KARREN BRADY
Karren Brady, 46, talks to Victoria Young about standing up for women, what inspires her and The Apprentice
OUR COVER STAR SHARES HER EXPERT BUSINESS ADVICE WITH READERS
BARONESS KARREN BRADY CBE, IS EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN OF WEST HAM FOOTBALL CLUB. SHE’S ALSO THE GOVERNMENT’S
SMALL BUSINESS AMBASSADOR, AN AIDE TO LORD SUGAR ON BBC’S The Apprentice, AND HOLDS A NUMBER OF VOLUNTARY POSITIONS. KARREN LIVES IN THE WEST MIDLANDS WITH HER FOOTBALLER HUSBAND, PAUL PESCHISOLIDO. THEIR DAUGHTER, SOPHIA, IS 20 AND THEIR SON, PAOLO, IS 17.
I JUGGLE MANY DIFFERENT ROLES, BUT THE MAJORITY OF MY TIME IS SPENT AT WEST HAM. WE’VE RECENTLY MOVED TO THE OLYMPIC STADIUM AND THAT, WITH THE START OF A NEW PREMIER LEAGUE, TAKES UP A LOT OF TIME. BUT BEING THE GOVERNMENT’S BUSINESS AMBASSADOR IS A BIG COMMITMENT TOO. The Apprentice IS ONLY ONCE A YEAR, BUT WHEN WE’RE FILMING IT’S EXTREMELY FULL ON.
GIVING BACK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME. AFTER I HAD A BRAIN ANEURYSM I BECAME A PATRON OF THE STROKE ASSOCIATION. I’M ALSO CHAIRMAN OF LIFESKILLS, WHICH HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE LEAVING SCHOOL TO START WORK. AND I CARE PASSIONATELY ABOUT GETTING MORE WOMEN ON BOARDS, SO
I’M ALSO CHAIRMAN OF MENTORE; A MENTORING PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN.
TO BE SUCCESSFUL, THERE’S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SHEER HARD SLOG. WORKING HARD IS CRUCIAL, EVEN IF IT MEANS STAYING UNTIL 2AM TO GET THE JOB DONE. BUT BECAUSE I LOVE WHAT I DO, IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE WORK.
THERE’S NO DOUBT AT ALL THAT FAILURE IS PART OF SUCCESS. YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD YOU ARE UNTIL THINGS ARE NOT GOING RIGHT, BUT A PROBLEM IS ONLY A PROBLEM IF IT STOPS YOU ACHIEVING WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE. EVERYONE IN BUSINESS GETS KNOCK-BACKS ALL THE TIME; THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS HOW YOU REACT. YOU EITHER ACCEPT THE WORD “NO”, OR YOU FIND ANOTHER WAY TO
GET WHAT YOU WANT, WHICH IS WHAT I DO.
I’M DRIVEN BY PASSION, AND BY LOVING WHAT I DO. BUT I KNOW NOT EVERYONE
FEELS THAT THEY HAVE FOUND THEIR PASSION. WHEN MY FRIENDS TELL ME THEY HATE THEIR JOB I ALWAYS SAY THERE’S NO MAGICAL FORMULA – BUT EVERYONE CAN FIND THEIR PASSION. HOWEVER, FINDING IT IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS; IT WON’T JUST PLOP INTO YOUR LAP.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR JOB, IDENTIFY ALL
THE REASONS WHY. WORK OUT WHAT YOU DO LIKE ABOUT IT, AND START BUILDING UP A PICTURE OF WHERE YOU MIGHT BE BETTER OFF. MY CHILDREN ARE THINKING ABOUT THIS AT THE MOMENT AND I ALWAYS ADVISE THEM TO THINK ABOUT THE KIND OF ENVIRONMENT THEY’D LIKE TO BE IN, AND THE KIND OF PEOPLE THEY ADMIRE AND WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH.
IT NEVER EVEN OCCURS TO ME THAT I WON’T BE TREATED EQUALLY TO MEN. AND, PARTLY AS A RESULT OF THAT, I AM – PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU MEAN BUSINESS! BUT ALTHOUGH I EXPECT TO BE TREATED LIKE AN EQUAL, I NEVER ACT LIKE A MAN. IF YOU TRY TO BE ONE OF THE LADS IT BACKFIRES.
I SPEND THE WEEK WORKING IN LONDON, BUT WEEKENDS ARE SACROSANCT. THEY’RE ALL ABOUT FAMILY TIME AND I WORK HARD TO
PROTECT THAT. HAVING SAID THAT, MY KIDS CAN GET HOLD OF ME AT ANY TIME. THEY OFTEN CALL ME IN A MEETING SAYING IT’S URGENT. I STEP OUTSIDE TO TAKE THE CALL AND IT’S MY DAUGHTER ASKING ME WHERE HER BLUE JEANS ARE. OR MY SON SENDS A TEXT SAYING, “CALL ME ASAP!” AND WHEN I DO HE SAYS, “DAD WON’T GIVE ME A LIFT TO THE STATION, WHAT SHALL I DO?” SO IT’S VERY MUCH A NORMAL FAMILY LIKE ANY OTHER.
I EXPECT MY CHILDREN TO MAKE THEIR OWN WAY. I DON’T FORCE MY WORK ETHIC DOWN THEIR THROATS. MY SON IS DOING
HIS A LEVELS AND LOOKING AT UNIVERSITIES, AND MY DAUGHTER IS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM STUDYING EDUCATION BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO BE A TEACHER.
I ALWAYS SAY THAT THE BEST TITLE FOR ME IS NOT VICE CHAIRMAN OR BARONESS; IT’S WORKING MUM. BUT WHEN BOTH MY KIDS ARE AT UNIVERSITY AND MORE SETTLED, I WILL NO LONGER BE THE COOK, TAXI DRIVER AND ENTERTAINMENTS OFFICER, SO I WILL HAVE TIME TO TRAVEL MORE. I DON’T MAKE RESOLUTIONS OR LISTS OF AMBITIONS. BUT I’D ALSO LIKE TO TRY TO MAKE THE HOUSE OF LORDS MORE OF A PRIORITY, WHICH ISN’T EASY WITH A FULL-TIME JOB.
I KNOW SOME PEOPLE DREAD IT, BUT I
CAN’T WAIT FOR THE EMPTY NEST! I THINK IT’S GREAT WHEN YOUR CHILDREN START TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR LIVES AND HAVE THEIR OWN AMBITIONS, DREAMS AND PASSIONS. EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR THEM COMES HOME TO ROOST WHEN YOU SEE WHAT THEY GET ON AND DO.
THE APPRENTICE…
WE ALWAYS THINK WE KNOW WHO THE WINNER WILL BE – AND WE ARE NEVER
RIGHT! IT’S A VERY LONG PROCESS AND BECAUSE THE PRIZE IS SO DESIRABLE, WE DO GET LOTS OF INTERESTING PEOPLE APPLY. BUT MANY OF THEM HAVE EITHER NEVER WORKED WITH ANYBODY ELSE OR BEEN USED TO BEING THE BOSS, AND WHEN YOU GET LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE TOGETHER YOU GET FIREWORKS, WHICHEVER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT. ALTHOUGH ALAN, CLAUDE AND I ALL THINK WE’RE GOOD AT SNIFFING OUT THE SMOOTH TALKERS, WE’RE OFTEN SURPRISED BY THE WINNER OF The Apprentice.
FILMING IS PRETTY GRUELLING, BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO EMBRACE IT. I WEAR TRAINERS AND THERE IS A LOT OF WHAT I CALL “HURRY UP AND WAIT”. THEY GET YOU UP AT 5AM TO BE IN SOME GODFORSAKEN PLACE FOR 6AM, THEN THINGS GET HELD UP SO YOU DON’T START UNTIL 8AM. YOU’VE BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR FOUR HOURS BEFORE YOU’VE DONE ANYTHING!
IT’S TRUE THAT HDTV IS VERY UNFORGIVING.
I MEET PEOPLE IN THE STREET WHO SAY, “YOU LOOK LIKE KARREN BRADY, BUT SHE’S FAT”. I DON’T CARE – I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT I DON’T HAVE AN EGO. WHAT I AM FOCUSED ON IS THAT The Apprentice IS SOMETHING I ENJOY. I THINK I’M PRETTY GOOD AT IT, IT’S A GREAT SHOW AND I’M PROUD TO BE PART OF IT.
I’VE LEARNED A LOT FROM LORD SUGAR. HERE IS A MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING
BUT IS STILL HUGELY AMBITIOUS AND TOTALLY DEDICATED. HE WORKS EXTREMELY HARD, IS PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT HE’S DOING AND HAS JUST TAKEN ON A NEW ROLE
WITH GOVERNMENT. HE’S ONE OF THE GREATEST ENTREPRENEURS OF OUR TIME AND A HUGE ROLE MODEL FOR ME. >>
“Although Alan, Claude and I all think we’re good at sniffing out the smooth talkers, we’re often surprised by the winner of The Apprentice”