Stuff

The Social CV's & The Living Epitaph

If you want to get on in the emerging world you're going to need a social cv. Increasingly people are going to look at what you put down on paper and then what they can find about you online. As we go into the new world we'll be working with people we haven't met but who have the exact right take on the world. We'll be sharing our knowledge and our work whether we know it or we don't. Increasingly when people sign up for communities the owners are asking for their twitter name. You can find out a huge amount about someone through their twitter account. Are they a player? Or are they just pushing their stuff? Are they a giver or are they a taker? Are they connected or are they out of the loop? 

It's hard right now to realise how different the world is from even a couple of years ago. When the new smartphones came out and apple invented the need for apps the world exploded and just keeps on exploding daily. 

Simon shared this you tube film by Corning which looks pretty believable, and as apple is rumoured to have patented a glass phone, could be much closer than we think.

In times gone by people got older and pretty much shuffled into the slow lane - they couldn't till the fields as well or chop up wood...now with touchscreen technology age almost doesn't matter any longer. You can play a key part in the world if you have access and drive even if you're hitting the 100 mark. 

According to predictions a third of babies born today will live to be 100. The whole notion of ageing will change in the next twenty years. It has to. We can't afford to be pensioned off at 60 / 65. Another inconvenient truth. 

Our credentials and experience and our worldview will have a much longer shelflife in the future. So think about your social cv. Get your act together - if someone looked for you right now what would they find? 

In the old days most people, if they were lucky, just got an epitaph on their gravestone - these days your epitaph is alive and signals the life you live not just the one you want to be remembered for.  

 

The Moment Before...

Isn't it interesting to think that 'the moment before...' is always there - it could be right now.

The moment before something amazing happens.

There's always 'the moment before...' you met the love of your life, 'the moment before'...you saw the ad for the perfect job that you apply for and get. 'The moment before'... the brilliant idea popped into your head.

There's always a 'moment before' and who knows, this could be the moment before...

Any moment now something may come your way that you weren't aware of previously and which could change your direction.

Right now, this very second it could be that moment before... 

 

What's New Pussycat?

Now I know I am not at the very front of the social media crowd. Course not - I was still fast asleep when they were up and about and putting the kettle on about 12 or so years ago. But it's a high energy world and people can catch up fast once they are dressed and ready. 

Having now joined many of the dots and being flight of foot enough to jump on passing rides heading out to the new frontier I am now able to recognise, appraise and jump on or off a new social media platform. Some I find easier than others of course. Some leave me cold. But I am confident enough to stay and play.

So now I am thinking what's next? When people like me are onboard - by me I mean pretty average - middle of the road progressive types - where's the front crowd off to? 

The highways are built, the structures are in place, the audience is willing, what's the next phase?

Increased levels of creativity in the human race?

As the understanding and knowhow is spreading through the living population, as tech literacy is ramping up and now with raspberry pi, thankfully once again the brit kids are learning to design as well as indulge. What will happen next? 

Everyone who wants to be successful on the web is going to have to have or find design skills. Visual art and textural language will be key. Don't ya think? Content is not so much King as Prince. King is layout, editing, art skills. You can have brilliant insights and great stuff to share but if it's written in a dorky / dull way or it's hidden in a poor layout it will die currently. 

So if you want to get ahead on the net then make sure you look like you oughta. The days of dire visual imagery and hokey (scuse my americana there) text are long gone. Especially now iPad has raised the resolution bar.

Flow is going to be vital too. Using all these various connectors - twitter, facebook, web, pinterest in a fluent way so they are seamless will be obvious. I guess, ironically TV will be getting in on the act in a more meaningful way at some point in the future. TV is still sitting by the side of the pool at the moment watching the social media swimming heats going past.

By the way, as ever, I must continually take my own medicine. Just because I can see what's going on doesn't make it any easier.

Tip, if you've been avoiding social media so far, or still revert to, 'what's all the fuss about', just dip your toe in the water. You'll be cross if you leave it another 5 years and all the best lilos are taken.

Things have moved on such a lot in such a short time.

:)

Nerves

Sometimes we have to go out on a limb. Or meet someone we admire. Or say something out loud to lots of people. Or put up a blogpost that's contentious. Or do something we have never done before. We can't help but feel nervous. It's not something we can do anything about. It's just a physical response. 

Typical things people do when they are nervous are the opposite of what they do when they are relaxed, obv.

They talk too fast.

They answer their own questions.

They try too hard.

They don't listen.

They aren't present in the moment.

They only hear their own voices in their own heads.

They think too fast and get muddled.

They sweat.

They stutter.

They shake.

They are afraid.

The more it happens the worse it gets which is why so many people are so reluctant to go out of their comfort zone. But what's the point of wasting a perfectly good life sitting in the back row and waiting for the film to finish. 

There's only one thing you need to do to counter nerves. Just one. Be present. 

If you are present to the moment, everything else falls into place. If you listen properly and really experience the meeting or event or activity then you will begin to enjoy the whole thing. It's the fighting with the moment that is so stressful. 

Of course you must know your stuff - at least know what you need to know - know why you want to do this thing in the first place - but after that just stay present. Be mindful.

If all you do is that you will have made a huge leap forward. 

Allow that experience to slow your heartbeat, to slow your rate of talking, to calm yourself.

That's why mindfulness as a practice on a daily basis is so worthwhile. Don't wait until you are out of your comfort zone - get on and practice daily - that way when you are nervous you'll have a headstart.

 

Think Like A Conductor

Imagine today you are the conductor of a great orchestra. Think of each of your sections and line them up. Instead of drums you have clients, instead of percussion you have family, instead of violins you have bosses, instead of the double bass you have your passions. Write out everything that occurs to you, your home, your body, your vision, your car, your art...whatever you have at your disposal. Perhaps instead of the piano you have twitter. Play. Then arrange them in your mind. Play with the idea - even stand up and stretch yourself - get your baton to hand - who cares that it's a rolling pin or a newspaper. 

The key feeling is direction. Standing in front of the orchestra you call your life and realising you are the conductor, the director. 

Where are the pitfalls in this pretty scene? Clients don't perform for us, they play their own tune and don't dance to ours...well the great conductor knows each of the sections intimately - he knows how each instrument sounds, what style of music they can make, he works with his musicians. Same for clients, understand them and their needs and the way they work, adapt to the pace. If your clients and you can't jive then somethings gotta give. 

This is not about giving in to those in your life - a conductor is a rigorous performer - but it is about movement and sway. If you watch an important conductor you will see it's a highly energetic endeavour. They move continuously both apart and immersed in the music they make.

Riccardo Muti is a joyous conductor and this is a beautiful clip of his work as one of the world's most accomplished conductors. 

Why live your life in an ordinary fashion when every moment could be a symphony? 

Is it OK if my baton is a pencil, do you think?

 

Dreams & Disappointments

The upside of dreams are they can come true - the downside is you have to handle disappointment. If you don't like to dream, then on a day to day basis at least, disappointments appear to be fewer. "If I don't try how can I fail?" 

Yet from a young age we are taught to dream - what would you like to be when you grow up? We listen to stories of heros and watch films where people have supernatural powers. Our imaginations run wild with the wonder of the impossible made real.

In our New Age we are expected to dream as adults too - not to put away childish things but rather to polish them and work out how to make them happen. Dreaming is a key part of 'achieving' in modern day life.

So if we are to dream and to dream consistently - then really the key shift we need to make is to nurture the feelings of disappointment, feelings that must inevitably show up on our door at some time or another. To be willing to experience these gut wrenching emotions - to hold them up to the light - to realise them fully and then release them on the wind like thistle pins - to float away and away. 

Disappointment is the shadow we must walk beside. To give up dreams is too big a price to pay to avoid the inevitable of coming last, missing out or being overlooked.

On such a brilliantly sunny day - list down all the hidden disapppointments that have stalked you and your days. Write them down, sitting beside a sunny window. Feel how it felt, then and still even now, to smile and pat the other person - congratulate them while your eyes were burning. 

Disappointment is a terrifying emotion but one, which if allowed, will flow through you quickly. If you look at what the disappointment really is and really has to offer - then you will find the dreams shift too - shift towards the true life you want and can have - the one that is yours for the taking.

 

Coins In Your Purse - change that adds up

The old saying goes 'look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves'. It's saying - deal in the small change rather than just the big tickets - and slowly the small change adds up. A friend was on Radio 4 yesterday - on Women's Hour - that was a great achievement on International Women's Day. But I don't expect it changed anything dramatically. I suspect she drove home afterwards thinking, 'well, now what?'. Most of the things we look forward to or work hard for don't change the world or our world, in and of themselves. Most of the small bits and pieces that happen build up over time to create layer upon layer of our lives and our experience. I sit on a board for branded content and again, nothing mind blowing, good people doing interesting things. Each small coin put away in the purse adds up, creates value and eventually can be spent. Who knows what connections will bring? Who knows which person will inspire a new idea that will lead to something else and something else.

