10 Tips To Get Back In The Driver's Seat

Is your business turning into a success story or is it more a saga of ‘terror and dread’?

As we struggle to stay on top of the mountain of paperwork, emails and the very time consuming social media marketing, the passion and enthusiasm that drove us to start our own business can soon become a distant memory Throw in the networking and sales we are expected to do in order to keep the business profitable and it is no wonder that we end up working “in the business” versus “on the business.”

Working in the business inevitably leads to the business and you getting stuck in a cycle of repetitive paralysis (i.e. ineffective practices, non-existent or useless strategies and “toxic” behaviours hammered by mounting self-doubt and diminishing self-confidence). This is accompanied by the cross road stage where you keep asking yourself ‘Do I carry on or do I cut my losses and run?’

This is a side of business that is not often trending on Twitter or talked about very much on social media networks; no one likes to admit that they are overwhelmed and unsure, that their business is stuck in a rut and they are not quite sure what to do next. The reality is that everyone,(yes everyone) who owns a business goes through repetitive paralysis at some point, and sometimes more than once. 

Here's Ten Tips to get you back in the in the driver’s seat…

1. Why are you in business? - The reason you started the business is important as it is your reason for being.

Rediscover, harness and leverage the entrepreneurial spirit that started it all.

2. What do you want? - When our life goals and values are not aligned with our business objectives, it sets off a chain reaction of stress and anxiety.

Get clarity of what you want and make sure that your life goals are aligned with your business objectives. 

3. Ditch the ‘leap-of-faith’ strategy - No one can operate successfully when they have a vague or no idea of where they are going. Dust off the business plan and start using it as the roadmap by which you run your business. Make sure you keep it updated, always!

4. So, how well is your business doing? - Take a good hard look at your current reality. Be honest with yourself about how you are doing in the market, with your products, services, brand, customers, competition operations and the state of your financial position. 

5. Are you innovating? - Boost your core business by improving and building on your existing services and products

6. Emotions And Business Don’t Mix - Drama and melodrama will only create knee jerk decisions that are unproductive and reactive.

Revolutionise your thinking and approach by cultivating a business conscious mentality and attitude.

7. How’s your self-confidence? - Lack of self-confidence is one of the main obstacles that keep us and our businesses in a rut.

Maintaining a positive belief in yourself is crucial. So too is the passion, excitement and enjoyment of what you are doing.

8. Are your behaviours sabotaging your business? - Your behaviour may be having a negative impact on your business and your performance. In times of stress and when we find ourselves under pressure, our positive qualities can turn into less attractive behaviour.

Ask your clients, employees, partners and anyone connected with the business to give you honest feedback on your behaviour.

9. Keep track of your business results: the good, the bad and the ugly - Besides setting goals and targets you also need to be tracking the results…how else can you determine what works and what doesn’t. 

10. Ask for help - As business owners we tend to retreat into isolation when faced with a problem or issue rather than reaching out to others who have experienced similar problems. Get yourself a mentor, business coach or join a mastermind group where you can talk and brainstorm with people who are in similar situations.

The Brilliance, The Huddles, The Karaoke and a Hair Brush... that’s Aspire !

We have all attended workshop/events where a group of women get together and work on their self confidence, life goals, business/life objectives, etc. Many of them are really very good and productive, others not so much. And let’s face it, they can also get a tiny bit boring and repetitious.

So when I received an email from Aspire Trailblazing Women (check them out at www. aspirewomen.co.uk) asking if I would be interested in being a ‘host/facilitator ‘ at a two day Reimagine Leadership event, my initial reaction was ‘same old, same old’. However, I had been mentoring on behalf of the Aspire Foundation for 18 months and this was a unique opportunity to work alongside the woman (Dr Sam Collins) behind this remarkable organization, so I figured "Why not?" 

The night before the event, I did wonder what possessed me to sign up, particularly as the meet up time was scheduled for the ungodly hour of 7am. 

On a cold very early morning

Still on the 28th January at exactly 6.59 am, there I was at 200 Aldersgate in London, holding on to a coffee cup like it was oxygen - while praying that I had made the right decision. 

By 7.15 am, I was sitting in a circle where I met the other 9 hosts (or “huddle hosts” as we decided to call ourselves), the 5 volunteers and also Dr Sam Collins and Caroline Dawson from Aspire, the organisers and facilitators of the event. Apart from Sam, I did not know any of the other women; to be perfectly honest, from where I was sitting most of them seemed very self-confident and successful; it was all a bit daunting and nerve wrecking. 

