Business leader returns for special event

A highly-successful Sheffield businessman, who was awarded an honorary degree by Sheffield Hallam University last year for breaking America, came home to tell the tale of his success.

Sir George Buckley returned to his hometown in June, for a public lecture about a transatlantic career which has taken him from his roots in Pitsmoor, Sheffield to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Sir George delivered the Sheffield Management Lecture, a key annual event in the regional business calendar, organised by Sheffield Hallam University and University of Sheffield. He talked about being the only British CEO of a Fortune 500 company - 3M - where he was chairman, president and CEO from 2005 to 2012. Sir George was also the first non-American to be made head of the company, famous for making the humble Post-it note and Neil Armstrong’s moon-boots.

Sir George, who now divides his time between the United States and Hartington, Derbyshire, was inspired to study electrical engineering by working on Sheffield Hallam's Owen building in the 1960s. He gained qualifications at Sheffield Technical College and emigrated to the USA in 1978, rising to become chairman of 3M in 2005.

Sir George concluded the talk with some great tips on what makes for a great company, these included steadily gaining market share, new product vitality, steadily improving employee satisfaction, steadily increasing customer satisfaction, achieving stable working capital turns and steadily improving ESG (environmental and social governance) index.

He believes innovation is key to growth, saying: “Innovation is the most important tool in competitive dynamics. It levels the playing field, it can make small companies seem big, and it can dislocate markets, products and customers in the blink of an eye. Never stop focusing on research and development.”

But he also believes great companies need great employees. He said: “People are hugely important to a company’s success. They are what differentiates really great companies from the others. Surround yourself with people better at their job than you are at yours.”