Thursday 30 December 2010

Is discipline your bridge between thought and accomplishment?

December 5th is my wife’s birthday. And in 2009 it was the day Jim Rohn, one of my heroes, passed.

Of all Jim’s quotable quotes one stands out for me at this time of year when so many people make new years resolutions they will never keep. Jim said Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment.

How disciplined will you be in 2011 to turn your thoughts into reality?

I have the honour and privilege of mentoring people in 9 countries. One tool I share with many is the rituals I keep daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. I encourage my clients to create their own rituals document and many report back that it helps them immeasurably in achieving their goals.

You can download my rituals one pager here.

Create your own rituals document, be disciplined, and 2011 can easily become your best year yet.

I can help you by becoming your performance partner for a period. Please checkout my mentoring programs here.

On most Monday mornings wherever you happen to be in the world I can provide a 30 minute mentoring session for free. See details at the above link.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Want to do well while doing good? Please watch a six minute video here and then get in touch with me.

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business

Monday 27 December 2010

Who writes your favourite blogs?

Here are my top 10 for 2010, not in any particular order.

1) Toby Webb’s Reflections on Ethical Business. Toby’s blog on why Sweden is leading the world in managing climate change is a good example of his well researched blogs.

2) Word of mouth marketing guru Andy Sernovitz’s Dam! I Wish I’d Thought of That! blog.

3) Richard Millington’s feverbee blog is excellent for all things about leading and managing successful online communities.

4) Speaking of communities. I am in awe of my colleagues in differencemakers community who write such inspiring and insightful posts here.

5) Corporate Eye is also written by many authors. I find it a very valuable blog for my work in the corporate world.

6) Hello my name is blog by Scott Ginsberg, That guy with the nametag. Always thought provoking.

7) Mitch Joel of Twist Image and author of a great book Six Pixels of Separation.

8) Garr Reynolds Presentation Zen. Even though I rarely use slides in my presentations Garr’s work has revolutionized my approach to all things design.

9) Chris Guillebeau’s The Art of Non-Conformity.

10) Chris Jarvis and Angela Parker Realized Worth for great insights about employee volunteering and other great things anyone can do to embrace corporate social responsibility.

Who writes your favourite blogs?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Monday 20 December 2010

Is the ultimate joy giving and receiving at the same time?

For several years now I have embraced a philosophy in ethics called enlightened self-interest which states that persons who act to further the interests of others (or the interests of the group or groups to which they belong), ultimately serve their own self-interest.

Enlightened self-interest is often expressed as doing well while doing good.

I was raised with the biblical concept that It is more blessed to give than to receive. The vernacular for blessed is happy. This concept never sat well with me particularly as a child where I was definitely happier receiving than giving!

As I sat briefly in a shopping mall yesterday and observed 100’s of stressed people carrying Christmas presents and fighting one another in queues to buy gifts, it occurred to me that the ultimate joy is giving and receiving at the same time and that giving and receiving shouldn't be stressful at any time.

I would be very interested in your thoughts.

In whatever way you celebrate Christmas, and if you don’t, I wish you a joyous, stress free time in the next few days and may any reflections you have turn into actions that mean you experience joy in both giving and receiving all year round.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Want to do well while doing good? Please watch a six minute video here and then get in touch with me.

Thursday 16 December 2010

Is the co-operative business model one you could emulate?

The Co-operative Group is the UK’s largest mutual retailer and they are changing what’s normal.

In the UK they are the fifth largest food retailer, the third largest retail pharmacy chain, the number one provider of funeral services and the largest independent travel business. The Co-operative Group also has strong market positions in banking and insurance. The Group employs 120,000 people, has 5.5 million members and around 4,800 retail outlets.

I read the following on The Co-operative Group’s website:

The Co-operative model

Like any business, we want to be a commercial success. However, even more important to us is the way that we do business, and the way that we use our profits. We believe that we should offer our customers both value and values. Which makes us a bit different.

Our members are our owners; they tell us what is important to them and we listen and act on it. It’s part of our model: as a consumer co-operative, we run our business for the benefit of our members. That means our members are involved in democratic decision-making, and we re-invest in our business – share of the profits - sharing profits with our members. Our members also set a social and campaigning agenda that we support. In fact - because our members wanted it - we’ve become pioneers in areas such as fairtrade and combating climate change. Of course, the more commercially successful we are, the more we can do to give back to the communities we serve and to influence the wider world.


In an article by Adam Jupp in the Manchester Evening News 14th December (see full article here) Chief Executive Peter Marks is quoted as saying The Co-operative Group is aiming for 20 million members by 2020. Achieving this goal would mean this organisation would be serving a third of the UK’s population!

What principles of a co-operative could you emulate in your business?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 14 December 2010

What have been your lessons from the saga surrounding WikiLeaks?

There has been lots of talk about WikiLeaks. In my view most of it absolute nonsense, particularly from politicians; some of their rhetoric is so nonsensical it is laughable.

The best balanced view I have come across is from Six Pixels of Separation author Mitch Joel who suggests seven lessons:

1.Transpareny first
2.You are media
3.Publishing has changed
4.Informaiton travels fast. Legal or not.
5.Decentralization is real
6.Credible anonymity
7.We are not ready


You can read Mitch's thoughts in full here.

My one conclusion; it is really a long held feeling that has become a conclusion - Political leadership is an oxymoron! We need politicians however no longer as leaders.

What have been your lessons?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 10 December 2010

Are you expecting more from 2011?

For the fifth year in a row I have contributed to the expect more ebook compiled by Gihan Perera.

This edition of the ebook contains strategies for success from 29 leading experts in personal and professional development.

You can download it from the home page of my website here.

Just scroll down to the picture of the ebooks cover. The download link is on the left.

I wish You and your family, friends, and colleagues every good thing for 2011 and beyond.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Monday 6 December 2010

Are you measuring what matters?

I was taken by the following comments by Rebecca Charles in a email to me about the upcoming Measuring What Matters workshop in London on December 14th.

Why should you or someone from your organisation attend this workshop?
 
1.) 80% of CEOs at large cap companies now believe sustainability and CSR performance is critical to long term success
 
2.) A wide variety of leading British brands have already made substantial investments in sustainability and the reporting process. See here.

While European countries continue to lead in sustainability performance, every OECD country is exploring mandatory non-financial reporting requirements.
 
3.) Institutional investors and financial advisors are making buy recommendations based on sustainability and CSR performance
 
4.) Consumers and other stakeholder groups are using CSR rankings to run comparative campaigns and this will have continued impact on purchasing decisions over time
 
5.) Companies that are not reporting, or are reporting poorly, are having their messaging hijacked by activist organizations and international NGOs


What does the above mean to you? I would be very interested in your thoughts.

