Monday, January 27, 2014

Holiday the Business Coach way

Needless to say everyone needs a break from the hussle and bussle of being a Business Advisor so I have come here to less than sunny Athens to take a few days away enjoying the hospitality of the Greeks.
Today went up to indulge in facing up to what happens to any society when you take your eye of the ball. Travelling on the metro to the Acropolis and the Parthenon was 21st century city travel, easy and swift. However confronting the history of civilisation took a bit more out of me. In 447 BC some two and a half thousand years ago the building works started. From then what have we learnt about forward planning and strategy? History tells us that when we sit back and enjoy the fruits or our labours this is when they start to disappear or are taken from us. The world is littered with Empires that have grown, flourished and died some we are more aware of like the Greek, Roman and British some we have heard about like the Aztec and Inca's and some have totally slipped out of human memory. All these had one thing in common; that is they were made up of people, to a greater or lesser extent, just like us. Scary isnt it that looking at the balance of probability everything we do here today in our lives will turn to dust. Very little will outlast us in terms of activity. One thing I have picked up here is that theories do then to last a lot longer and remain in the worlds psyche for all time. Fairness, Democracy, Healing, Philosophy all came from around these parts and some 3000 years later they are still given a shake or two. That makes me think that whatever we do has little value to the world as a whole but what we think can add serious value to those that come after.
So I'm going to have a bit less doing and a bit more thinking time this week in the hope that a new civilisation will be born from my inactivity.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Innovate or die trying

How many new ideas do have a day? 10,20,30 or 100. Funnily enough so does everyone else!
The difference between a good idea and a successful idea is what?
If you have dream (apologies to M L K) does that make you a genius or a numpty with an over active mind?
Having a dream is only half the battle making the dream come true is the really hard bit. Anyone in business knows that even the best dreams can become worn and jaded. Remember that to maintain passion (in everything) it takes hard work focused activity a decent plan and the ability to implement that plan. Dreams are cheap actions and success cost dear. 

Monday, January 20, 2014

A Learning Experience

Why is it that when anybody in a position of authority, whether in Government, Health Service or Leading Corporates, makes a complete balls up of something they are being really well paid for the first line of defence is not an apology or a mea culpa but a mealy mouthed statement stating that they have learned the lessons are using the destruction of other peoples lives as a "learning experience" which can be a positive outcome!
Who cares what they have learnt if they can't get it right shouldn't they be punished in some way such as losing their jobs or even a nice long stay in a holding cell?
Just a thought when the lazy spin out the same old BS that lessons have been learnt and hopefully the same problems will not return. 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Sex & 2014

ŁaIs there a difference between the way that men & women approach business networking?
More & more mixed business groups are sprouting up but are they putting up barriers to growing their members businesses by not recognising and dealing with the fundamental differences in the way that men & women promote themselves.?
2014 could be the year where we abandon equality and embrace relationship marketing. Entrepreneurs, by nature are resilient and confident with a naturally high business drive this can appear to be aggressive and overly forceful. Each gender has this trait so it's not the sex it's the mind!
Without this drive things would almost certainly stay as they are.