I have been known to waffle sometimes. OK, a lot. But having come from a film background, I can seriously appreciate that there are times when there’s no need to say a word. Ready for a laugh?
Thanks to Verve Films our lovely studio partners, for sharing this one
If, like me, you are constantly struggling to increase your productivity… and if, like me, your vow to cut time wastage often falls by the wayside: Fear Not.
I had en epiphany this weekend:
When we procrastinate, we are going somewhere.
Perhaps not fast. But certainly somewhere. And as long as in the big picture you have a big goal, then:
You are going Somewhere, Better.
I set myself in goal in 2009. Well, I set myself quite a few goals actually as you would note by reviewing past posts… But one of the more important goals was to: increase my productivity. Sound familiar?
Productivity superstars like, Dave Navarro and Charlie Gilkey, have taught me some powerful tips for time mastery. As we all know, one of these is having a Clear End Goal. If you know where you are going you are more able to catch yourself when wasting time on irrelevancy. And refocus on that which is pertinent to your main objective.
But, if like me, you are also in the field of creativity, marketing, copywriting and social media, you will have noticed something else.
We can not survive on a one track mind.
So what’s a dreamer to do hey? If we don’t focus on our ‘true purpose’ 100% of the time, then are we truly wasting it?
NO. I don’t believe so.
You see, genius minds embrace multiple streams of interest. Take Leonardo Da Vinci… Among other things, he designed helicopters, studied anatomy and was a prolific artist. While we may classify these broadly under the umbrella of ‘design’ they still cover vast ground. So too designers like Eames, and artists like T.S Eliot who happily worked in finance by day and wrote poetry by night.
When Time Wasting works
Though not alive today, I’m sure if interviewed, each of these men wouldn’t dream of giving up their various activities. Beacuse each fed into the other.
The point is, that while I strongly believe that we should have a specific end goal, it’s still the journey that counts. Without it, many of our goals would not be reached. And without the diversions that lead to epiphanies, we may miss the crucial point of discovery that sees us reach The Ark.
IN real terms. My end goal is to see my business healthy and profitable. My short term goals to reach that are to become more knowlegable and to keep writing. However, unless I diverged along the suggested readings of random Tweeps, or took my kids to the Museum, or sympathised with my brother-in-law over his recent job loss, then I wouldn’t ‘get’ what was happening in the world around me and I wouldn’t be able to write with a heart.
Sometimes following the unexpected trail can lead you to a forest glade of delights. Perhaps even Baby Bear’s porridge. But you will never know unless you give yourself the time to meander.
So, by all means:
Set your goals and follow them.
Set your clocks and keep track of your time.
But every so often – probably more often than you allow – turn off those clocks and step out of the blinding goals’ light. Take the path less travelled… and you may find yourself at the end of the rainbow.
:: Just the goal you had always dreamed of, but never dared believe.
Where would you like to go today?
Let’s get this conversation started.
Charlotte
image thanks to author Molly Dwyer – http://www.mollydwyer.com
Though I was there at the beginning, its taken me a long while to accept Facebook and Twitter into my life. I think I spent so many years building websites and online communities for other businesses, that the last thing I wanted to do in my down-time was to pick up tools.
For me, social networking just seemed like another task. And yes, it still is. But something has changed.
Perhaps its just time… Because I haven’t been involved in the day-to-day of web production for some years, and can play at the edges devising strategy and content, I’ve built myself a buffer.
Perhaps its because access has improved – I can now hop on and off for short moments using my iPhone instead of powering up the desktop computer and feeling hard-wired to my desk.
Or perhaps it because I’ve taken the time to figure out a system that works for me. So my online chat-spaces are nothing too important. They’re simply a small part of my varied days; just another way – often easier – to connect, to learn and to share.
If you’re wishing for a work-life balance in social networks, perhaps my five hard-learned tips can help you too.
1. Have a solid plan.
Like any worthwhile thing in life, social networking must have a clear raison d’entre for being part of your routine. Otherwise you are just wasting your time.
This plan doesn’t have to be anything fancy. For example, A) “A quicker way to reach heaps of people” is plenty good enough.
As you can see, that plan differs mightily from B) “a place to muse about the oddity of my days”
Both simple plans. Yet very clear. And each will dictate a radically different approach to how you use social media; and also which channels you use.
2. Know your audience
Following from above, we can start to clarify our plan – so it talks to the people we’re hoping to reach.
