Posted: January 21st, 2010 | Filed under: insights | Tags: personal development | No Comments »
“Just give me an effing break” I exclaimed walking up the stairs to my flat so loudly that I suspect my neighbours heard (and possibly sympathised). Another day, another 18 waking hours of having to motivate myself, keep my composure, and remain optimistic as I balance the often competing objectives of: getting married in 3 weeks; starting an entirely new business launching this May, and (it usually feels like) ‘foraging’ for consultancy and coaching income.
Sometimes you just want some invisible hand to come along and give you a leg up; just give you a rest for one day.
And that’s exactly the last thing that you need. The hand one day (if it comes) will only become “just one more time pretty please” and if it happens you won’t stretch yourself. By not stretching yourself you’ll miss out on being amazed by how much you can achieve. That means you will be less inclined to strive to achieve even more. Getting what you ask for is usually the worst thing that can happen. What you don’t ask for but successfully deal with; now that’s how you can achieve even more than you dreamed.
And yesterday – the day of my tired exclamation – I saw that absolutely clearly. Why?
Because I made two things happen by confronting a couple of difficult situations, situations that if they didn’t go my way would make my life unbelievably difficult, and so ones I had been avoiding. And what a surprise – with the right preparation and approached in an open non-judgemental manner; the results were even better than I could have imagined.
Then as I kicked back watching Gordon Ramsey on television, I realised again that you don’t achieve greatness by getting a “leg up”. After touring India Gordon was cooking a dish for an audience of India’s elite. His goal was to encapsulate in one plate all of the regional flavours he had come across in his travels. He achieved it. Not by taking the easy route but by stretching himself, putting himself out there to be judged, and also by adding his personality to the dish so that it became his particular take on Indian food. My second realisation that day. Gordon has been awarded 12 Michelin stars and is worth around £60m because he continually does the tough stuff and sets the bar for himself ever-and-ever higher.
So, every day and throughout the day you should:
- Be honest about the situation you are in.
- Establish clear goals.
- Goals which are a stretch and which make you feel uncomfortable.
- Put your all your passion and energy effectively into making them happen.
Should? Yes you should if you want to make a difference in your life and in the world.
Make things tough on yourself. Face up to those difficult situations, go a lot further than makes you feel comfortable. Then reap the rewards of being yourself, being more creative, and creating a bigger impact. Or just wallow around and moan about how other people’s lives are easier, better, yawn, yawn, yawn….
Turns out that I did get a break after all. But I made that break, I moved things on for myself. And that’s what made it all the more powerful.
Posted: January 11th, 2010 | Filed under: insights | Tags: personal development | No Comments »
I am massive advocate of finding your purpose in life – the one thing that is unique to you and which is your lasting legacy to the world. Bring that passion into every aspect of your life and live your purpose. That’s what I tell everyone: family, friends, coaching clients and everyone who reads my blog. Passion is the fuel of achieving your purpose. But being passionate without being realistic; then that’s road to penury and chaos.
Sounds harsh?
Example 1. Watching some chefs on television the other day, their passion for great cooking was so evident. However it was clear (even without Gordon Ramsey pointing it out) that this passion was not enough. These chefs weren’t being realistic about the impact that they were having on their co-workers. Frankly many in their brigades just didn’t like working with them; so limiting their potential. Or, they were too focused on the food and not thinking enough about the whole experience for their diners; poor service was keeping the customers away. Again, limiting their potential. They were getting increasingly frustrated that they weren’t fulfilling the potential they knew they had, and so their behaviour became more ineffective in a downward spiral. Chaos.
Example 2. “But the money is SO good” even though I will hate every day of it. Or, the “Second Life Plan” otherwise known as “I hate this job but when X happens…” And X never happens. Actually it’s usually Z, and you lose your job. Penury.
Chase your passion not money but always be realistic about where you are and how you are doing.
If you are chasing money, you are simply someone who is “doing this job because it pays” or “I’ll bear with this for a bit because they’re bound to recognise my efforts”, and a whole host of other situations you will recognise. Chase money, and not your passion, and you put an automatic ceiling on what you can earn and the opportunities that will come your way. Why? Because you will only ever be someone who can fill a role – and there are plenty of people who can do that. You won’t be someone who brings their passion to their work, and so who is unique, who shines through, and so who has a value far in excess of most others.