There are some valuable short interviews with Martin Smith of Just Means here.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Sunday 28 November 2010

Survival of the fittest or the wisest?

I was intrigued by a comment made by Deepak Chopra in the video referred to in my previous post - along the lines there is a shift happening from the survival of the fittest to the wisest. I see this shift happening everywhere.

A few years ago I wrote 52 actions of the wise an e-book designed for you to take just a few minutes a week for a year to improve your life immeasurably. You will be wiser and happier.

You can purchase it here for just $7 or get it for free here by completing my employee engagement pulse check.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Thursday 25 November 2010

Is the Worldshift 20 Declaration a call to action for you?

I watched this inspiring 12 minutes with Deepak Chopra yesterday.



and then downloaded a very powerful 8 pages called the Worldshift 20 Declaration. You can read more and download the PDF here.

I would be very interested in your thoughts on this and on how we can collaborate to do our bit to make these shifts happen.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Are your messages cutting through the clutter?

Once upon a time I could send one email to my contacts in a given city and fill the room for one of my seminars. Not any more.

To get 20 people to a seminar recently, in the city where I work the most, and have my largest database, I sent 6 emails to my list over 8 weeks, and made more than 100 phone calls!

I also called people to find out why they didn’t respond to what I thought was a very compelling message on a topic that would help them to build a better business faster and give them a competitive edge. The following were the three responses I received the most:

I don’t reply to emails anymore unless I am specifically asked to?

I get so many emails unless they really grab me in the moment I delete them.

I would not have given the seminar a second thought if you hadn’t called me. Personal contact stands out today.


Are your messages cutting through the clutter?

The clear message for me was the power of personal contact. Social media and social networking, great tools that they can be, mean many people are starved of human contact, in fact people are telling me they are craving real conversations with real people in real time.

When was the last time you met with some one face to face with no agenda just a genuine catch up? My resolve is to stand out by being the king of personal contact. How about you?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 19 November 2010

Reinvention and Redefinition - signs of the times

In the past 2 weeks I have given several presentations in Australia, Macau and United Kingdom; all to senior business leaders, and on two occasions for large corporations with significant brand recognition. There has been a reoccurring theme - redefinition and reinvention.

Like it or not business leads the way forward. In a recent interview the Managing Director of McKinsey, Dominic Barton, said the common theme of his interviews with over 300 CEO’s in the past 12 months is transformation.

If successful businesses are focusing on redefining, reinventing, or transforming themselves, what does this suggest for us?

This week I have also taken some time to tune in to the Reinvention summit organised by Michael Margolis of Get Storied fame, and others. The stories we tell others and the ones we tell ourselves are key to our evolution and growth, and to our willingness and ability to make a difference. What stories are you telling?

In Birmingham United Kingdom last Tuesday I was asked by a member of the group I presented to How often do you reinvent yourself and how often do you redesign what you do and how you do it?

I answered daily, weekly, fortnightly, quarterly, yearly and that I have specific processes and methodologies for doing so. How about you?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Monday 15 November 2010

Performance reviews deservedly getting a poor review

In the Wall Street Journal of 8th November Joe Light writes:
Performance reviews are getting a poor review—from the very people who run them.

About 58% of human-resources executives graded their own performance-management systems a C or below, according to a May and June survey of 750 HR professionals conducted by New York-based consulting firm Sibson Consulting Inc. and World at Work, a professional association.

Many HR professionals say they're frustrated that managers don't have the courage to give constructive feedback to employees.


Sadly this is not new to me.

On the 8th of November I posed a question to my LinkedIn connections: How often are employees you know having formal performance reviews? More than 50% answered annually. Very few answered quarterly which my experience suggests is best practice.

Success of formal performance reviews however depends on the success of informal reviews. I teach my clients to have frequent appreciation and accountability conversations with their employees. Such conversations are based on personal performance plans that detail personal and business goals and how they will be achieved.

The success of appreciation and accountability conversations dramatically improves performance and means formal reviews only have two purposes; celebrate performance with people and help them update their performance plans.

I am on a mission to eliminate appraisals because in the main they are demotivating for people and deserve their C rating or below.

I would be very interested in your experiences. Please get in touch with me.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 12 November 2010

What triggers our worst behaviour also presents us with an opportuntity for our best behaviour

I have had a busy week. I left home in Adelaide on Monday morning, flew to Sydney and had several meetings Monday afternoon. I gave a presentation Tuesday morning and had more meetings in the afternoon. Early Wednesday morning I flew to Hong Kong and then caught a ferry to Macau where I have been busy ever since. After giving a presentation later this morning I go back to Hong Kong and then fly to London tonight.

Travel can bring the worst out in me! On this trip I read a wonderful book called The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working by Tony Schwartz with Jean Gomes and Catherine McCarthy, Ph.D.

It is a wonderful book. I pondered pages 139 and 140 carefully. The authors call the following triggers and suggest that most come from a feeling of being devalued.

Feeling spoken to with condescension or lack of respect

Being treated unfairly

Not feeling appreciated

Not being listened to or feeling heard

Someone else taking credit for my work

Being kept waiting

Someone else’s sloppy work on a project I’m overseeing

Unrealistic deadlines

People who think they know it all

Knowing these has helped me to enjoy the travel this week in the main.


What trigggers you?

Are you devaluing other people?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

The Power of Now

I have clients I mentor in 9 countries. Many I have never met in person. Our mentoring sessions are conducted on skype. This is just one example of the power of now.

By the way on most Monday mornings wherever you happen to be in the world I can provide a 30 minute mentoring session for free on skype. All you need to do to book your session is email me ian@ianberry.au.com with a date and time. If I am already booked I will email you back with alternative dates and times.

One of my business leader heroes is Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi. He says New is old, now is the new new. For an excellent interview with Kevin click here under favourites.]

Now is the only time that matters.

One of the beautiful things about life is that if we stuff up this moment, we can do better in the next moment.

You can change your life for the better, now.

You can change the experience you provide for your customer/client, now.

You can create a better strategy, now.

You can execute, now.

You can be better for your spouse, your child, your friend, now.

You can call that person you have be procrastinating about, now.

You can make amends, now.

You can stop doing, start doing, or stay doing whatever you want, now.

Success in life is about the choices we make and the choices we don’t make. You are choosing, now.

Stop grumbling about your life, now. Start your life over, now. And make a vow to never waste a moment, now. And then don’t!

In my country, Australia, average life expectancy is 81.4 years, that’s about 29,500 days! Make every second of your life matter. Start now!

