All Anyone Really Wants Is Your Time (Not Your Money)

For a large part of the latter five years in my company of 21 years of age I too have endeavoured to look for ways that I can leave that very necessary legacy - a legacy that I believe we all should look to consider. It’s all about what we have done to further other’s lives… rather than just living our own.

Sure, I hear you privately musing… so many of the social problems that we are passionate about tackling seem so big and so difficult to even venture starting to make inroads into and in many cases you are right.

We also become so wrapped up in the small trivialities of our own environments that we forget about others and whether they are coping or not.

We are simply working in silos… endeavouring to master our own success in our day-to-day lives, believing we have no time for other’s challenges and ironically, all that is often called for is just our time.

The word ‘Time’ causes me to reflect on a wonderful birthday gift from my partner, Tony. In desperation to find the appropriate gift for a woman that has it all, he bought a piece of art… an old Ford prefect car bonnet painted red that hangs proudly in our home. With the words TIME scratched across it, it was the perfect gift and time will always be a great gift for someone like myself as the material things are pointless. I have and can acquire them as I need but it is the support and connection from others that I most need. I go about my day endeavouring to generate the funds to drive this company forward, keeping us all gainfully employed and looking to support others in my outside environment.

The other apprehension so many have in reaching out is in the believed repercussion which became a very real concern for my son, Edward, as I told him excitedly about my latest commitment to the Waikato Women's Refuge. I was approached by the refuge to help them connect to corporate funding pools going forward given their nervousness around the flow of existing government funds. It would appear that some of the grants that had been there in the past had now dried up. Interested in viewing the marae operation I agreed to visit and meet and hear the stories from some of the women.

WOW - what an amazing morning! I was initially welcomed onto the marae with a powhiri and greeted by a kaumatua… a first for me. I sat quietly as women that had been through so much struggled to reach out through their stories; uncertain of how much to indulge, nervous embarrassed and yet transformed in this wonderful safe haven. Aware that funds were foremost on my tour organiser’s mind, I however left with an even stronger agenda which was to assist the women with what had been a traditionally unsuccessful transition back to the real world. The refuge was doing a wonderful job providing safety, love and connection but there appeared to be no skills passed to assist with the real life reconnect.

I know that my value will be in the time I can find to meet regularly with these women to build their strength and a confidence back up, connect them and open some doorways so that they are at last freed from the cyclic personal destruction that they face. 

On relaying the story to a colleague, they expressed concern at my involvement and possibly repercussions from those that surround the women outside the refuge and suggested this may be a pathway I did not want to follow.

A concern that I did not have because I totally trust myself and know that the way ahead for these women is all about teaching them how to move forward, rather than evaluate where and who they have been with once they leave the safe haven of the refuge.

This ability to see forward in solving a problem is the gift that I bring to my team every day in assisting them to deal with the challenges that they can encounter at the retail front.

I work with them to get them to remove the emotion from an altercation and simply solve the problem in a smart way. If it is a customer that has not enjoyed the service and decided to voice their concerns back through the head office channels, the solution is not in overanalysing what has happened, it is in simply solving the problem and endeavouring to retain and reconnect the customer to the brand. It’s not about being right!! It’s about making people happy.

It always takes time to shift people’s mind sets but when I do have success, it is wonderfully rewarding for me and liberating for the team member to see that text of thanks at the end of the day when the team move on and simply play the smart game of retaining the customer rather than dwelling in their perceived unfairness of what has been said.

I now know that the greatest gift I can give to my team is my time… helping them tackle the outside and internal challenges they encounter by moving them forward, enabling and getting them excited as to how they can make a difference to other’s lives, always leading the way by my examples and finally, knowing that making a difference to others is more about the time you afford rather than the dollars you throw at it.

In my latest book, Rock the Boat, I decided to include a chapter on the common good which is all about getting people to start helping their neighbour. Take one small step and do something that is not about yourself… the satisfaction that you will get and even the opportunities and the doors that will open will surprise and delight you.