As the introductions were being made, the phrase ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ was a recurring thought and somehow I don’t think it was just me having that thought. However, once circle time was over, we did have a better idea (thanks to Sam and Caroline’s organisational and motivational skills) of what we had to do and nerves were replaced with a sense of excitement and anticipation. 

By 8am, we were ready to meet and greet the women who would be attending the event - eighty of them in all. 

9am and its Show Time (...Manic Monday style)

Everyone, women, huddle hosts and volunteers, were seated and waiting nervously for the event to begin. You could sense the trepidation and anxiety that was circling the room; no one really knew what to expect and even worse, exactly what was expected of them. Suddenly music started blaring and along comes Sam using a hairbrush as a microphone - singing and dancing to the song “Manic Monday”. Like most of the women in the room, I started laughing and at that moment, I just knew this event was going to be an amazing, if unpredictable, two days.

It was awesome and there were many Ah-ha moments

The women came from different backgrounds, countries and cultures, diverse professions and careers, young and not so young, some were in a relationship, some single and some were divorced; some were mothers, or step mothers or god mothers or had never been mothers at all.
Throughout the two days, Sam and Caroline led and facilitated “Reimagine Leadership” workshops and we talked, discussed, learnt, laughed, cried, shared, found and gave compassion, understood and were understood, acceptance was given naturally, without judgement. Each of us could identify with each other’s experiences; there was a familiarity in the stories being shared, recognition of an emotion, a feeling, and so many times ‘I know just what you mean’ was heard throughout the room. 

There were hundreds of ‘Ah ha’ moments and many women jumped head first out of their comfort zones as Sam and Caroline skilfully and expertly led everyone through a series of leadership exercises and tasks that were original, rewarding and fun.  

On Being a Huddle Host

Being a huddle host at Aspires’ Reimagine Leadership event was an extraordinary experience and I am so proud to have been a part of it. Experiencing first hand Sam’s unique ability to motivate and inspire women to greatness was extraordinary. Also in two short days, all the huddle hosts and volunteers bonded and connected with each other. Far from being intimidating, these were all brilliant, smart, kind, compassionate women. By the end of the first day, we felt like we had known each other all our lives. A cliché I know, but during those two days, that kind of experience was commonplace: inexplicable yet at the same time made perfect sense. 

Tracy, a fellow Huddle Host said about her experience “I attended Aspire's recent Reimagine Leadership workshop as a host and facilitator, being asked to come armed with two inspiring real life stories to share with the participants. Well, I hope that a few of the participants gained some inspiration from my stories, but I what I can definitely say is that I sure as hell got inspiration from them. Everybody was so open and supportive; the event so well run, it was an experience well worth the investment of two days hard work. Personally, it has helped me to sharpen my focus on my future journeys in both career and life, given me the confidence to aim higher and introduced me to some amazing women, some of which I have a feeling are going to become lifelong friends. And that was despite my appalling Frank Sinatra impression in the karaoke celebration at the end” Tracy Woods, IT Director.

It’s a wrap.  

Many thanks and cheers   
To Sam and Caroline for organising and hosting such an awe-inspiring and exciting event - many lives changed for the better because of those two days

To all the lovely women who attended, your courage and brilliance is impressive and you made the two days very special.
And to my fellow huddle hosts and volunteers, I am inspired and humbled by you all.

  

A word about Aspire (www.aspirewomen.co.uk) –  

Aspire is the brainchild of Dr Sam Collins and for over ten years has successfully developed female leaders and the role models of the future through coaching, leadership development, seminars and workshops.




* Photographs have been reproduced with permission from Aspire 

Standing On The Cusp Of Greatness…. In High Heels

Over the last decade the growth and sustainability of women owned businesses and female entrepreneurs has grown exponentially.  However, while it is a fact that women dominate small business ownership, it is also evident that it is time for us to take our business out of the micro markets we have successfully dominated and to the next level of growth; we need to start thinking big.  Yet of the 10million + women owned UK businesses, many of us will take the circuitous route through the sustainable business growth stages that may or may not eventually lead to reaching that next level of growth.

Wealth Creation Is Or Should Be A Key Driver To Success

Perhaps you fell into your business accidentally or it is the result of a lifelong passion that you turned into a business, or you created the business as a result of a financial or personal need; no matter why you started the business, wealth creation is or should be a key driver. After all, why are you in business if not to make money?  As someone once said, ‘if your business is not making money, then it’s just a hobby’. 

Are you on the path to wealth creation?

Do you have passion and enjoy what you are doing?