This afternoon I am supporting some Central St Martin students on an innovation project as part of their coursework - we're off to the Saatchi Gallery to 'co-create'. Who knows what will lead on from that?

Never underestimate the importance of bits and pieces, small links in the bigger chain. 

Happy Friday. 

Thanks Rihanna, Whitney and Amy too - but where are your mentors, who are your management, fgs?

Today is International Women's Day. You either love it or hate it. Love the fact it gives a focus to an issue and highlights stuff that mostly goes under the radar. Or hate it that we have enough of these 'special' days and what's so special about women anyway? Haven't they gotten over themselves yet? Do we really need to keep harping on?

Recently three women with full freedom of choice in the public eye have been in the news - two for their tragically premature deaths - Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse died because of a lifestyle that was brutally unhealthy. Rihanna has been in the news because she is reported to be seeing her previously abusive boyfriend Chris Brown again. It is said they are once again in a toxic relationship.

Although I am terribly sad that these people have to go through these traumas and take their families with them - I am also grateful that, for a lot of young girls now, they are clearly showing the stupidity of women living lives out of control. The stupidity of thinking you can handle drugs, drink, wild lifestyles - the craziness of allowing a talent to become bigger than yourself.

Where are the great managers who help these starts navigate the treacherous territories? Where are their advisors? Although the music industry has done some amazing things for starving children and used its collective power to raise millions for much needed relief, are they really looking out enough for their own? Where are the elders standing up for the talent and saying you don't have to be 'out of it' to perform brilliantly.

Here's a tenuous link between music and women - on IWD - let's get the female music talent to stand up and say we demand better management for our young talent - we demand help navigating the tough industry we have chosen. We expect more from the people at the top and we demand real conversations about why many of our people fall prey to drug dealers, drink, sleeping pills and the whole chemical circus. We should take the lid off this and listen to those who have managed to get through and who understand what it takes to survive a cruel and tough showbusiness. Music stars give huge pleasure to people and raise subjects and issues in creative ways. The world needs music but at what price? 

Perhaps the cost of megastardom needs to be considered and perhaps our young female talent can learn new ways in this old industry. On IWD I'm thinking about all the musical talent that has been cut down young or withered on the vine.

Sing out and challenge the old conventions - today's the excuse you've been waiting for.

The Lightest Touch Marketing

If you are a very busy person and you have a business which is very busy and you don't have dedicated marketing resources then often marketing becomes an elephant in the room. Something that you start off every year with the finest intentions only to discover a few weeks in that, once again, it's beyond you and you then try to ignore it for the rest of the year.

But hey, who needs marketing, the best businesses are down to strong management, tight financial controls and a 'bloody good idea at the right time' right?

Actually turn the telescope round, you're looking at this all wrong. 

Marketing is a full discipline, just like any other - it's not a dark art, nor a panacea, it's not magic nor is it rocket science. It's a straight forward approach to keeping in touch with customers and letting new people and organisations know about what you do. It's about determining the best products and services for the markets and pricing and positioning them well. It's about keeping an eye on the competition and a thought for the future and keeping yourself up to date and even perhaps becoming a trendsetter. 

It's about systems and routines. Get these structures in place and they will carry you there. If you make 2012 the year for your marketing structures, then in 2013 you can hone them and steer yourself even closer to where you want to be. 

PS - social media is the lightest touch marketing with a structure and momentum that makes all this easy peasy.

Putting In The Discipline

Nowadays we're so used to having it all, having it now and going with the flow we can forget the old ideas of rigour and disciplines. What is discipline? Top of mind it's the self control to focus on the items that don't come easily or even perhaps, naturally. 

It's generally more relaxing and pleasant to duck those things...but sometimes that's where some nuggets lie waiting. That's the whole sorting the 'men from the boys', 'women from the girls' thing. 

Who is prepared to do the thing that's a bit more uncomfortable? Who is prepared to accept the constraints and do it anyway?

The discipline of mental will is as much a muscle as a 6 pack washboard stomach and should be trained and practised every day.

It doesn't matter how easy an expert makes something look there is always an iron will lurking behind a success story. 

The will to keep going when others flag, the will to ignore the crowd view and to go through with your own ideas, the will to demand higher standards and nurture hidden talent.

These days are tough, every opportunity is hard won, nothing is landing in laps in a lucky way today. So when it comes to getting customers, delivering services, keeping business - it's the discipline that will carry us.

The discipline to run a business both as an art and a craft, to run a business with heart and soul, to run a business as a well oiled machine lovingly cared for.

The language of the trainer is 'trust the process.' Discipline underpins the process. Look at your strength of purpose and your discipline and wonder.

There's no lack of opportunity 'out there', to realise those opportunities we must look 'inside ourselves'.

'Twas ever thus.

 

On Becoming Meaningful

The opposite of becoming meaningful, is becoming meaningless or irrelevant. Possibly one of the most painful things to be. I guess many older people find themselves in this situation. If they don't keep up, don't stay vital and just stick with the ways they know and their well worn habits. Slowly they find themselves sidelined, shuffled over to the slow lane and settled down in the comfy chair to watch the TV. Probably this is why society has become so ageist. Perhaps those managing the old age brand had better tell some of their folk to get with the programme.

But then, you don't have to be old to be irrelevant. Being young doesn't mean you are meaningful. So there are details to consider.

Of course in a spiritual sense simply to be alive is to have meaning, you are, to philosophy scholars, the meaning of life. Just being you.

Working with businesses to discover their uniqueness and then working out how to tell their story takes me into the land of meaningfulness. The point of view must be meaningful, it must create energy and engagement with the audiences, it must stir hearts and minds. 

We are all so sophisticated now and so addicted to the 'new' that cheesy, hackneyed phrases just annoy and tire us. 

If you are trying to get your marketing strategy sorted this year, if you are getting your brand strategy in place, if you are nailing your direction, do not stint on 'meaningfulness'. This part of the process is the fire, the life, it galvanises and motivates way beyond reason.

When you find the sweetspot you will know. It will linger and roll around in your mind. It will flirt with you, light you up and give you spark. It will remind you who you are and why you do what you do. It will enliven you and your business.

Keep the faith, find the meaning et voilà there you are.

Of course if you are thinking, 'what bo******' you should go straight to the post that I haven't written and will never write which is entitled, 'how to stiff 'em for the most money you can'.

For all those willing to do the work to create businesses that have meaning and deliver outstanding goods and services take plenty of time, and fresh air, to clear the path and find the value you bring to your markets. It'll pay dividends, literally.

 

Show Me You Know Me

Walking a mile in another man's shoes is something we don't often do. Sure we watch films, read books, listen to stories of other's lives and empathise. Certainly we donate to Red Nose Day or run a 5k for Breast Cancer. Sometimes we pass by someone else and wonder...

But what if you really were Obama for the day, or Cameron...how about Madonna or the local postman? Would you behave entirely differently or would the life of a popstar or postie become your reality and determine your days?

How much of our world do we shape and how much of us is shaped by our world?

I was at a Social Care meeting yesterday and afterwards, travelling back, one of the delegates told me about their foster son. He is on the autistic spectrum with learning difficulties, was brought up by two people (his parents) who abused him physically from early childhood - meaning now he is primed to be a sex offender. No one picked this up. Neighbours didn't know he was in the house. 

This is not OK - how do we solve these issues? His life has been entirely shaped by the world around him. It was just chance that created his reality. He is not alone, there are others in similar situations.

How do we walk a mile in his shoes and learn to shape societies that don't abuse, undermine and ignore us.

There were other stories of people who don't know how to open a bank account, nor iron, nor clean their homes - they don't have the essential skills to lead a life that can flourish, without mentioning reading and writing.

From my life perspective this seems nonsense, surely they can, but they can't. 

So what's to be done? 

The majority of us now are facing reduced circumstances, even those who are navigating round the outside of the global storm are aware that revolutions are brewing. These are the days when we really must surprise ourselves by our depth and breadth of character. These are the days when we must share what we have, no matter how little or stretched it may already seem. 

There is enough love, bread and song to go around...we can if we want to...

Take the chance today to move away from the comfort of your world for a while and walk in someone else's shoes. Really take a moment to imagine or to engage and then ponder how do we change the world for the better?

No really, how do we do that?

 

When Silence Is Strength and When It is Weakness

The TV is broken. OK so I shouldn't watch TV. I should be far too busy finishing my latest artwork, novel or catching up on back editions of The Spectator. But I do enjoy some programmes so it's a bit of a bore that the speaker has packed up, leaving us watching the screen and listening via iplayers - having to stop one or the other as it goes out of sync with the ads or buffering.

