The seven deadly sins of business

It’s official! I am twenty years old in business and I know stuff that so many others don't! So it’s truly time to get everyone looking at how we can make change because we can. Running our businesses and our lives in the same way as we always have simply doesn't work in this new environment. Last night I was at a Global Women dinner in Auckland. This is one of the spaces that I love to be in the most as there is always a wonderful mix of capable minds from a huge variety of career and company bases that truly do add value to every conversation that is had and these women know their stuff! They have been highly trained and are incredibly passionate about the fields that they are in.
The question then, is how we get more people and more business into this space so that they truly do experience the rewards of success….
So here are my seven deadly sins:

1 COMMUNICATION

Your team and the people around you are not clairvoyant; you must always communicate. Not only your vision and your expectations but the highs and the lows. If you are challenged by a behaviour, talk to the perpetrator and if someone does a great job, celebrate with them. Acknowledge the special moments in their life (I give birthday presents to all of my team on their day). Have the conversations - the tough ones and the good ones. And if you are employed, the same goes for you as well - always communicate with your employer. Don't leave them to second guess what the problem may be. Most of us are not wanting a resignation, which is often the result of this non-communication. We just want you to talk to us! Try it: you will be surprised at the outcomes.

2 ACCOUNTABILITY 

Yep it is your fault! The buck stops with you. If it doesn't work or something goes horribly wrong, step up to the plate and take ownership. There is nothing wrong with stuffing up; especially if you only go there once. It’s when it happens again and again that it is a problem. So stop looking for scapegoats. Accept accountability and look at how you move on from it. Your team are not to blame and, let’s face it they can only be as good as the environment that you create. So get on and fix the problem rather than looking for someone to blame.

3 STOP WASTING TIME

Efficiency lacks from so many operations and peoples lives. I use the 80/20 rule to combat this. Only twenty percent of the stuff that happens in a day needs to happen in an immediate time frame. Identify it and action it. Don’t be one of those ‘gonna do’ businesses/ people that are always behind and always promising to get back to people. It’s a fact that we are all busy (so stop telling people it would be a problem if you weren't). Just get on and do the job. Take the piffle out of your day. Do not be distracted by the stuff that is not a priority and stop letting people and your operation down… introduce a discipline into your life.

4 NEVER STOP LOVING WHAT YOU DO

You can never be good at something if you don't love it, so if you have fallen out of love with your business/ job get out (or at least make a change). To continue on is to severely disadvantage your operation and your health. We are put on this planet for a short time so start to look for something that you love to do. You owe it to yourself as well as your operation. To continue on is to promote mediocrity and no one deserves that!

5 TAKE A RISK

Life and business are about risk… risk = growth… if you don't try you will never know. We live in a bubble in New Zealand. We continue to do what we have always done and we are so afraid of the stigma of failure. Failure is the foundation of success. News flash… IT IS OKAY TO FAIL! In fact there is no growth without failure. People and operations need to fail to grow, try something or do something differently. Our entry into the Australian Market has been fraught will challenges… so did I give up? Hell no! I have assessed, determined the problem and opened two more sites! Am I concerned about doing business in China? Of course I am. I may even lose money but if it works I stand to gain a lot more!

6 NEVER LET THE INTEGRITY DISAPPEAR FROM YOUR LIFE AND OPERATIONS

Living a great life or building a great business is about three things: Passion, Discipline and Integrity… that’s all you need.
If the integrity goes, the model erodes. I never have to worry about what people think and there will always be at least 15% of the people out there that don't agree with where I am heading. But I choose to focus on the 85 % that do and move forward. Do not let others sway your decisions and choices. Trust that you can and will make good decisions and, as long as they come from the heart they will always be made with good integrity.
So stop caring about what others think! It will be debilitating for you. Get on and live your life and run your operation… and always apply good integrity to all that you do.

7 IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU… PAY IT FORWARD

Take the focus off yourself and look at how you can take the knowledge and skills that you have acquired and pay it forward. Resolve to help others evolve. To help others is simply about giving time and, in doing so there will always be lessons and opportunities that arise. Don't become so time poor that you stop looking outwards. The balance that I have achieved in my life has been through the energy that I have given to others. Sure this is not always as rewarding as it should be, but when it goes to plan it is fantastic. Yesterday I spent an hour in a busy day talking with a woman who has started a charity called Bellyfull. They essentially take a meal and a hug to capable women who have left the high powered roles they were in to have a baby; an all consuming thing as many of us know and in a territory that is so foreign. What a great initiative and there will be plenty of ways I can help and align to Bellyfull. It is exciting to think that there are still people that care so much about others that they get on and create these initiatives with no monetary reward for themselves (yep, no one is on the payroll) simply because they want to make a difference. Allowing these people into my life and giving them my time creates a wonderful balance for myself and the operations that I run.

I have covered off my seven sins and there are so many more but at least if you absorb and takeaway something from one of these change will occur… Good Luck!