spreading jam

Today we had the honour of being invited along to a Q&A session hosted by Engine with the internet guru that is Martha Lane Fox. Now, Martha needs no introduction, but just in case you’ve been in a dark room for the past 10 years….

Martha co-founded Lastminute.com in the early 2000s along with the karaoke bar chain Lucky Voice, is now a charity trustee, board member of Channel 4, mydeco.com and Marks & Spencers. Most recently, she’s become the British Government’s UK Digital Champion and sits on the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Board. Phew, she’s a busy lady.

Engine invited Martha to launch their new initiative, Verve, which is intended to encourage the career progression and personal development of the females within Engine. From January 2014, the Government has announced that all exchange listed or state owned companies must have females representing at least 20% of their Board members, but Engine are striving to go beyond this. Verve hopes to help this.

Following questions presented by Engine’s CEO, Debbie Klein, Martha charmingly provided a candid interview. We’ve gleamed some of the highlights to create our very own “Top Ten Tips and Tricks by Martha” on career progression and personal development.

1. Don’t be afraid to approach role models and influencers to invite them for coffee to get their advice.
2. Use conferences and events as a resource to increase your professional network.
3. Where possible, try to be clear and direct in your communication to get the best results.
4. Manage through positive reinforcement, celebrating successes rather than focusing on negatives.
5. Remember that fear of failure will hold you back. If in doubt, think about what’s the worst that could happen.
6. Confidence is key. Remember that you’re doing your job because other people believe that you have the best experience to do it.
7. Try and remain calm, reacting emotionally can hinder your decisions.
8. Hire people that are better than you. This is a quality that separates good and great leaders.
9. When prioritizing, try and focus on the 1-3 things that you need to achieve today. Then remember the 2-3 goals that you’re trying to achieve by the end of the year. Everything else can be thought about tomorrow.
10. Plan 6/12 months ahead for your career, but always be open and flexible to new opportunities.

Martha also took the time to speak in detail about the Networked Nation Manifesto that she’s involved with under her role as Digital Champion. She informed us that there are still 9.2m people in the UK who have never been online. These are people that are missing out on access to critical information and education which in turn could help boost the UK economy.

As Government and enterprise continue to develop digital services, if these people aren’t included, they’ll only become further disadvantaged. She encouraged everybody to find one person that isn’t currently online to help them understand the basics, tapping into their interests and the benefits that it could offer to them. You can find out more about the manifesto here.

We’re grateful to all of those involved at Engine for inviting Martha to speak and would encourage you to support Martha in her quest for digital inclusion. You can follow Martha at @MarthaLaneFox.