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John Bird
Making an idea a reality
As John Bird says, 'The Big Issue was controversial
at the time. The idea that homeless people could make
decisions for themselves was an unusual
mind-set for most charities, and we did run into a lot
of opposition. But we were very thorough and kept it
simple. We said "look, you buy this paper for 10
pence and sell it for 50 pence and then you make a living
out of it." And it's been a huge success.
'The fact that it was so innovative meant that the
team were very committed, which was vital. Managing
a team is hard. Keep everybody well informed - when
I haven't kept people well informed, it always affects
the team. Be clear about your aims, and encourage your
whole team to take part - otherwise loud mouthed people
like myself will just take over! Leadership
skills are about listening, sharing ideas,
and making sure that your door is always open.
'I think most of the things that have gone wrong in
The Big Issue over the years are due to the
difficulty of building a listening, thinking
team that can stand on its own, where people
can develop. But we stick with people who've made mistakes
in their lives, and we learn to do that by having an
organisation that's made mistakes itself.
'The organisation is only a means to an end, which
is creating social opportunity for disenfranchised people,
and that's the greatest inspiration. Charities aren't
allowed to fail because they're scared it'll affect
their funding, but we must let charities fail sometimes
if they're going to learn and develop.
We also have to learn to step back, look at the global
picture, and not be led by the latest crisis.'
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