I was fascinated to learn that there is a Buy Nothing New Month in Australia. I love this idea… though of course retailers will not… (I’m sure the liquor retailers don’t like Dry July either.) I was in the US last summer on holiday with my family and I was completely overwhelmed by the consumerism. (And quite frankly everything began to look the same). I heard that 10% of all women’s clothes sold in Australia are never worn. It is…
Tag Archives: best places to work
Two lessons in the past shaping the future
I was asked these two challenging questions as part of the interview process for a publication – After a little pondering – I explored the most painful… and thought I would share. What one event in your past has shaped your present? I have learned just as much from poor managers as I have from great ones. The reality is that there is gold in every experience we just need to have the clarity of mind and commitment to listen…
Culture Check
We are fast approaching RedBalloon’s tenth birthday, with that it mind I wanted to check in with the team ‘What does it mean to you to be a part of the RedBalloon story?’ The answers were delightful and insightful… but this particular answer from one of the newer RedBallooners is very worth reproducing in whole. If you were to ask the similar question in your organisation, you too could get a great insight into the ‘mood’ – think of it…
Things I learned about Google today
People love-to-love Google – it is an aspirational employer, which is always topping the ‘best places to work’, lists here and in the US with its commitment to work spaces. Today at the Optus Business Technology Seminar however, I learned more about Google’s commitment to workplaces – work can and does happen everywhere and anywhere. Google itself does not have enough desks for the number of people who are employed by it. There is a fundamental shift on what work…
A simple story in recognition.
Over the past 10 years RedBalloon has had many members of the team leave the business often to run their own show, travel, take on study or leave to work elsewhere. RedBalloon has been part of their personal journey, part of their learning, development and education – we have impacted and supported them. And in return they have appreciated being part of RedBalloon. On a personal level we are often sad to say good-bye given that we experience so much…
Coming up this week 27 June 2011
This week of course is the end of the financial year. Time to reflect, review, and reinvigorate ready for the new financial year. Last Monday we finalized the plans for FY12 – each team leader presenting their insights, ideas and execution plans – requesting resources and budgets. This is now the eleventh annual planning cycle and each year I am even more excited by the innovations and new opportunities that RedBalloon creates. I managed to get to Melbourne for the…
Coming Up this week 20 June 2011
After a forced extra 2 days of holiday last week due to the ash cloud – I am finally back at my desk and excited by the days ahead. (It is after all the pointy end of the year.) Monday: Planning presentations from each team leader, and reviewing of business cases at the board meeting. Tuesday: Finalising budgets and start the performance review process Wednesday: Presentation for Aspire Women in Business Network Lunch, then have to dash to Melbourne for…
Coming up this week 9 May 2011
One of the clear highlights from last week was taking some of the RedBallooners to the Business Chicks Breakfast in Sydney to hear Olivia Newton John speak. What a delight. We were all inspired by her commitment to wellbeing and positivity. Dexter was in his element when we had Channel 7s Today Tonight come and film with us on Friday – he of course was the star of the show. I’m sitting looking at this weeks calendar and sort of…
Coming up this week 4 April 2011
I suppose the theme that came out of last week – was ‘am I listening enough?’ It was a busy week, full of celebration. I had a fabulous time at the Contours Conference in the Gold Coast…. What a fun group. I had to rush back to Sydney to host a boardroom lunch at RedBalloon. It is very un-RedBalloon to have a board room lunch – so the invited guests sat amongst the team and we all had lunch together….
1 million RedBalloons go by
Today is momentous, for me personally and for the amazing RedBalloon team. Today, RedBalloon is celebrating the sale of a million RedBalloon experiences. It seems like yesterday that I launched RedBalloon (during the dot com crash, no-one can accuse me of not having an optimistic outlook) and waited (and waited) for two months and four days to sell our first experience. Thank you to our first customer, Damian Chown, who says he chose to purchase from RedBalloon because it was…
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...