As my son said to me when I proposed the idea of my newly formed foundation to him and the global objectives that I was wanting to align with, “Mum, it’s not like this is untrodden territory and certainly in isolation you will be totally unnoticed but that’s no reason to give up and not follow this pathway. It simply will take so many more people to take that one step to make those very real differences. How we do that I don't know but we should never, never stop trying.”

Let me Polarise You - Or is that De-Polarise You???

I was fascinated to hear a very experienced and senior political figure share how she no longer allows herself to be polarised by issue.

Further explanation from her revealed that rather than feel she had to form a firm opinion on matters of public debate and assign herself to one end of the value spectrum or the other, she had begun to listen to both sides of the debate and take from it valuable learnings about serious issues and the thinking of her community.

The cynical amongst you will see her actions as political manoeuvring - I don't.

Let me share with you an example of why refusing to be polarised about important or current matters of importance may provide you with an opportunity to find an exciting pathway forward.

Aucklanders - God bless em - have been polarised by the Super City's decision to stop maintaining Auckland Central berms - bringing the area into line with the other six territorial councils that make up the Super City, which did not mow berms.

(For those of you who may need translation - Berms: The grass verge of a suburban street, usually kept mown).

Intrigued by the cacophony of extreme views being publicly aired on this matter, I decided to investigate Auckland's 'berms' for myself.  

With a new focus and an open mind I have been enjoying extensive inner city walks with the dogs, studying the berms and just how households are currently managing them.

Unsurprisingly - given the wide range of opinion on this topic - there is a significant variety of berm treatments currently being practiced by the rate-paying public of each inner-city suburb that I have been exploring.

From immaculate greens to muddied car park, exotic and lush garden extensions to unkempt and shameful wastelands, and private oasis to public rubbish tips.  The contrast is dramatic and surprisingly sudden, with demarcations set with precise lawn care boundaries you can step from 'English Cut' to 'Desert Wasteland' in an instant.

Several key realities became very apparent very quickly;

1)     The current system of berm maintenance is a joke. The council should be ashamed of their review processes given the significant road frontages I see daily that have not seen a mower in what must be months.

 2)     The level of interest / pride of the inner city community have in their berms is as varied and divided as any two poles could be.  Just as some people shower their little green space with affection and care, others treat it quite literally like it is a dumping ground.

So where am I going with this?  

Regardless of where you may place yourself on this polarising issue, we should all stop and look at the opportunity we all have to embrace our cityscape.

Rather than demand our pound of flesh from the Council  - and I am all for accountability so I am not suggesting we ignore their appalling management of our money - we can take this moment as a signal form the authorities that they are happy for us to take ownership of our immediate environment.

Imagine the collective energy and creativity of neighbourhoods should they focus on the significant asset that their local 'berms' represent. Those who are inclined to maintain, decorate or utilize these spaces will not only do so to their own strips of green expression but could feel free to 'take charge' of derelict and orphaned berms.

Aside from my wee 'berm' example, I have been applying my personal avoidance of polarised opinion forming in the work place! Wow! Very empowering. 

Most significant in my changed thought process is the realization that if I don't feel the need to place myself on any emotional continuum, I slow down and consider very carefully ALL the information at hand and consider a much wider range of strategies for dealing with each 'business moment'.

Hope you too can avoid being polarised in your busy day.

Team NZ's demise... the very real lessons we all can learn

Like many New Zealanders, I too contributed to the collective moans of despair of our nation as I watched Team America retain the America's Cup.

As painful as it was to watch this lazerithian turn around by Larry Ellison's tribe of world leading team members, it became a morning ritual to indulge on a breakfast cocktail of delicious anticipation and hope and then finish it off with an unwanted large side order of disbelief and deflation.

I have spent a good amount of time since the last race reflecting on the depth and breadth of my emotional roller-coaster ride during the 34th America's Cup Series.  Not a huge sporting fan, I was initially convinced that my patriotic fervour was the significant ingredient in the glue that had me stuck to the couch at 8:15 every race day.

