From Armchair to Action

Bringing your knowledge into the conscious mind

This morning I was preparing for a recording session that I doing very soon on Motivating Yourself as part of a CD series of Business Success Strategies for Notion. It meant that I had to explain concisely the key concepts of how to maintain your motivation.  Easy you might imagine....

However, it was not quite so simple. Sometimes what we do unconsciously and as second nature, is more difficult to bring into the conscious mind.  I found myself reminded of the conscious competence ladder that I use with clients when helping them when they are learning something new. 

So there I was, thinking about the what really keeps you motivated, and having written about it, spoken about it and lectured about it at length - for once I was lost for words.  So I have thought about it more since this morning and listed some of the things that have motivated me this week:

1. The wonderful autumn colours and leaves crunching under my feet, whilst walking the dogs!

2. Getting an email from a US contact of mine who introduced me to one of her colleagues who is doing more and more business in the UK. I decided to invite her colleague to an event I am speaking at, and she is delighted - a great way to motivate me to do a fab speech!

3. Three referrals that are going to attend our Women Presidents Organisation meeting with a view to joining. 

4.  Running a session on dealing with difficult people at a workshop which everyone loved and felt they could apply the techniques immediately

Motivation can be found in the oddest of places!

Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) Economic Survey Results 2009

The latest economic survey results from women running businesses with annual turnovers in excess of $1million have just been published  in the USA and whilst the economic situation is still not great, women seem to be more upbeat.

Relative to 2008, regarding financial performance in 2009

31% of companies have grown and

21% are stable and have neutral performance

 

Optimism for 2010

§   82% are optimistic about business performance in 2010

 

Environmental Sustainability

§   54% have made their business environmentally friendly

§   35% are interested in making their business environmentally friendly

 

Greatest threat to the bottom line and factors affecting business

- Economic Conditions

- Customer retention

- Competition

- Human Resources

 

Employees

§   55% plan to increase number of employees or keep the same amount

§   53% have kept employee salaries the same; 15% have increased employee salaries

 

Future Role

§   44% will continue full-time management

§   20% plan hands-off oversight, with presence in the office 1-3 days per week

 

WPO Members

§   61% Believe their business has grown since joining

§   65% Believe the WPO has contributed to economic success

§   81% Believe the WPO helps manage business concerns in the current economic climate

Wise women and Wise Pack

Wise Women
Just back from Chicago where I attended the Women President's Organisation annual facilitator training event.  What I love about attending this meeting is the amount of enthusiasm that you experience from being in a room with 50 other dynamic business women. Everyone is so willing to support and help each other, that you can't fail to become motivated and enthusiastic.  Mind you heaven help any presenter that doesn't quite come up to the mark - it won't be long until they find this out!

If you are struggling with the economic downturn, or thinking that you are the only person who has your issues, try to seek out positive people, who have a can-do attitude.   It will help you get revitalised and realise that you are not alone.

Wise Pack

One of the facilitators, Myrna Marofsky was telling me about her latest business, Wise Pack. These are fab travel backpacks that have been designed by women for women.  The company was started by Myrna and her business partner Karen Stinson.  As owners of a successful consulting business for over 20 years, they traveled thousands of miles around the world and knew what it is like to stand in long security lines AND meet with clients all in one long day.

As those miles began to wear on their bodies and souls, they searched for ways to make the long travel days easier. Typical of women-on-the-go, when there was no solution, they created one. Then they consulted with other women travelers, and tested the bag for two years to make sure they added features that met the needs of these women. And so was born the WisePack™.  Now, as Grandmothers-on-the-go they are non-stop users of the WisePack™ adding to their uses, nappy bag, carrier of toy trucks and cars, and "sensible" shoes for long journeys. The uses for this bag never stop. I will be ordering one before my next travel for sure!

Inspiration from Asia

Whew - what a week!  Another one of the inspiring speakers at the WPO conference was Sung-Joo Kim, founder of Sungjoo Group, a retail group that operates franchise stores for Marks & Spencer, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci in South Korea. She is also chairman and chief executive of MCM Group, the German luxury goods company that has stores worldwide. MCM handbags and luggage are favoured by Cindy Crawford and Geri Halliwell, and Ms Kim has turned the company into a brand with annual sales of over $200m (£100m).   

We received a great conference bag designed by MCM which was wonderful, but more than that, I left with the feeling that this woman was inspiring and driven to prove herself and her capabilities.  She told us about her upbringing in Korea where women were told to be seen and not heard, and whilst her brothers were given every opportunity to learn and improve themselves, she had to fight to get her father to agree that she could study.  Even after this it was not expected that women run businesses, so she was a real ground breaker in Korea.