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

PS Recently I joined a movement to end starvation as a major cause of death for children. While you were reading this 11 children died simply because they do not have enough to eat. In the last 6 months my colleagues and I have provided more than 3 million meals. Find out how you can join us here or give me a call on +61 418 807 898.

PSS I highly recommend reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
Details here along with other books I recommend you read. Remember, leaders are readers.

Saturday 30 October 2010

Changing what’s normal - Business Building in the 21st century Part 3

I have a thriving business today because I have embraced 9 massive changes to business building strategies and tactics that have occurred over my 19 years in business for myself. See my 25th and 28th of October blogs for my insights on the first six changes. Today I am exploring the final three.

6) generalist to niche

Once I tried to be all things to all people. I learned the hard way that I can only truly serve people in certain niches. Are you open for business to everyone or are you the go to person for certain people?

7) provider to partner

I was once a provider of certain services and usually I was hired for a specific period of time to provide a specific solution or meet a particular need. Today I don’t provide my clients with solutions to their challenges or problems, rather I partner with them to discover their own solutions. A consequence is that I get paid for the value that I provide rather than the time it takes.

Do your customers/clients see you as a partner or a provider? If your answer is provider then it won’t be long before someone makes your customers/clients a perceived better offer and you will lose their loyalty. Being perceived as a partner is a key way to build loyalty and therefore retain customers/clients.

8) service to experience

Providing our customers/clients with great customer service is a given today. Provide less than high standards of service and people will simply go somewhere else. What kind of experience do you provide for your customers/clients before they buy, when they buy, and after they buy? Unless your answer is memorable across the board, then you are not building the business you could be and not only are you are missing out on significant income and profits, you are most likely go backwards.

9) strategic planning to strategic synergy

I have had to read 100’s of strategic plans over my two decades as business advisor and mentor, and for a few years I helped to create them. In the past decade I have partnered my clients to separate determining strategy from the plans to execute it. I agree with Alan Weiss that strategic planning is an oxymoron!

I define strategy simply as the big picture how to get from where we are to where we want to be. Tactics are the actions we take to execute our strategy. As a general rule six words are all you need to describe your strategy!

The great writer Ernest Hemingway thought the following were six of his best words: For Sale: Baby shoes, Never worn.

Inspired by Hemingway, my friend and colleague Kwai Yu, founder of Leaders Cafe, asked the following question on a LinkedIn discussion: Who are you? Could you tell the story of you in six words?

Kwai received hundreds of extraordinary responses which inspired me to think about a way I could best teach people about strategy! I now work with my clients to help them describe their strategy in 6 words and when this is accomplished it becomes one of the best engagement of people tools I have ever developed.

Could you describe your strategy in 6 words?

There you have it, 9 massive changes to business building. How do you measure up?

Complete the following fast audit and see where you are and then take massive action to get to where you want to be.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Thursday 28 October 2010

Changing what’s normal - Business Building in the 21st century Part 2

Much has changed in my two decades in business as a catalyst for changing what’s normal.

I have a thriving business today because I have embraced 9 massive changes to business building strategies and tactics that have occurred over my time in business for myself; spin to story, what to why, interruption marketing to permission based marketing, media to mass media, expert to thought leader, generalist to niche, provider to partner, service to experience, and complicated strategy to simplified strategy.

See my 25th October blog for my thoughts on spin to story, and what to why. Today I am exploring the next three.

3) interruption marketing to permission based marketing (my thanks to Seth Godin)

In the early days of my business I had to cold call. The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was the fact that people saw my call as an interruption to their work. Advertising of cause is the biggest way we interrupt people which is why many of us mute the ads when we are watching television. Today if we are seen as interrupting people it is unlikely that they will hear our message.

In what ways do you have permission to communicate your message to people. Do you have an electronic newsletter for example that people have opted-in to receive? Do you have numerous ways to collect people’s details and do they know what will happen on a frequent basis once you have their details?

4) media to mass media

When I first started my business, phone books, newspapers, magazines, radio and television were the media available to me, and most were inaccessible as I didn’t know anyone in the media, and I didn’t have a lot of funds to spend. Today we can use a multitude of media channels to add value and attract customers/clients, for free!

Are you blogging? Are you on YouTube? Are you using Facebook, LinkedIn or other social media sites to build relationships. Today one of the big questions we must ask and answer thoroughly is - What is our strategy for using social media to build our business?

5) expert to thought leader

I could easily validate my expertise when I first started my business. Today being a expert or being seen as having a quality product or service is a given. In order to thrive we must be seen as leaders in our fields of expertise or leaders in our product/s or service/s otherwise we get ignored. How are you perceived in your markets? Are you seen as a leader or just one of many? In all your business building activities are you positioning yourself as a stand out? And do you prove your standing in all your transactions and interactions with people?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Monday 25 October 2010

Changing what’s normal - Business Building in the 21st century Part 1

I left the corporate world and started my own business in 1991, the year the internet became publicly available. That’s 11 years before LinkedIn and 13 years before Facebook!

I didn’t have my own website until 2000. In that year less than 500 people visited my website. Today more than 10 times that amount of people visit my website every month. The numbers have dramatically increased since I began blogging in May 2007, three years after the launch of Facebook.

Much has changed in my two decades in business as a catalyst for changing what’s normal.

I have a thriving business today because I have embraced 9 massive changes to business building strategies and tactics that have occurred over my time in business for myself; spin to story, what to why, interruption marketing to permission based marketing, media to mass media, expert to thought leader, generalist to niche, provider to partner, service to experience, and complicated strategy to simplified strategy.

In this blog I explore the first two changes. I will explore the others in subsequent blogs.

1) spin to story

Authentic stories sell. Most people ignore advertising because they don’t see it as the truth about our product or service. People embrace real stories about real people which is why genuine testimonials about what we do and case studies about how we have helped people to meet their wants and needs are key ways to attract customers/clients.

What are people saying about your product/s and/or service/s? Are you using what people are saying about you as a key way to build your business?

It is accepted, sadly, that politicians make promises, fail to deliver, and then spin the facts to explain why they can’t deliver! To do this as a business person is to risk losing business, customers/clients, and our reputation. Please don’t spin the facts. Tell authentic stories. Such stories become viral by word of mouth, which is still the most powerful way to grow our businesses.

2) what to why

“Doing well by doing good” or enlightened self-interest is a key way to build our businesses which is why so many people have embraced the triple bottom line of environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic prosperity.

How good is your business for people, and our planet? If you are doing good for people and our planet it is likely that you are making higher profits.

