I thought about it at great length – consulted extensively with my colleagues – then asked on this blog if there would be an interest for some of those who contact me regarding their business growth strategies – would it be a good idea to get some like minded people got together for a weekend of discussion and sharing? Now the entrepreneurs mentoring retreat is almost finalized and I’m getting very excited to have it all come together. The pre-reading…
I recently was forwarded an article called ‘The End of Men’ which originally appeared in July 2010 – and is clearly very well researched. It is long but interesting. (And no menfolk are still very much loved, adored and needed the dramatic title is clearly designed to get our attention). This US centric article focuses on the evolution of the role men and women are playing in industrialized societies. As I read the article I did feel uplifted – however…
I’m not a big fan of categorizing people by their age and putting a label on them. Years ago I wrote a blog about ‘Generation Why’ – claiming that I was very much a part of the “generation that questions everything.” I shared recently about my discovery of Pinterest – and how Facebook and Twitter have changed the interface to become more visual. ‘A picture saves a thousand words’… I begin to wonder what the children born this century will…
I am often asked why I blog; Is it because I want to promote RedBalloon? Is it to increase search results? Is it to build my own brand? The reality is that none of the above reasons are in fact true for me. I write my blog because I continue to learn from; books, business leaders, attending conferences – and each of these lessons or insights I need to store somewhere so I don’t forget them. I use my blog…
We are now on the final countdown as we rush into Christmas. I don’t seem to have many minutes to rub together, so as I race from one thing to the next I steal a moment to reflect on what an amazing year we are having at RedBalloon – how fantastic it is that we will continue to be frantically busy until 2.00pm on Sunday when people sit down to Christmas lunch – and then the RedBalloon elves will also…
‘An unexamined life is not worth living’ Socrates Last weekend I took myself off to Landmark Education to do a newly developed program – called ‘Direct Access’ – and whilst I was not quite sure what I wanted to get out of the program I was delighted to see how the organization has evolved since I was last there seven years ago. This is an organization that has been listening to its customers and the customer touch points were noticeably…
As I sat in the back of a taxi rushing from one appointment to another this week… quick to check my phone for messages as soon as I jumped in the cab, the taxi driver asked “And how’s your day going?” I stopped and chatted and found out what he thought of the troubles with the unions and Qantas. The taxi driver lamented that most people were to busy on their mobile phones to chat any more. As I said…
I have just had the pleasure of being a participant at the Ernst & Young Women’s Entrepreneur Workshop in Sydney. It was a delight to listen to Carla Zampatti share her story of being an entrepreneur committed to women’s fashion and the struggles she faced in the late 60s. Lyndsey Cattermole shared the thrill and sheer determination it took to create her business – Aspect Computing – and Melissa Widner discussed her journey as a serial entrepreneur – and her…
Recently I received a ‘letter to the editor’ in response to my article in The Australian: Role models key to end gender imbalance Goals for women IF Naomi Simson‘s goal is to get more women on boards, she should start by not denigrating the role of parenting. ?The women’s movement has failed in what should have been a prime goal — to recognise and elevate the role of caring — whether it is for young children, the disabled, or the…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
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Advice to Gerry – you can’t take it with you
I was chatting with a friend yesterday and we were talking about how to teach our children the value of money. I remembered a presentation I attended years ago when the woman likened money to water… it has a need to flow – there is clean money and dirty money, sometimes it get’s damned up – but spread freely and evenly allows the world to prosper. My friend said that he has set aside some money to support community programs…