Live your passion every day, love what you are doing. But if you have no heed of how effective you are being and what your real impact is on the people and the environment around you; that’s where chaos lies. That’s where co-workers find you impossible to work with, where you delude yourself about how much impact you are making, where you think you’re worth X but they would struggle to pay you Y. Frustration, unfulfilled dreams, and generally thrashing around to ‘make things work’; simply because you’re not being realistic about how effectively you are bringing that passion to life.
If you are lucky enough to have worked out what it is – follow your passion; always believe that you will find a way to express that passion to the fullest of your potential and make your mark on the world. But, be absolutely realistic about where you are now; and how you need to BE, and what you need to DO to fulfil your passion. Do that, and you avoid the chaos.
A personal example:
PASSION
I am absolutely passionate about the transforming power of creativity, and view it as my purpose in life to enrich the world by empowering its creativity.
REALITY
I am not making the impact I could on the world because I am not in regular enough work to bring it to work every day, and my reach beyond work to a broader universe could be far larger.
CHAOS
I wasted months last year just chasing income, trying to find work that I was qualified for; rather than work out strategies and tactics to get the work that only I, uniquely, could do and that people would value enough to pay for even in these difficult times. I’m avoiding that chaos by focusing on how I add more value than others, and how I can spread my impact (e.g. this post).
Always be passionate, always be realistic, and only create chaos to create something better.
Still chasing money and hoping?
Posted: January 5th, 2010 | Filed under: insights, life purpose | Tags: personal development | No Comments »
2009 was a tough year. I was made redundant and haven’t secured full-time paid employment yet. Despite appearing negative, all times of change are an opportunity for growth and I, like a great many others have been reassessing how to make a living.
Recently I came across the story of R. Buckminster Fuller, the inventor of the geodesic dome, inventor of the word “synergy”, and general modern-day Renaissance Man. In 1927 He was facing tough times; really tough times; a daughter dead at four, five businesses failed, bankruptcy was imminent and his wife had just given birth. He had decided he couldn’t take it any more and went to the shores of Lake Michigan to drown himself. Before doing so he sat on the bank and asked himself a question: was there a God, a greater intelligence operating in the Universe? Yes, he decided, on the basis of “the exquisite design of everything, from the microcosm of atoms to the macromagnitudes of the galaxies”.
Given there must be a God, some form of higher intelligence, he then asked “Do I know best or does God know best whether I may be of any value to the universe?” He concluded that his very existence meant that he had some purpose in life, some value to bring. But what? He asked a third question:
“What does my experience tell me needs to be attended to, which if attended to completely will bring advantage to all humanity, and which if left unattended can very readily have all of humanity in great trouble?”
He didn’t drown himself that day, instead he decided to dedicate his life to answering that question; to focusing all of his energies on his one thing that would change the world for the better.
Nearly 50 years later R. Buckminster Fuller had earned the description of ‘a twentieth-century DaVinci’, and it was estimated that one-quarter of a billion people had come into contact with some aspect of his work.
This story brought home to me again the vital importance of discovering and living your purpose in life – ‘your one thing’. Everyone has a purpose, a unique contribution to the world. We are all utterly unique, and what also makes us unique also mean that we can all have our own individual profound impact on the world that enriches it every day. There are three jobs we all have in life: 1. Find your unique purpose 2. Live it every day 3. Enrich the world with your unique talents.
Your life purpose is the reason why you are here in the world. It’s the impact that the uniqueness that is you can have on the world. Your life purpose is ongoing and a way of being. Your life purpose informs every area of your life. It gives you direction. Because your life purpose is unique to you, it is your source of power.
There are as many different types of life purpose as there are definitions of success. Some people’s purpose will be centred on the achievement of something physical – winning, buying or building something – which in effect amounts to having. Others will be centred on their work, project or career – or what they are doing. Our prime or first purpose, however, is always who we are being. It is who we are being that leads to achieving our life purpose. Your life purpose may not be directly centred on your work but you can always be passionate about your work because it is a vehicle to help you live your life purpose.
Finding your life purpose is about finding the answer to a simple, yet powerful question:
What is the one way of your being that makes you special, that you will be known for, and will be the legacy you leave?
2009 personally was a tough year but I have realised that the way to thrive in 2010 is by adding my unique value to the world in all aspects for my life – my career, family, relationships everything. My unique purpose is my source of value and power. And what is it?
My life purpose is to enrich the world by empowering its creativity. I help create personal and business change for creative people. I do this as a personal mentor and communications strategist. As a personal mentor I help people to create balance in their lives and achieve their dreams. As a strategist I inspire creativity that generates business results.