Profit is not a reason for being in business, rather a result of being good at business. What’s your reason for being in business? Douglas Atkin, author of The Culting of Brands, asks: What’s your cause? What do you want to have happen? If you’re not out to cause anything then you might as well go back to bed.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Sunday 17 October 2010

Is the customer always right?

Many people I talk to believe the customer is always right and some say the customer is always right even when they are wrong!

I don’t believe the customer is always right and I don’t believe the customer is right even when they are wrong. In fact I don’t even believe in right or wrong.
I simply believe there are many different ways to perceive situations.

I do believe people are first; customers, employees, and everybody else.

I live the philosophy in ethics called enlightened self-interest which is commonly expressed as doing well while doing good.

Zig Ziglar puts it this way:
You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.

Get really clear about what you stand for. Seek out people who stand for the same things. Simon Sinek calls this Start with Why. And then find out what is the value that people who stand for what you stand for, demand, desire, and feel that they deserve from you. And then provide whatever these things are.

I don’t believe business is more complicated than this. What do you think?

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
Albert Einstein

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Values must be verbs otherwise they are just meaningless words

You have seen the words below before. They are the most common values I see on the walls in foyers of head offices.


Values must be verbs otherwise they are just meaningless words.

In the following 5 minute story I ask, Are your values on the wall lived in the hall?



How well do you live your values?

Values must be verbs otherwise they are just meaningless words.

Until our values are virtues, signs on walls and other places demotivate people and are a major reason for disengagement.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Are you inspiring people to turn their aspirations into reality?

My definition of leadership:

Leadership is the art of inspiring people to bring everything remarkable that they are to everything they do.

My definition of management:

Management is the practice of making it easy for people to bring everything remarkable that they are to everything they do.

All human beings have aspirations. The major reasons leadership and management are essential is that most of us require inspiration and ease to turn our aspirations into reality!

Who will you inspire today? And how will you make it easy for those you inspire to turn their aspirations into reality.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 1 October 2010

Will you become part of a movement and end starvation as a major cause of death for children?

Four years ago I was privileged to speak to members of the board of Oxfam Trading Australia. While waiting in their boardroom I copied down the words of a poster on the wall by Community Aid Abroad. It was headed ʻBasic human rights for all' and was created long before the concept of corporate social responsibility had gained any momentum. It read:

enough to eat

clean water

a livelihood

a home

an education

health care

a safe environment

protection from violence

equality of opportunity

a say in the future


Tears welled in my eyes as I read these words for they capture what I stand for and explain why I got up this morning and every morning and go out into the world to influence leaders in whatever you do to be doing it for the good of people.

That day in the Oxfam Trading Boardroom a seed was planted in my heart and mind that grew to become differencemakers community. Today we are over 500 members from 32 countries.

A key philosophy of differencemakers community and my personal passion is enlightened self-interest. Or simply put - doing well by doing good.

Recently I have joined with some differencemakers members to ensure one basic human right, enough to eat, is possible for all.

Today, like everyday, more than 16000 children around the world will die of starvation. That's 6 million children a year!

This is entirely preventable and yet despite billions of dollars and a lot of talk this problem remains unsolved.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others like them are taking amazing actions to end many of the worlds biggest problems.

Most of us are not in a position to do what Bill and Melinda and people like them do.  At least until now we weren't.

Some of my differencemakers friends and I have joined a movement which in the last two and a half years since it began has already provided 2.6 million meals to starving children; 1.6 million just in the last 8 months!   Considering this vertical curve we have a 'big hairy audacious goal' to increase this to 500 million meals a year in the next 7-10 years.

Will you join us?

Please watch this 6 minute video, and get in touch with me.


This is urgent.  

While you were reading this 11 children died simply because they did not have enough to eat.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sunday 26 September 2010

Please join us to celebrate World Day of Interconnectedness on 10th October

Members of Differencemakers Community and Leaders Cafe are honoured to present a 24 hour webathon as part of our contribution to celebrate the second World Day of Interconnectedness on 10th October.

Presenters, representing 8 countries are, Maria Carlton, Terry Power, Krishna Iyer, Richard Norris, Kwai Yu, Sara Knowles, Andrew Thorp, Luis Cochofel, Rob Brown, Sandy Foster, Lorna McDowell, Mike Parker, Richard Hames, Melissa Giovagnoli, Maria Neves, Kellie Frazier, Joel Graham-Blake, Gino Federici, Marilyn Jess, Julie Poland, and myself. We start in the first minute GMT time on 101010.





Please download the ebook Our World of Interconnectedness written in celebration of this day by Dr Ann Villiers from Australia, David Bernard-Stevens from United States of America, Derek Small from United Kingdom, Heather Davis from Australia, Kwai Yu from United Kingdom, Leo Sonneveld from The Netherlands, Maria Carlton from New Zealand, Marilyn Jess from United States of America, Navinder Narang from India, Pat Armitstead from New Zealand, Prem Sarkar from India, Raj Bhowmik from India, Roshanna Evans from United States of America, Shelley Dunstone from Australia, and myself.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

Sunday 19 September 2010

Start with Why by Simon Sinek

This TEDx talk by Simon Sinek Start with Why is a classic.

Applying Simon's lessons will take your personal and business life to a whole new level. It has mine!



Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Sequence and frequency - keys to building business relationships that matter

I recently re-read (for the fourth time!) Seth Godin’s book Permission Marketing - turning strangers into friends and friends into customers.

What jumped out at me this read was Frequency is the holy grail of marketing.

I asked myself and I ask you, How frequently do you stay in touch with your customers/clients? My answer was not frequently enough and I resolved to do better, mindful of Dunbar’s law that 150 meaningful relationships is about all we can handle at any one time.

I made a list of my 150 best business relationships and I am going to stay in touch more frequently. I am also going to be more mindful of sequence.

Aside from referrals I have 5 entry points to begin business relationships: my monthly ezine, my monthly gift list, my elearning trial, my possibility pulse check, and when people join differencemakers community.

When people sign-up for any of these they have become followers. My quest then is to turn a percentage of followers into friends and some of them into fans. I know from 20 years experience that when I am in regular contact with my 150 friends I have more than enough business.

What are your entry points?

As I reviewed my processes this week I decided that I am good at welcoming people when they become followers however my sequence of staying in touch from there needs improvement.

What is your sequence of staying in touch? Are you random like me, or do you just contact people when you have something to offer them?

I have resolved to ensure that my sequence of contact with my friends is really valuable to them and I have begun by asking my friends what would be really valuable for you to receive from me?

I encourage you to ask your friends the same question and please answer it for me by sending me an email or getting in touch.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Saturday 11 September 2010

Can common sense be the common thing?