Plan A) is obviously searching for volume readers. But here’s a secret: unless you give your readers something they want, they’ll switch off pretty rapidly. Have a fairly clear idea about the types of things your readers are interested in. Otherwise you’re playing a stab-in-the-dark game of reader’s Russian Roulette. And doing that would be a huge waste of your time.
So. Figure out who it is you’re talking to.
Is it your friends? Your family? Your distant relatives and their third-cousins-once-removed that live in Timbuktu? Or just those that live within a 2 mile radius?
Are they clients? If so, of what business? If you’re using social media as a tool to win more work, then be aware of what image you are projecting and what topics you cover, so they can get a good sense of your personality (yes, the real one – though dressed in business attire) and what knowledge and/or passion you bring to the table.
PS: don’t make it all about work either. Or become a brag-fest. Both miss the point of social media and are massively annoying. If it feels ‘too much about me’ then go with your gut. It probably is.
3. Write Accordingly
If you’ve done the first steps right, these next two steps becomes a WHOLE LOT EASIER! So if you haven’t quite figured out Steps 1 and 2, go back and do them. I’ll see you back down here when you’re done.
When it comes to writing, even the most vociferous of us can get stuck sometimes. This is when it really helps to have a plan.
If you have created a clear roadmap, a definate purpose for being on the social networking bandwagon, you are going to be a hell of a lot more interesting to others.
Rather than posting inane comments about the weather (Last week’s Red Dust storm a clear exception), your blueprint will help guide your posts/words and conversations online.
Please don’t get me wrong. The last thing anyone wants from social media is manufactured, corporate speak. So don’t lose yourself. And don’t lose your voice.
But don’t let it babble like a blithering idiot either. We’re all too busy for that.
Instead if you have a clear goal, wrapped up in a clear sense of self, your natural thoughts will tend to inform and entertain on subjects you have a passion for. And that will lead to a natural set of loyal readers.
You can also cultivate more of them… with the next step.
4. Connect Accordingly
Obviously we hope that your fabulous writing will inspire anyone nearby to hang onto your every word with baited breath. But in case that doesn’t happen, follow these steps.
Finally… you’ll be ready to graduate
Step 5: Make it Real
Take your conversations offline, to clubs and functions and events where you can deepen the connections you’ve been forming in virtual reality. If they survive in the real world, you know you’ve really started something worthwhile.
The real allure of online connections is that they’ll ultimately lead somewhere. To more fun, more success and more real life happiness. That is the elusive rainbow we are all chasing. Enjoy the journey.
And if you have any more excellent tips for social networking survival, please add them to our comments.
Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte
OK guys, here’s a question for you:
Who believes that you should run separate accounts on Twitter for personal and business and who thinks you should just mash the whole lot up?
I guess the answer is obvious for those who run a Twitter account from the Marcomms division of a multi-national. (Separate of course). But what about those of us who are a one/two/three man band?
We all know that our brand thrives or dies around it’s USP. And for us ittybiz(nesses), that USP generally has quite a lot to do with our personal selves.
But when I find myself twittering away on @wordsmadeeasy about the training and fun runs I am doing for my upcoming Blackmore’s half marathon, then I start to wonder how relevant any of that information is for my copywriting/content clients and associates. I mean, really, could they care less if my legs were aching yesterday after Sunday’s Pub2Pub Fun Run?
For the most case, I heartily think not. Unless I am able in some way to link that back to goal setting or some such other business case then what the hell do they care anyway?
In fact, with all of our time so precious these days, would I not, in fact, be annoyingly bombarding them with irrelevant poppycock? To the point that, after 3 or 4 of these navel-gazing Tweets, would they then choose to de-friend me? If so, I could completely understand why.
Worse still, if I have a delivery for them about which I made vague promises re: a Monday morning deadline, and they were receiving my insistent, chest-beating Tweets about how well I had run and not-so-well recovered… would they not be wondering why I was sitting in a boiling hot Epsom Salt bath instead of writing profound words of business wisdom for them? I would hazard a hearty-and-resounding ‘yes’ coming from their stuffy, office desks.
SO what is a small business webpreneur to do?
I’m not proposing to answer this this time. I am still a relative newbie on Twitter et al. So how about some of you well-trodden social networking experts give us your viewpoint on the whether to pursue Twitter with multi-personality disorder. OR should we just say, ‘to hell with it’ and make our followers wade through the drivel, while getting to know all facets of you, and allow them to make the choice on whether to stay or whether to go.
