Welcome to June and my monthly ‘From the Desk’ column. What a month it has been! We are doing so many exciting things and working hard to develop some really interesting things for the future.
But this month is dominated by the approach of Summer and my thoughts about the FIFA scandal and it’s reflection on Football, then we wrap up with all the news from the world of The Perfect Gentleman including the events that are on the cards.
Summer is Coming
Summer is coming, well allegedly. As usual here in Britain, we have heard from the newspapers that it either could be a heatwave or it could be a wash out. They are all blaming Climate Change, but as far back as I can remember our Summers in the UK have always been unpredictable. Though that is part of their charm, though it makes some difficulty in planning a Barbecue as we are doing.
Summer means that we have to change the wardrobe, bringing out the Linen, the Polo Shirts, and even displaying the legs in Shorts! As we discussed last week in the Code.
It also means that I get out my Seersucker suit and brave the interested stare of people on the Streets of London. I love my Seersucker, as I have written about before, but it is a very unusual sight on the streets of London.
Dressing for business in summer is a challenge, how to look stylish whilst dealing with the heat is always a balancing act. From Linen to other lightweight fabrics for suits to whether to go more casual is a debate always at PGHQ. Due to the fact that we always have to uphold the brand. So apart from my occasional Seersucker flamboyance we shall be experimenting on different style looks over the course of this Summer, and we will also be spotting our favourite ones out on the streets of London and beyond!
Stay tuned to our Instagram Account @ThePgentlemen for more.
The Gentlemanly Thing to Do
We have written many times about sport here on the Code of the Gentleman and with particular reference to the role models that this past time provides. So, it is with a heavy heart that once again it has come to the forefront of the News, with the FIFA scandal and once again Football is seen as corrupt, greedy, blinkered and lacking in the essence of sportsmanship.
The alleged bad actions of a group of people have and are tarnishing the world’s most popular sport and it takes a country with whom the sport has no real affinity to lay open the problems. That is not the reason for my commentary today nor is it the role models that sportsmen play, my comments today are about Leadership and the Gentlemanly thing to do.
Leadership is about inspiring, is about values, integrity and by example setting the standards for throughout any organisation. Great Leaders, and by that I mean the Leaders that inspire people to do more are fabulous torch bearers for the thing they represent. Whether that be a leader of a country, such as Nelson Mandela; the leader of a sports team, such as John Wooden; the leader of a company, such as Jack Welch and the list goes on. We all have our favourites and exemplars that shine the light for the unsung heros that leade smaller teams everyday. Or indeed as an example to our very selves in the way we should lead in our daily lives. Great Leadership stands out and stands up to be counted. If it makes a mistake it acknowledges it and moves forward or if it is a monumental issue steps aside for someone else to take charge.
When you make a mistake and we have talked about it before on the Code, you need to hold your hands up and admit the error and immediately set about rectifying it. If you don’t or repeatedly make the same errors then not only will you fail to move forward but your credibility as a leader will be eroded at an exponential rate. We all make errors of judgement, we all get duped, we all see things as we want them to be not as they are but any leader of a anything, should be aware of this and learn and move forward.
The hardest thing to do is to step aside and let someone else take over in life or business. We all have egos and we are all underlying selfish, but the mark of great leader is to know that there are better people than you out there and then to know when to step aside and let those move forward. This is especially true when things are going off track or a mistakes (mistakes) are so grievous that it damages all it touches.
It is the Gentlemanly thing to do, to concede defeat, for the better good.
Whether he is guilty or not the point is that Sepp Blatter, is not being a great Leader and by doing so he is fundamentally destroying the thing he states he loves. This hubris that exists within, will like many before him see it come to a tragic end and that does nobody any good and certainly not the organisation and sport that he leads.
My final thought, I went to China for my MBA and whilst there I had the pleasure of listening to Ronnie Chan. Mr Chan is a billionaire property tycoon that started in Hong Kong but has spread across China and Asia. He was asked about corruption in China and corruption and bribery in general and how he dealt with it. He said that he would not deal with any company that he discovered to be corrupt at whatever level as he said “Crooked at the Top, Crooked all the way down!”. On that note on too happier Items.
Events & PG Updates
Our second Sunday Taste went off with a flurry of conversational blows, thanks to our special guest Gareth A Davies. His wit and wisdom were matched by the great cheese supplied by Andy from Borough Box and paired with the P2 cigar. All in all it was a great Sunday afternoon.
The next Sunday Taste event will be Sunday June 14th, where we have the fabulous Jane Malyon from The English Cream Tea company guiding us through her fabulous Tea. Which was inspired by cigars and some of her award winning Jam. You could hardly get a more traditional English afternoon. We will also have another special guest, to be announced shortly. You can your tickets here.
We are also finalising details for the Summer Sunday Taste BBQ, which will be on Sunday July 19th, we only have 20 spots for the fun filled afternoon of Meat, Cigars and finally bringing in some alcohol! It will be a private residence in SouthWest London. We will be joined by the fabulous Borough Box providing some amazing meat, our very own #SuitedChef providing the accompaniments and we are just waiting to confirm the perfect Drinks partner. We will be providing not one but 2 cigars for that afternoon! All for the magic price of £100, that is a gentleman’s bargain. Grab your place.
Our Very own #1PG will be speaking at Eight Members Club on June 16th in the evening. He is talking about what it means to be a Modern Perfect Gentleman and why it is even more relevant in today’s world along with some tips & tricks for every man. For more details go here.
This week we have dedicated a whole page to our Becoming the Perfect Gentleman Live tour of the USA & Canada. We are selling tickets now for the event and we are really excited to add Miami to our list of cities that we are going to! For more Information take a look at the article here or indeed book your place now.
There are a few more events on the cards, we will keep you up to date, on Facebook, Twitter and through our emails, so please do sign up to our mailing list!
