December 8th, 2010
The North American Indian nations of which there were many, had one thing in common: their attitude towards life and their intimate relationship with nature. This balanced attitude to life is contained in our Tip of The Week below and we hope it gives you an insight into the Indian way of life and the sound philosophy of people living in harmony with nature, something our modern civilisation has lost or forgotten. Many of the principles can be applied to business and everyday life. Our tip of the week is reproduced from “Prairie Cards” by kind permission from Jeanne Gwynne (see links).
The Tipi
Amongst the Blackfoot Indians the women are responsible for the tipi, and they decide where to camp. First the eldest woman of the family puts up a tripod made made of birch branches upon which the family’s “sacred pouch” is placed. This action shows respect for the magical owers of nature that form the bonds between the family, the tipi and life. Then, the skeleton, 24 straight grained stems, each about 10 metres high is erected. Several beautiful hides have been sewn together and are now wrapped around the skeleton to make the tipi. Beautiful and descriptive illustrations, each of its own significance, are painted both outside and inside the tipi. Often, the Pleiades are painted at the very top by the smoke hole to give peace in the home.
Principle: Beautiful clutterless surroundings enhances performance.
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September 7th, 2010
I don’t know if anyone watched the heart rendering TV programme Zimbabwe’s Lost Children. This got me thinking of how easily we lose sight of what is really important in life. Here were children whose lives were very hard. They had no money and feeding themselves was a struggle, yet they wanted so badly to go to school to become educated. ( Can you imagine children in this country wanting to go to school so badly!) They knew their only hope of changing their circumstances was to get an education. They would walk all the way to school knowing that they would probably be sent home because they had not paid the fees ($5 a term!). One lady interviewed comment that “when our children cannot dream, then we have lost all hope.” Think about it….
When you are watching such programmes you cannot fail to want to be able to help in some way. Having worked for a charity in the past I am acutely aware of how difficult it is to keep organisations running on small funds– many people give what they can (interestingly enough according to BBC West Mids the West Mids region raised the most money for Children in Need considering the West Mids has been one of the hardest hit areas by the recession…!) but it is even harder to get people to part with their time.. We are all so busy getting on with the issue of living let alone work and other things. I sometimes wonder if we have become slaves of technology rather than technology being our slaves. Those who give their time voluntarily are so precious.
Many people think the problem or issue is so vast , that they cannot make a difference. But that old saying that “no one person can change everything but everyone can change something” is so true . So next time you are faced with an adversity, could you look at it more positively? Could you distract your own worries by thinking of the worries other people might have – and analyse just how much of an issue are yours ?
Next time you turn on your tap – remember the women in Africa who have to walk miles to get dirty water for their children knowing it will make them ill – but what choice do they have.
So how does this relate to business- well we all suffer the trials and tribulations our businesses throw at us, but if you look at things in context of the scheme of life, what really does matter in this world???
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July 28th, 2010
Why is one type of mortar board valued more than another? I am of course referring to the value that is placed on the mortar board that one wears when graduating and all the hopes and expectations that go with it in the employment world, versus the mortar board that a plasterer or bricklayer may use as a tool of his or her trade.
I don’t know why, it is but it seems to me that our society values the work of those who utilise their knowledge to earn a living, far more than those who predominantly use their hands.
I recently read a letter in a national newspaper from a university academic who was exclaiming that he did not know what the world was coming to because he had seen that two jobs advertised in a recent edition had showed one for an academic researcher (requiring a first class degree) and was offering a salary of something like £14k, and alongside it an advert for a plumbing vacancy requiring an NVQ level 3 and was offering something like £25k. He seemed to suggest that the researcher position was far more worthy of a higher salary than the plumbing job. WHY??
Take refuse collectors – not brilliant pay for a smelly job, often with an unsociable start time, often viewed by people as “obviously not very bright as that is all they can get a job doing” Well we have all seen the TV pictures of what happens if they go on strike or stop work… need I say more?
I know many people who work with their hands and are quite highly qualified in their field yet when they tell potential clients their charges, the clients seem to think that the particular job is only worth the minimum wage. I don’t know many self employed people who could only charge the minimum wage and make a living. Do you? If you would not be prepared to work for such a low amount yourself if you are qualified and experienced, then why expect anyone else who is also qualified and experienced,to do so?