Please. I’d really value your input on this one… How do you work your Twitter strategy? (Feel free to gratuitously plug your own blog posts and words of wisdom on this topic to you heart’s content. I feel in a very sharing mood today).
Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte
Yay, today is the 30th of June – the end of the financial year and more importantly (for me anyway) the end of the 30 day Global Bender Bikram Challenge.
It’s a good time to reflect on your goals, financial and personal and take stock of where you’re heading in 2009. What plans did you make for yourself and your business at the beginning of the year? Six months in, how are you tracking?
You know that I set myself a challenge of improving my health. June saw me ramp it up a notch with the Bikram Global Bender. Now at June 30 it’s almost complete.
Thank God.
I have been practising Bikram on and off for a couple of years now. Going through patches of a few days a week and long periods of none. This year it came back on my training calendar to improve my flexibility after long runs.
Its both a serious workout and serious time-out from the every day hustle bustle. As well as improving my physical condition it improves my outlook.
Clearly I enjoy it, but I had never considered myself one of those extremists who live and breath yoga. Then the Global Bender came along.
Our Bikrams Brookvale studio often runs Challenges, many of which go for 60 days. They have always seem a reach too far for me. But the Global Bender was only set for 30 days, and right slap-bang in the darkest, coldest month of the year when early morning beach runs have definitely lost their appeal.
I had recently opened a new arm of business and had retired my long-time personal trainer, so the timing seemed perfect to sign up for The Bender.
I knew it would teach me discipline and I hoped it would see my practice advance. I also knew it would be a tough undertaking completing 30 classes in 30 days while running two businesses and raising a family.
Little did I know how hard.
Its inevitable that I would have missed a couple of days here and there due to timetable pressures. The trouble with that is – making them up. I have done 3 days of back-to-back double classes now to make up for the missed ones.
This afternoon at 5:15pm will be my last.
The commitment and dedication and sheer perserverance required to pull this off have been enormous. There is absolutely no way it would have been possible without the support (albeit begrudging at times) of my husband.
Little did he realise that when he felt ready for me to throw in the towel, I felt doubly so-inclined.
Until I thought to myself…
What am I proving to myself, my children and my clients if I can’t even complete a 30 day course in something I am supposed to enjoy? Something that gives me clear and obvious benefits. Something which is designed ready-on-a-plate and requires little else but merely showing up?
If I can’t do that then how on earth am I supposed to be able to raise two little heroes, grow self-sustaining businesses or have the audacity to coach other business operators to do the same.
So day in, day out, early in the morning, late at night, and sometimes twice a day I have dragged myself off to the yoga studio and sweated my little heart out.
When the going got really tough
I remembered a recent talk given by reigning Iron-Woman Champ, Naomi Flood. Just 23, Naomi is mature beyond her years thanks to a punishing training regime and personal hurdles she has had to overcome to reach her goal.
In 2005 Naomi collapsed just 2km from the ‘Coolongatta Gold’ finish line, due to a failed liver from poor nutrition. She simply didn’t know any better.
Since then she has improved her diet. Which has led in turn to less illness and more consistent training. Naomi says when her alarm goes off at 4:27am each morning, she gives herself 3 minutes to battle with her mind about whether to get out of bed, visualises the winning moment, then throws back the covers.
She says it can take weeks of training in the pool, every day, for hundreds of kilometres to see even one, tiny, incremental improvement in time. ‘A bee’s dick’ of an improvement as she and fellow Club athletes describe it.
Yet its over weeks and years, that each of those precious seconds add up to precious minutes that ultimately make the world of difference between First and Second place in that one crucial race finale. Where it literally come down to a few seconds between winning and losing and making those years of effort pay off.
Now I’m no hero
Nor aiming to compete as a world athlete. But in completing this Yoga challenge, I have proven to myself that it is the ongoing, perseverance of everyday grit and determination that makes the difference.
Its not a difference you see overnight. But after 30 days I can hold myself in a ‘Standing Bow’ pose for one minute and see my foot sweep high above my head.
This from a girl who couldn’t balance for 5 seconds on one foot two years ago.
And struggled to hold the full minute just 30 days ago.
If you have a goal
Then the difference between making it and not, is your ongoing, everyday practice. Some days you may be tired. Some days it may just feel all wrong. But if you just do it, it’s amazing what you will learn. How strong your mind and your skills become. Simply through repetition.
