the Magic Triangle of company and career health…

theMagicTriangle

“While giving speeches, I began to wonder why some companies had blasted out of the recession in fine shape while others had not yet escaped, as if sick or dysfunctional. When a human being is sick or dysfunctional—or just not thriving—the root cause is always found in one of three areas. Picture a triangle. One side is physical health. Another side is emotional. A third side is social. If you are thriving on just two sides but not on a third, your entire health is at risk. Ask an otherwise physically and mentally healthy person who is struggling with social health, going through a traumatic divorce, say.

What does robust health look like in a company or career? Can we find a similar triangle that can help us locate the root cause when our companies and careers are underperforming? I believe so. But warning: I will spend most of the time discussing the least appreciated side of the triangle—the soft edge.”

Is it time to think about your Soft Edge and the Magic Triangle?
Read on

how does progressive, collaborative Consulting sound to you?

aCE talentNET

aCE talentNET 1997-2011

What a day…

It started out by taking our Sophia Mundi marketing committee through their paces! Which is to say, with the website now well and truly ticking along, what activities do we need to participate in to drive traffic both to it and the school in general? Lots of ideas, with plenty of research to follow.

Following closely on was a revisit of a continuing conversation, which has been in train for nigh on 3 years now. It started out when interest was conveyed in buying my business, aCE talentNET. Nothing eventuated from a sale point of view but we did continue to talk about consultants in general, coupled with the future of consulting and what could be a relevant consultancy business model look like, bearing all this in mind.

Some time later, the new consultancy was born. To its credit, it has been operating rather well, with a respectable low-millions dollar turnover already. How many consultancies can brag about numbers like that in their first few years of operation? Not many…

So what’s exciting right now, what with my “restraint of trade” over at end of this month, is that I am free to join in and ramp up a number of the original concepts we talked about plus a number of new ones we’ve since cooked up.  Exciting stuff!

Already booked a date in July for the half-day workshop, to really bounce these ideas around and see which have traction and in what order. Stuff I love doing.

Given that there are many more consultants in the marketplace, none of which are making a particular good amount of revenue, what we will eventually have to offer will be (in my humble opinion) world class in progressive, collaborative consulting for the betterment of  both the client and the consultant.

Stay tuned for updates…
And if you want to know more already, just email me info@theentrepreneurialmother.com

Then it was into Hurst Partners to finish off one Information Memorandum, in readiness to take this business to market.
Plus reviewing one rather large website that is looking to go on the market.
Together with receiving an email to potentially work with a client to rollout a website-based online business…

Exciting times ahead.

 

12 myths that lead to a busy, unfulfilling Life…

ChangeThis.com_12myths

“15 years ago, I quit law school to pursue one overarching question: ‘Why do capable people fail to breakthrough to the next level?’ The answer to the question, to my great surprise, is success.

I first noticed the phenomenon while working with executive teams in some of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies. When they were focused on the right few things it led to success. But the success bred options and opportunities which undermined the very focus that led to success in the first place. In other words, I found that success can be a catalyst for failure. If we are not careful, it leads to what Jim Collins described as “the undisciplined pursuit of more.” It is true for companies; it is true for people.”

Why have you failed to breakthrough to the next level?
Read on…

make your company Smarter…

ChangeThis.com_MakeBusinessSmarter

“The unspoken beliefs that wield the most influence over business behavior are the metaphors that people use to envision the following major aspects of the work experience:

  1. What is business all about?
  2. What is a corporation all about?
  3. What is management all about?
  4. What role do employees play?
  5. What really motivates people?
  6. What is the nature of change?
  7. What’s the role of technology?
  8. What is the essential nature of work?

The answers to these questions define a company’s corporate culture. So, then, what type of culture allows companies to pursue strategies that work today? What makes a corporate culture smart, given today’s business environment?

A good way to answer these questions is to compare what the executives inside successful companies believed in the past as opposed to what executives inside successful (i.e. smart) companies believe today. Here’s what ‘smart’ cultures believe … ”

What’s the culture of your business?
Have you ever asked?
Read on

Flowing to the river of Ultimate Performance: the science of productivity…

flowing...

“Researchers define flow as an ‘optimal state of consciousness,’ a peak state where we feel our best and perform our best. … If you’ve ever lost an afternoon to a great conversation or become so involved in a work project that all else was forgotten, then you’ve tasted this experience. In flow, we are so focused on the task at hand that everything else falls away. Action and awareness merge. Time flies. Self vanishes. All aspects of performance—mental and physical—go through the roof.

We call this experience flow because that is the sensation conferred. In the state, every action, each decision, leads effortlessly, fluidly, seamlessly to the next. It’s high-speed problem solving; it’s being swept away by the river of ultimate performance.

This last bit is no exaggeration. Over 100 years of research shows that flow sits at the heart of almost every athletic championship; underpins major scientific breakthroughs; and accounts for significant progress in the arts. … In recent years, flow has also become exceptionally critical to business.”

Is your business in flow too?
Read on

demographically – get down to business as babies and boomers determine the future…

"Lifestyle and “reward” travel, medical technology and succession planning are businesses to be in."

“Lifestyle and “reward” travel, medical technology and succession planning are businesses to be in.”

Bernard Salt identifies and interprets key demographic trends in Australia between 1950 and 2050. To watch the video, head to The Australian (paywall).

As he sees it, there are three demographic trends all but upon us that will shape Australian business, government and culture over the decade to 2024. He has come to this view by assembling and examining historic and projected Australian Bureau of Statistics population data by single year over 100 years.

The three trends are:

  1. the Great School-Kid Surge
  2. the Household Formation Group
  3. the 70-79 age group – the golden years

Where will your business feature? If it doesn’t already, then time to start reworking it so it does.
“Succession Planning” is one identified, but I also suggest that it encompasses those who no longer want to run their business, so whether it be succession to those within the existing business or transition out via sale – that will be a personal decision over time.

To find out more, head to The Australian (paywall).

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