TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/757593
elixir, of course, it is hard ever to retrieve the same intensity – and a deep recession, soon after, made it harder still. How marvellous, then, that Harwood was able to embark on a whole new lease of life. His father had intended to develop the motoring business himself, after Harwood chose the Turf and the engineering division was sold. Unfortunate- ly, he died before being able to do so – and while Harwood did become chairman, he remained in a non-executive capacity until the firm's worsening struggles coincided with Amanda's readiness to step up at Coombelands. While under manage- ment, it had comprised just two garages, the orig- inal one at Pulborough and another just up the road at Petworth: single franchises that attended to both "sales" and "after-sales" (i.e. repairs and so on). Asked to explain the astonishing transforma- tion in the firm's size, turnover and fortunes under his direct stewardship, Harwood initially shrugs and summons the old axiom: the harder you work, the luckier you get. But then he reconsiders, apologis- es for sounding glib, and attempts to unpick more specific factors in his success. "Total integrity, for one," he says. "I think we have a good reputation, and that's obviously very important. Then there's the customer service ele- ment. The customer is always right. Even when he's wrong. It's no good arguing. Obviously you might get to the point when you can't afford to agree, but in the day-to-day run of things, if he's unhappy you've got to put it right if you can. Teamwork is another very important thing. A lot of these apply equally for a trainer, of course. Argue with an own- er and he might take his horse away. You have to reason with him, discuss things and find your com- mon ground. But what you can't do without, in ei- ther business, is loads of good fortune; being in the right place at the right time. And then, yes, as I said, good old-fashioned hard work." Sure enough, he seeks no indulgence on account of his years. He is at his desk at 8 a.m. every morn- ing, five days a week. "And I'll work through as long