Ernst & Young 2011 National Entrepreneur of the Year winners

Last week was about as big as they get. In addition to the three awards received by RedBalloon last week, I was also a judge in the National Telstra Business Womens awards. Actually weeks don’t get much bigger than last week.

What started as a normal week of one on one’s and coaching with some of the newer team members in Sydney… ended up quite differently.

On Wednesday I did one of our less known experiences – which is the art walking tour of Melbourne… Bernie, our host only ever has upto eight people and she loves enlightening us on the journey from street art and emerging to commercial galleries.

Street Art in the lane's of Melbourne

In our four-hour tour she even squeezed in a trip to a working artist’s studio so we could learn how he is developing his works for an exhibition in May. We finished with a drink at a fantastic little bar on the roof top of an unknown Bourke street location. I grew up in Melbourne, this tour was a wonderful way to experience the uniqueness of this wonderful art city via its little lanes and backstreets. Apparently every time Bernie does the tour she changes its format (so I will definitely do it again).

Thursday was an all day event as a judge of the Telstra Business Womens awards. I had loved reading all the submissions of the finalists for the innovation category – the diversity and outcome of innovation is remarkable: from home renovation to street swags for the homeless;  volunteer travel to dressing women for work; the most amazing librarian transforming what a library is in Mt Gambier; and revolutionary practices in emergency care in Canberra’s largest hospital. The ultimate winner for innovation was Prof. Veena Sahajwalla for her invention of using waste products in the steel making process. This ‘green’ steel is now implemented by OneSteel and another manufacturer in Thailand – and others will follow.  And yes, it is her name on the patent.

Telstra Business Women's Awards 2011 National Nokia Business Innovation Award winner - Professor Veena Sahajwalla

All awe inspiring women – as were all the other categories. The sheer diversity of the stories and their achievements was exciting, exhilarating and engaging. The overall winner is Catherine Burn, Assistant Commissioner Corporate Services for NSW Police. (Five of the six awards went to women from NSW – a fine achievement.)

After a day of judging I was straight off to the Ernst & Young awards at Shed 14 in Docklands – and another amazing night with four of the six awards going to NSW entrepreneurs, as mentioned in last week’s post.

The Telstra Business Womens Awards were held the next night, also at Shed 14 and very funnily I was seated at almost the same table as the night before. I felt so privileged to be a part of both of these amazing events… a really big thanks to Ernst & Young for hosting such an event. And Telstra for its event. It takes amazing commitment in tough times to keep such programs going with such absolute dedication. And well done to Commonwealth Bank for being a part of both awards…what a great way to connect with customers at such events.

The weekend I spent with with my teenagers painting pictures (indoors because of the raining weather). What an wonderful way to finish the week – with a paint brush in my hand, getting ready to paint the next great phase at RedBalloon.

This week:

Monday: Interview with Marty Wilson for his new book
Tuesday: Business Round Table
Wednesday: Speaking engagement for the Assoc of Tertiary Management
Thursday & Friday: Writing Writing Writing (this book will appear one day)

My comments:

“I just wonder if we’re asking the right questions. We’ve evolved from an industrial revolution to an information revolution and have not fundamentally thought out how the community is raising the next generation.

I don’t mean to be dramatic but how are we making sure the next generation is more educated and better off than we are? How can we show them that we are improving the planet?

Education is at the source of everything and, in Australia, the majority of our university graduates are women. We’re number one on the planet in terms of educating women in tertiary institutions and yet the participation rate of those women in leadership roles is dire. So we’re spending the money on education but we’re not getting the return out of highly educated people.

I’ve had people say to me: “We should make those stay-at-home mums feel bad.” On the contrary. We shouldn’t make the women who work feel bad!

When it comes to paid parental leave … 18 weeks! Parenting is 18 year job. Paid parental leave isn’t the answer. It’s what we’re doing to make childcare accessible and available to people all the time, without prejudice, whether it’s a mother or father, foster parent, guardian or whatever. Many women miss out of the non-critical, yet still beneficial, aspects of work – the seminars, the conferences, the networking efvents, the breakfasts – because who is going to do the childcare and get the kids to school? Somebody has to pick them up and run them to music lessons and football.

We need to look at what the community is doing to support the growth and care of our children. We need to communities around the planet that have got it rightz. I think we should start looking at Asian communities. We should find out where it’s work anthropologically and what that looks like. Look at what they do well and copy it.

It’s important to recognise that it’s not a women’s issue, it’s a community issue and one that need structural economic reform, especially if you are spending valuable taxpayers dollars educating a populace who are then not contributing to society.”

There are many opinions – I would value your comment on this one….

Some of my dreams are more attainable than others (like belly laugh with my kids every day – this is very possible versus trek the Inca Trail – will take far more preparation). One of my dreams was physically available to me – but I was not sure if it was emotionally available to me (aka did I have the guts to actually do it.)

I’m a fair weather skier, if the sun is shining and everything perfect I have a pleasant time meandering down the slopes. So to find myself dropped onto the narrow peak of a New Zealand mountain by helicopter – was not exactly my usual level of ‘nice’ skiing.

The snow was thick and inviting. Making tracks through the powder is every skiers dream. Equipped with special wide powder skis the only thing that stood between me and realising this dream was fear. I’m not sure what I was scared of… I know I can ski, I know that the snow was soft, I know that if it gets too steep I can simply traverse the mountain, I know that I am fit. So where did this fear come from.