However, I also found myself intrigued by the speed at which the Oracle team implemented one of the sporting world’s most significant and successful business strategies ever. 

While the framework of the event was one of the greatest sporting events, the competition itself was never going to be played on a level playing field. Oracle sought every advantage it could to be the market leader.  

As the details of the race campaign of Team America emerge we begin to see a back story of 

Vision, 

Investment,

Research and Development, 

Risk, 

Dedication, 

Early Adaptation and 

Extreme Levels of Determination 

by each and every one of the team.

While there are only a few others in the world who have the critical mass of Larry Ellison that enabled him to implement this delicious combination of critical factors at such an extreme level, there is so much of this moment that you and I can choose to mirror in our lives and businesses should we choose too.

If you are contemplating starting up a business venture, you would be well placed to adopt the clarity and absolute focus of the Oracle Team as you outline your business plan. You would explore every aspect of the market place you are looking to enter, learning everything you needed to know to ensure you are fully informed.  You would seek the advice of those who are top of the field and invest well with professionals who will assess your position at an analytical distance, telling you want you need to know not just what you want to hear.

With a single goal now clearly identified, all your planning, preparation, recruitment and training will be focused, not allowing yourself to be distracted by what may be but rather must be achieved and achieved at the very highest levels.

For myself and others who have well established businesses, we can not only admire the determination of Team America to find a solution to their need for speed but also their willingness to change so many of their campaign strategies at critical times.  No one can doubt their courage.

I for one, have been inspired to review so many of my operations.  I spent the weekend clearing my mind, dissolving the white noise of the day-to-day distractions and have reset my compass and plotted a new journey to a single goal.

Having identified an exact destination, I am now reviewing my total business operations to ensure we are all traveling the shortest and most direct route at the greatest speed to get there.

I was surprised at how easily I had become becalmed by the daily grind. I am now looking for all those business wind shifts that will lift me out of the ebb and flow of the daily tides and allow me to 'foil' at speed towards my single goal.

While my critical mass is far from that of Larry Ellison's, I do have resources that I now recognize as being undervalued and under-utilized.  Just as Team Oracle looked for the very best crew it could find, I too are now seeking even greater people to fill key roles.

So while I am still feeling numb about our team of gallant heroes not being able to secure that last race win, I have been inspired by the essence of Team America's unbelievable comeback.

As for our Team New Zealand crew… All heroes to me. Each and every one of them has my utmost respect.  I will remain a huge fan and a proud Kiwi.

Will my daughter eventually be my succession plan

Well, I never thought I'd see the day. Sure my daughter, Sam was always my pipe dream of a succession plan. I never really wanted to see this wonderful brand that I had built so lovingly over the last twenty odd years pass to outside ownership, but I guess as they grow you never really know how it will all work out in the end so you keep the dialogue general whenever the questions come around on succession.

She's been a part of my company for so many years, doing all the roles that we have thrown at her, and often she's hated it more than the broccoli she refused to eat as a young girl. There have been tears, late starts, absences and loads of raised eyebrows.

But this time it's different. She's home for a six month break as she prepares to travel again and she's working with us in her most capable roll to date; a mix of operations, retail, head office and warehouse management, style advisor and EA to myself. She's owning it all like she never has before and it's so refreshing. Nothing is accepted ‘just because’… if it doesn't fit or flow she's looking to make it so.

After many years of being at loggerheads with her as she's interned with us, the change is delightful and extremely exciting for me. If she is at this stage now, just how well will she grow under my guidance over the next five years and there seems to be a healthier respect for the road I've travelled this time.

And talk about the special moments… she shares the sweet treat that we should both not have in the afternoon, she tackles the people that dare to spell my name incorrectly, she raises her eyebrows at the people challenges we encounter and most importantly she loves my new puppies and instead of finding reasons not to baby sit, she is there for me when I ask... she's really become that best friend we women all dream about.

