Martin Spiller, Associate Professor in Entrepreneurial Practice at Oxford Brookes Business School, is the latest regional professional in the hot seat as we give him just 10 minutes to answer our 10 burning questions.

1. What does a typical working day for you involve?

There is no such thing as a typical day and for that I am grateful, because I am not great with routine. My main role is at Oxford Brookes Business School, where I am currently building its SME Growth Portfolio. That might mean giving a talk to a business group, working with our Business Engagement team or occasionally doing what I love best, teaching business owners on the Help to Grow programme or delivering a guest lecture to students. Variety is not a distraction from the job. It is the job and it makes me happy.

2. What makes your company special?

Oxford Brookes Business School is not a company, strictly speaking, although I do still have interests in a few of those. I think business schools have an enormous amount to offer SMEs, but we are not always very good at speaking their language. Academic research and frameworks can transform businesses, yet academics and business owners sometimes communicate like one is from Mars and the other Venus, only with more footnotes. What makes Oxford Brookes special is the breadth of knowledge across the university and the willingness and desire to take it outside the building. Using my extensive experience of investing in, growing and running businesses, I get to translate that thinking into practical ideas businesses can actually use, which is how knowledge becomes impact.

3. Do you dress up or down for work?

I have been told I have a uniform and it is mainly blue. Blue chinos, a blue shirt and one of my 37 blue jumpers, with a polo shirt if I am feeling particularly casual. The major daily decision is Chelsea boots or the now almost compulsory leather trainers with white soles, usually finished with one of an unnecessarily large collection of gilets. So I am firmly in the dress-down camp, although my shirts still have double cuffs because I decided when I was young that they looked smart and have refused to reconsider.

4. What piece of advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

Stop being in such a rush, appreciate your university years and work a little less. I spent too much time worrying that everyone else had life figured out, when most were simply better at looking convincing. There will be plenty of time for careers, businesses and spreadsheets, so do not treat every stage of life merely as preparation for the next one.

5. What’s your favourite Yorkshire venue for an event or team away day?

I am very partial to the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey. To me, it captures Yorkshire perfectly with beautiful countryside, proper hospitality, excellent food and absolutely no need to make an unnecessary fuss about any of it. It is somewhere people can think, talk and eat extremely well, which is my idea of a productive away day.

6. How do you prefer to travel for business?

It depends on what I am doing. I love driving, although when I was running my largest business, I wish I had employed a driver so I could work while travelling instead of doing it all afterwards. These days I am a great fan of rail because it gives me enough comfort and space to read or prepare, assuming the train turns up. The UK network could do with considerable improvement, but travelling from London to York is impressively quick and I never tire of arriving beneath that wonderful station roof.

7. What’s your favourite place in Yorkshire to relax?

I have not done it nearly often enough recently, but my favourite escape is the coast around Bridlington, walking along its rapidly changing shoreline. My grandparents retired there, so it is tied to memories of long childhood summers and amazing home-cooked food, particularly meat and potato pie. You can also whip up to Scarborough for its faded Victorian glory and fish and chips. It is not a fashionable wellness retreat, but sea air, nostalgia and pastry do a perfectly good job.

8. Where is your favourite place to eat in Yorkshire, and what dish do you recommend?

There are plenty of grander answers, but mine is Bundobust in Leeds. I was a non-executive director at Leeds-based Modo25 for a while. Its CEO, John Readman, is a friend and possibly the most Yorkshire Yorkshireman you could ever meet. He took me there and it was love at first bite. The food is fresh, vegetarian Indian street food, served without fuss or unnecessary theatre. The Bundo Chaat and Paneer Tikka are to die for, although the apparently compulsory enthusiasm for okra fries has completely passed me by.

9. What do you miss most about Yorkshire when you’re away?

What I miss most is the countryside, particularly Malham Cove, walking in the Dales, dry-stone walls and the sort of fresh, bracing air that makes you feel better whether you wanted to or not. Yorkshire has a scale and solidity to it that I miss when I am away. I also miss the open and honest feedback from Yorkshire people. You may not always enjoy it, but you are rarely left wondering what they meant.

10. Do you have any business rules that you swear by?

I have two business rules that have served me well. The first is to say please and thank you and mean it, because too many people seem to forget basic courtesy as they rise through the ranks. Seniority does not remove the need to be polite, and good manners will take you a surprisingly long way. The second is to take a genuine interest in people by asking questions and listening properly to the answers. Business is built through relationships rather than a succession of transactions, and relationships compound in a way that transactions never do.



Want to feature in our 10 in 10 column? Then contact our business editor business@p.ublished.com