MY ACT OF REBELLION: David Beckett

How did you get into entrepreneurship?

I experienced a 16-year corporate career at Canon, where I passed through the roles from Marketing Assistant to Country Director. It was a great company, but in the last two years I took an insane role, jammed with politics — it was draining every day, and I regularly left the office in tears.

It was a relief when I heard the news my job was moving to London. I had the chance to move with the job, and keep the monthly pay check and a leading Director’s position. But I took a decision that removed that opportunity.

In the last 6 months at Canon, despite my Director’s role, I became part of the Works Council. 234 jobs in total were moving country, and for many people, this was either unwanted or impossible, and the crisis was just starting (2008). I fought on behalf of those 234 people for the best conditions possible. All chances of continuing at Canon evaporated as I argued with senior management for three months solid — but it was worth it.

I believe you have to stand for something. And this was my moment to stand up for my friends and colleagues. I focused solely on supporting the people I had known over those 16 years, and it was the best thing I ever did in the company.

It felt like the right moment to re-consider and re-design my professional and personal life. I left the company and took a pay off, which bought me some time to think.

What challenges did you go through?

In the following five years I first travelled the world, and then did various jobs, including Author: I wrote a book called ‘Amsterdam… The Essence’, (and while doing so met my wife-to-be, Sheila). It was a dream to write a book, but my Canon pay off ran out about five minutes after launching the book!

I then got fired from two companies, after which I even went back to a corporate job — and lasted 4 months before resigning. With a first child on the way, quitting was scary. We had a mortgage of Canon Director proportions, with no income — there was a very real chance of going bankrupt.

How did you face those challenges?

I worked!

I began with the idea of giving presentation skills training, and within a few months I got in contact with Startupbootcamp, a startup accelerator. I began coaching teams to make pitches in 1 minute, 3 minutes and 5 minutes, and for some reason this suited me.

I’d been fascinated by how presentation skills affected people’s careers, and coaching people to help them shine had been a passion of mine. Helping them to do that in such a compact amount of time is a great challenge.

Over the last five years I have invested around 15,000 hours of work to get better at helping my clients shine. I work three nights week until midnight after the kids have gone to bed, and most Saturday afternoons too.

Who are your biggest supporters?

My wife Sheila is,has been, incredibly supportive. She never questioned whether I was doing the right thing, and provided endless, unfailing mental and emotional support. She has given me the platform to find the true professional inside me, and the chance to do something I utterly love doing.

What impact would you like to bring out in the world?

I believe great ideas need a voice.

My goal is to bring the tools I have learned the help people share their ideas with certainty, commitment and passion — and share them with over one million people.

The result would be that people are judged on their ideas, not on their pitch. I’m on the side of the quiet mouths, the ones who aren’t so confident, and I want to enable them to be heard. Great ideas need a voice.

You can read more about David’s work at best3minutes.com