Its not rocket science.
The greatest success comes simply in showing up.
Happy End-of-Financial-Year and congratulations to all the Global Benders. Its the 30th June. Hip, Hip Hooray.
Photo credits:
Standing Bow: no – that’s not me yet, I wish!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilikegranola/3194869497/
Naomi Flood:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23220740-5014066,00.html
That sounds like a scarily giant under-taking doesn’t it? No mean feat? A gargantuan task? Ridiculous really? And yet that’s what they suggest should strive for.
As genius online scribe, Sonia Simone describes though, this needn’t be as scary as it first sounds…
Does “best in the world” sound scary? Remember that “the world” probably means the micro-world you and your customers happen to swim in (the Internet; mid-sized ad agencies in your zip code; barbecue joints in Duluth).
Once you know the size of your world, keep narrowing your focus. Divide and refine what you do until you hit the point where no one can outclass you.
In other words: clarity.
The AIM here folks, is to figure out that one tiny, teensy, spectacular thing that makes you YOU.
In marketing speak they call it your USP – unique selling point. The one thing that you have, that no-one else does.
At this moment, most people generally panic. Don’t. No-one expects you to be Superman. Your USP doesn’t have to be cryptonite.
Your USP, your personal USP is one tiny little, perhaps annoying, but uniquely identifiably YOU characteristic. Its your quirk.
For the average Jo this could actually be something really annoying. Like always writing in short sentences. Yes. Like this.
Or never being seen without the $2 moth-eaten beanie you picked up from Vinnies in 3rd year Uni which you still think makes you look cool (but guess what – it doesn’t).
Or always eating your toast in a pattern that looks like a half moon, which-ever way you turn it.
Or being kind to cats.
Or hating cats.
What-ever it is though, it is definitely NOT, not caring either way about cats.
The thing that makes you different has to be clear and obvious. Ideally, if the YOU we’re talking about here is a business, then it should be something that people actually want to connect with. If the YOU we’re talking about is lil’ole you then I guess it’s your choice whether you want to be in favour or not. If you’re really rich and/or successful then I guess you don’t really care. But if you do, please read on…
This USP of yours doesn’t have to be sacchrine sweet, or nice, but hopefully it will make people smile.
For example… Sonia Simone’s good mate and part-time business buddy Naomi Dunford has a quirk. It’s swearing. It’s not nice. It’s certainly not sacchrine sweet. But it is funny. And she declares it right up front, so no-one has a chance or a right to get offended. If swearing is not their thing, they’re told right up front to find another advice-dispenser.
The thing is, Naomi knows that those who then stick around to read her writing are doing so because they want to. Because she’s given them a taste, right up front, about what makes her word-style uniquely hers.
In posh writer’s schools they call it your writer’s voice. In business we call that your USP.
Many brand agencies have been advocating a special kind of USP that comes in the esoteric nature of one’s ‘brand essence.’ Yes, it should also exist there. But to bring a brand to life, a company must live and breathe their brand. And that means doing stuff. Quirky stuff. Your stuff. The stuff that makes you uniquely you and your brand uniquely it.
At the big end of town, for Virgin that means being irreverent in communication. Always challenging the current ‘way of doing things’. Not giving in to the establishment and finding the common man an alternative. Whether that is through cheaper air travel, competitive mobile phone usage, or gyms, Virgin’s voice and approach is quite singular. You see it, hear it and taste it in everything they do.
So what does that mean for you or your business? It’s tough to answer isn’t it… But if you had to summarise the core essence of your business in one sentence what would it say?
I bet Naomi’s reads something like: shit-hot advice to help small businesses make heaps of money doing what they love.
Virgin’s is: A passion for value
And here at Jabbermouth it’s: provoking hearty conversation around stuff that really matters.
Now it’s your turn to tell us yours. Think of it as a free plug. Come on. Don’t be shy… The one thing that makes you YOU. What is it? And if you don’t think you or your business really have one just yet, then what could it be? What do you want it to be? What is the reason you get up in the morning?
Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte
Late last year I had the fun of writing a quiz for an experiential website.
It started as pure science with a touch of emotion thrown in. We drew grids of personality markers and chose to define by eight variables on four sliding scales.
Two scales rated work:
1. active v’s relaxed
2. creative v’s logical
Two scales measured sociability:
3. sexual v’s romantic
4. quiet v’s outgoing
Being a quiz it needed to offer equal chance of selecting any personality type, so statistics reared their head. Through trial, error and a little logic (I am no mathematician) I managed to give each type a 50% chance of achieving their opposite. We were in a good place.