Do you have a plan?

Do you have an exit strategy?

Do you work on your business versus in the business?

Are you constantly aligned with your target market both internally and externally?

Do you maintain a competitive edge?

Do you continually innovate and differentiate?

Do you continuously monitor your competition?

Have you harnessed that entrepreneurial spirit that started it all?

Your business plan is your road map; do you keep it constantly updated?

Do you network, network, network?

Victims of repetitive paralysis

As women business owners and female entrepreneurs we do face some unique challenges and issues more than our male counterparts. That elusive work life balance we constantly try to achieve (unfortunately to the detriment of the business) as well as the inadequate financial resources available to us due to the lack of investor confidence in women owned businesses. We may protest that it’s not fair but it’s a fact: many [male] investors still believe that a business needs a male presence for the business to be truly successful.

However, the main obstacle to taking our business to the next level is ourselves. We habitually and intentionally stand in our own way; we buy into our own limiting beliefs and as a result we get stuck in the never ending cycle of destructive repetitive paralysis; the business stagnates and we languish in the surreal world of self-sabotage and self-prophesising failure. It’s a painful process and totally unnecessary and preventable.

So strap on those high heels and keep moving forward.

Believe in yourself and what you are doing. Don’t compromise.

Whatever you do should resonate with your values and principles.

Give back to the community and society. Be it time, money or services.

By leveraging the power you have of being a woman in business, you can break free of the destructive repetitive paralysis cycle; you can achieve the greatness you know you are capable of; and yes you can enjoy a work/life balance while creating wealth;  and you can do it all in high heels.

Luciana Cousin. March 1, 2012

Is it hypocrisy, apathy, or simply indifference?

Since 2007 when the US triggered the financial crisis with the subprime mortgage debacle, the world has suffered through a Global recession, banks and governments have gone bankrupt, unemployment has reached double digits, the on-going Euro zone  crisis, the Arab spring, the Wall Street occupiers; the list is endless, and it is predicted that things will get a lot worse before they get better. 

The blame is pointed directly at the unmitigated greed of the bankers and the banks, the lack of transparency and governance, and the need for accountability and transparency.  While the US is drowning in negative equity and foreclosed homes, and Europe is losing the battle against the Eurozone, we are told that austerity is the only solution that will get us out of this mess. We are being told to tighten our belts, tear up credit cards and hang tight as the world as we know it comes crashing down and society slips into a welfare state.

Why does no one talk about growth? Self-reliance? Taking risks? Creating wealth? Well when Governments (the United States government is the nation’s largest employer and in the UK it is the NHS) have that kind of control  (and however they reframe it,it is a socialist economic system)  the economy comes to a screeching halt ; so besides raising taxes, austerity measures are their only options.  But to quote Margaret Thatcher, “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”

It’s become politically incorrect to talk about wanting to make money. Business ethics is all well and good, however taking it to the extreme with the result that many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business, is a reflection of the anti-capitalistic movement that is being promoted and encouraged. 

According to Michael Moore, capitalism in 2011 is an evil system and the Occupy Wall Street Movement with their hatred of capitalism are leading the charge to remove it from society. Yet for the last 100 years it is that very system that made the United States and Europe great; it is capitalism that made them super powers and that created the innovation and inventions that exist today.

Why do we choose to embark on a witch hunt and destroy the capitalistic hand that feeds us, so to speak? That same system that gave us the freedom to dream, to aspire to greatness and to live out our ambitions and aspirations. And let’s face it, in the western world we all benefitted from capitalism. Not so long ago we were pretty smug in our capitalistic clothing. There were no complaints when everyone in the western world was buying coloured TVs, upgrading cars and homes every year, going on holidays and sending the kids to private schools, getting our overdrafts and loans from those same banks we now blame for the state of the economy.

We turned against capitalism, and in the process killed the spirit of entrepreneurism and creativity.  As a result we now have  business leaders, entrepreneurs and the dreamers  lining up to take courses in enlightened leadership, to learn how to become more spiritual and more in touch with their higher selves.  

But don’t we need our business leaders and entrepreneurs to be risk takers, innovators and visionaries?  We need them to be masters of the universe, to be larger than life and to have the freedom, courage and the guts to create and manifest their dreams. We need them to reach for the stars and beyond. Because through them and their visions, mass wealth is created and it is key to a successful society. We are so quick to blame capitalism for its evil and greed, while conveniently ignoring that the polar opposite of capitalism is socialism and communism.   No one wants to live in a socialist or communist society, yet here we are, embracing the very ideology that was responsible for the decades of atrocities in Russia, the Eastern bloc, Cuba, Korea, and China. 