We've got the sub-titles on obv - but you do need background noise, even in the Danish dramas.

Subtitles are a lot of fun in themselves. On Sky Sports they do them and they are so often wrong - they typed up the 'trouser market' rather than the 'transfer market' and Queens Park Whingers! Honestly.

Anyway, the TV repair folks have not come back to me about the speaker and it's been long enough. So do I stay silent and just politely ask for their attention or do I shout at them?

Then there's the time when someone keeps on giving me info too last minute. Do I say something? Then there's the client who has made a mistake - shall I tell them?

Trying to decide when to speak up and when to stay quiet is a real challenge. Too often people just blurt it all out only later to regret they said anything - but then again, if it's boiling up inside you can end up blowing up over something trivial.

My trick is to:

1    Recognise I am annoyed by something

2    Hold my tongue until I am calm

3    Carefully word what I want to say 

4    Speak with truth, not with ego and not with fear and not with frustration

TRUTH is the key. Everyone can hear the truth no matter what the words are actually saying. 

So it's hard to judge. Silence, done well, is truly strengthening and the right words, said at the right time, said in the right way are potent. In fact, texture is great. There's an art to this.

So now, how to tell the repair man the truth?

 

Being On A Roll

I love the English language - it's so accommodating. English words have such richness and life. You can't just put one word or another, you have to really think about the mood each conveys, the meaning they offer. Words, and their neat cousins, the punctuation marks, work brilliantly together to take us along a path to understanding. That's why swearing, when done well, is so fabulous. It cuts through a lot of posturing. When swearing becomes the norm obviously that's just dull and unoriginal. 

Nowadays I write a lot of words, I write reports, three blogs, advertising copy, marketing copy, invitations, notes, emails, texts and tweets; every time I put a string together, they run off and inform, persuade and possibly entertain. They are never perfect, no deadline is ever long enough to allow them that indulgence. My grammar is often shot to pieces. That's comprehensive education for you.

I don't write fiction, even in the advertising copy. I don't always write fact, even in the advertising copy. I mostly write ASPIRE - well that's the sub-text anyway. 

Over the years I have found I love writing. Being on a roll means you are doing the thing you love. If you do it well and find the people who need what you love to do, you can make a living. Gain their trust and goodwill so they recommend you to others, and you earn enough to have a life. Much more than that and generally things start to unravel. Unless you are clever enough to go with the flow and move on upwards. Note Bill Gates' example here. 

I love to write, to create, to understand, to explore, to distill, to share and to encourage. Consistently practicing these means I get better and then, eventually, that I am respected for what I do.

Do your own thing. Practice it, hone it, share it, 'that's just how we roll'.

 

Are We There Yet?

Isn't everything in the future? Isn't everything over there? As I write I am pondering the answer. Every once in a while the world isn't way out over there - just occasionally it's right here, inside you. Every once in a while you sit back and realise you have set the compass, the sails are full and you are headed in the right direction. All the effort to find the exact co-ordinates, to hold the tiller in the right place, to judge the weather, to stand firm and chart the course consistently and determinedly have paid off and you are flying onwards to the destiny you imagined. Of course, the wit in me wants to be naughty and puncture this magnificent scene by some mishap - a sort of Carry On Pioneering pic where someone falls overboard. 

But why spoil this moment? 

Destinies are hard won and there's no guilt required. Anyone who has lived, has already fought another day and another and another and so enjoy the moments you get when happiness is not way out over there, those days when it's right here surrounding you.

Photo courtesy of a dear friend Stefan Lubo 

Projections Without Numbers

Name me three people you admire. Go on write it down. Here are mine. Annette Bening, Diane Keaton and Boris Becker. Name me three people you loathe. Gone on. Here are mine ******, ***** and ************.

Now forget about them and think what it says about you. When we notice qualities in others we admire it's because we share some of the qualities and ideals. There's part of them that we relate to and we like about ourselves. We see aspects of our nature or character and they 'resonate' with us and we enjoy them in others. On the other hand the people we loathe reflect parts of us we have tried to forget, hide, ignore, or just pretend aren't there. These people annoy us and irritate us and remind us of these unloved characteristics we have.

So now you can start to understand more of your own self by looking around you and considering the reactions you have to other people. The projections without numbers. If you admire someone or at least a part of their nature then think about that and how it relates to your nature. If you dislike someone, same story. 

The clever little trick is to look at the aspects that you dislike and own them, understand them and recognise them for what they bring to you. This is harder than it sounds, but each time you do it two things happen, you grow wiser and you vaporise the irritating person too. Not literally obv, but you find them less irritating and frustrating. It's equally important to own the good stuff too. To see yourself in those you are admiring. It's a balancing act - don't get big headed but don't be downbeat either.

 

 

The Four Basics of Marketing

If you are dedicating your time to earning a living in a business then there are four basic things that need to happen in your marketing activity.

1    You need a strategy. A direction. A way forward.

2    You need to stand apart from the crowd. Be significant. Stand for something. Be known.

3    You need to have habits and systems that support your marketing strategy and make the most of your 'stand apart' position. You need contact.

4    You need a real budget so you can measure your returns. Marketing is an investment just like any other. 

Many businesses that perform but don't soar have none of these in place. It takes focus to get these sorted. 

Hint: businesses rarely do these basics on their own without outside help. 

This is week 4 of 2012. No time like the present.

 

Owning Up

There's a dark side to everyone in real life. Good people do bad things. We spend a lot of time trying to hide the dark side. Whether it's something small like we are untidy or something rather more substantial like we are druggies; whether it's we eat too much or like gossip mags, there are so many guilty pleasures that we all have and guilty characteristics that we all conceal.

The odd thing is that when we own these bad traits we discover something else about ourselves that is new and enriching. We discover texture to our nature and to our personality, we discover hidden facets that point to a new more nuanced character. We become more attractive, not less, more accomplished not less.

When we own up to the dark side we find more compassion for others, less irritation from colleagues, friends, neighbours...less struggle to hide and oddly we shine more light on our true selves.

Our relationships meld into more intimacy and our outer skins soften and ripen.

Think of someone you know who has a rigid nature where they are disciplined or definite on what they believe or don't believe and you will find there is a dark side they are concealing. Aspects of their nature they are so afraid to share that, if only they knew, would be more interesting, more tantalising and more exciting than the façade they have put up.

Social media is a watershed time because it means we can own up to who we are, warts and all. I don't mean we have to put up every little bit of minutae, that is dull and boring. I don't mean that we have to tell everything to everyone, that's pointless. I do mean we can mature and share more facets of ourselves and our being than ever before. I do mean we can do business with people we have a more shared understanding of. 

Every moment we spend covering up is a moment we can't shine out. The vast majority of things we are hiding are tiny and inconsequential to those around us. Our mistakes and weaknesses make us who we are just as much as our triumphs and strengths. 

Experiment with owning up to some of your less desirable traits, first to yourself, then to others and finally to a wider world. When you are owning up to them - think about what quality they actually show about yourself - the silver lining, so to speak. 

For example if you are jealous of someone's achievements it's really signalling you have unachieved ambitions of your own and what's wrong with that? You are seeing the other person as having something you want and what's wrong with that? Just own up to being jealous and you can take hold of your own ambitions openly and honestly. 

If you are ashamed you are disorganised then perhaps you are hiding a creative streak that means you spend your time creating new ways of doing things - own your originality along with your untidiness. 

Our natures are a balanced book and the more we own the more we own.

Have a great week out there.

 

 

 

 

Building In Freedom

When you build a future it's easy to forget to build in freedom. Successful people don't always have the freedom you might imagine them to have. Don't you remember Simon Cowell knew his diary for the next year or more...Right now Sam Cam is probably negotiating the summer holidays with Dave who is struggling to find a 'window'. 

I know a man who has squillions and can't retire or do his own thing because he has so many ties. 

We're all creating futures in one way or another, brick by brick, word by word, call by call...freedom is the gift inside.

If you have it all but can't take a breezy day out or kick your heels for a while you are missing out. The world spins with or without you. Children grow whether you are there or not. Life happens moment by moment whether you notice or not.

Sure it's right and proper and downright inevitable to have busy periods and burn the candle at both ends for a while.

But freedom is what we all want in one way or another and so freedom must be built into the plan as an integral part and not just an end game strategy. Your brilliance craves it, and have it she must.

So in your plan for 2012 put in a line which is 'freedom' and make sure you do it and don't keep robbing your freedom bank no matter what the world demands of you. If your idea of freedom is crafting or golfing or walking or reading, if it's playing the guitar or staring at the sunset, if it's noodling in water colours or going out with no agenda and no watch or if it's even looser than that - put it in and honour it. It's an essential element in the plan and building it in at the beginning makes it easier in the longrun.

PS Freedom is not just the default weekend setting where you go along with what the home crowd wants. It's a separate line that satisfies your freedom needs whatever they may be.