My understanding of history is that tensions between the middle east of our world and the west, predate both Christianity and Islam. Yet as I reflect today on the tragedy of 9/11 it seems to me that folk with fanatical religious beliefs are determined to widen the gap between east and west.

The case in point of course is of Christian Pastor Terry Jones of Florida in the USA, with a congregation of about 50 people, who has threatened to burn copies of the Koran today as some sort of protest. I fervently hope he doesn’t proceed. If he does, he clearly doesn’t understand the big picture nor some of the central teachings of his own religion.

I am not interested in what Mr. Jones or anyone else believes. Beliefs are aways betrayed or enhanced by what we do.

I respect Mr. Jones’s right and everyone’s right to believe whatever you want to believe. I do not accept anyone’s right to act on our beliefs in ways that harm or increase the possibility of harm to others.

In my previous post I expressed the power of defining moments in our lives and how living the lessons of such moments enriches our lives.

My hope today, on the 9th anniversary of a turning point in history, that I hope will turn out to be a catalyst for good, is that common sense will prevail and that common sense will not be as it sadly often is, the uncommon thing.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Thursday 9 September 2010

Living our lessons from 9/11

My grandson Hamish was born a week after 9/11. On 9/11, the day my daughter was due to give birth, my wife was in Perth with my daughter and I was home in Adelaide with a flight booked to fly to Perth on the 13th. My wife and I spoke on 9/11 about what kind of a world was our first grandchild likely to grow up in?

On the day of my scheduled flight, the airline Ansett, then an iconic company, closed its doors and not able to get a flight on another airline I drove to Perth, a 36 hour drive. What occupied my mind for much of that trip was the question, what is the purpose of my life?

I couldn’t even begin (still can’t) to imagine the horror for those who died in the World Trade Center and the devastation for their families, yet it inspired me to think deeply about my own life, and how I could do more to make a difference in the world. The long drive to Perth was full of defining moments for me where I made decisions that still drive my life and my work. One of the decisions I made was to dramatically increase my work internationally.

In 2005 my wife and I were in London partly due to my work and partly for holidays. We traveled on the Tube the day after the terroist attack on that rail system. You could feel the fear and yet also the resolve of travellers to not be beaten by people who commit terroist acts. This experience was another defining moment for me in my life.

What have been your life’s defining moments? I have had many, some big like those events mentioned above and some small yet significant moments that inspired me to change what’s normal about my life.

Big and small, what have been the lessons of the defining moments of your life? And how are you living your lessons today?

Soon I will have a moment of silence to remember those who have lost their lives in terroist acts and for the thousands affected who remain alive, and yet I will leave my silence with a resolve as strong as ever to be the difference I want to see in the world.

Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 7 September 2010

All change is personal first

I am currently working with a client on a major change initiative and as is usually the case with such projects some people wait for others to make changes to their behaviour before they will consider changing!

All change is personal first and leadership is not about waiting, rather having the courage to be the first to make changes.

To inspire and encourage personal change, all my initial work when I partner with clients on change projects is to help individuals change intention, feelings and thinking before even contemplating behaviour change.

I start with the leadership team and as people begin to make intention, feeling, and thinking changes, the behaviour changes that are needed start to become obvious. I then introduce Marshall Goldsmith’s feedforward exercise to facilitate the beginnings of behaviour change. I highly recommend Marshall’s book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There which details feedforward and many other great ideas that inspire personal change.

Feedforward is perhaps more valuable than feedback. Individuals

1) Pick one behaviour they would like to change

2) They describe their objective with someone 1:1

3) They then ask that person for two suggestions for the future that might help them achieve their objective. The only response to give to people who give feedforward is Thank You!

Sometimes people need encouragement to identify the behaviour changes they need to make. Marshall Goldsmith’s 20 transactional flaws can help with with such identification.

1. Winning too much
2. Adding too much value
3. Passing judgement
4. Making destructive comments
5. Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”
6. Telling the world how smart you are
7. Speaking when angry
8. Negativity, or
“Let me explain why that won’t work”
9. Withholding information
10. Failing to give proper recognition
11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve
12. Making excuses
13. Clinging to the past
14. Playing favourites
15. Refusing to express regret
16. Not listening
17. Failing to express gratitude
18. Punishing the messenger
19. Passing the buck
20. An excessive need to be “me”


Feedforward is a very powerful exercise. Try it. It will help you immensely to be the difference you want to see in the world.

Warning: Work on intention, feeling, and thinking change before behaviour change. When these four are in alignment positive changes to results are a consequence.

Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Prime Minister “Julia Abbott”

It is almost 2 weeks since Australians voted for our next Federal Government. Or at least some citizens voted. The informal vote (i.e. a non vote) was the third highest vote suggesting 15% of people who put their voting papers in the ballot box don’t want either Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

Messenger News journalist Matt Abraham's highly humourous article today Good people of 'Straya, listen up, sums up what a lot of people are thinking. You can read all of Matt’s article here.

I agree with this point of Matt’s: The position of Leader of the Opposition will be abolished immediately. We no longer need one. This nation, ‘Straya, is grown up enough now not to have a political system where half the people are paid to oppose the people who are elected to run the place.
Thank you for bringing us to our senses. Frankly, I don’t know what we’ve been doing fighting each other all this time when we could have been working together to better serve you all.


Are you serving all your stakeholders? To do so is the challenge and task of everyone in business, to provide the value to all our stakeholders that they demand, desire, and feel they deserve.

The first step to serving stakeholders is to ask them what is the value that they demand, desire, and feel they deserve? Australian politicians like most politicians didn’t ask, they told, lectured even, and then wondered why we were confused at the ballot box. And becasuse of all the huffing and puffing and posturing since election day most Australian’s have turned off, and politics has another nail in its coffin.

When was the last time you asked your stakeholders want they want? How often do you ask? How many different ways do you ask? And, how quickly do you take action on what people are telling you?

I may be able to help you. On most Monday mornings wherever you happen to be in the world I can provide a 30 minute mentoring session for free. All you need to do to book your session is email me ian@ianberry.au.com with a date and time. If I am already booked I will email you back with alternative dates and times.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Saturday 28 August 2010

Taking the chance to change what’s normal

We are not likely to know who our federal government in Australia will be for at least another two weeks. The independents who will likely hold the balance of power have asked for lots of information before they will decide who they will support, if anyone. This scenario presents a great opportunity to change what’s normal in Australian politics.