I intend to make 2010 the ‘year of my one thing’. What is your unique contribution to the world and how will that manifest itself in 2010?
Posted: November 1st, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: personal development | No Comments »
You have created the reality that you find yourself in; what you tolerate in life, the beliefs you have that limit you, your attitudes, these and other of your influences have all created your reality. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you take responsibility for your current situation, the sooner you can take responsibility for changing it for the better. We may not always have direct control of the world around us but we are always free to choose how we think and feel. It’s not what happens that makes the biggest difference but how you deal with what happens. No one can take this inner freedom, this inner power, unless we choose to give it away.
Sound too simple? Well let’s look at how attitudes are formed.
Attitude is an emotion that all people get when they have other emotions. As Wikipedia says “Attitudes are positive, negative or neutral views of an “attitude object”: i.e. a person, behaviour or event. People can also be “ambivalent” towards a target, meaning that they simultaneously possess a positive and a negative bias towards the attitude in question. Attitudes come from judgments. Attitudes develop on the ABC model (affect, behavioral change and cognition). The affective response is a physiological response that expresses an individual’s preference for an entity. The behavioural intention is a verbal indication of the intention of an individual. The cognitive response is a cognitive evaluation of the entity to form an attitude. Most attitudes in individuals are a result of observational learning from their environment.”
There is a simple conclusion to this: a positive reality comes from positive emotions about a person, behaviour, or event. Re-frame your emotional response to a positive one and your attitude will be a positive one. Sound too simple? Well ask yourself if you are really seeing the true picture. When a Japanese person nods we assume that he means “yes” but he is actually saying “I hear you and I acknowledge that you said that”. Do not confuse data with assumptions. The problem is that most people treat interpretations, attributions and generalisations as data or facts, rather than assumptions.
As Peter Senge says in his book “The Fifth Discipline”: “We do not describe the world that we see; we see the world we can describe.”
The greatest thing that any of us will ever choose in life is our attitude towards it. And that is how you have created the reality you find yourself in now. If you believe that you will live the fullest life you can, you will.
Posted: October 19th, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: better business | No Comments »
So, we’re worried about the future right? Worried about keeping our jobs, the value of our properties, and what the next shocking economic news might be. Best to keep our heads down, don’t rock the boat, just keep carrying on.
Wrong.
The best way to deal with uncertain times is to be more creative, take more action. Anything else is giving away your power.
For giving away our power is what we are doing. We’re giving it away to our boss, or the company we work for, to the media that’s scaring us about the economy, and to the politicians who tell us they have the answers. And that’s just not good enough.
The only person who is in charge of your destiny is you. Sure, bad things happen but “bad” is only one way of looking at it. Look for the lesson – “bad” things always have something to teach us. You could be a victim who lets thing happen to them, or you could be a person who knows that in turbulent times people are drawn to quality, creativity and positive action.
i.e. the you who fully embraces your power.
Let’s be clear what I mean by your power. It’s not control over people, or money, or sex appeal, or having more than others. Your power is:
- knowing yourself
- believing in yourself
- having the courage to speak up for what you know to be right
- and to do what is the right, if not necessarily the easiest, thing
How to deal with these uncertain times?
Stand on the courage of your convictions. Believe in yourself and what you do, no matter what others do or say.
But don’t fool yourself; be honest about the situation you find yourself in because from this place of honesty and integrity you can creatively think of ways to thrive.
Easy words to say yes. I’m trying to live them every day and I know it’s hard. But maintain your power; what makes your contribution unique and amazing – because now more than ever:
If you stand for nothing you will fail at everything.
Posted: October 13th, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: personal development | No Comments »
What gets you up in the morning? Yeah ok – it’s your mobile phone alarm just like every other modern connected smartass.
Is it because you can’t wait to get started on your projects for the day? Or is it because unless you go to work, you won’t have enough money to pay for all the things you really want to be doing?
Time to take a look at yourself and work out whether it’s drive or passion that gets you going.
Passion pulls you towards something you can’t resist. You might try – for years – but it just won’t go away. It’s your answer to the question “If money wasn’t an issue I’d like to spend the rest of my life…”
Drive pushes you toward something you feel compelled or obligated to do.
Pull versus push. There’s a clue already.
Passion is when you express who you truly are.
Passion is a connection to an idea that excites you. A big idea. One that’s worth your time, emotions, focus, annoying your partner because you’ve just got to spend a little bit more time on it…
Passion is what gets you through the tough times and which gives you that twinkle in your eye when you tell (anyone who will listen) what you are up to.
