I am currently working on updating my presentation on leadership versus management and I came across this...I remember when this was released. It demonstrates that to make a difference you must truly make a stand for what you believe in. And be prepared to be different or even a little bit crazy. I do know one thing I often consider myself obsessive...(especially about employee engagement - and changing gifting in Australia and New Zealand for ever) and now I don't think that is such a bad thing.

"It is not cash that fuels the journey to the future, but the emotional and intellectual energy of every employee"
Hamel and Prahalad, Competing For the Future

According to Hewitt 70% of Australian companies currently have head count freezes... makes you think you best make the most of the ones you have.

"It is not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
Charles Darwin

Having listened to President Obama’s inauguration speech – I pondered if parts of it could just as easily apply to business. Any business - whether it be a start-up or an established mature business. This is a bit of what he said:

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom."
President Obama

Let me re word it for business purposes:

To be a great business – it does not come easily. It has to be worked at. There is no easy way or cutting corners. It takes people who will ‘give it a go’ and who work hard to make a difference to others over personal wealth. It is the people who make things happen, whether we know about them or not who create great things – these people build great companies and everyone benefits.

Often people have asked me “tell me the one thing that has made RedBalloon successful.” My answer is not what people want to hear. They ‘hope’ for a quick fix, easy riches. But if building a successful business was easy – everybody would do it.

The answer is simple “It takes a lot of hard work – by a lot of people. People all committed to one thing and all pulling in the same direction and are prepared to take a risk”.

"Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists.”
Edward de Bono

When I read this - I started looking at some of the massive projects I have on my plate a different way. Problems are also oportunities. Making tough decisions even if they are not the easiest - in the long term will deliver the best result. There is no power in Hope. Hope is not a strategy.

I found this and thought how apt.

"Recognition helps people to be resilient. Businesses right now... they're trying to survive. And to survive you've got to have some psychological resilience. You've got to have employees who are positive despite the negative situations around them.... I would argue that recognition is even more important in times like this."
Jim Harter Gallup, October 2008.

 

Seth Godin may have written a book about 'purple cows' - and the need for businesses to stand out, but the concept has been around for a very long time. Who was it who said there is no such thing as bad publicity - not sure if that is true.

I often speak of the need for a business to stand out, that it is up to us as marketers to give people something worth saying... We want people to talk about us, and even more so, now we want people to publish about us online. Our challenge of course is to have the sense of creativity and fun so to make it worth passing the message on.

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is NOT being talked about."
Oscar Wilde

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965, Poet and Critic)

I have had the book 'Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom, on my reading list for a very long time. Weekends are so precious to me, but often hectic with young children and many domestic duties to be taken care of.

What a treat to sit a read a book on a Sunday. I cannot remember the last time I read a book cover to cover in one sitting.

It is a book about life's lessons - and there is nothing more relevant in times of uncertainty than going back to basics.

Here are two particular quotes that I thought would be of interest:

1. "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." Morrie Schwartz
   


2. "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." Henry Adams

I am by nature a collector. I collect information, I'm inquisitive and I love to learn. For me writing this blog is about finding a place to keep what I learn safe. In one place - to be referred back to. The thing that is the most rewarding is when other people tell me that they too got something from it. You never know where it will end up...

I read somewhere recently that positive people are far more likely to be successful. I wish I could remember the details because it was fascinating. A study was done by looking at the authenticity of the smile in school photo's - apparently there is a muscle in every persons face that just cannot lie. If you are truly happy this muscle moves - it adds the glint to your eyes. Those who were authentically happy in school photo's - were far more likely to be successful twenty years on.

I know that ever since I won the 'jelly bean in a jar guessing game' at the age of eight at primary school I have thought I was a lucky person. And my luck continues. Therefore when I read this quote sent to me from my friend JC... I rather liked it.

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."
Samuel Ullman (1840-1924, Educator, Writer and Poet)