And on the fringes of this economic mess is the rise of radicalism, a stealth menace whose numbers are growing at an alarming rate on both sides of the Atlantic.  The seeds of nationalisation are steadily taking hold.

So as capitalism lies in the ashes, world governments’ control everything and the wings of nationalism are rising phoenix- like once again, is it hypocrisy, apathy, or indifference that got us here?

Is our need to connect via Social Networking causing us to become disconnected?

The popularity of Social Networking and Social Media is growing at a phenomenal rate; there are literally hundreds of social networking sites; the top 3 being Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Facebook registers 700,000,000 visitors a month; that is a staggering number of people connecting with friends, relatives and with friends of friends of friends; no matter where in the world they are. In 2009, the Prompt Survey, predicted that “Facebook may be replacing email and text messaging as a more popular way to stay in touch with friends and family on line'.

What is so special about Facebook?

When we meet someone new, we instantly Facebook them and add them as a friend. We can wish Happy Birthday to someone we barely know or have not spoken to in decades; we use our Facebook page as our personal soap box to promote our causes and beliefs. We can ‘post’ about anything, in the certainty, that someone somewhere will read it, 'comment' or ‘like’ it. We are subjected to, and we in turn subject others, to our opinions and our state of mind, mood, love life, home life, pets and children and even our unborn children (yes, parents-to-be keep us all updated by posting ,monthly and sometimes weekly, ultra sound pictures of their unborn children; thankfully we have not reached the stage when they are posting the actual birth pictures. Well, not yet anyway!).

A quick scan of our Facebook page will tell us who is having a good day or a crappy one, who is in a relationship or breaking up, who is having a birthday or sitting for an exam, got a new job, lost a job, went for a walk, went on holiday, came back from holiday, who had a great night (and posted pictures to prove it) and who did not. We can connect with people from our past, even those who we have not given a thought to in years (probably for a good reason). Via Facebook mobile applications, we remain connected and we can let people know where we are, with whom and show visually what a great time (or not) we are having.
We have become preoccupied with broadcasting our life and sharing it with the world at large. Why do we want to be spectators in the minutiae of each other's daily life?

Celebrities can count thousands of ‘friends’ on their Facebook page, while the average person has anywhere from 150 to 1000+. Teenagers rate their popularity and each others' by the number of 'friends' they can claim on thier Facebook page, so the more 'friends', the more popular you are.

We seem to be drunk on connecting and sharing every aspect of our lives with the world and its aunt. Why are we so eager to publically post details (and pictures) of our lives that were once only shared within immediate family and/or with close friends? What drives us to live so precariously through a social network portal? All the while, everything we write, every picture we post, becomes public information. And yes, we actually do willingly give social networks permission to use our data in any way they want.

Social Networking's Dark Side

It is disturbing that Facebook allows anyone to view your profile, page and pictures anonymously. In fact, it's creepy. In cases of jealous partners and/or exes, this can and does cause a lot of problems for all concerned.  Then there is the cyber stalking that is prevalent and unstoppable and let's not forget the bullying that is rampant amongst the kids , where a victim is cruelly and publicly humiliated on line. According to cyber law expert Parry Aftab, ' cyber bullying is a pandemic that continues to worsen. She estimates that at least 40 percent of high school students have been cyber bullied while in high school and that the figure is nearly double among middle school students'.

Social Networking for Justice
The biggest advantage of social networking is the ability to quickly raise awareness locally and globally. The speed in which this can be achieved is incredible. As in the case of the 2 Essex boys, Kyle Thain & James Harris  (www.http://www.helpourboys.co.uk).

The boys are falsely accused of a crime that they could not have possibly committed and they have been held in a Spanish jail since July 2011. The daily posts and continuous updates on their Facebook page Help Our Boys not only raises awareness of their unfortunate and tragic situation, it also motivates people to add their support in whatever way they can (donations, petitions, fund raising etc.).

The online presence of the Help Our Boys page serves to highlight and publicly condemn the injustice being perpetuated against Kyle and James by the Spanish Government.

LinkedIn...500+ is the magic number

A 100,000,000 of us visit  LinkedIn (the 3rd most popular social networking site) every month and the number increases daily. 

However, you are not considered a player if you don’t have at least 500+ connections on LinkedIn. (There are even courses and workshops on how to promote yourself on LinkedIn in order to get more connections).

