I thought it may be interesting to let you know a little more about the heart of my company. I can wax lyrical about the designs all day long but what is at the core of Andrew Geoghegan Ltd?
For several years I never really thought about why I do what I do and, if anything, what I was trying to achieve. Then a good friend of mine gave me a book about what makes some companies visionary. The several businesses discussed were the likes of 3M and Ford for examples and the author uncovered a series of similarities in each of these incredible and ‘here to stay’ companies. The most important was a Core Ideology or more specifically core values and purpose. But it was apparent that it was not enough just to have one of these, it was its quality that made the difference:
The ideology had to capture what the company stands for and why it exists. The values must be deep, totally authentic and in no way created just for the sake of the statement. It is not to be confused with operational practises or be compromised for financial gain or short term expediency. The values need no rational or external justification and nor do they change with trends and fashions. They must have a crystal clear simplicity that provides an unequivocal guide. It should contain the fundamental reason for the company’s existence beyond just making money. It should inspire and enthuse…….. is that enough for you?
So armed with this brilliant information I set to work on digging deep within the roots of myself and my company. It was quite an incredible process of upturning old habits and enlightening introspection. And here are the results:
Continuous improvement.
Challenging the individual and requiring their best efforts.
Creating and innovating exquisitely designed and exceptionally crafted jewellery in pursuit of the ‘perfect’ piece.
This short statement took many days of refining and I hope it speaks volumes about why I do what I do. The ‘perfect’ piece phrase is especially important as this sets a pretty much impossible goal which keeps everyone who works with me and my self continually inventing and striving.
Sometime after creating the statement I was discussing it with a friend who also ran a business. When I proudly revealed my statement to him, he paused for a while and asked me was there a further layer beneath the final sentence. I knew that I had peeled off layer after layer to get to it so I replied that there was not. He then suggested that the reason I created jewellery was that people can express their love to each other. I will be totally honest and admit that this never occurred to me – possibly because I have a bit of a hang up with the word love. But on a subconscious level I believe my learned friend had a point. The giving of engagement rings , wedding rings or even cocktails rings are simply ways of saying ‘I love you’. They are the most emotive and symbolic gifts there are. Maybe I deal with my hang up by immersing myself in an industry based on love.
Armchair psychology aside, creating the statement was a brilliant process and the statement itself is now clear to me, my team and I hope all of my customers.