Jabbermouth

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? 

1. I have realised I can’t do this on my own.
2. That though I have a solid base from which to start, I still need mentoring and guidance.
3. That in order to achieve a goal, one must make it a regular practice.
4. I need to remember how to enjoy it.
5. Know that some-days it will be a challenge but to push through anyway.
6. That rather than beating my head against an obstacle, to yeild and find a way around it… perhaps an alternative approach for a while.
7. That cross-training can build strength in all areas. So though I want to write a novel, many different exercises in writing, including my blog and business copywriting business, are valid contributions.
8. That training (or writing) as part of a group can make it more fun and easier to stick with.
9. Signing up to a course may just be that extra motivation I require.
10. I must write something every day.

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?

1. What monitoring systems do you have in place to determine which of your practices and products are the most/least popular?
2. Are you being notified early enough, of changes in their ranking?
3. Are you forecasting future trends?
4. 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?

1. What characteristics has your business simply inherited from industry norms/practice?
2. Do what degree does your parent company or its Directors impose their viewpoint on company practice? 
3. Does this influence positively or negatively affect your performance?
4. 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?

1. When looking at the inherited characteristics above, what changes could you apply to effect a variation (point-of-difference) from others in your category?
2. What external forces (such as the economic climate) are changing the face of your business?
3. 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?

1. 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. 
2. What strategies did your industry and other business’ apply during similar, past circumstances, that ensured their survival?
3. What are your businesses 3 month, 6 month, one year, five year and ten year Plans? How does time affect your goals and ambitions?
4. 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

I read a great article in the Herald this weekend, about a double amputee who can swim like a mermaid.

Though Nadya Vessey lost both legs as a result of a childhood illness, she remained a keen swimmer. Until now, she has done this by removing her prosthetic limbs and kicking without the benefit of calf strength. And she’s been good too.

Once at the beach, a young boy watching her ready for a swim, bombarded her with questions. Rather than confuse him with gritty medical details, she instead told him she was a mermaid. And so a dream was born.

Fast forward to 2007, and Nadya  decides to make use of a charitable grant to commission a mermaid’s tail. She engages Weta Workshop New Zealand; the team responsible for the stunning costume effects in Peter Jackson’s epic, The Lord of the Rings; to design and build it for her.

While the tail was being made, stories circulated the globe’s news and media outlets. The tail was finally finished on Monday and its launch created another flurry of reporting. 

In each story, Weta Workshop, who have donated all their time, creative vision and production skills to making this dream come true, have got a guernsey. Materials to the value of $2500 were paid by Nadya’s grant but given that the costume comes with such perfectionist details as hand-painted fish scales, one could imagine there were quite a few folk out of pocket on this project.

Regardless of the cost, Weta Workshop director, Richard Taylor, was delighted to make it happen. Weta costumer Lee Williams, who worked on the suit between film projects with seven other staff, said the aim was to make Nadya, ” beautiful and sexy”.

When they watched her test the tail in Auckland harbour, all were thrilled with the effect. And after two years of constant press exposure, I’m sure the effect on their business has been equally rewarding.

Generating free publicity is the dream of most, yet incredibly difficult to cultivate. Outrageous stunts and high budget antics are often entirely ignored by journalists tired of being told what to report by heavy-handed industry giants.

As no corporation wants to be associated with typical news fodder - blood, guts, gore and pain - the job becomes harder again. Unless there’s outrageous success or honest and heartfelt emotion, no story is newsworthy.

Without even trying, this one had them all.

What could your business align itself with, donate time to, or create, which would deliver on dreams and build notoriety, by simply doing what you love and are good at?

Put those Thinking Hats on. It is the subject of our next Thinking Club and I look forward to your suggestions.

Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte

Photo by Steve Unwin, The Dominion Post
Quotes as reported by Matt Calman, The Dominion Post 

Yes, unfortunately with the advent of February comes the close of summer bliss. My eldest begins primary school on Monday and my youngest started preschool this week. You may have noticed that I actively relished a solid six weeks off anything that could be remotely called ‘work’. Including of course, this whimsical chat-space. Don’t nod like you liked it, *some* might call that rude.

Was I being completely indulgent? Yes. Was it necessary? Also a yes. Somehow I always manage to get that way by the end of the year and 2008 was particularly so. 

