Jack Cowen started his presentation at the EY Entrepreneurs workshop with a quote “An entrepreneur needs to be a cross between a microbiologist and an astronomer.” He believes that true entrepreneurs are special in that they can be both detailed and visionary. He was a judge in the EY Global Entrepreneur of the year program in Monte Carlo for 2010. It was a delight to have him in the room sharing his insights – not just from his own amazing…
Tag Archives: Business Vision
Free childcare for all Australians
That would certainly make headlines, wouldn’t it? I wonder the impact such an initiative would have. On the weekend I was chatting with my friend Margie Hartley and she shared some insights into why there are not more women in senior roles in Australia. Marg facilitates women’s resilience programs and is a coach to executives. She wrote a blog recently about the disappearing pipeline for senior female executives. As we were chatting I offered that making childcare – including qualified…
Three steps to making money online
Another interesting question posed by the Australian – everyone is looking for the get quick rich scheme – and the reality is that there are none – unless you don’t mind a bit of hard work… here is my response to the question “How to make money online?”. This century is all about transparency and authenticity – people want to know that you are real. But having a great product that appeals to people and will get them talking is…
Top 25 insights from EO Amsterdam Conference
In no particular order I present quotes from the event which either made me reflect, ponder, question or dream. (I have only added links for the people who were speakers at the event – the other quotes were part of either the work book or presentations) 1. “Every morning is the beginning of a brand new day. You have been given this new day to use it as you want. You can waste it, or use it for good. What…
Coming up this week 19 Sept 2011
I have had a couple of weeks out of the office – I had a week in Perth – with three speaking engagements before heading to Amsterdam (via a weekend in Paris with a long time girlfriend.) for the Entrepreneurs Organization conference. I found the event completely inspiring, insightful and educational – I will share in future blogs. This week: Arrive back to Sydney and have breakfast with Verne Harnish (he is in town delivering the Rockafeller Habits Program…
Where did our values come from?
As we approach our 10 years anniversary I realize that not everyone knows the origins of the way we do things. Megan, the RedBalloon employee experience manager, asked me to document where our values came from. Our values are such an integral part of life at RedBalloon – and they have been a part of us for nine of the ten years. (I dedicated a whole chapter to them in ‘I want she’s having’) Kirsten Munachen, business development manager at…
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…
Five great lessons in greatness
I wonder what it is like to work for a business that has been around for 100 years? IBM turned 100 and Fortune wrote up a great article on ‘Lessons from IBMs 100th anniversary’ The five lessons are: At the start, convince the troops you’re a company of destiny, even if that seems crazy. Build a cult-like culture that people either buy into, or run away from. Bet the company once in a while. Make people talk about you. Hand…
Ideas worth talking about
Having arrived from an overnight plane from Beijing. I was a little worse for wear on Saturday morning. I was concerned that I would not keep up with the day. How wrong I was. The TedX Sydney event was first class – true to the vision of Ted and a mix of local and international ideas. There was a strong music theme to the day. Four Play String Quartet were mesmerizing as they electrified the sounds from their stringed instruments…..
Coming up this week 30 May 2011
Last week was full of surprises and discovery. I felt very privileged to attend a business event in Beijing – which included doing a goal setting program at the Great Wall. One appreciates a sense of purpose when sitting on the largest man made structure in the world. The Chinese clearly had a shared sense of purpose (the fear and loathing of the Mongols) to build such a structure – thousands of years ago – with only manual labor. After…
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...