If we don’t value the more vocational approach to education, qualifications and employment roles, we will forever categorise those who do not fit the academic methods of learning into demeaning boxes we create for them and limit their aspirations.
If I was stuck on desert island and had to choose between the plumber and the researcher as companion – well I think my survival would be better served by the practical plumber – would yours??
Perhaps the question we should be asking is what is the value of the person to me not the job they do?
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June 14th, 2010
In my last blog I mentioned how our bodies respond to stress by releasing adrenaline. There are ways in which you can get rid of this adrenaline and one of these is by exercise getting the muscles to use it up.
Most adults do not take the recommended levels of exercise in order to help prevent heart disease, diabetes, cancers , blood pressure problems and a host of other health issues that come from being overweight. Add to this smoking and drinking and no wonder we sometimes find to hard to cope with daily life. Additionally if you are under pressure running your own business then the stress combined with the lack of exercise and poor lifestyle can very soon start to have a detrimental effect.
Taking moderate exercise(by moderate I mean brisk walking, light cycling, light jogging) for 30 mins 5 time a week can help prevent health problems and reduce stress levels. (note consult your GP before beginning any exercise programme). What’s this got to do with business you might ask……
Taking time out to relax and switch off from your business is also very important. Steven Covey in The 7 Habits of Effective People talks about the carpenter who stopped regularly to sharpen his saw had a much higher work rate than the man who did not.
Next time you feel tired, that there is just too much to do, or you want to “get off the merry-go round”, then do just that. Go for a half hour walk, stop and look around you , take in the scenery or notice the buildings around you. One of my favourite poems is Leisure by W.H.Davies “What is this life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare…”
What is the worst thing that could happen to your business if you stopped for half an hour??
Me? I really do try to get a morning walk in or in the evening if I have a breakfast meeting to go to. It sets me up for the day.. everyday I see something different. I am lucky enough to be able to walk in the countryside but there are many things to see that we miss in our daily hectic lives in towns and cities . When working with my clients I see the difference it makes to their stress levels by having someone there who can take responsibility for certain areas of their business, giving them the time to stand and stare…..
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May 10th, 2010
Physiologically our bodies are still designed for running across the plains hunting our food, fighting off sabre tooth tigers or defending our tribe. Our physiological response to this is the flight or fight where by adrenaline is released in our bodes to prepare our muscles for this – the stress of it basically!
The sabre tooth tigers have fortunately taken a different form in that the everyday challenges we face are those stressors we now have to deal with. Unfortunately our bodies have not caught up with in their response to these stressors and because we are not running from the dangers to use up the adrenaline released, the build up can actually do us harm if not dealt with. Stress can lead to ill health, depression and potentially business failure amongst other things. The issue of stress and its consequences can be a taboo subject though thankfully it is more widely recognised than it used to be.
Running a business can be very stressful. Whilst it can present us with challenges we might also enjoy, especially when things are going well, there are times when things beyond our control or even from great success, can leave us feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope. Every individual feels stress at some point and the good stressors are the things that motivate us , help us to achieve. The point at which someone reaches the inability to cope is entirely individual, there is no set level, it could be from a combination of things that have slowly built up, or equally a single event such as a trauma
Symptoms of harmful stress might include:
Tearfulness
Poor concentration
Poor appetite
Poor sleep patterns
Irritability
Feelings of guilt and everything being “my fault”
Hyperactivity – a feeling that you cannot stop working or everything will fall apart and equally opposite a complete lack of motivation to do anything.
Feeling that everything is out of control
When someone is running a business these effects can begin to have knock on effects such as, missing deadlines for important things, record keeping going awry, creditors building up, lack of response to calls and communications, customers being ignored, leading to financial problems, issues with statutory agencies and potential fines/prosecution. The downward spiral is set unless someone can help step in and stop it.
Getting help is important and something no one should be ashamed of seeking. Support is vital to the recovery process, whether this be through your GP , family or friends or empathetic business support. If you recognise any of the above symptoms in yourself , see your GP as the first step or confide in someone. Prevention is even better, which I will talk about at another time.
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March 30th, 2010
There can’t be many of us who have not at some time wished we could win the lottery and this will solve all our problems and perhaps we will be seen to be “successful”?
