In 'Timpsons English Eccentrics', John Timpson takes a look at over 120 characters who would appear eccentric to most of us in any age, and generally endearingly so, whose behaviour or lifestyle was generally bizarre.
There's a lot of hot air in the world of business. Wouldn't it be nice just to hear some common sense? That's exactly what John Timpson has got. After four decades running his family business and turning it into one of the high street's biggest success stories, he really knows what works and what doesn't. Upside Down Management shares with you all the wisdom he's accumulated in that time. From being the CEO to his trademark 'upside down management', and from breaking the rules to following your conscience, this book tells it like it is. Upside Down Management is a fantastic insider's view of what really makes a family business tick.
John Timpson CBE is one of the UK's most successful businessmen. He is Chairman of the eponymous high street cobblers, key cutters, engravers and watch repairers, with more than 1,300 branches throughout the UK and Ireland and a turnover of £180m. John is hugely admired across the business world for the 'Upside Down Management' techniques that put the growth of the business in the hands of its employees – or of John's colleagues, as they are called. John's Daily Telegraph column, 'Ask John', has been dispensing straight-talking, no-nonsense business advice for more than five years. This book collects and expands the very best from that column for the first time. From why low cost will never be a real substitute for proper customer service to the etiquette of employing interns, John's honest, common-sense business advice should be required reading for anyone running a business – whatever the size.
When John Timpson, chairman of the eponymous high street chain, bought his wife Alex a racehorse in 2002, a friend commented that it would be 'a marvellous way to lose money'. Soon they were immersed in a world of trainers' yards, Novice Hurdles and handicaps, and well on the way to proving the old adage that the best way to make a small fortune is to start with a larger one, and buy a few racehorses. As the number of horses increased and Alex became a well-loved figure on the racing scene, John kept a diary of their experiences on and off the track. This witty book describes how racing brought something extra into their marriage – from Mondays at Ludlow to the Cheltenham Festival. It documents the wins, near misses, disappointments and occasional tragedies that make up a racing career – not to mention the friends made, the knowledge gained and the sheer thrill of it all. Under Orders is a joyous and humorous portrait of horseracing in Britain and a tribute to the owners whose dedication and enthusiasm make the whole thing possible. Sales of the book will raise money for the Injured Jockeys Fund.
Few entrepreneurs have had as rich and varied a business career as John Timpson, the chairman and chief executive of Timpson Ltd. He has witnessed his father being forced out of what was the family business. He has negotiated a management buy-out from Hanson. He has twice mortgaged his house to finance career-changing deals. Today, the business that bears his name is a flourishing and profitable nationwide chain of over 320 outlets. John Timpson was the king of niche retailing before the term was even invented. This book was conceived as a set of notes and ideas for John's son, James, to prepare him for taking over the company. "They constitute the best advice I can give you," father tells son, "25 years of experience." Gritty, frank and above all highly practical, Dear James will provide all managers with an abundance of tips on how to run a business better. But Dear James is far more than that. Warm, funny and highly personal, it's a true original: a business book that comes from the heart.
The period from 1688-1820 was marked throughout with riots and rebellions, seditions and strikes, as the lower classes rebelled against the state bias towards the interests of higher social groups. Drawing on recent work on demography, labor, and law, this readable history of the period focuses on the experience of the eighty percent of the population who made up England's "lower orders." Hay and Rogers provide fresh insights into food shortages, changes in poor relief, use of the criminal law, and the shifts in social power caused by industrialization that would bring about the birth of working-class radicalism.