Drive pushes you. Passion pulls you.
What’s your passion, and what are you doing about it?
Posted: October 9th, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: social media | No Comments »
I recently wrote a white paper for the agency Brand Reputation. The text appears below and can be downloaded from here. Enjoy!
WHY LISTENING SHOULD BE YOUR FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVE
This is the fourth in a series of white papers by Brand Reputation. The purpose of this paper is to provide summarised thought leadership to Marketing Directors and Chief Executives of consumer brands on how to effectively listen to online sentiment about your brand as a tool to mine insight, make marketing budgets work more effectively, and more cost-effectively deliver customer service.
LISTEN FIRST AND THEN TALK TO YOUR CONSUMERS
We have always known that consumers can be unforgiving; poor brand experience leads to switching and lost sales. This is even more of a threat now because in ever-increasing numbers consumers are adopting digital technologies to share their experiences and opinions. Whether it is in Twitter, Facebook, forums, or blogs there are substantial numbers of conversations about your brand, and people being influenced about your brand. Do you know what is being said? Where these conversations are happening? Who is influential? Who is being influenced? What your competitors are doing about it? If the answer is yes then you are amongst the few early-adopters using listening to sharpen your marketing and your customer service. If the answer to these questions is no; this paper presents the 8 business benefits of listening to consumer sentiment about your brand.
FIND OUT WHAT YOUR BRAND REALLY STANDS FOR
As a marketer what you think about your brand doesn’t really matter as much as what your consumers think of your brand; because your brand only meaningfully exists in the minds of the people who could and do buy it. What your consumers say about you is more critical than it has ever been because digital technologies give everyone the ability to reach and shape the opinions of your consumers.
There is no doubt that consumer insight can create truly effective marketing, yet why is it that so many marketers seem so reluctant to listen – and indeed talk with – their consumers? It is an unfortunate fact that as many marketers become more senior they become more distant from their consumers. Attending focus groups in Bolton on a Thursday night is too often seen as a “rite of passage” for junior team members; and that means many marketers are missing the opportunity to hear first hand insights that can make their marketing more effective. And even when groups are attended, sitting behind a glass mirror eating peanuts is no substitute for real dialogue with your consumers.
Out there in blogs, forums and in all sorts of places your consumers are expressing real frustrations and, hopefully, joys and ideas about your brand. Listening to your consumers online enables you to tap into what they are saying about your brand: spontaneously and not mediated through a research process. You will hear exactly what they think and, if you use the right approach and technologies, be able to assess how many people are expressing this sentiment and how influential they are. And, what’s even better, you can do it from wherever you want to sit with your laptop.
MONITOR CHANGING SENTIMENT IN REAL TIME NOT JUST ONCE A QUARTER
Brand sentiment can switch swiftly and the first you might know about it is a drop in sales, or in frequency of use, or an increase in customer support calls. Without knowing why.
We’ve all sat in those quarterly brand reviews; pages and pages of PowerPoint that tell you what people thought of your brand 3 months ago, along a fixed set of questions that can’t be changed because ‘we can’t upset the methodology’. There is a better way.
If you actively monitor for relevant conversations about your brand you can find out what is driving shifts in sentiment – whether positively or negatively – and change your activities as a result. Gathering insights in real-time means you can act in real-time.
REFINE YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY BASED ON REAL BRAND SENTIMENT NOT SUPPOSITION.
As identified by Jim Collins in “Good to Great”, leaders in great companies usually have the strength of character to confront the brutal facts of their reality, however unpleasant they may be, and take whatever action is required. Listening to your consumers on an ongoing basis connects you to the reality of their world, and disconnects you from suppositions that can blind you and lead to marketing failures.
By listening you can correctly identify sentiment to pick up on how different products and services deliver value and meet customer needs. You are then able to assign a value to this feedback to correctly prioritise these sentiment insights by asking yourself questions like:
- Does the feedback come from your most valuable consumers?
- Does the feedback come from people who can most influence indirect sales?
IDENTIFY KEY INFLUENCERS
Not all bloggers are equal; some are more equal than others.
Although anyone can contribute online at any time the reality is that most people are consumers not contributors, and that most people who contribute have limited influence: either because their networks are small or their influence within large networks is limited. However some people are very important indeed because they have large networks and deep influence. It is these people you should be identifying, and with whom you should be creating a relationship.
Every network has ‘nodes’ – connection points in the network. Think of your consumers who are active contributors as ‘person nodes’ – the more they contribute and the more they are read, the more important they are as nodes in your network.