 

 

Encouraging Genius

There's a woman selling The Big Issue near where I live. She's taken over from Dean who used to sell The Big Issue and then got a job with Pizzahut. She's from Romania. She's fed up. She stands outside Tesco. We walk past. I wave. We have briefly spoken. I am not sure she's selling many. Dean had a thriving trade in exactly the same spot. He was very outgoing and friendly. He bravely and gently crossed the line from stranger to someone we 'knew'. He got on with the job in hand and enjoyed it - I hope he's doing brilliantly at Pizzahut or was it Dominos?

So how does this woman from Romania move past The Big Issue to her next chapter? How can I do something easily to spark her genius, her inner zest? Nothing too onerous, just in the daily course of things. Is a wave enough? Should I take her for tea, listen to her story, point out the good things, encourage her? If I do that, I have begun a 'friendship' of sorts. Do I want that? Does she?

Is a wave as I walk past conveying my hopes for her success? Do you think she knows that I wish her well? 

If I were her, what would I hope for? I would hope people wouldn't think I was nobody. I would hope people would see beyond The Big Issue jacket.  I would hope they would recognise how talented and brave I was and how far I had come in order to be selling The Big Issue. I would hope they would realise that I could be stealing or selling tricks to earn the money to eat. I would hope they would be compassionate about me and my situation. I would hope they would see me and smile and yes, wave. I am not sure I would want someone prying into my situation or trying to understand me or befriending me. 

I would hope someone would show an interest in me and my journey and then I think that would be enough for the time being. 

Encouraging genius is a tricky business and needs a delicate touch, it's not always the same, everyone is different. Sometimes it's a wave and sometimes it's a call and sometimes it's just a look.

We can all encourage genius, and who knows what might happen then.

 

Just One Thing...

Pick one thing you want to 'bust'. If it's an area of debris in your business or a situation in your personal life, just name it and clean it up.

Often we tolerate situations and irritations until we forget they are there. But they still nag at us quietly in the background. Today at the start of week 2 in 2012 decide what you are going to challenge. Just one thing and go for it. 

Me, it's to clear out the 'dregs'.

When I tidy up or clear out I have a formula.

1    Put all the stuff in one place out where I can see it.

2    Organise it into groups. 

3    Throw away the things I can.

4    Put away the things I can.

5    Give away the things I can.

6    Create new folders or places for the items with no home.

7    Put the remaining 'dregs', things I can't throw, won't throw, into a bag til another day.

The 'dregs' always get stuffed somewhere out of sight. Where they stay. So this tidy up, I have begun to finish the job. I tackled it yesterday and I will tackle it today. I will tackle the dregs bag until it is gone, over, yesterday.

Once I have drained the bag clear of all its random items then I will have peace of mind. The inner knowledge that yes, I can focus on one tiny, irritating thing and vanquish it.

Yes I am a superpower that can bring about world peace. Well at least peace in my own world.

And that's a start...

Take Stock - Be Honest - Make Changes

Everyone starts somewhere in a New Year. Here are a few suggested places you may be right now.

A great place - you have a vision and you are working your way towards it, you have associates and contemporaries that you spark well with, you have momentum, don't feel overwhelmed most of the time and are optimistic about your chances of success. You know clearly what you have achieved and what's on the horizon for you. You have back up plans and the resources to ride out the storms if and when they arrive.

A good place - you have made mistakes in the past but you have learnt from them and accepted the part you played in them. You have thought through what you want and where you need to be. You have developed good networks around you and have a clear idea of where you are going. Even with dwindling or scarce resources you are confident that you can be successful.

A challenging place - you have always been successful in the past, but things were different then. Everything is so much more complicated now and what with the technology and twitter and all the extra demands on your time, it's easy to be overwhelmed. You are hazy on what to do next and the direction you are heading in. There are a lot of areas that frustrate you in your life. You have few friends and confidantes that would understand your situation and you feel hemmed in. You'd really like to just pack it all in and get away from it all, but you can't. So you battle on.

A precarious place - you have tried to make a go of your work or your business but it just doesn't work. You are exhausted and baffled by your situation. You work hard, have always been straight and honest but nowadays people demand something for nothing. You have little or no energy or enthusiasm for your work and have no idea what to do next. Your finances are of significant concern to you and you really are not sure what the future holds.

Whatever you are facing up to in 2012 whether the future looks dazzlingly bright or horrendously dark it holds far more possibilities than you can imagine. That's why it's a good idea to engage a mentor or a coach to support you getting what you want and where you want to be. If you're on the up, then a mentor can help you decide how to handle your success and how to put sustainability into your business so you don't burn out. If you are plateauing then a mentor can help you see where the roadblocks are and why you are finding it difficult to surmount them and if you are falling fast, then a mentor can help you come to terms with your situation, work through it and survive, then begin to flourish again.

Running a successful business is really an extraordinary feat. Balancing so many things correctly, from the books to the staff, to the markets. It is no wonder so many fail and so many people struggle. But if it's in your blood there's not much you can do but get on with it. Running a successful business that employs people and stretches people's talents and creates wonderful work is rewarding and worth fighting for.

So if you're on your way to your 15th million, hooray - write to me with your secrets, if you're on the ropes head down ready to bail out, then you are not alone - face up to where you are, take stock, be honest and make changes. If you want help, call.

Laver's Law

Some people are just brilliant and this James Laver obviously was when he invented his law concerning attitudes to fashion as illustrated below. Thanks to Pauline at Fashion Era - great site for nerds like us.

Laver's Law
Indecent	10 years before its time
Shameless	5 years before its time
Daring	1 year before its time
Smart	----------
Dowdy	1 year after its time
Hideous	10 years after its time
Ridiculous	20 years after its time
Amusing	30 years after its time
Quaint	50 years after its time
Charming	70 years after its time
Romantic	100 years after its time
Beautiful	150 years after its time

 

Invest In What's Working

Sometimes the most obvious ideas elude us when we overcomplicate our lives. Over the holidays I played Monopoly and it's a pretty basic reminder of the rules of capitalism. I only had the reds - others had much more than me. I only had one house on each red. Others had much more real estate than that. I didn't have much hope.

So I spent and bought another house on each. Then I realised that the upside of buying 3 houses on each was huge compared to one or even two on each. So with every bit of cash I had, I bought. We were playing a version where the rent on the reds with three houses was $9000 and that was a lot. Then I got a bit of luck with people landing on me, then I had to pay house repairs which set me back but people kept landing. I invested again and then had hotels and bit by bit my opponents fell. I took their properties in lieu of payments and the dye was set.

This reminded me of an episode of The Apprentice where the teams had to decide what they would sell on a street market. They then had to buy more of the items that were going well. Just keep on investing in the stock that was selling fast.

It was too easy for most of them, they wanted to beat the system, defy the odds and buy things that weren't selling - organising their stall to try to retail stuff that wasn't attractive.

These two examples clearly illustrate that sometimes business life can be simple. Take a look at your 'stall' - what's selling well, invest time and a little money in that and the chances are high that you'll be well rewarded. Just too simple for you, eh?

Happy New Year out there.

 

 

Failure Is Always An Option

Living in the media age where we consume fast images and even faster storylines it's inevitable we have bought into the idea that 'failure is not an option'. It has been inserted into so many gung-ho movies and speeches you'd have to be totally disconnected not to have heard it at some point.

The trouble with this notion of black and white, success and failure where success is the only possible option is that it makes the stakes unbearably high. It's a testosterone filled idea. Determined to bring out the warrior spirit in everyone. 

The truth is however, less dramatic. Everytime someone says 'failure is not an option' in The Apprentice and other reality shows, we, the audience, know just what to expect and it begins with 'f'.

The truth is that failure is always an option. Failure is part of success. Failure is woven through the fabric of society like fine thread. We know failure is just around the corner. We instinctively know we could fail and by denying its existence we turn into cartoon characters running around in ever decreasing circles.

If we don't teach children about failure we are not being responsible adults. Failure lives with us all and that doesn't make us failures. It makes us human. We all fail whether it's falling off the wagon or eating an extra biscuit, buying that must have accessory or just running off with the wrong lover, we all know failure is one of the options open to us.

By realising failure and the reality of a life fully experienced we get more real not less so. 

We are all facing up to failure in 2012 - whether it's failed dreams, failed credit cards, failed businesses, failed marriages, failed exams, failed diets, failed currencies - there's no shame unless you make it so.

I had a tooth extracted recently - I felt bad that I had allowed that to happen. Ashamed that I hadn't taken better care of a tooth and allowed it to become fragile and break. Turns out it's happened to quite a lot of people I have spoken to. Turns out it's not quite such an epic fail as I thought it was.

When you look at your failures this year - and tell a few trusted people about them, you'll find that you aren't as alone as you thought. 