One of the independents has suggested the new cabinet should include the best people for the roles selected from both of the major parties. Most commentators have ridiculed this concept and yet in my view it is exactly the kind of idea that should be considered. After all isn’t government supposed to be about the best interests of the people? Surely of the 150 people who represent us in the House of Representatives here we could pick the best team and that wouldn’t for a moment be all from one side of the house.

Will this idea and any of the others that are outside the box and being put forward gain any momentum? I doubt it, sadly. The likely scenario is maintaining the status quo as much as possible.

How about you in your organisation? When faced with a challenge do you solve the problem, which usually means returning to the status quo, or do you take the opportunity that challenges present and change what’s normal which is what innovation is really all about?

We live in arguably the most challenging times in history. The status quo no longer serves our best interests in most aspects of life. Time to change what’s normal.

What will you do today, and tomorrow, and for the rest of your life that that isn’t what you have always done?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Wanting and getting and having and giving

It has been said that there are two broad kinds of people in the world - givers and takers.

The givers ask what’s in me for you?

The takers ask what’s in it for me?

I think we are all givers and takers. Intention is what differentiates.
The poet Gita Bellin says “Success depends on where intention is.”
I couldn’t agree more.

I meet lots of people who have been takers all their lives. They are generally very unhappy people. They want and get the so called finer things of life and yet the most precious gift of all - happiness - alludes them.

I also meet lots of people who have been givers all their lives. Givers of all they have. Many don’t have the finer things of life and yet they have a happiness that is inspiring.

My attitude to life is to first be grateful. I have learned that when we are grateful for what we’ve got, we can have more of what we want, usually as a consequence of giving of what we have.

My focus is to give of all I’ve got without attachment to getting back. The great paradox is that giving which such intent we end up getting back a thousand fold and often from people we haven’t yet given to.

What intentions drive you?

We can want and get. Seems to me however that the most precious things in life come to us by giving of what we have without attachment to getting back.

Another way of looking at this paradox is the concept of free and fee. I make my living giving tailored talks that stir hearts, shift thinking, and inspire people to step-up your achievements; providing meaningful and measurable mentoring; and conducting thriving on the challenges of change programs. I also give away a ton of resources for free. The paradox for me is the more I give away the more valuable buyers see my services that require a fee.

In how you are making your living, how do you increase your value by giving more than what you are being paid for?

Wanting and getting and having and giving are integral to every day life. For me the more we give all that we have, the more we get all that we want.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Sunday 22 August 2010

Community and country above party politics - please

I just watched interviews with three people elected in yesterday’s federal election as independents. The three, along with maybe two others elected and not members of either major party, will determine which of the major parties forms the next Australian government.

The interviews I just watched were notable for there absence of BS, unlike the five weeks of the election campaign where BS ruled and community and country ran second and third to party ideology.

Could it be that we are seeing the end of party politics? I sincerely hope so. Parliaments should be about working together to ensure that local, national, and international interests are met. Parliaments should be about collaboration not competition. And the people who sit in our parliaments should be about enlightened self-interest, not self-interest or the interests of minority groups or those who provide financial donations.

I also hope that in my lifetime we will move to government ministers in Australia being the best of the people who have volunteered to serve rather than members of one party.

I would be very interested in your thoughts on these matters and look forward to hearing from you.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Thursday 19 August 2010

Ensuring change programs actually result in desired change

The majority of my work is about helping my clients to change what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit. This is my passion and purpose and I have had my shoulder at the wheel for almost two decades. Consequently I understand what works and what doesn’t regarding change programs.

One of the many actions that I take to ensure that I am always on the leading edge of thought, is to subscribe to many newsletters by change experts. One newsletter I always get great value from is Cultural Intelligence by Steve Simpson and Stef du Plessis. In their latest issue which you can download here there are some great insights into why 95% of change programs don’t work and how to stop people reverting to their old ways.

Here are some of the insights explored by Steve and Stef:

Start out right by getting as many people as possible involved particularly those who will be affected by the change.

Build the urgency - everyone in the organisation needs to see the
opportunity associated with the change - rather than being told about it.

Make everyone a choice-maker i.e. allow everyone to make choices and decisions.

Remove barriers and share successes.


I would add the following:

Bottom-up change is always more effective than top-down, therefore:
Ask employees what needs to change in order for them to be better engaged.
Ask other stakeholders what needs to change in order for them to be better engaged.
Do something about the answers received when you ask as above and involve the people concerned in the design and implementation of solutions.

Get outside help from experts to create strategies for changing, whatever it is your changing. We can see what you can’t because we do not have emotional involvement, however, always involve the people who will be the executors in the deciding of strategies.

Cascade strategies down to every individual performance plan therefore personalizing the strategy and ensuring desired change is integral to daily work. This will also greatly increase buy-in and ownership and therefore make execution likely.

Ensure intrinsic motivators are met as additional outcomes of your change program. According to Daniel Pink, and I agree with him, the key intrinsic motivators are:

Autonomy:
the urge to direct our own lives
Mastery:
the desire to get better and better at something that matters
Purpose:
the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves


Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Sunday 15 August 2010

Architectural Window Systems (AWS), role-model in designing products that are great for the environment

One of my clients, Architectural Window Systems (AWS), is at the forefront of designing products that are great for the environment. Below are some very interesting facts from one of their brochures. You can download the full brochure here.

Over the past three years the Australian Property Industry has undertaken a dramatic shift in thinking, a significant trend towards sustainable building design and "Green" building is emerging.

Green buildings are no longer  being  viewed  as  “marginal”  or  “niche”  rather,  investors  and  developers  alike are recognising the potential for green design principles to impact positively on the profitability of the projects.

Commercial office and residential building occupants account for 23% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions.


I would be very interested to know of what is a happening in commercial property in your country.
Please email me ian@ianberry.au.com

The following insights are also contained in the AWS brochure:


2008 Green Building Statistics

The BCI Australia survey for the Green Building Market Report 2008 found that the main trigger for committing to green building included:
  • Rising energy costs: 77% (up from 74% in 2006)
  • Client demand: 65% (up from 56% in 2006)
  • Government regulations: 62% (up from 60% in 2006)
  • Availability of green building technology: 60% (up from 5% in 2006)
  • Worsening of environmental conditions: 57% (up from 27% in 2006)
  • Lower lifecycle costs: 53% (down from 58% in 2006)
  • Superior performance of a green building: 51% (up from 35% in 2006)
  • Industry rating system: 48% (down from 53% in 2006)
  • Increased education: 46 % (up from 2% in 2006)
  • Competitive advantage of green projects: 45% (up from 37% in 2006)
  • Government rating system: 41% (down from 43% in 2006)
The above facts further demonstrate the business case for triple bottom-line businesses (environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic prosperity)

I would be very interested to know about companies like AWS in your country so that I can spread the word. The more we create awareness of role models the sooner it will be that sustainability is the new normal. Please email me examples ian@ianberry.au.com

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Storyteller
Strategist

Wednesday 11 August 2010

What is the value (ROI) that your clients/customers demand, desire, and feel they deserve from you?