Well what it success? I often find that if I ask people this they determine it on a personal level by, “nice house, family, nice car, holidays, etc etc”. Often I find that the success indicators are money driven or represented by things money can buy. Men and women in my experience seem to have different indicators of success. Generally I have found that these indicators above predominantly come from the mouths of the male of the species (sorry guys but this is what I have found) . Of course there are women who want these things too but I cannot see what is wrong with having indicators such as “being able to pick the children up from school, making enough money to be able to pay for the holidays, pay the bills and replace the car when needed without borrowing the money”. These sorts of indicators do not necessarily indicate a lack of ambition.
When defining success for a business the measurements often used by Govts and agencies seems to always be number of employees and or turnover. This seems to filter through to those who do start a business, as being what will define their success. Everyone who starts in business does so for different reasons particular to them and should determine themselves what success means to them. However just because a business is not high growth does not mean it is not successful. If a business grows rapidly in the first two years, let’s say takes on several employees to cope with the growth, vastly increases turnover, starts exporting etc and qualifies for business support from a variety of sources because of this that’s great BUT what happens when a recession hits or some other factor – causing it to collapse. This probably means redundancies and the knock on effect of this socially and in the local economy – is this really successful? Isn’t it short term thinking? Surely the small business that probably started from home, has steadily and slowly expanded over a longer period, has less overheads , manages to maintain staff levels if they have staff, is just as deserving of support . There are many small ( and by small I particularly mean one person owner/director businesses) businesses all over the UK like this, who don’t measure success by rapid expansion, high turnover, number of employees etc. Do they measure success by still being here in 5yrs time, 10 yrs time, not being in debt, not necessarily employing people but finding other ways to “staff” their business? They require good management and support too, and though they may not set the world alight in their early days or with their turnover and they won’t attract much in the way of Govt support BUT– we ignore them at our peril. They use local businesses to support them and spend their money locally in other businesses. What is also often overlooked is that these small businesses may not have employees as such on a payroll,( and with the plethora of employment legislation about who can blame them)but they often use outsourced services, using other small businesses, so no matter how big your turnover, you can have your own IT department, your own office manager, your own marketing department and finance department, all from individuals able to offer their expertise and time, as your “employees”.
What defines success for you? How do you measure it? Going back to basics sometimes and remembering why you are going it alone acts as a good measure when things are tough.
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February 8th, 2010
It never stops surprising me working out what poor record keeping costs my clients when I am first visiting them. It’s an area that is often viewed as a necessary (though some might feel unnecessary) evil and can often be dismissed as “oh it’s only boring paperwork”. Let’s look at some of these costs then of the “boring paperwork”
If you are a private limited company: failure to submit you annual accounts to Companies House on time , a minimum of £150 penalty rising up to £1500 if more than 6 months late!
Failing to register as self employed when starting up within the required time £100
Failure to register for VAT when you should have minimum £50 penalty rising depending on how late and the amount of money involved.
I could list many more.
There are penalties for just about everything that involves a submission to a Govt department so good record keeping not only saves you from fines it can save you paying the wrong taxes. Not only tax affairs but think about issues such as health and safety, employment legislation, local operating licences. Sometimes it’s as simple as just keeping your receipts and invoices for any purchases made so that accurate books can be kept – sounds simple but it’s difficult to keep on top of all this when you are so busy trying to gain more customers, keep the ones you have and try and earn a living at the same time. No wonder running a business can be stressful!
Without proper records, not only will it be very difficult to get your Company/Self assessment Tax Return right but you could be missing out on vital management information on all different aspects of your business to help you make decisions to grow and develop it.
Good administration (and by administration I don’t just mean the traditional clerical aspects of running a business – I mean the governance, management, compliance and direction too) is not everyone’s forte and creating good order in your office really is an art . It’s the stuff that keeps the engine going. A skilled administrator is like a mechanic who looks after your car. They will keep your business engine running smoothly so keeping you on the road helping to avoid the cost of breakdowns- they will have the time and expertise to deal with the issues you keep meaning to sort. Would you do all the servicing and repairs on your own car? We all need our own team of supporters round us if our business is to be successful. Struggling on your own all the time might not be very effective and certainly won’t help the stress levels!
What is your administration REALLY costing you?
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thanks for your great post!
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