New Years are brilliant moments for realising failure and renewal, past and future. Sure I would have done many things differently with hindsight. Sure I am learning how to succeed more frequently. Sure I have dreams that I should have fulfilled by now. 

But that's what the future is for - to realise those dreams and experience those failures fully and fairly.

Hope you had an excellent Christmas and are getting ready for a prosperous New Year.

 

 

Happy Christmas

What more is there to say?

See you the other side in 2012.

 

 

Doing Good or Doing Your Duty?

At this time of year when we all need to show each other how much we care I think it's good to reflect on the ideal of goodness and what it means and what it doesn't mean.

Let's take a scenario - you have an aging relative who is in a home, can't hear very much, bit blind, immobile - do you let the nursing staff do their duty and ensure that she's well cared for or do you bring her to your home if possible or visit her if she can't leave? 

Sometimes we want to show we are doing good but really we are doing our duty. If you go through the motions of giving at Christmas or playing the game of being Christian or going to a charity ball to help those others in need - then it's worth deciding what you are giving and what you are getting.

Doing good is complicated - more complicated than say eating. You get hungry you eat. You are very involved in the feeling. With doing good you can be involved or you can be distant.

It's highly possible many philanthropists are very business like about their giving and donations. It's highly possible that many of the people putting money in the tins don't really care about the cause.

Walk along any high street and you'll find people raising funds for a cause. The chance of finding someone on the high street when they in the mood to care and then finding a cause they really do care about is minimal.

We're all in this dance of care and duty constantly balancing our identity as a good person.

We have a lot invested in being good, we are brought up to be good, told constantly to be good, good triumphs over evil, the good guy wins the girl, the prince wins the princess. Bad guys are punished. We know we must be good, we know we should do our bit.

But the more we are told to and we don't feel like it the higher the barriers become. The more confused we are about who we are and how compassionate we feel.

Here are two stereotypical giving situations - the rich toff giving some of his 'ill-gotten' gains to salve his conscience or the poor wretch (tart with a heart who never had a chance) giving succour to the other poor wretches who have even less than she does. One giving downwards and another giving across the social strata. The grinning faces of the good people who have just painted the scout hall compared to say, the grinning face of Elton John at his white ball.

The middle class is a bit confused about the Big Society. We aren't sure which picture we want to be part of. The 'let's all pull together' at the coal face or the let's do great things and have fantastic experiences while helping others who can't. Antartica anyone?

Finding our altruism, finding the part of ourselves that we want to give to others, that we have to share is not something that many of us spend much time considering.

But it's something we should consider at length. We need to walk freely along the street and know we are doing good and doing our duty and knowing these are not always the same.

This is complex and we don't spend enough time thinking about it. Good time to ponder the question on the week before Christmas.

To help you ponder here are two versions of the carol 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', this is the calming one with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and this is a challenging version showing troops in Iraq. And in case you just want a rest from all this deep thinking here's a clip from the Fast Show about mobile phones, technology and a spoof on the small matter of Andy Gray.

Forcing Only Breaks Things

Sometimes we're tempted to just push something into place. Forcing ideas into meetings, forcing people to do things. It works for a while but mostly the things know best and quietly come undone, come unstuck, go missing by themselves.

There's a big difference between forcing things and creating conditions for new things to emerge. The latter is more difficult, more complex and more uncertain. But when things are allowed to emerge through their own energy and creativity then the chances are that sustainable changes will come about.

At the moment when we want things done, changed, re-ordered, cut back and all the other ways we bring about shift; those of us who can hold the line and allow emergence to take place have to dig in deeper to our reserves and say 'it's OK it's all happening, it's all unfolding perfectly'. We have to know the difference between force and power. The Occupy movement is extraordinary - it's being described by some as a psychic shift - watch and wonder at the variations we have as a species to evolve. What if Occupy is not dumb or stupid or even anarchic, what if it's very intelligent and wise. A way to let the steam out of the pressure cooker, to take charge of the anger and channel it effectively and efficiently. Giving the shift a voice and a physical construct.

No issue is black and white, it's just we'd like to make it so. No one is simply wrong or right, it just suits us if they were. The world is complex and intricate. These things take time.

Don't rush the vintage this will be a brilliant one, rich, deep and with a complicated structure - these are momentous times - enjoy the ride. 

Nobody Can Stop You - And They Will Try

Whose responsibility is it anyway, our success...? 'Oh, it's mine, all mine', most of us 'in the know' say. 'Oh yes, I am totally responsible for my experiences, my take on life, my attitudes, my successes and my failures'. Then we quietly abdicate responsibility to others around us...asking others' opinions and then backtracking on ideas we've had, asking for permission and waiting for it to be given, thinking the next person is more right than us. 

Being a team player is about making a significant contribution to the team, a contribution that is all yours. The team relies on each and every one of its players. Winning teams are full of individuals who both understand and respect the team values and direction and then use all their own talent and drive to achieve results. Rio Ferdinand said the number one thing he hated about being a footballer was losing. That means he totally owns his responsibility for winning.

You don't see footballers waiting around the pitch for the rest of the team to give them permission to strike or tackle. They are in the game, they triumph, they screw up, probably in equal measure.

In business teams that are at the top of their game then it's the same thing. They have good leadership and they believe and respect the values and the vision for the business. They know the part they play and they play it as an individual, bringing every ounce of their talent to the table.

In weak business teams the balance is off, one person dictates the way individuals play, struggles are going on under the surface, hidden, unspoken. Everyone worried in case the other doesn't agree, everyone doing their own thing.

As we are heading into more squalls next year it's best if you are in the right team and giving your contribution fully.

Here are a few thought provokers...

1    Whose team is it anyway? - Who is the leader? What is the vision? What is the strategy to get there? Who is performing and how?

2    Who are we serving? - Become closer to the customers you are serving. Who are they? What do they want? And what must you do to deliver that?

3    What needs to change to make that happen? People, skills, technologies, processes, pricing, supply chain, branding?

4    How will you know when you get there? What will you measure to decide that you are going in the right direction? Cashflow? Profit? Orders? Happiness? Opportunities? Prestige? 

5    How will you build innovation and progress into your team activities? How will you redefine the vision? How will you bust market myths that you have believed up until now?

It's all about you. It's all about what you will do and what you won't do. As Robert De Niro brilliantly said in Raging Bull,

'The Talent Is In The Choices'.

Have a great day. But not just because I said so ;)

Releasing Buried Treasure From The Past

As we forge our lives we dig out new pathways and create new tracks. Sometimes, as we go, we have something in our experience that we can't carry, can't leave, and so we bury it where we are, so no-one can find it, not even us.

We all have traumatic experiences as we grow up from children to adults and on to our 'age of wisdom'. The 'age of wisdom' is when we take our experiences and make sense of them. It's very common to not even register or understand the traumas at the time. Isn't everyone facing traumas daily? 

The fact is your trauma is your trauma. It doesn't need validating as a trauma. It just is one. You don't need someone else to stamp your trauma as 'official'. Yep that one counts, sorry mate yours is not one we recognise. 

In today's media mad world most of us feel that trauma is for others - people that spill their guts at any opportunity - the more bizarre the better - in fact it's rather distasteful to most 'normal' people.

Traumas that lie undiscovered don't go away. They just gather dust or decay. Often the decay does much worse damage than the original trauma. Often the dust hides something rather precious and beautiful.

Unearthing trauma, rediscovering lost parts of the 'self' we call 'us' is tricky, delicate work. Old traumas are very fragile and they can easily shatter into thousands of pieces leaving us with tiny splinters. Here are my steps to unearthing hidden treasure.

1    If something strange troubles you and you don't know why. If something niggles and it doesn't make sense. There is generally something buried there. Gently prod the area with a 'stick'.

2    When you are pretty sure you have found something start working it loose. Remember that all sorts of things can fly out while you are doing this...anger, sadness, fear, panic, anxiety...but that's just from the past and it will soon disappear when released.

3    Loosen it with memory, take yourself back to the situation you were in. Loosen it with puzzling. What happened to you then? What did you do? Eventually a picture will form. Sometimes you will have to do a bit of heavy lifting to get the treasure out. Sometimes you will need help. 

4    Avoid judging yourself or another until you have got the box out from where it was buried. 

5    Take a look inside. Do you recognise what's buried there? Now make a few judgements. Really let yourself go. Storms and gales at this time are highly likely. Make sure you are safe before this happens. If you are afraid get professional support. The weather can be very cold or very hot. You are releasing intense stresses that have been bottled up for a long time. Use a pen and paper to write down everything to make sense of it. Really excavate the site now and reorganise the treasure chest to suit yourself.

6    When the storm has passed you can look at the treasure again and realise how beautiful it is. You can polish it brightly and put it away carefully on the shelves of your life. You can marvel at how rich you are and how cultured you have become. 

The key is to accept and be willing to discover the buried treasure from your past rather than hide it from view and see it as debris and rubbish. 

As Socrates so rightly said, 'an unexamined life is not worth living.'

 

 

 

Expression Is A Responsibility We Share

A wise man said,

'if we release what is inside of us, it will save us; if we fail to release what is inside of us, it will destroy us'.

I know this to be true. I meet people every day failing to release what is inside of them. (come on stop snickering at the back). Suffering when they see others releasing their talents with abandon.

Most addictions are evidence of this. People drinking to numb the pain of the deeply held longing to shine painfully at odds with their strong urge to stay back. 

People have forever shirked the 'responsibility' they have to share their talents. 

There are references to this from the Bible - Matthew 5:15

"Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on a lamp stand; and it gives light unto all that are in the house".

Nelson Mandela speaks of this tendency

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

In my research with people who pursue their passions through hobbies and pastimes I have seen how strong and happy they are, no matter how great or small their gift for that pursuit is.

There is a clear alternative to 'expression' and that is 'depression'.

A gnawing pain that does not go away and is harsher and more cruel than any fear of failure could ever be.

As a New Year approaches and the economy crashes we will work out our priorities and what we want to see in our own world and the world around us - the time is ripe for expression. 

So I am delighted to welcome a friend and old neighbour to the blogosphere - he is now writing for the world to see. As he becomes familiar with the medium and allows his voice to flow freely - I will be there cheering him on - he is a great writer and author and blogging will be an ideal way to release the handbrake and get his show on the road.

Here's to everyone that could blog but is shy, could write but is blocked, could speak but is silent, could play music but holds back, could stand but stays sitting, could run but just shuffles. 

If you know anyone hiding their light, gently remind them of Nelson's words, give them a little nudge. Who cares if we trip and fall, that's just part of the story and a very small part at that.

It's a responsibility we all share.  

 

The Means Justify The End

Of course normally it's the otherway around. Normally we say that the end justifies the means. Thereby illustrating that sometimes you have to do things that, in and of themselves, are not good but they are important for the 'greater good'. Of course sometimes we have to do unpalatable things that we are not proud of, that we dislike. 

If we take it the other way around and look at the daily stuff we do then the question is will this daily stuff justify the end - will we really get where we want to go, doing the stuff we are doing right now?

It's worth considering a daily sense check. Thinking about your internal compass and then thinking what am I doing this for? Interestingly we are biologically able to run on instinct. It's just sometimes we don't know what the instinct is really telling us. Taking time to place the instinct in the conscious part of yourself can be a revelation.

I once shut a business entirely on instinct. Every rational part of my person wanted to make that business work and wanted to do whatever it took to get it functioning brilliantly. But deep down in an unconscious part of my nature my instinct took over and directed my actions. It was the most odd feeling looking back. I worked outside of myself and did what it took to move on.

My rational part kicked and screamed while my instinct quietly took care of business.

The point of writing this is that today we are dealing with the most complex set of circumstances which will actually defy the rational part of our characters - we will have to plug into our instincts more fully and more regularly.

Therefore we will need to practice linking our instinct (subconscious) with our rational (conscious) minds and bodies. To run on instinct is one thing, but to know what that instinct is telling us and why is quite another. 

If you believe in superpowers, heroes, magic - then just combine your instinct with your rational mind and watch yourself unfold.

Happy Friday, it's going to be beautiful.

 

My Next Book - No Ego

Obviously a play on Naomi Klein's No Logo, where I look at the need for a real understanding by every one of us to acknowledge the damage an ego can do to the social fabric.

With a weakly developed ego we get overrun by others and instead of developing the ego we eat, drink and be anything but merry - the ego's needs will be met, but not in a good way; with an overdeveloped ego we overrun everyone else, constantly showing off, overshadowing others and negating the real value that each person brings to the world.

Every time the ego runs our world we run into trouble. We must all take time to explore the ego fully and realise its value and its frailty to a life well lived.

Snobbery

Snobbery is just another form of gang warfare. Where one gang thinks it's better than another and stabs one of the others in the back with hurtful words. Mostly without that other person knowing. 

Snobbery is funny no question. Wit is an integral part of snobbery. Caustic wit, dry wit. Snobs are always articulate and able to put down their victim quickly and deftly. That's how they survive. They play to the naughtiness in each of us. The imp on our shoulders trying to break free from the constraints of 'pc' ness that is pushed onto us from early days. 

Play nicely, be kind, don't say nasty things...

I once interviewed a group of foodies. I hovered briefly during the conversation over Neal's Yard Cheese to check I was on the right track compared to Neal's Yard Remedies. One of the group looked at another and with a knowing smile ascerted herself over me with a whispered, 'she doesn't know Neal's Yard'. 

Oh the frustration, I did know it but I was just checking, food or remedies, and now I was consigned to the bin of ignorance by this woman. I was now a persona non foodie.

Years go by and still I need to say out loud, 'I do know Neal's Yard Cheese', 'I am one of the gang'. I still need to defend myself.

Spelling is another one - we show our strength by showing spelling prowess. I can spell, she can't. I check my work, she doesn't.

Manners maketh man, and divides man in equal measure. 

Looking down on someone else doesn't make us any taller - actually it makes us look far smaller, far meaner and diminishes us.

There now, I've got my own back on that awful woman who belittled me. You see that's the problem with snobbery it never ends. Remark after remark, action after action.

Snobs are crass, using their words to have dominion over another. 

As the linked article above clearly shows - to love culture and fine things is not to be a snob. To be a snob is to believe yourself better than others and that's just delusional. 

The thing I have learnt through interviewing thousands of people is that, far from being all the same, we are all quite different. Of course we share common ground. But we have come from different places and are on our way to different destinations. We often see the same thing and think differently. 

That's the wonder and that's the beauty. Snobbery is ugly and should be taxed heavily. 

No Fear Here

When I attended philosophy classes years ago with my good friend Ruth. One of the lessons was all about facing up to adversity. That was a great lesson and one I have called on many times over the past 15 years. 

As the dark days of the old system are now upon us and striking fear into many a heart I am going to write down what happened in that lesson - at least from memory.

There were around 35 people in the lesson and the teacher asked anyone to recall a time when they had been in serious difficulties. Several people put their hands up. 

One had had breast cancer, one had financial meltdown, one had lost a parent, one had been mugged on her way home...so pretty challenging stuff - not just breaking a brilliantly polished nail before a big party or suchlike. (You know who you are.)

Each person recalled the situation in detail and each person described that what had happened when they had actually faced the real, rather than the imagined, problem...time slowed down and they knew what to do at each stage. People, either friends, associates or colleagues and even strangers came to them. They found inner resolve to work out how to handle the situation. The person under threat of mugging said 'it was as if everything was silent, just me and him and an inner instinct took over, I knew just what to do and how to do it.' (She ran btw)

The teacher said that actually we face up to these 'real' dangers quite rarely, most of our dangers are imagined. When real danger hits we know what to do. We handle the real situations.

It's the imagined ones that often floor us. So when you are anxious about something that may or may not happen you have to say the mantra of 'NO FEAR HERE'. 

This is a grounding technique that makes you consider the reality, the fact you are sitting or standing where you are, totally safe. In this moment nothing is happening. You have to repeat NO FEAR HERE and then your mind can come back into the present moment. 

This is a discipline that I have used in so many different situations to ground myself.

Whether the Eurozone fails or doesn't fail we will handle it. We will know what to do. 

Until actually faced with the problem NFH.

Have a great weekend, whatever the weather.

 

All I Can Offer

Today is Thanksgiving in America and for Americans all around the world. So in the spirit of this time of year I am thinking about what we offer each other.

I see that there are 3 things you can offer another person.

Skills - stuff you know how to do that they don't or don't have time to do or don't want to do,

Energy - enthusiasm and support when the going gets tough and hurdles seem unsurmountable,

Experience - understanding and guidance that comes from having been in the same situation or having successfully or unsuccessfully navigated a similar route.

Some of these I can give freely and some of these I get paid for. 

In fact the energy and experience come as part of the package of skills I offer. That's what working with me brings to the party. 

So when you are choosing who to work with on projects have a think about their skillset, their energy and their experience. Make sure you are getting what you want each time and most importantly make sure you are giving that back too.

 

 

 

 

Are You A Doom-monger?

Yo I just broke Wikipedia. They don't have an entry for Doom Monger. Such is the scale of Wikipedia it seems impossible that it doesn't have everything classified, so now I am doubting if the term actually exists. Nope - the Oxford dictionary is coming back blank too. But we all know what I mean don't we? 

A person that trades in doom. Well right now there is a shopful of doom. It's in the cupboards, in the store room, there are yards of it parked out back.

