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Flying high again: Barbara Cassani
We profile the former budget airline boss says it’s people that make a business fly. Cassani came to prominence in the UK when she launched British Airways’ budget airline Go Fly in 1998. She later became the first leader of London’s bid for the 2012 summer Olympics and today she is executive chairman of hotel chain Jurys Inn, a business looking to expand by 30pc in 2009 regardless of the downturn
Cassani says one reason she landed the Go Fly job, apart from a case of ‘right place, right time’, was because of her reputation for straight talking. “Some executives might think it’s a great opportunity for them to launch a new airline full stop,” she says. “But the British Airways CEO knew that I’d have to persuade myself that it was a good idea before I’d get involved.”
She had also bought and sold businesses during her previous 10 years at BA and had very clear ideas on how she wanted the new business to operate.
“I wanted to break down the hierarchy and ensured there was less double talk. We were very open with staff and I think that’s important. We also encouraged people to try things. Everyone makes mistakes but we reacted quickly and didn’t spend a lot of time pointing fingers or blaming people.”
She says the other important aspect of her success was in picking a good team of people and “not people who were like me”.
She adds: “You need to spend time getting the right people on board with the right mix of skills. You have to realise your own weaknesses and limitations and account for that. You certainly need to spend more time picking people than you do on things like staff uniforms or the logo.”
In 2001, Cassani led a management buy-out of the company, backed by 3i, and became its first chief executive.
The company was bought by easyJet the following year and the experience taught Cassani a valuable, if painful, business lesson: “When you take other people’s money, you are beholden to them.”
She adds: “I thought we had more control over the business than we did and the sale was a sobering but important lesson for me. I’m much more cautious now about putting my heart into what I do.”
Cassani advises any business leader to spend as much time as possible in their business. “It’s one thing sitting in your big office having ideas, it’s something else understanding the realities of implementing the ideas. You need a sense of the people who work for you and the environment they work in,” she says.
She adds making the time to visit employees, factories, shops or offices, should be scheduled into senior people’s diaries three months ahead.
“The first thing that usually goes into diaries are the board meetings, then the meetings ahead of the board meetings, then staff appraisals and there is often no time left to visit the people who really matter in any business – the employees.”
Her final piece of advice is something everyone can do and something that is absolutely free. “Say thanks to staff. It’s easy, cheap and makes a massive difference,” she says.
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