Once the points added up, the options of 4 x 4 character combinations meant I had to write 16 personality combinations.
This was where the fun began… when those labels turned into human personalities.
To write copy for sixteen personas I had to take off my maths hat. Though labelled using four descriptive tags, these were my compass points in creating real people.
Of course, like any writer, I drew on parts of people I know to imagine how a particular combination would walk, talk, dream and work. Funnily enough, it was easier to drop any specific likeness to an actual living person and instead write to the result of these behaviours influencing action.
I deliberately did not answer the quiz for myself until I had completed the pesonality types as I didn’t want disaffect my creations. Not all that suprisngly, I tuned out to be a ’quiet, romantic, creative, active’ person. What does that sound like?
Well apparently I am a Sensual Visionary (wow that sounds far more exotic than reality… I love writing for fun!)
The advice I had dispensed to my particular combination was….
Your energy and creative vision are highly valued in today’s market. However, unless you speak up, no-one will know what you have to offer. To realise your ultimate success, you need to work on self-promotion. Get bold. Be loud. Create some cut-through. It’s OK to be pushy in business. In the personal stakes you are naturally quieter. Your personality often needs to withdraw to recharge. Balancing your high-energy business workout with weekend downtime is healthy and productive. Spending time with your partner is the ideal relaxation. Whether you’re out hiking, visiting galleries or being spa pampered, that all-important romance is the perfect remedy.
Weird. Actually cause that sounds pretty much spot on! Downing tools on a hectically busy work week, Pete and I snuck into town on Saturday night to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. We took in a play – When the rain Stops Falling (highly recommended by the way) and stayed overnight, and now I feel refreshed and ready to get out that megaphone. For me, and my clients!
So I wonder what your personality type is and whether what I write for you makes sense? Check it out for yourself: http://www.bueno.com.au/
ON this theme… What do you think of the work produced in the moment where spontaneous imagining met cold hard statistics – Have I turned your ‘attributes’ into a genuine human experience? I hope so. At the very least, it should give you five minutes of fun today.
Enjoy!
Charlotte
Kudos to digital stars, Webling, for creating the Quiz and to Rey in particular, for such groovy animated characters.
So yesterday was Mother’s Day. Last month I told of the training I’d been doing in order to get fit enough to complete the 8km foot race this weekend. Over the last four weeks I have done numerous 8km runs – on treadmills, along beachfronts and through the bush. As I enjoyed them, I figured I had hit my stride and would do a reasonable time in the Mother’s Day Classic around Sydney’s Domain.
So there I was yesterday in a hot pink MIMs shirt running as part of the Mums In Motion team. We looked good. Having got over the Fiji flu and with two rest days under my belt, I felt pretty good too.
At 7:30am a mass of people assembled in slight drizzle, under the starting arch. Melinda Gainsford Taylor popped the gun and we were off.
Staying wide I managed to overtake quite a few people in the first half a K’. It was slightly downhill, and the autumn air kept things cool. Off to a good start I thought.
Only one problem. Yesterday I found out that there is such a thing as over-preparation.
There I was, keen as a mung bean, ready to fire up and do a sub-40 minutes. I had taken my two rest days prior. Put in some decent training before hand. Stayed off the wine for the week and replaced it three days out with Endura Sports Mix to maximise my magnesium levels. Ate Spag Bol the night before then got up at 5:45am and made myself a hot porridge with sultanas.
It proved to be my downfall. After the first kilometre I realised that the leaden feeling in my stomach had less to do with race nerves than it did with my big bowl of Goldilock’s favourite breakfast. Instead of sitting pretty, I was running heavy. With every step swayed a big chug of swirly oats. Kind’ve like liquid concrete.
I had put so much effort in to doing the right thing for race day that I lost sight of the bigger picture… What started out as a bit of fun, to raise money for a good cause and give me a reason to stay motivated with my training had seen me overshoot my mark on D-Day.
I’ve had the same thing happen in pitches too. Spent so long over-thinking and over-analysing the perfect solution to a prospect’s situation that we’ve forgotten simply to go in and introduce ourselves. As with this race, ultimately clients and suppliers are looking for partners who are in it to have some fun, do it for the right reasons and deliver a good result.
Sometimes trying too hard loses you that perspective.