Listening technologies allow you to identify the influential value of these ‘person nodes’, and this allows you to do 3 things:
- Know who they are by name and where they contribute
- Assign a value to them; using a methodology like the ‘Net Promoter’ Score
- Enter into a relationship & leverage the power of their networks for both your benefit.
Brands that have created relationships with influential bloggers have developed powerful and effective advocates. Advocates who have extended the influence of their marketing activity, often way beyond that possible with more ‘traditional’ marketing activities.
BENCHMARK YOUR BRAND SENTIMENT AGAINST YOUR COMPETITORS
A problem shared is a problem you probably don’t have to worry about quite so much.
Listening to sentiment online enables you to understand what people are saying about your competitors too. This benchmarking enables you to establish where consumer concerns appear to be category concerns; and so are less important than direct concerns about your brand. It enables you to understand direct advantages they perceive for other brands. It also enables you to spot opportunities – particularly negatives they perceive about competitors which could give you an opportunity for tactical marketing; such as specific messaging, or campaigns focused at specific segments of your audience.
RESPOND QUICKLY TO CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUES
Before they become PR disasters and you lose consumers as a result.
The Economist once wrote that one of the reasons that service in America is so good is because Americans complain at the time of poor service, and staff are used to handling these complaints and dealing positively with them. Contrast that with the more taciturn Brits who have a tendency to pay up and go away grumbling. In the old days before the internet they’d do this at home or in the pub and their reach would be limited to whoever they could bore with their stories of how they were hard done by. Nowadays they talk in the pub AND log on to a social network of their choice. The trouble is that messages left in social networks don’t go away and give complainants far wider reach; and far greater negative impact on the brand.
The infamous ‘Dell Hell’ incident prompted Dell to invest in listening and responding to its consumers. Dell, a numbers-driven organisation only does things if they can measure their success. Not only is Dell selling computers through social media (what really matters to them) but they are also responding in real-time to their consumers and their concerns more efficiently and effectively. That’s good for the consumers, and reduces servicing costs and lost sales for Dell. Typically Dell is not an adventurous marketer – if Dell is using listening platforms and social media; then it really has hit the mainstream.
Listening gives you the opportunity to spot these complaints, deal with them and satisy the customer, as well as show others how responsive you can be. And we all know that resolving consumer complaints quickly and effectively can turn a complainer into one of your most enthusiastic and vocal brand advocates.
GENERATE NEW IDEAS FOR PRODUCTS AND COMMUNICATION
Listening to consumers will give you insights that will lead to ideas; engage with your consumers and they can become an outsourced innovation department.
This approach (sometimes referred to as ‘Crowdsourcing’) has been used to cut the development time and cost of bringing new products to market and, for those who consumers are involved, helps create even more brand loyalty.
SAVE MONEY VERSUS ‘TRADITIONAL RESEARCH’
Ongoing listening to sentiment does not have to be an expensive exercise. It compares favourably on cost with research methods, such as tracking studies, that you may know well because you’ve worked with them for years but were never created for an age in which sentiment can change in a day, and you might know nothing about it.
SUMMARY & NEXT ACTION
Consumers will continue to use social media to actively take control away from brands; a trend that will only increase. Marketers who seek to counter this trend and to leverage the power of online marketing to drive positive sentiment for their brands should start first with actively listening to consumer sentiment about their and their competitors’ brands. Listening allows marketers to track discussions, understand sentiment, identify influencers and use the resulting insights to improve the effectiveness of marketing and customer service.
Ask yourself some basic questions:
- Do I know what people are saying today about my brand?
- Do I know who my most influential consumers are?
- Do I know where these conversations are taking place?
- How much could I improve my marketing effectiveness by improving brand sentiment?
- Do I really know what my brand stands for in the minds of my consumers?
- Do people trust my brand as much as they used to?
If you’d like to find out more and review some case studies of brands that have successfully benefited from listening to sentiment online, then do get in touch. Similarly if you would also like to understand how to set up ongoing sentiment monitoring for your brand.
ABOUT BRAND REPUTATION
Brand Reputation is a multi-service brand communications agency that specialises in fixing Brand Pain™ for consumer brands. We build brand value, sales, profit and market share for some of the world’s leading brands. For more information about us please visit www.brandrep.co.uk
For further details of any aspect of the content of this paper then please contact us at enq@brandrep.co.uk or call us on +44 20 7025 8083.
Posted: July 30th, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: personal development | 1 Comment »
If you could travel back in time and give advice to your 20-year old self; what would you say?
