Description

Monocle’s handsome special-edition magazine that’s brimming with big insights, global analysis and case studies to use to keep your company hale and healthy. We chart the choppy waters from first steps to successful scaling-up and bring inspiration, ideas and tips on everything from starting up to starting over.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE

— Global

Preface

From meeting start-ups on the rise to discovering how to find your brand, be an effective boss and what to invest in next, we round up sage advice, thoughts and tips from entrepreneurs with years of experience under their belts.

The right move

City revival

The world’s largest chess piece (garlanded as such by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2018) stands on a pavement in the leafy Central West End neighbourhood of St Louis, Missouri. At six metres tall and weighing nearly 5,000kg, the towering king, built from mahogany, is a totem to one of the city’s most notable cottage industries: the game of chess, which has become a pillar of life in St Louis.

“This has become a pretty colossal endeavour,” says Rex Sinquefield, cheerfully. The 76-year-old serial entrepreneur and…

LESSONS LEARNT

— Global

Preface

Josh Fehnert REPORTING from London: With public spaces shuttered and a third of the world in lockdown, coronavirus has fundamentally altered how we do business. But change isn’t always bad. Here are some positive takehomes. ILLUSTRATOR Motiejus Vaura

lesson 1.

Businesses need to be nimble

It’s a truism that businesses must learn to roll with the punches. But, wow, some unexpected uppercuts have landed in 2020. Disruption has beset absolutely everything, from the supply chain to getting into the office. But wait, there’s hope. Look at the textile factories making masks when we needed them most, the perfumers turning taheir hands to sanitisers or the restaurants that now deliver. Many businesses will have learnt how to regroup at speed in a time of crisis and dodged a knockout blow while they’re…

Preface

Stuck working from home? Thinking about what your company could or should be after all this? Luckily there are people waiting for your call and who – once we defeat this virus – will help you transform not only how your business runs but also how you can do your job with even more passion and precision.

Better health

Focus on the next curve with Hintsa Performance.

There are some startled looks when business coach Pekka Pohjakallio asks every employee in the audience to imagine what a perfect version of themselves would look like. This is followed by a role-playing exercise in which those imagined identities are acted out. The drill, says Pohjakallio, focuses on positive psychology and self-fulfilment. It is run by Hintsa Performance, a Helsinki-based business-coaching firm that helps to improve mental health and wellbeing.

“Employees who see their…