Without doubt, the solid miles I had put in weeks before ensured that, even with a distended belly I finished within my target time. But I would have liked to have pushed it that bit further.
Next time, with this race experience under my belt, I should be able to judge the pre-race meal a little better and incrementally improve.
It’s the sort of preparation that can only come from years of experience. Let’s hope I live a long life. I’m going to need a while to get it right.
Last year I announced that I was writing a novel. Or two. Now twelve months later I wonder where they are and why they’re not yet finished. I am stuck.
Just as I was also stuck in January. On a too-relaxed, not-enough-exercise and way-too-much-good-food cycle. It was tough, but somebody had to do it.
Then one morning in early February, I realised I could no longer look past my expanded waist-line. All of a sudden I decided that the happy-go-lucky, eat-what-you-may person was not going to me any longer. It was time to pass on the baton.
Now six weeks later, I am certainly looking fitter and feeling healthier. Though you must realise that my body doesn’t change weight.
Even when I felt fat and frumpy I weighed 60 kilos. Now that I am leaner and fitter, I still weigh 60 kilos. However, I can jog continuously for an hour, beat a couple of training buddies in a sprint, and last weekend, I completed a 3km run/1 km ocean swim biathlon.
Compared with the I-pant-when-I-walk-off-the-beach-to-buy-ice-cream person I was a while back, this is quite an achievement. But it didn’t come overnight. No, it’s taken a slow-but-sure, continuously upgraded commitment to get here.
I focused on the easy things first: no more wine with dinner during the week and forget the piece of chocolate for dessert. And I took up a couple of training sessions a week. Each with a group trainer because there was no way I was able to drag myself, alone and unfit, along to do anything.
Once I had mastered a couple of weeks of this, I asked the trainer to write me a personal program; a guide to what I should be doing on the days I wasn’t training with her. It was fair and not overly taxing, but it certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone: she had me training six days a week! And although some of those sessions were merely a walk or yoga class, that’s still a mighty transition from what I had been doing – namely: nothing.
Today I look proudly in the mirror, with realistically critical eyes. I can see what a huge difference the last few weeks have made to my physique. I can also see how much further I would like to go. But I am well and truly on the road.
I have also realised that once we start on the journey towards a goal, continous improvements and adjustments will be required along the way. Obstacles will rear their head; trials to test and strengthen our resolve.
One of my sessions is a long, slow distance (LSD – if only it were so fun) run. This was fine for the first few weeks but as I have been extending the time and distance, it’s begun putting a lot of pressure on my right knee. I ran through it for a few weeks but it is just getting worse. So until improves I have to find a different, equally challenging endurance session to replace it.
Its also interesting to note that though I am ‘training’ both to lose some weight and ultimately to compete in the 8km ‘Mothers Day Classic’ fun run in May, my training sessions comprise far more than running. They are split into swimming, cycling, sprints, hills, weights and yoga. By rotating each of these activities, my body has a chance to recover muscle groups while still building aerobic fitness and overall strength. Ultimately this should make me a better, faster runner.
So what has this got to do with my writing?
In light of these realisations I have joined Australian writing group: Write Well! Write Now! I’m hoping it can provide the camraderie, goal-setting, motivation and inspiration that I am struggling to find for myself. I’m committed to six months of this group. But if my pyhsical training has any similarities I should be able to tell you in six weeks, that I am noticing a difference.
And what has any of this got to do with you?
Think about which techniques you have used in the mastery of your personal life, that you could apply for success in your business world… When its part of your ‘fun’ it can seem easier somehow. But if you were to break down your achievements, I bet you could apply similar tatics to a work-life challenge.
Please – share your thoughts. And stay posted for my reports back on how the writing (and running) is progressing.
Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte
The Father of Evolutionary Theory, Charles Darwin, celebrates his 200th birthday this year. 2009 is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work ‘On the Origin of Species.’ Museums around the world have celebrated with exhibitions, including Australia’s National Museum in Canberra.
Their broad exploration of Darwin – the man, his life and his theories – is on display until March 22 (hurry or you’ll miss it) and I had the pleasure of visiting yesterday. Informative, inspiring and entertaining, I learnt a great deal more about many things. Which led me to think that applying his learnings could benefit us in business.
Natural Selection, explains how species have evolved over time. Why some creatures are now extinct and others are changing right before our eyes. One thing is clear; whether over millenia or hours, organisms must continually adapt to their changing environment in order to survive.