There's doom on the horizon being shipped in from who knows where. So there's plenty of stock and quite a few customers too. Every time we pick up the news we are buying doom. 

Every time I read Twitter I see another headline being flashed at me. Crash, Crash, Crash...the sound of the system falling.

The issue today isn't the doom, it's the clarity of purpose, the determination of will and the scale of ingenuity needed to ride out the storm clouds. It's time to dig deep and find the genius within.

Every time you push the doom story you weaken the collective will of us all to get through the transition from the old to the new.

Doom is not the story, renewal is the story. Find the shoots of renewal, encourage and grow them and in a few years we'll be better off than we ever were before we entered the hyper-capitalism phase. 

 

 

Getting Clear

This is a great time of year for clarity. Getting clear of the debris from 2011 ready to embrace 2012. Every year we set out with great hopes for what the next twelve months will bring and right now, we can see how well those hopes have been brought to life.

That's why the current economic crisis is so concerning...because it's grounding so many hopes and dreams that might have had a better chance if there had been more money around. So OK that's part of the year we've just had but not the whole story. There are plenty of examples of businesses that are born out of adversity. After all, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention".

Clarity is the first step towards achieving anything. Einstein knew it when he said, 

“If I had an hour to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem
and one minute finding solutions.” 

So right now, before you start your business day, get clear.

Physically clear your working space. Clean it if you can. It'll feel a whole lot better.

Mentally clear your mind. Relax and let background worries and noise fall away.

Professionally organise your projects. Organise your diary. Put out those files that you will be working on today in order. Empty the bin. Empty your trashcan on your computer. Write down all the little bits and pieces that are cluttering up your brilliant mind.

Nutritionally decide what you are going to eat today so that you don't run on empty, again. 

Now you are ready to begin your day. Now you are clear of yesterday. 

Of course it's difficult to be successful. Most of the difficulty is in getting out of your own way.

Go on be brilliant - the world could certainly do with a little more excellence.

Some Days You Just Have To Back Off

In a year of 365 days there are 104 weekend days, averagely people get 4 weeks holiday, this year in England and Wales we got 9 Bank Holidays. So that's 104+28+9=141 days off. So that's 365-141=224 days on.

224 days to work and 141 days to relax. 

I'm just working on my strategy for 2012 so now I am thinking about budgets and targets and soon I'll be getting on with my New Year Resolutions so then I'll be thinking about hopes and dreams...it's all pretty much the same thing - how do I want to spend my life next year - personally and professionally?

Next year on 17th November I will be in a different place, depending on how I set my course and hurdle the obstacles (Olympic reference) will alter where I end up. I have been alive long enough to know I can build momentum, to know I have strong determination and consistency of focus. So I trust myself to get on with whatever I choose to.

That's why it's critical I choose the right things - the idea of 'be careful for what you wish for' comes to mind. 

Sometimes we are in such a hurry to 'get on', to 'deliver', to 'go where no man has gone before' that we don't take time out to really dig down and decide our direction and path. 

If you set your mind to something, that's where you'll get to, most of the time. So be really sure where you set your mind. Don't avoid the issue and not set your mind to anything because it's a bit difficult to decide.

Decide we must. A good end depends on a good life, well lived. 

If today you have some space to think then 'back off' from the daily routines and go for a walk, check your direction and make sure the destination co-ordinates really are where you want to end up.

Today there's more choice than ever before in history to become who you want to be - that's great but it does demand time and attention. Pencil in the diary - 'time to back off'.

Happy Birthday Bryony. 

Are You Worth Knowing?

The main reason people want to know you is for the benefit you give them. Think about it.

If it's romantic then it's the benefit of companionship, love and intimacy.

If it's commercial then it's the benefit of better business opportunities and skills or talents.

If it's platonic then it's fun and entertainment, common interests or understanding and compassion.

There's always a reason, even if it's passing the time of day with someone at a bus stop - it's to enjoy the sense that you are not alone and you are safe and all is well.

Sometimes our worlds blur and we get to enjoy the company of people we are commercially involved with. Sometimes we marry or make lifelong partners with people we work with.

So thinking about this and answering the question in the title:

Am I worth knowing... romantically - do I offer companionship and intimacy?

Am I worth knowing... commercially - do I offer commercial opportunities and valuable skills to others?

Am I worth knowing... as a friend - am I fun and entertaining, kind and compassionate?

If you are popular you'll find these easy to answer because you'll be saying yes to most of these questions?

If you are answering no to one or more then, chances are, you'll be unhappy. You'll be lonely. You'll be feeling misunderstood.

Too often we wait for the world to notice us, to dance to our tune, to follow us...too often we wait on the sidelines for our life to take off, for our relationships to flourish, for our work to pick up...

Obviously that's just daft. Obviously time and tide waits for no man. The world is on its way somewhere and if you're sitting on the park bench all day you're missing your turn on the rides.

Check in with yourself and ask - how am I worth knowing today? Write down the answer. 

I am worth knowing today because...

...I have business opportunities to share, love to give, experience to offer, kindness to show, laughs to enjoy, friends to encourage and connections to bring. I am sure you have these and more to show you are worth knowing.

I have, so I must get on and get out there and walk the talk. Expect to hear from me soon. 

 

 

 

Get A Strategy

Whatever you want to achieve daily, weekly, monthly, yearly - you have to get some things done.

Just Do It says Nike. After a while of 'just doing it' you start to make sense of what you are doing and that's when that 'lightbulb' goes off. That's when you say to yourself but why am I doing this? Where am I going and why?

That's the time when you start to want a strategy to put all the bits and bobs into. 

Most of my clients are doing stuff, they are very busy and successful. By the time I work with them they are ready for the next level, ready to take themselves more seriously, ready to put their foot down and accelerate away. 

Success is mostly about knowing where you want to go, organisation and delivery. You set the altitude and direction and then just start off. Altitude is very important. If you don't aim high enough it's very likely you will build a business that flies low to the ground. Which is fine, but a waste if you yearn to raise your game and fly higher. 

Strategy takes into account the terrain, from the competition, to the position in people's minds of you and what you do, to the trends coming forward and to the direction of travel. Strategy takes into account you, your organisation and what you can and will do.

Strategic planning is the foundation for creative ideas - insight that comes from listening to the market, to your customers - it is the juice that fuels the ideas for campaigns and marketing communications. 

Strategy allows you to jive with the right crowd and move in the right circles. 

You may be doing this by luck but it's always better to do it by judgement. That way you aren't afraid it will disappear overnight and leave you as a one trick pony high and dry.

Strategy is the smarts in business. That's why you need one.

Writing Is A Question of Character

Caitlin Moran and Simon Barnes are two writers and journalists I read quite regularly and enjoy reading. They are different in their scope of interest and in their style. Looking at why I like their writing in general I can see what I respond to in people specifically and the tone of voice I admire. I can see the style of writing I want to develop.

From recall Caitlin is funny, witty, wry, outspoken, clever with words, naughty, daft, incisive, blunt, caustic and sharp. Simon is earnest, concerned, emotive, wry, real and provocative.

I am much more reined in than either of these. I am much more careful when I rail against anyone or anything, except when I had a go at Innocent once and got into a spat with their agency.

I particularly liked the vibe when Simon, this week, argued about our utter lack of spine regarding the coming extinction of the tiger. He said the tiger is a 'line in the sand' animal. If we can't even get our act together to save the tiger, then who are we as a species? It's that call to arms I like. And luckily for me I had just 'given by text' to an onstreet WWF campaigner to help stop tigers becoming extinct, so I could smugly read his admonishments, which is probably why I liked him especially. I basked in my own foresight and could generously share this self-regard with my nearest and dearest, and now you.

Caitlin talked about the need for protest in society and debunked the idea that the St Paul's protesters should have a plan up their sleeves and that their sleeves should indeed be clean and freshly laundered.

She said that the protesters are a large question mark hanging over society demanding to know what is going to be done about the issues of hyper-capitalism. I agree with Caitlin so that's why I like her. I don't always agree with her point of view, but I can laugh at the way she presents it and that's a plus. I don't respond to some of her ideas on feminism but I like the fact she's got the character to air them.

So in thinking it through like this, the people I most enjoy spending time with both on paper and in person are those who thoughtfully and wittily make a point and then discuss that point so I can think about it too. Louis Theroux is another one of this tribe, 'serious funsters'. 

It's complicated navigating your way through the minefield of today's issues and if I don't want to abdicate my personal responsibility to actually have a view then I have to find a few people out there to listen to, a few to share ideas with and a few to take actions with. In this way I hope to develop my own personal style and character and create the 'agency' I know I can.

So here's to a great week, deciding which grindstone I am going to put my back to and which effort I am going to support. 

Here also is William Blake's poem The Tyger. Why not?

"Everybody Is Talking At Me

...I can't hear a word they're sayin', only the echoes of my mind"...so goes the song by Harry Nilsson from Midnight Cowboy.