Since the GFC I have noticed and experienced greater scrutiny regarding return on investment (ROI) for providers of professional services like me. Indeed we are all a Professional Service Firm whether we are a one person business or have employees, or work in someone elses business, and regardless of what we are offering.

Tom Peters first articulated this concept of being a Professional Service Firm in his book Liberation Management in 1992 and then in an article for Fast Company magazine on 31st August 1997 The Brand Called You

Please download some great insights and ideas from Tom in his ebook PSF is Everything.

For me understanding and accepting that we are a Professional Service Firm is the first step to understanding how we can provide a return on investment for our clients/customers.

Do you see yourself as a Professional Service Firm? (even if you don’t have a business and work in someone elses business!)

What is the value that your clients/customers (internal and external) demand, desire, and feel they deserve from you? I sometimes call these the must haves, should haves, and nice to haves. Today people want all three to feel they have made a good return on their investment in our services.

Before I work with any client I follow the Alan Weiss formula - agree with the buyer on objectives, measurements, and value. My fee always depends on the value as perceived by the buyer.

What is your process?

The more we deliver the value to our clients/customers that they demand, desire, and feel they deserve the less we will have trouble in demonstrating the ROI on our services.

Maybe I can help you

Two years ago I began to offer mentoring on skype to my clients as a standalone service, or as part of a package, and recently this kind of mentoring became part of the package of Torchbearer membership of differencemakers community. 

On most Monday mornings wherever you happen to be in the world I can provide a 30 minute mentoring session for free.  All you need to do to book your session is email me with a date and time.  When I am already booked I will email you back with alternative dates and times.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Storyteller
Strategist

Friday 6 August 2010

Do your buyers see your products/services as discretionary or essential?

I had a conversation with a client of mine yesterday and he was telling me why he thinks that the volume of sales in his retail business is down 20% on the highs of his business in 2007. He told me he thinks a lot of people are sitting on their hands and asking will the economy get better, worse, or stay the same? And while they are sitting he told me such people think our products are discretionary, where as in 2007 they thought they were essential!

Many businesses face this dilemma. I know in my business there are many clients and prospects who are telling me that my services are a non-essential spend right now, even though they know deep down inside that to not invest in developing people right now will have dire consequences down the track, such as losing good people to competitors, low morale, and the corresponding drop in productivity.

To meet this challenge and to ensure my clients see me as a highly valued performance partner, I am providing more services before and after I work in person and/or online with my clients than I ever did.

Mostly I do this by providing digital resources and in person work using technology that enable my clients to be better prepared for my work with them, to increase the likelihood of action being taken in the long term, and to provide great support as agreed actions are implemented.

How about you? What are you doing to help your customers/clients see that buying your products/services is essential?

An interesting outcome of providing more value before and after is happening for me. My in person work with clients is valued more!

I would be interested to know what you are doing that is changing what’s normal for you and your clients. Please email or telephone me.

Someone said that the definition of stupidity is
Expecting a different result by continuing to do the same old thing

Someone else said that the definition of idiocy is
Doing something different and still getting the same result

My one aim each day is to not be stupid or idiotic!

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Storyteller
Strategist
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Are you standing out or blending in?

I would describe the election campaign for the next national government in Australia, now in its third week, as bland, boring, and baseless.

Neither the Prime Minister Julia Gillard or the alternative Tony Abbott have done anything to stand out in my view, rather they both seem intent on blending in rather than standing out.

Neither Gillard or Abbott have articulated a vision for the future that is compelling.  From what I have heard them say, I have no idea where we might be going as a nation except more of the same or a return to the past, neither of which is attractive to me.

Broadly speaking I meet three kinds of people; the happy being miserable, the happy being mediocre, and the happy being magnificent.

The happy being miserable complain about everything and are disengaged from reality.  I would put Mr.  Abbott in this category.  He seems a decent man with good intentions however his behaviour is about criticizing others rather than standing out himself.

The happy being mediocre sit on the fence and are also disengaged.  Prime Minister Gillard, also a decent human being with good intentions is in this category.  She seems to be promising more of the same when the electorate clearly wants a lot to be different. Her slogan is moving forward yet her rhetoric is about standing still.

The happy being magnificent don’t complain or sit on the fence rather they stand out from the crowd and leave us in no doubt about where they are going, why they’re going there, how we can join them on the journey, and what they stand for.

The future belongs to those who create it and if your blending in or sitting on the fence then all that your future holds is more of the same or worse.

Please stand out.

Become the magnificent one-of-a-kind human being that you are. 

You can change your world for the better and in the process you will inspire others to stand out rather than blend in.


And who knows we might just inspire politicians to be true to themselves rather than their parties outdated and mostly irrelevant ideologies and become 21st century leaders instead of relics of the past.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit

PS Monday morning mentoring

Two years ago I began to offer mentoring on skype to my clients as a standalone service, or as part of a package, and recently this kind of mentoring became part of the package of Torchbearer membership of differencemakers community. 

On most Monday mornings wherever you happen to be in the world I can provide a 30 minute mentoring session for free.  All you need to do to book your session is email me with a date and time.  When I am already booked I will email you back with alternative dates and times.

Monday 2 August 2010

Arthur Page - 20th century principles still relevant today!

I received an email recenty from Dick Jones of DICK JONES COMMUNICATIONS suggesting that the origins of Corporate Social Responsibility go back to the early years of the 20th century and to the editor of one of America’s most influential business magazines, The World’s Work,  Arthur W. Page.

Here is an excerpt from Dick’s email to me
From its beginnings in November 1900, The World’s Work was devoted to social responsibility in the public interest,” says David L. Remund, a Legacy Scholar in the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University.  Remund is completing his doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina.

The editor of The World’s Work, Arthur W. Page, later became one of the nation’s pioneering and still-revered public relations practitioners.  He was the first to serve on the executive management team of a major corporation, AT&T.  In 1927, he took his editorial views to AT&T and put them into action, laying the groundwork for the modern CSR model.

Remund examined nearly 180 issues of The World’s Work.   Page’s personal correspondence, speeches and transcripts of oral interviews also were used.   Some of the trends Remund found could leap from today’s headlines.