Ms Kim had five key points to deliver:
1. Focus on woman-ness - recognise your female talents and maximise them, particularly our emotional intelligence
2. Go Global - don't be afraid to think big
3. Be an early adopter of IT - she gave the example of how competitive the business world was in Korea with all the big players being male owned businesses.  They tried to put her out of business but she used IT to her company's advantage, enabling flexible working and demonstrating openness in all communications.  This won over both her clients and her workforce.
4. Practice corporate and social responsibility - no matter how small your business is, think about the wider implications of your business on the world and give something back.
5. Have a clear vision and "succeed to serve" - the focus should be on serving others and not serving yourself.

She has a clear vision to build the first worldwide luxury brand owned by a Korean and is well on the way to achieving it!

Innovation: Malcolm Gladwell's comparison of Picasso and Cezanne

It's day one of the Women President's Organisation annual conference and its off to a great start.  The keynote presentation was delivered by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink which are two books that recently have changed people's thinking on big concepts.

Today he was in fine form tackling the topic of innovation by providing a comparison between the approaches of Picasso and Cezanne.  What he was really referring to was the issue of big bold ideas that make short term impact versus constant experimentation and small improvements over time.  It was fascinating and gave credence to all those in the audience who perhaps were thinking "should I give up or keep going?" with any innovation that they are working on that is not yet yielding results.

He referred to several other examples where the same principles apply.....It took Fleetwood Mac over 10 years and 15 albums until they created their 16th hit album Rumours which was one of the top five biggest selling albums of all time.  Compare this to the drive by the music industry these days for artistes to deliver instant results. 

Orson Wells directed Citizen Kane when he was aged 24 compared to Alfred Hitchcock who was in his late fifties by the time he directed Vertigo and had been experimenting and honing his craft for years.  Both films were hugely successful and yet were created using very different innovative approaches.

What Gladwell was really saying was that there are two approaches to innovation - one the short term bold concept that can be easily described in advance and will make a major impact, and the other is those in it for the long term, and who cannot easily describe what the end outcome will be, as its only through constantly experimenting and making small improvements that they realise the innovation in the end.  Both can yield great financial results, but one requires patience which seems to be in short supply these days in the business world.

I came away thinking that since Mission Possible has been going for 10 years and we are constantly experimenting and improving what we do that we are probably in the Cezanne camp - which means that Mission Achieved will be at some future time .....

First Impressions

Greetings from Boston!  I arrived here today for the Women Presidents Organisation (WPO) annual conference which starts on Thursday.  As a facilitator for WPO we have a get together and some training prior to the conference, so its great to catch up with old friends and to make some new acquaintances too.

Arriving in Boston I immediately felt at home here.  The sun was shining, clear skies and the drive along the riverfront was lovely, as I noticed boats on their moorings and people out jogging in the park.  In fact there were rather a lot of sports people around as the Boston Marathon happened this weekend so there was a multitude of coloured tracksuits and sports wear adorning the hotel lobby as I arrived.

All of this pleasant experience has set me in a positive frame of mind to enjoy the next few days and reminded me how important first impressions are in business.  Whilst we may not always feel like smiling or being friendly, your clients will notice how you come across immediately.  They may be thinking - will this business be good to work with, are they efficient and will they be thinking about their customers needs?   So think about the first impressions that people notice about your business.  Does your website convey the look and feel you want it to?  If they call you do they get an answerphone or a friendly voice?  Put yourself in the shoes of a customer and notice what they experience....it may give you a shock!

Variety is the spice of life...and work

This week has been very stimulating in that it brought a variety of interesting activities.  They ranged from a keynote presentation delivered to a blue chip company at three hours notice to attending the launch of a new financial and lifestyle management concept at the quirky venue, Sketch in London and trying out their interesting concept of pod bathrooms! 

We also held our first meeting of the London Chapter of Women President's Organisation, and what an interesting group of business women we have!  This is shaping up to provide a monthly dose of inspiration and learning for all involved.

I even managed to record my second podcast on the topic of motivation. It includes my four rules for keeping motivated at work, and maybe I should have added another one- variety...because it does make for a more lively week. 

Download the podcast here "Motivating Yourself for Success in Business"  (MP3 format) 5 minutes duration

Launch of Women President's Organisation

Today I am excited. It is launch day.  We have been arranging the UK launch of Women President's Organisation for months and now it's here.  I will be the facilitator of the first chapter to be based in London and  we have an interesting selection of women business owners attending the event from both USA and UK.  These women are all successful in their own right - running businesses that have annual turnovers in excess of £1million and what they have in common is that they all recognise the benefit of supporting one another to help them grow their businesses.

My role is also exciting - to facilitate the meetings and ensure that each woman gets the most out of being a member. I am motivator, supporter, mediator and lots more.... Confidentiality is key to the success of each chapter as who wants to share their innermost worries amongst people they don't trust?

It's almost like going on a polar expedition together - you have to know that the others are there to support you during the tough times as well as the successes.   On expedition, you have to ski, eat and live together 24 hours a day for at least a month.  No icebergs to hide behind when going out for a pee, so you leave your modesty at the door.  Our meetings won't be quite as extreme, but the careful process of building up trust will be just the same.