That's what the world feels like some days when we're stretched to the limit of our abilities. That's why I love what Headspace is doing. All the techniques and ways to clear your mind and create stillness within and no religious affiliations. This leaves you free to experience it purely rather than as a part of a religious or spiritual journey. Of course, that may happen along the way, but it's not the point. 

I went with Noël, my friend and colleague, to see them in Piccadilly and I don't practise like I should, but they have a great app which makes it easier to do. 

It's pretty clear we are all going to have to 'keep our heads' to move through these hard times. 

The world is breaking down, governments are leaving the stage one by one, even if you are still doing well and have money to spend, increasingly those around you will not, this will mean sadness and hopelessness pervading the global mood. These moods can turn to anger and unrest for us all. No-one can avoid it, even if you live in the country or if you live in a gated community. 

So, as actually I think the times we are living through are incredible and there is more hope and opportunity for more people than ever before, it's time to take our roles and responsibilities seriously. If you can do something to help someone get a job, if you can do something to teach someone a new skill, if you can do something to make someone laugh, if you can do something to lend a hand...well then don't just sit there, do it.

Talking of not just sitting here, I went to see Tinie Tempah last night with Labrinth and NERO and Kelly Rowland, Emile Sande and Zane Lowe at Wembley Arena. Thousands of people fixed on one tinie man & his band and rocking out to their rap music. 

Live stuff is the stuff of life, if you haven't got anything planned this week then pick up Time Out and get going. It'll clear your head.

The pressure's on to be a genius again next week.

 

Too Proud To Ask For Work?... Well Then Get Social...

Many of my clients are proud that they don't have to ask for work. They get 'word of mouth' business, recommendations...and that's great, but sometimes the pool of referrals becomes too small and you need fresh clients in new circles...marketing is the art of never having to ask for work directly because people already know of you and think of you first...through well positioned marketing campaigns that are clear and easy to relate to, you don't have to ask directly or cold call...networking becomes as easy as abc.

Harry Beckwith has written some great marketing books and one quote I remember well is 'become familiar'. His thought is that we prefer to do business with people we believe we know or have heard of than people we have no connection with at all. We recommend these people more as well because there is less risk associated with them.

Social media is the modern 'becoming familiar' technique. It's background marketing as well as a platform for real business connections to flourish. 

Same rules apply in social media as in real life - the netiquette, as it's so cleverly named, is important...really there is no room for complacency, it's high time to get social.

 

Campaigns To Go

Campaigns have legs. Campaigns give you something to believe in. Campaigns have meaning. Campaigns live. Campaigns cut through marketing clutter and bring people together. Campaigns have a story to follow.

Marketing needs a campaign like a wheel needs a hub.  

The old model of advertising may be dead and the industry may be metamorphosising into a new formation hourly - but the age old problem of how to keep us interested and how to organise information so we can make sense of it won't change for the time being. Social media just adds diversity and new input, the basics are still true.

Perhaps when we are 'all chipped up' sticking data directly into a socket in the side of our heads the campaign may become redundant...but until that day get your campaign strategy sorted. 

Muscle Your Way In With Delicious Marketing

Too much printed material and too many online sites are dull. In an effort to be clear people dumb down. In an effort to be complete people include everything. Editing is a crucial part of well constructed marketing communications. 

Delicious is the aim of marketing. Make me want to eat everything you bake. Enthrall me with the taste of your produce. 

Although, in tough times we simplify, pare down and cut back; we are hard wired for pleasure, for lust, for desire, for fun.

Some brands that get things right 'imo'.

Muji gets the pared down in store spot just right 

Chanel and her luxury brothers and sisters work up the desire angle well.

If not lust, then fun.

Make me laugh, play with my attention, make me love you in some small way...

Compare The Meerkat - need I say more...

Turn things around, surprise me...

The Icecreamists may not be Walls or Magnum but they've carved out a niche...

Whatever you do don't fade into the background.

James Corden was advised by Rob Brydon that no-one is going to give you a seat at the table, you have to muscle your way in. Good advice Rob. 

Start muscling.

Where To Start?

The answer is generally 'at the beginning'. But often we don't know where the beginning is any more. So we don't know where to start. So we don't...

So we get stuck exactly where we are going around in ever decreasing circles until the whistle blows and our turn's over and the next generation takes our place. :(

To break that circle we must decide to start wherever we are. The only thing is to start. We don't start when...we've got the children off, we've got the spare time, we've got a bit of extra budget, we've had our holiday, we've done the accounts, read the paper, solved world peace. We start here and now. Because that's where we are, here and now.

Whatever the future holds for you, me, any of us, we must grasp it and begin to dance with it.

If you're in a company that's stuck and needs some direction, if you've got your own business and it's got stuck in a rut, if you've got a great plan but it's not working, or you've got a great team that isn't firing, just decide to make the start.

When you make the decision to start, everything else falls into place.

We've worked with individuals and organisations that have all the potential to succeed and all the skills to deliver but they haven't got it in an organised way so they never get started. We've done research, marketing communications, strategy, introductions, all with the aim of getting sparks to fly and getting the wheels turning.

If you'd like to talk to us about getting started. Do.

It's easier to be successful when you make a start.

Stop Worrying, It's All Going Right

When I put down the papers or magazines I get a sinking feeling. Either I see everyone else having a fantasy life or otherwise everything is going to the 'dogs'. The mood and tone of the media is extreme. Either extremely depressing or extremely upbeat. Therapist or escapist?

Either way it's not real. The only thing that works is what I do this very moment. 

I found myself the other day using a gossip magazine like a piece of chocolate. In the press I had read about St Paul's and the anti-capitalists, I had read about the Russian Oligarchs, I had read about the racist slur, I had read about the Eurozone, I had read about the rioters...so then I picked up the gossip mag and read about Demi Moore and then about several other 'celebrities' caught up in the whirlwind of their own lives...none of it very pretty.

Why did I do that? 

Several years ago I stopped reading the papers and magazines. It had a significant impact in my life. Time slowed down and I got back to the reality of daily living. I got back to being balanced and centred.

It's the same with a whole load of TV trash. 

Time to do it again now. The media fuels fear and insecurity where there is none. Whatever the outside world throws at us, with the support of friends, family and a strong conviction of what's right and wrong, we can deliver, prosper and thrive.

The world is 're-organising' as it does every once in a long while. We are being re-organised. It's a macro metamorphosis that we are in the midst of. Sure it's painful often in ways we can't imagine. Sure we feel disoriented. Sure we are afraid that we'll lose everything and be plunged to the bottom of the heap. 

Actually in a re-organisation like this there's just as much chance of being thrown up and landing on your feet in a better place than before. The most important thing in times of change like these is to stay 'present', to be fully aware of what is going on around you. That means being super selective on your choice of information, not being fed rubbish.

If you put any old trivia in your head, there's a risk it'll end up coming out of your mouth. Words can be very powerful, why waste them on babble?

Enjoy a light playful tune once in a while too? Have a lovely day.

It's you're choice.

Time To Reflect

Stop. Sit down. Take a deep breath. 

Reflect.

If you do that at least ten times a day as a matter of habit there's no question that you will benefit. So will everyone around you.

Too many times we get caught up rushing from pillar to post and from one thing to the next and that's how we get lost and off course. That's how we say things we don't mean and do things we don't want to.

Reflections are an essential part of running your own business, department, even country. We are not machines we need time to make sense of everything that comes at us from all angles every day.

Far from being a weakness the strength to hang fire, to wait a while is a mark of a great person, a resilient character.

You know what you need to do and when you need to do it, don't let everyone else dictate your life away. Hold firm. Take stock and then, when ready, act.

 

The Magical World of Marketing

Why do I love marketing? Why am I fascinated by her? Some days like a surgeon, some days a painter. Marketing is everything. It's not just putting out an ad. Or sending out an emailer. It's not just putting on an event it's everything inside and outside. Marketing touches the world in so many ways. Not all of it good. There's plenty of a crassness as well as delicacy in the world of marketing just as with everything else. 

A true marketeer is fascinated by the world and the way it works, the way it ticks, the way it strides forward. 

Finding the essence, telling the story and then slowly, slowly unfolding each chapter, each verse carefully, consistently et voila.

Marketing, done well, is somehow invisible to people. Like theatre it dazzles, entertains, enthralls, informs, challenges, engages but no one quite knows exactly how it's done. Even those behind the scenes. What came first? What has the most power to connect? She runs secretly and silently amongst us messing with our minds and fizzing up our world. Turning up unexpectedly and leaving without another word.

There's magic in marketing and not of the black kind. It's not trickery it's imaginary. 

A show of wonder and sparkle, of dazzle and shine, of simple expression and solid communication.

That's why I am in love with marketing and all she entails.