On top, it was my son’s last summer before ‘big school’ and the thing about being a working parent is… you realise how much time you don’t have for your kids. That sucks. So I took the opportunity of this thing they’re calling the GEC (global economic crisis for those of you who still have their heads stuck in Manly’s fine beach sands) and it’s resultant work slowdown, and carved a big chunk of time out of my schedule.

Bring on endless lazy mornings, lots of sleep-ins, waaaay to much food and drink, the odd guilty workout session - mostly gentle laps of the pool and voila! My mood swings have banished (almost entirely); I’m no longer shouting at the kids (well, rarely); I have a spring in my step, glowing skin and have developed a hearty distaste for anything remotely resembling an office.

I tried very hard last week and took some baby-steps back to a working mindset. Deleting about 2000 spam comments off this blog took a fair chunk. (Where are you real commenters then huh?! Taking a break like me I hope - for your sake). These were heavily interspersed with visits to the beach before reality struck hard and I ran away with the kids to the country for four days.

Until I arrived to a deep night sky bursting with hyperactive stars, I hadn’t realised quite how monotonous our beach life had become. My son had. The last week before we fled to the horses he begged every day, “pleeaase - not the beach, or pool again!”

Not me. I had been busy telling my husband that if he could just take those four weeks off every Christmas, I would happily forfeit any other holiday. For me, weeks of no planning, no routine, no early wake-ups, no hunched shoulders over an exasperatingly uninspiring (at times) little, red Macbook and no pushy clients was absolute bliss.

But be careful what you wish for they say. Once away from the ozone’s lure I started to imagine if he took me seriously. If my life were, day-in / day-out, an endless cycle of sand, sun (burn), ice-cream, an ever-inching waistband and bored, listless children hungry for the next stimulus package. Hmmm. Doesn’t sounds so pretty after a while does it?

Today, once I had dropped off my pre-schooler, I hijacked the boys at Creative Suite. Freshly painted walls, their new designs and an energetic hum filled the office. For an hour I felt alive again. Energised and invigorated in a way I had all but forgotten.

Suddenly I realised what it was I liked about work. The endeavours, hard-won. The camraderie and brain extension. Fluorescent creative sparks. A sense of purpose outside one’s self. 

As old Bill Shakespeare said,

“If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work.”

A favourite of my mother’s and one she never failed to quote to us, come this time of year. 

So as I yawn and stretch to sit down and write this - my first post of 2009, I do so with renewed vigour and a resolution to: remember the bliss and keep being kind to my kids. I wonder how long it will be ’til I tire of (or perhaps am too tired to keep up) this trend? 

I’m hoping this time it won’t be so difficult. I have followed some sage advice and already booked the next trip away. April school holidays - Fiji. Somehow it doesn’t seem long at all until I’ll be back on a beach somewhere. In the meantime: I’ve got clients to call, a blog to write, a team to motivate and BAS to complete.

What are you doing? Have you returned to work filled with verve or does it already seem like you never had a break? Those of you who’ve already noticed your tan going dusty - any decent tips for us late stragglers?

Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte 

(NO, pigs don’t fly)

The world economy has burst. It’s all doom and gloom. It is the worst time to start a business and those already running one will have to hang on by the skin of their teeth.

Employees should be looking worriedly over their shoulders. Everyone well, should panic.

Admist all this negativity, I know a few people who are opening the bag on new operations. ARE THEY MAD?! How do they hope to survive in the face of such apparent adversity? Why would they be risking it all in such risky times?

Who are these crazy people? Do they know something we don’t?

On the surface of it, they are four of the most different mobs you could come across. They operate in distinct and unrelated fields. 

The first is a small group of creative misfits who are turning their endless illustrative productions into saleable commodities. This one’s easy - they’ve got nothing to lose. They’re doing their drawings anyway so they may as well try to make a buck from them right? Yeh. Sort of but not quite… More about them in a future post.

The second is a (reasonably) wealthy consortium. They managed where many had failed, to be awarded the leasehold on the last undeveloped island in the Whitsundays. I suppose you think that they want to turn it into a massive Hollywood playground? Wrong. If they did they would surely fail.

The third is a family business spawned after years of grinding at the coalface of the residential property industry. This guy’s cracked a new way of looking at the market. Could be interesting.

The fourth is the offshoot of an advertising agency. It is their second attack on the mobile marketing front. Their first failed some years ago so what do they think they have that is so different this time?

In fact - what do all four of them have that is so different this time? Why do they each think they stand a chance in this depressive market?

I’ve outlined their points of difference but let’s see what they have in common.