           
I particularly liked what apparently became known as the Page principles.
They are:
(1) tell the truth
(2) prove it with action
(3) listen to the customer
(4) manage for tomorrow
(5) conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it
(6) a company’s true character is expressed by its people
(7) remain calm, patient and good-humored.

What are your principles?

Find out more about Arthur Page here.       
For more information on this research contact David L. Remund at remund@unc.edu 

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Storyteller
Strategist
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 30 July 2010

The power of two

Yesterday I participated in a great webinar presented by Melissa Giovagnoli, Founder & President of Networlding. 

Melissa made some great points about how the most successful networks, communities, and companies are based on shared values and the valuing of diversity.

Melissa discussed how to create learning circles where we can share best practices and then no more than two people make something happen and then return to the wider group to share learning.

This idea got me reflecting on how often I have seen great ideas fail to get implemented because there are to many people involved in the execution.

I personally am going to focus more on partnering with just one person and I am going to encourage my clients to do the same.  How about you?

Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Storyteller
Strategist
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Changing what’s normal requires leadership, courage, and a process

Politician and former leader of the main non government party in Australia Malcolm Turnbull said the following on the ABC television program Q&A last Monday night - Our two scarcest resources are leadership and courage.


I was contemplating this post at the time and also a recent Steve Farber tweet that alerted me to this excellent article on change management by Martin Rhodes.

The above extended my thinking.

What action do you know you should take that you haven’t as yet?


Asking myself this question brought forth several answers and I then asked: What is stopping me from doing what I know I must?

Self-leadership and courage were my answers?

What is stopping you from doing what you know you must?


I have turned what I am not doing into positive present tense statements which means I am now clear on my intentions. In the next few days I will be turning these intentions into feelings, thoughts, and actions.

I call this process of intentions, feelings, thoughts, actions - compete with yourself and I know from past experience following this process will lead to a changing of what’s normal for me and therefore the outcomes I desire will happen as a consequence.

And the tools provided by Martin Rhodes in the change management article referred to above I intend to use to help me co-operate with others.

Compete with yourself - co-operate with others is a proven formula for me.
What’s your formula for change?

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Wednesday 21 July 2010

How different and better is your business?

I have just returned home from 3 weeks working in the United Kingdom where I spent a lot of time discussing differentiation with my clients and the necessity of being able to differentiate ourselves and our businesses as a key to success in the 21st century.

Then today I received a text from my local dry cleaner Karl Chehade to say my clothes are ready to be picked up and a message on how they are reducing their carbon emissions. Have you ever received such a message from your dry cleaner or any of the businesses you deal with? Do you differentiate yourself life this?

The business case for authentic sustainability/CSR/CR/doing good can no longer be argued against so doing the right thing by people and our planet is no longer a differentiator, unless of course you are not doing the right thing, then you are differentiating yourself for all the wrong reasons and social media will soon find you out! How you do good however can be a differentiator.

What do you do that businesses like yours don’t?

How do you stand out from the crowd?

What little things do you do that make the big difference?


I would be very interested to know how you are different and would be very happy to write about your success.

Many years ago the saying was “it’s better to be different than it is to be better.”  I never believed this.  Today we must be better and different.

How much better and different are you?

Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit
Storyteller
Strategist
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 16 July 2010

Confuse people with their performance at your peril

Some politicians trot out this line We don't negotiate with terrorists.

Consider this; people are not terrorists.
Sure (sadly) some people commit terrorist acts.
And even good people do bad things occasionally!

Confuse people with their performance however at your peril. By calling people terrorists, politicians are setting up confrontation, and it's all down hill from there.

Do you confuse people, the one-of-kind human being that each of us is, with what they do or don't do?

Recently I was helping a client deal with some poor performance issues, particularly with one individual. My client in referring to this person said He is such a dickhead most of the time.

I am willing to bet that all of us have labeled someone like this.  I have.

I ran the following past my client:

Despite all the ghastliness that is around, human beings are made for goodness.
Desmond Tutu

I asked my client: Does Alan (not his real name) have all the skills to fulfill his role?
My client answered Yes I think so.

I then asked: Is he willing to apply all his skills?
Nope. was my clients answer.

Turns out, as is often the case with poor performance, "Alan" is not clear on what is expected of him. His personal and business goals and how he intends to achieve them weren't even written down when I first spoke with him, therefore making it impossible to properly and professionally lead and manage for "Allan", let alone him leading and managing for himself.

Does every employee at your place have their personal and business goals and how they will achieve them written down? On one page is plenty.

And is there alignment between each individuals goals and how they will be achieved and the strategy and execution plan of our organisation?

Individual performance plans should be a cascade down of your organisations overall strategy and execution plan to the people charged with execution.

If you would really love to get good at engaging people and never again confuse people with their performance then get my ebook 45 tools, tips, and techniques for recruiting, engaging and retaining great people. It is available here for just $5 AUD.

Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian

Founder Differencemakers Community
Storyteller
Strategist
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Sunday 11 July 2010

Are sustainability issues embedded in the core of your business?

In my last post I referred to a study recently released by Accenture called A New Era of Sustainability that involved nearly 800 CEOs from around the globe.  You can read the findings of the study here

The following diagram from the study highlights the fact that many CEO's believe that sustainability issues should be embedded in core business.
Are sustainability issues embedded in the core of your business?

Only when a majority can answer yes to this question will we actually build a sustainable world.


Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Storyteller
Strategist
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Friday 9 July 2010

A new era of sustainability (maybe)

Accenture recently released a study called A New Era of Sustainability that involved nearly 800 CEOs from around the globe.  You can read the findings of the study here 

I found many aspects of the study of value however one section on page 23 jumped out at me.  This page is headed Building trust is a significant challenge for corporations. One statement particularly stands out for me 

It is not yet clear, however, to what extent business leaders see their own role in rebuilding a more trusted position for business in society—or whether they feel that individual action can address a global environment that sees some stakeholders ask serious questions about the purpose of business. 
For me building and sustaining trust is key to real leadership and it is quite simple - we do what we say we will and if for unforeseen circumstances we are unable to fulfil our promises we immediatley explain to those imvolved by telling them the truth.  Building and sustaining trust is no more complicated that this.  And if you can’t or won’t do this - you have forfeited your leadership.
As to the purpose of business I am very clear about this too.  The purpose of business is to provide the value to all stakeholders that they demand, desire, and feel they deserve without doing harm to people or our planet.
As for profit, well I have stated my view many times - profit is not a reason for being in business, rather a result of being good at business.
Why CEOs of some of the world’s leading companies are confused about any of the above I find unbelievable.
I would be very interested in your thoughts about building and sustaining trust and whether or not you feel it is as asimple as I do.
Be the difference you want to see in the world
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.