The same can be said of business. A company that created longer-lasting wax candles in 1850 would have had a thriving operation. Until Thomas Edison invented the light-bulb. Then, unless their ‘mission’ was to ’supply the best light’ and they evolved very quickly to replace their candles with electric light bulbs, that company would have become a dusty side-show, only appropriate for romantic moments.
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, it is worthwhile thinking about how your company may need to change and grow in order to survive. Though currently focused on today’s financial turmoil, a return to bouyant times will once again require a change from current survival strategies.
So dust off your crystal ball and let’s look at some trends growing in importance. How might they affect your business? How could you apply Evolutionary Theory to forecast prospective growth strategies for your company?
Using a scientific acronym used to describe Evolutionary Theory’s key concepts (VISTA), here is a series of questions that may help create some clarity and insights for your business.
V – Variation
Variation describes differences in offspring and subsequent generations. It may be the result of inherited genetic variation (such as eye colour) or may be the result of external, environmental causes. “Darwin’s Finches” are a clear example of how environmental impact created variations in the Galapagos Islands’
bird-life. Though from the same ancestor, by the time Darwin discovered the Galapagos finches, each island’s population had significant beak variations, according to the diet and feeding habits available at each location.
How could Variation apply to your Business?
- What monitoring systems do you have in place to determine which of your practices and products are the most/least popular?
- Are you being notified early enough, of changes in their ranking?
- Are you forecasting future trends?
- What variations will you require in order to meet upcoming demand and minimise losses from outdated models?
I – Inheritance
Inheritance describes the basic building blocks (or genes) passed from parent to offspring. For example: hair colour, eye colour and height. Some inherited genes may never come to fruition. Over time, external factors conspire to enable or subdue many potential characteristics. For instance, though someone may have the ‘tall’ gene, a poor diet and ill-health may mean that they never exceed the average height. In other words, inheritance describes what may happen but not always what does happen.
How could Inheritance apply to your Business?
- What characteristics has your business simply inherited from industry norms/practice?
- Do what degree does your parent company or its Directors impose their viewpoint on company practice?
- Does this influence positively or negatively affect your performance?
- Are these inherited (often subconscious) practices open to change?
S – Selection
An environment will favour certain characteristics over others. For example, Darwin’s finches’ beaks range from the stout beaks of seed-eaters, to the curved beaks of flower-eaters to the delicate, slender beaks of insect-eaters. Over time, nature favours characteristics which deliver the strongest survival prospects, ensuring that it becomes dominant, then entrenched.
How could Selection apply to your Business?
- When looking at the inherited characteristics above, what changes could you apply to effect a variation (point-of-difference) from others in your category?
- What external forces (such as the economic climate) are changing the face of your business?
- How can you respond/change favourably, so that you adapt to survive such effects? Note that in Darwin’s Theory, these are simply minor, incremental shifts rather than one massive upheaval.
T – Time
Time is a critical factor in Natural Selection and characteristics’ dominance. One generation does not entrench a mutation but its consistent survival and occurrence may eventually result in its dominance. Evolutionary periods vary greatly in their rate of expansion and development, which indicates that certain circumstances produce an explosion in growth potential and other circumstances inhibit rapid change.
How does Time apply to your Business?
- Have you ever taken time to analyse your current business and industry in the context of history? It may seem like this is a tough economic period, but there have been others.
- What strategies did your industry and other business’ apply during similar, past circumstances, that ensured their survival?
- What are your businesses 3 month, 6 month, one year, five year and ten year Plans? How does time affect your goals and ambitions?
- What minor changes could you implement today, that may build to have a cumulative and lasting impact over a ten year period?
A – Adaptation
Adaptation is the gradual formation, through evolution, of a number of different species from a common ancestor, each adapted to a different niche. A species is defined once a population is divided and each sub-group taking a different evolutionary route until they have diverged so much that interbreeding is no longer possible.
How does Adaptation apply to your business?
- What is your company’s core focus?
- Are each of its departments complementary and working towards this one goal, OR, are they diverging along separate paths and towards different end goals?
- Is this creating efficiencies or losses? Now? In five years?
- At what point should you move these divisional lines into clearly separate businesses in order to ensure future, long-term survival?
Today’s Snapshot
What have you learned about your business today? Is it well-positioned to take advantage of future change or it will it find its resting place alongside the dinosaurs?
Has this discussion sparked any further questions that may help ensure your business’s survival? Please share them with us.
Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte
