One of the trainers is a DJ so we’ve been swapping notes and I was really excited when he handed me a mix that he’d made.

Over the years, I’ve made quite a few compilations of my own; often for friends and occasionally in an attempt to impress a girl.  So I know how difficult it can be to make one that really hits the mark.

It’s a very fine line between making something that somebody else would like and creating something self-indulgent that leaves the person receiving it baffled.   Unless you really know somebody well, that noise that you love could be enough to send somebody hurtling towards the off button.

As I’ve been preparing the training material, I have faced the same challenge.

I’m a detail person so my natural instinct is to dive in and work out how things work and what it’s doing.  This can be a great approach for some people of a similar mind set but in some cases I have been met with blanks faces from others who couldn’t care what’s going on in the background.  They just want to know which buttons they needs to press and what difference it is going to make.

The truth is that you can’t just shy away from bit that will turn people off. In these cases, you just have to keep on moving with the belief that what you are doing is right.

Getting the material right means striking a balance between the two and that means thinking about your audience and how they are going to take that information.

The problem is that there are often some things that you know that your audience will not like.  This is not because either of you are doing something wrong; it’s down to the inevitable fact that adding structure means that some of the ways of working have to change and some of the shortcuts that people have grown accustomed to have to go.

The truth is that you can’t just shy away from bit that will turn people off.  In these cases, you just have to keep on moving with the belief that what you are doing is right.  The important bit is that you keep on listening while you do it.

This rule is aimed at encouraging clubs to nurture raw talent and give young players a greater opportunity to shine through a squad of bought in experienced professionals.

The truth is buying talent is an attractive option

It is also true that we don’t all have the resources of Manchester City and most of us are looking for ways to stretch the pound without compromising on quality, whether this is on food, clothing, travel or talent.

In all of these areas, grow your own is back in vogue.

There are of course pro’s and cons…

Buy It

Grow It

Ideally, most companies will need to strike a balance between buying and growing their talent. There is no right or wrong way of recruiting, you have to go with what is right for your business. For a modern business like Cheeky Monkey it is difficult to put down on paper the qualifications that we require because so much of the value we bring comes from a softer set of skills and attitude.

Is grow your own an opportunity to be bespoke?

Our recent twitter survey ‘what motivates us to work’ showed that people’s key motivator for working is not money.

We believe that employees want to feel happy in their jobs by doing work that adds value, that challenges them and makes them feel like they are being developed by their employer.

We can offer all of that.

But…

It’s not for everyone.

If you think it’s for you, get in touch – we are planting.