The first thing might be “I know you’re not going to listen to a word I say but…”
I am sure this list will be pretty organic as I make more mistakes and learn new stuff but here’s my starting-point. I’d love to hear what advice you’d give your 20-year old self.
Remember everyone you’ve ever done business with and use social networking tools to keep in touch.
Be someone people can rely upon.
Always produce the best work you can, and always strive to make it better than other people’s work.
You aren’t going to “get discovered” – you’re going to have to tell the world about yourself.
Work hard, take care of your integrity and your reputation will take care of itself.
Know the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Take more risks. But remember the difference between courage and foolhardiness is, at most, only a few minutes thought.
When the fat lady does finally sing, make sure that you can hear her.
Sleep less. Get up an hour earlier for 3 weeks and you will be amazed that you can do it easily, and delighted with this extra hour all to yourself.
If you never say no; then what is your yes worth?
You can have your cake and eat it. But not all at once.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
Save money. It may seem boring but you’ll be the one smiling when you have a new car, deposit, holiday, cushion when you lose your job.
Cause and effect are not always closely related in time and space.
The easy way out usually leads back in.
Discipline is not a bad thing – especially when it’s self-discipline. Do you want success? Do you want results? Then have the self-discipline to make it happen.
Anticipating the pain is always worse than the pain itself. Don’t waste your time worrying about how much something you are striving for is going to hurt on the way. Whatever that pain is: A) it won’t be as bad when you’re working through it, and B) it will all be worth it when you are celebrating your success.
Yes you will make mistakes but don’t beat yourself up – just don’t do it again, and learn what didn’t work that time.
Motivate yourself; don’t strive to have what others have. Be fired up by the internal motivations that drive YOU, not the external trappings of wealth, power, and success. If you’re any good – and that sort of thing is important to you – they’ll come the more brilliantly you shine at what you are doing.
No company will ever give you loyalty. Only people will.
Food doesn’t make you fat. Eating more calories than you burn up in the average day does.
Let your individuality shine out. What makes you unique gives you your particular edge. Don’t copy others – work on expressing the uniqueness of you – whatever it is.
Having fun is much more fun when you’ve done your work first.
Get it in writing. This is true for multiple cases of “it”.
If something cannot go on forever it will stop. No matter that you don’t want it to, and usually when you least want it to. Or expect it to.
Confront the brutal facts of your current reality – no matter how unpleasant they might be. Then take ownership of the position you find yourself; admit to yourself your role in making all of this happen. When you do this, and only when you do this, you can start creating the reality you want.
Life a life of purpose. Our unique talents and personality mean that we all have a unique contribution to the world – one that’s going to enrich the world and fulfil you. Work out what your purpose is – and start living it as much as you can, as soon as you can.
Rest and recharge often. Then you can go and work hard. And party.
If you are selling something for money; the sale is over only once you have gone to the bank.
Nobody ever gives you power. You take it. Don’t ask for permission to do something – if every fibre of your being thinks it’s right, and I mean really right and you’re not kidding yourself, then do it. Then do it again.
Standing out from the crowd and doing your own thing – being a leader – that’s a lonely gig. But better to be slightly lonely than ripped up by regret.
The secret of life? Be at peace with now – whatever that now is – because now is all you really only ever have.
Posted: July 28th, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: food | No Comments »
Well, not quite everything. A little while back I did a Pecha Kucha at a Wunderman company jolly.
If you’d like to read about the mystical power of eating penises, or how everything is solved by a nice cup of tea, then click here to download the presentation.
Posted: July 23rd, 2009 | Filed under: insights | Tags: better business | 1 Comment »
I believe that there are 8 things you will find in all of the best businesses in the world.
Aim to be the best
Have a crystal-clear idea of what they strive every day to be the best in the world at.
Have a Guiding Vision
A goal that everyone believes in, and is playing their unique part in making happen.
Believe in talent
In creating an environment for people to do their best work ever.
Create strong cultures
Ones in which entrepreneurialism, creativity and team-work are encouraged and rewarded.
Never neglect delivery
Understand that delivery – both excellence and value-for-money – are basics that can never be neglected.
Commercialism runs throughout
Everyone lives the mantra of “control costs” but management spend wisely to generate business advantage.
Never stop moving
Are never satisfied with where they are, and always want to be ridiculously better and more successful than their competitors.
Download the presentation version here.
Is there anything else you would add to this list?
Subscribe by email
Follow me on twitter
Recent Comments