LinkedIn promotes itself as a professional network, although recently, it seems to have become more of a job board. Yet its popularity is growing (although no one seems to know why) and professional business people are very industriously preoccupied with connecting, to everyone and anyone. LinkedIn also has business groups which, likeminded professionals can join in order to share ideas, experiences and promote themselves and so we connect to them as well.  Like Facebook, LinkedIn allows us to update our status and on LinkedIn this also serves us well in self-promotion. If we are at a business event, promoting a new book, service or product, entertaining clients, on a business trip, or any of the other things that will promote us or our business, then we update our status to reflect our movements.

Does adding Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to our website add any value to our business?
Business and market analysts have us believing that today, social networking and media is the only way to grow a business, to attract customers and survive in this downward economy. We are a long way from that stage, considering that social networking is still very much in its infancy. It is all so new and untested that no one, not even those who claim to be Social Media experts know how it will or what it will evolve into. At the moment, social networking is still in a very static mode. It seems to work within a one size fits all approach, forcing you to conform to a pre-defined personal and business template.

What next?

Yet, it seems that Social networking is fast becoming the basis of our whole social and business existence. If you are not connecting via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (and preferably all three), you are somehow deemed irrelevant. After all, if you are not connected, then how can you showcase your personal and business life every minute of every day?(I know of only one person who has not succumbed to Facebook, and that would be my eldest son, although he recently did open a LinkedIin and Google+ account).

If social networking has made such an impact on the business world, could this be the catalyst that would inspire business leaders to overhaul the business model we are currently using and modernise it in order to reflect a changing society? It is hoped that new and emerging technologies will force the changes.

Who knows, perhaps within a few years, Facebook may be replaced by an application that is integrated in to our mobile phone and that will monitor and record our every move, thought and conversation while updating the information to all our connections in real time, all the time. How annoying would that be?

We are connected
So, once we get all these connections, then what? and seriously, so what?

It seems to be so very superficial and one sided and there seems to be no depth to the connections; it appears that 85% of the time, it seems to be primarily about grandstanding. However, it does fulfil its objective which is to connect people. And it does that very well. 

Is it worth the effort?

Social networking is also very time consuming. According to a report by The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, “GenerationM2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-year-olds, teens in the US spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes on daily social media and networking , that’s about 53 hours a week. The number for teens around the world is probably very similar.

It is estimated that we require 2 to 4 hours a day to be effective business social networkers. And according to Digital Buzz over 700 billion minutes a month are spent on Facebook.

We are spending so much of our time virtually connecting, yet it seems that the more we connect, the more disconnected we become.

                      

                        

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Is ‘diversity’ a fluffy word for affirmative action?

Last week there was a lot of chatter about the introduction of quotas in Europe, UK and the US, to ensure that women will be promoted to executive and leadership positions. Also the quotas would guarantee that 40 % of all public and private boards will be made up of women.

While this sounds like a major victory, unfortunately what this does is that it actually marginalises women even more. I am very much in favour of the empowerment of women in business and politics; however, I disagree with enforcing quotas as it will result in women becoming ‘diversity tokens’ and being promoted to leadership positions and to the board simply to satisfy a diversity quota requirement.

When people are given promotions, university places or political positions based solely on their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and age rather than on merit, ability and skill, the political, academic and business infrastructures will inevitably break down.  Promoting women simply to satisfy numbers or directives is going to back fire and is doomed to failure .

An article by Spiegel on line (February 2, 2011) reported that when Norway introduced a law in 2006 stipulating that women had to make up 40 percent of the boards of publicly traded companies, it was hailed as a huge step forward. Now researchers are taking stock, and the effects of the quota appear to be mixed. The article concludes by saying that most companies were not adversely affected by the quota law but it hasn't done much good, either.

One main reason against promoting women to the board and or leadership positions is the stereotypical ‘family commitments’ one. Despite the fact that 45% of the European work force is female, women still have primary responsibility for child rearing. Perhaps instead of quotas, we need to re think and come up with a workable solution that will allow women to have both a career and a family.

The second argument is more gender specific ‘women are not good decision makers; women are too emotional and passive,’ blah, blah, blah. But, let’s remember that it was men who were at the helm when the current financial crisis erupted, was it not?  As for those male dominated industries like politics, banking and construction, well they are not doing that well either.

In last week’s, daily telegraph, there was an article entitled ‘Women are being ignored by the Coalition’, says Women's Institute head

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8842544/Women-are-being-ignored-by-the-Coalition-says-Womens-Institute-head.html

It was very significant in that no one really gave a damm. What a shame!