Some tips for working with the ones you love…

1. Ensure when working with family members they get a good grounding in all the roles. It's important that they get a feel for the true heart and soul of the business… no matter how difficult or unpalatable the task is.

2. Be yourself. Don't make allowances for who you are at work. Sure you may behave differently as a mum but this is work and everything must remain equal.

3. Try and avoid the special privileges. It simply survives to make their induction pathway harder. Everyone will expect them to be brats.

4. Know that it may not work… as it was always your dream to work with your family members, not theirs and that's perfectly okay ... It's a bonus if it does.

5. Be careful to seek other advice on issues and not rely on their feedback - not because they won't disagree but more so because being part of you they are very likely to think a lot like you so you may not get a wide variety of differing thoughts and opinions.

My baby bird is up and ready to soar and I can't wait until she returns to finally take the helm. If this short working interlude is anything to go by, we will be in extremely good hands.

What Miley Can Teach You About Online Marketing

Let me show you the pathway to World Domination:

While I have no desire to rule the world or even the world of Fashion, I do of course still dream that my Brand will one day be recognized across much of the wondrous planet.

 

Sure a BIG goal, but that's the beauty of goals. They're personal and are only limited by your own belief.

Even though I am driven to continue to achieve my goals, I cannot say that I have the naked ambition of Miley Cyrus but I do believe she has identified and utilized the singularly most powerful pathway to worldwide awareness of her brand. The Digital Pathway!

Miley has been quoted saying “It’s almost depressing when you’re not working. You’re so used to people calling your name, and that energy, and when you don’t have it anymore … That’s why I never complain about people wanting autographs or pictures. Because if there were a few days where no one asked, I’d probably be like ‘What the f–’s going on? Do people not like me?” http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/entertainment/30-Sep-2013/miley-loves-attention

As the debate over Miley's extreme strategies of self-promotion rage across the world’s vast media platforms, she must be sitting wearing little more than a huge grin as she becomes the planet’s most talked about woman.

There is very little about Miley that I have an interest in but I too am wearing a huge grin as I know that I can travel the exact same digital pathway to world recognition.  A lesson from her… get people talking by doing something outside of your comfort zone. 

Of course the use of the World Wide Web is not a shattering revolutionary break-though.  We all know it exists .... right?  Sorry ... wrong!

In business terms, a significant number of businesses are still refusing to highlight the use of any digital platforms in their business planning or even their marketing strategies.

Take this random example... I am enjoying a moment of reflection and conversation at lunch with my partner during the weekend.  Choosing a cider as my refreshment, I am served the most delicious one I have ever tasted. The combination of the apple and elderflower was simply heaven.

Given my reaction to the cider I began to reflect on adding it to our drinks selection at our Cafes.  I hastily begin to read the label to gather some information - a web address - so I can learn more and make contact to begin to stock the brand.

To my amazement and frustration there was absolutely no reference to a website!

Small example I know, but take a quick look on line for your local plumber, electrician or even medical centre and very few have a digital presence.  

A digital presence is essential for all businesses - especially the small businesses that make up 80% of our domestic trading platform.  

You must have a digital signature that anchors your existence.  This reference point links you across a significant platform of communication and provides multiple access points for your customers.

I am not advocating extreme spending on fancy websites, nor am I asking you to 'twerk' while scantily clad in a public space to raise awareness for your brand.  Simply have your say about who you are and why potential clients should consider you as a positive choice for their purchases or projects.

Take two simple steps onto the digital highway and I guarantee growth for your business…

1)     Become visible

2)     Become Active

Yep, it's that easy.

Our digital sales have grown exponentially as I dedicate time and resources to ensure our website is more visible and more interactive.  No gimmicks, no excessive spending, just new ideas and fresh approaches to marketing my brand. Scarily simple with frighteningly significant results!!!

So there you go, join Miley on your journey to World Domination or at least a small measure of public awareness - get on that digital highway!