1. The Directors involved in each of these operations have a incredibly strong self belief. 
2. They draw on experience gleaned over many years of running other businesses.
3. They have spent considerable time reviewing current consumer behaviours and economic forecasts. Before the bubble officially burst, they all knew it was coming.
4. They decided to push ahead anyway.
5. Knowing the market and their product/service they have each created a unique offering in the market. One which isn’t available through any other provider and taps into the needs and mindsets of current and future populations.
6. They are doggedly determined and will never give up.
7. They have many branches to pursue in developing their business if initial plans aren’t as succesful as expected.

They’re tough questions to ask yourself but it is tough out there.  Run them by your new business proposition. Be honest. Do you made the grade?

For those of you already in business, what can you do to change the way you operate and ensure you meet each of these points? Only the strongest will survive - are you going to make it if you keep going the way you are now?

Please share your plans with us. Everyone is doing it tough at the moment. But we can get through it. Throw your creative thinking caps on, flex your courage muscle and let’s get this conversations started,

If I said, ‘Jump’ would you ask ‘How high?’

Now I don’t expect you to jump on my say-so. But I wager that as soon as you read ‘Jump’ your automatic verbal quip was the above. Why? Because it’s a pattern we’re familar with. And we like familiar. It breeds comfort and the feeling of safety.

When we’re feeling assured we feel pretty good. Top of our game. Loved, liked, popular… Successful.
Why wouldn’t we like it?

The problem with familiarity is…

The same problem we have with a lot of things we like. They can become a bit of a crutch. When comfort and familiarity get us to that point we’re in danger of losing our success and finding ourselves stuck in a rut.

The scary thing is that sometimes - no make that most times - we don’t even know it.

Until you reach that tipping point, familiarity and comfort (generally created by routines) is effective and helpful. None of us could drive well unless on automatic pilot. When those first embarrassing months of kangaroo hopping at every traffic light turn into smooth take-offs we breathe a sigh of relief. As does everyone in the car with us. Crossing that line comes through automation of a skillset.

Automatic pilots have their place.

Automation is bred by building familiarity to the point of mindless routine. Getting dressed, managing our appetite, knowing social customs, typing with speed. These all improve in automation. In fact those who can’t master automation of basic tasks get labelled ADD, ADHD, dyslexic. Troubled.

So yes, a strong degree of routine and automation is healthy. Routines also ensure we achieve efficiencies. We reply to emails within an appropriate time-frame. We keep healthy through regular exercise. We sustain friendships by carving time for catch-ups. Without routine, things would hardly get done. 

But we’ve all laughed at the TV caricatures whose nind-numbingly boring, routine-laden approach to life becomes sit-com fodder. Maxwell Smart unknowingly relied on Agent 99 to pull him through every time.

Why did he fail where she succeeded?

In the recent remake, it was due to her excellent fashion. But mostly its because she thought outside the square. Maxwell would plod through the motions while Agent 99 applied creative thinking. A deliberate attempt to stop thinking in patterns. But it’s not just TV…

History proves that breaking convention delivers big break-throughs.

Einstein formed his Theory of Relativity by observing eternal substances (speed, mass, energy) in new ways.

Since being used for marketing, the Internet has transformed. Once a basic network model its now a break-through social media communication channel hardly dreamed possible pre-1980.

Today’s economic melt-down has business running scared. But it will also drive entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity. Those who think in new ways will get rich on dreams that harness thrift, sustainablity and personal drive.

As uncomfortable as it may be, I say, embrace forcible ejection from your comfort zone. Only once we step outside our everyday parameters we can imagine what else might be possible. Every new invention is the lightbulb realisation of an alternate reality.

Next time someone challenges you to re-imagine your business, your approach, your life… give it a go. Our Thinking Club sessions practice techniques to force thinking outside your norm. They’re nowhere near as painful or scary as a debt-laden spreadsheet. But flexing your ‘think differently’ muscle when times are good will help prepare for those moments when you don’t have a choice.

At the best, you might crack the next big thing. At worst, you’ll have an hour’s holiday from your daily bubble. Go on. I dare you.

My recent, favourite creative thinking tool is Michael Michalko’s SCAMPER.

Manipulation is the brother of creativity. When your imagination is as blank as a waiter’s stare, take an existing item and manipulate it into a new idea. Remember that everything new is just an addition or modification to something that already existed.

What techniques do you use?

Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte