V-Hub Recommends The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett

Elevate your business with invaluable expert knowledge that can be applied to any industry or occupation.

At V-Hub, we recommend a recent addition to business literature, ‘The Diary of a CEO’ by Vodafone Business ambassador Steven Bartlett. Steven Bartlett is an entrepreneur, author, and the youngest Dragon to appear on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, and this book explores Steven’s 33 laws of business and life.

Steven Bartlett offers valuable insights from his experience as a CEO, founder, and investor. He has also worked with industry leaders such as Nike and Apple, and spent 4 years interviewing the world’s most successful individuals for his Podcast ‘The Diary of a CEO.’

Enriched with Steven’s personal anecdotes, a collection of business examples, and invaluable insights from both industry leaders and exerts, this book is the perfect way to expand your knowledge and be inspired. Readers can get a glimpse into the both the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship and gain practical advice, extending beyond the realm of being a business owner, into personal life and self-discovery.

Discover Steven’s 33 laws of Business and Life

Within his book, Steven created 33 laws that he separated into 4 pillars including; The Self, The Story, The Philosophy and The Team. Steven believes that becoming great, and building great things, requires mastery within these four pillars. We’ve reviewed these laws to briefly summarize how these wider pillars can be used as inspiration for your business ideas.

How can these pillars contribute to the success of your business?

• Pillar 1: ‘The Self’

  explores self-mastery and how it can lead to your success. Steven highlights this is no easy journey and offers insights such as how to use the Feynman technique for self-development and mastery, how to create a stronger self-story and the best methods to overcome bad habits.

V-Hub offers a range of tools and training that can help develop your digital skills, so why not discover business.connected in partnership with Enterprise Nation for e-learning, workshops and webinars on a huge range of topics. The perfect way to keep developing yourself and skills, explore here >> Transforming SME Success With Digital | Vodafone UK

• Pillar 2: ‘The Story’

  will teach you how to harness the laws of storytelling to elevate your business marketing or brand message, due to the power that captivating, inspiring and emotional stories have.

Why not review our helpful article on building a brand for your business, to discover more about how great storytelling can help your business thrive.

• Pillar 3: ‘The Philosophy’

  allows you to understand your philosophies which are the beliefs, values or principles that guide your behaviour. For example, in this chapter you can learn about the Kaizen philosophy and the benefits of continual small changes, why you should create a pro-failure philosophy and how to accept uncomfortable truths to achieve success.

If you want to discuss your business ups and downs and how best to move forward, our team of expert advisers are here to help. Why not learn more about our free business support helpline here > Free one-to-one business support helpline | small business help | Vodafone UK

• Pillar 4: ‘The Team’

  can guide you on how to assemble a great team and to get the best out of your group of people. You can discover tips such as the 10 steps to build company culture, unlock the value of recruiting the right people for your business, and how to unlock the power of progress.

It may feel like creating a strong company culture is more difficult in a hybrid working world, however we have some great tips on how to keep this strong, wherever your team are.

Supercharge your success with V-Hub’s top 5 takeaways

Having read Steven’s book. we have picked our top 5 learnings that we feel any small business owner could use to help them grow their business.

You must lean into bizarre behaviour:

This law teaches businesses that it’s essential to ‘lean in’ to new information. Steven emphasises this by using impactful examples of companies that have been left behind because of cognitive dissonance when new technologies and innovation emerged. To continue success and find solutions, it’s important to disregard your initial hypothesis and listen to what the market is telling you - even when you don’t understand, and your ideologies are challenged.

Avoid wallpaper at all costs:

Words and communication matter in storytelling to ensure stories are heard. This law emphasises that we need to think creatively to pierce through the brains habituation filter and avoid indifference. Especially as strong marketing demands an opinion, response and an emotion which can be done through telling stories in an unrepetitive, unfiltered and unconventional way.

You must sweat the small stuff:

In this law, Steven explains the ‘Kaizen’ principle which is underpinned by ‘continuous improvement.’ This law teaches you how small improvements can cumulatively push your businesses forward and keep ahead of competitors who are not sweating the small stuff. If these small changes are implemented overtime and are consistent, it can create a significant impact on your business.

You must out-fail the competition:

Steven believes failure is power and so the higher your failure rate, the higher your chances of success. This law could reframe the way you think about failure in our business, as Steven emphasises that new valuable information can be gained, even when experimentation fails. In addition to this, this law highlights that perfect decisions only exist in hindsight and that the real cost of indecision in business is wasted time.

Leverage the power of progress:

This law teaches you ways to increase team engagement, motivation, and fulfilment. You can learn about the importance of small wins to cultivate a feeling of progression and a forward momentum in your team. This will drive positivity and motivation – eventually leading to bigger wins.

Feeling inspired to read more? Steven’s book, ‘The Diary of a CEO’ is available from a number of different retailers.

Why not also discover more about how Steven has had teamed up with Vodafone Business with Digital SOS; a new documentary film series supporting small businesses to digitally upskill with V-Hub. Watch Steven and V-Hub supporting small businesses to digitally upskill here >> Vodafone Business presents Digital SOS with Steven Bartlett | Vodafone UK

For more information on how to grow your business and digitally upskill, speak to one of our Business Advisers by phone, contact form or web chat.