My children and husband were all glee and excitement playing games as they skied. The experience was so well managed – every safety precaution taken. We had two guides one who skied ahead and the other behind… Each guide was a veritable skiing safety equipment repository.  Our lead guide Tim had an ‘air bag’ system strapped to his back – so at the slightest hint of an avalanche he would pull a cord and two massive red balloons (yes they were red) would automatically inflate keeping him surfing on top of any avalanche. Each of us had a beacon strapped to our body so we could not get lost.

It took me several runs to ‘stop thinking’ – to allow my skis to run and stop trying to control or hold on. To trust that all the preparation had been done – and now I had to believe in my own ability and let myself go.

The analogy to business was not lost on me. All the preparation, planning, discussion, and debate – finally comes down to backing yourself and trusting your ability and those around you.

On a personal front it is important to remind ourselves where we are heading and why – to keep looking at what is important to us – and to be prepared to dream and write those things down.

I am pleased that I can tick the box on this one (we did two full days Heli-Skiing out of Queenstown) and I am so pleased that we did the second day – because that is the day that I learned to laugh at myself and give up my fear.

It was a truly amazing experience – that I am very privileged to have done. Have you a bucket list? If so is it time for a review?

This picture below is of one of our guides – imagine this being your day job? My son now wants to be a Ski Guide when he grows up….

Q1: You say on your website that “life is the sum of our experiences, not our belongings”. So can we have some thoughts on another sort of experience, the experience of buying a home to live and raise a family. What can you tell us about your experience of the first home you purchased?

A1: I bought my first home [flat] before I was married – back in 1988 had saved the deposit over 3 years. It cost $80,000 – which was a lot of money. Interest rates shot up to 16% – ouch. It was so hard financially that I had to take in a border and I could only afford to eat at home, I lived on boiled eggs. There was an upside to all this hardship however, when I sold the property a several years later, the price had gone up and I had created a small nest egg that was the deposit for the family home. In some ways that property was like forced savings.

Q2: One essential belonging is having a roof over your head but reaching that goal can be very stressful. With continual mortgage strain, do you think a new experience, family fun or bit of indulgence can provide some relief?

A2: Good times don’t have to cost a lot – and it is important to balance hard work and determination with joy. A fun thing to do is to create the family dream list – things that you want to do or experience together as a family. So whilst you are paying off the mortgage you are still planning and looking forward to other family activities. One of my favorite sayings is ‘Even if you are on a diet you can still read the menu’ – it is important to imagine, dream and plan. Have some small things on the list – and make sure you do them.

Q3: What are some experiences you could recommend for these people, to help them with mortgage relief or give them more quality in their family time?

A3: Children don’t want to be entertained – they want your time and listening. Shared experiences are the basis of all relationships. Having everyone in the kitchen cooking the meal, or everyone researching the family holiday means that everyone has a voice. [The family that plays together..] Giving someone a gift of something they have always wanted to do and sharing that joy creates fabulous family connection.

Q4: You were a winner at the National Telstra Business Women’s awards, we have a large female audience and the results of our recent survey concluded that females are the most active online seekers in the home loan market. What words of advice could you give these women who maybe trying to juggle a career and/or motherhood as well as a home?

Q4: There is no right answer – we all just muddle through the best we can. Each day with a family and career is a day of logistics and planning. My trick is just to be truly present at what ever I am doing in that moment. If I am with my children then I am in their world and playing their games. And it is the same at the office. It is not the quantity of time that we spend with our family it is about our connection with the moments we have.

Q5: Your favorite experience?

A5: How could I have a favorite - That would be like choosing between your children. There are perfect experiences for different moments. Sometimes you want to put people out of their comfort zone – other times you want to pamper them or give them a treat. That is why RedBalloon has more than 2,500 different activities. There is something for every occasion and personality – the easiest thing is to use the gift finder.

What lesson did she just teach her 4 year old! (More than 200 pedestrians are hit by vehicles in Sydney city every year.)

So let’s fast forward this child’s life – she is now a teenager and she has no respect for any authority. She does not listen to her teachers and she definitely doesn’t listen to her parents. In fact worse she treats them with utter disdain.

In the moment that this mother ran across the road against the red light – she taught her daughter to break the rules and not listen to authority. She said ‘our personal needs are more important than the rules of society’.

My blood boils when I hear parents whinge about their unresponsive rude teenagers… like it is all the kids fault. We need to take a good hard look at ourselves and say ‘how am I responsible for our kids disdain for authority?’

My father used to say tongue in cheek ‘Do as I say not as I do.’ I thought it was a rubbish then, and I still do. We all need role models and people to look up to – especially our kids.

I was fascinated that when I was sharing in the TEDx presentation about my daughter and the great first gift she gave me when she was a baby… then I began to share that she is now 14. The audience laughed anticipating that I would say some cliché about ‘teenagers’ in fact what I shared was the sheer joy of being a parent of an articulate, talented, funny, amazing young person. I could not help but let my emotion spill into my words.

People are a reflection of what we think of them, and how we are with them.  Please watch the example you set for young ones… (whether they are your children – or other people’s) they will be teenagers and young adults soon enough. I’m not saying I have it handled – I have as many challenges as any parent. But I will never, ever speak poorly of my children or deride them – because it is up to me to teach them values and live by them.

And I wait for the green man – even when my kids are not around not there.