Team business building – can group decision-making work?

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Fortunately the MD is asleep!!

FOR BUSINESS BUILDING CALL GARY DIRECT ON 0408 756 531

Good teamwork applied to business building is about open communication and cooperation, not protecting territory and fragile egos.

Group decision making does have the potential for excellent business building outcomes.  And why shouldn’t it when such a diversity of knowledge and expertise is sitting around the same table.

However, this style of decision making should not be confused with management by meeting, often seen in Universities, where nothing can get done without a seemingly endless series of meetings.

Group decision making can work well provided that a few conditions are met:

  • Collaboration must be genuine in its intent
  • Divisional walls must be knocked down
  • Free exchange of ideas with no judgment or criticism
  • No hiding behind titles and egos
  • Recognition that the best ideas don’t always come from the highest paid
  • The group needs challengers and dissenters otherwise it’s a ‘yes’ group
  • Can’t be just a talk-fest group with no commitment to action
  • Someone must be responsible for prioritising ideas and implementing action

This is a big business concept that is not used very often as described above, because they can’t get past their door titles and egos.  Nevertheless, this concept can be easily adapted to small business decision making.

Participants can be friends, colleagues, mentor, coach or just about anyone who will do it for the price of a free lunch (or at least a coffee and a scone).  For $100-$200 you could walk away with a swag of great ideas and strategies for your business.

For more on business building check out http://garyweigh.com/starting-a-business-timing-is-everything.html

Learn how to build powerful business presence!

Until next time!

Gary

Business building – finding the leader and manager in you!

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"Lead and Manage!"

FOR BUSINESS BUILDING CALL GARY ON 0408 756 531

Every business building owner needs someone to inspire and enlist support as well as someone to ensure strategies are implemented and processes followed.  In other words, a leader and a manager are both needed!

The problem is that the traits of leader and manager do not always reside in the same person.  When they do, it is often difficult to change hats easily.

It is argued that the two require different mindsets.  A leader who attracts people may be good at strategic planning, original thinking and innovation but may not be so good at focusing short term, attending to administration, controlling the business or resolving conflict.

Nevertheless, when you start up a business, you generally have to perform both roles, and the reality is that both roles can be integrated just fine; if you are prepared to try.  It all comes down to having a good understanding of people both inside and outside your four walls.

The big picture–small picture / right brain-left brain distinction between leader and manager can be morphed quite easily into the single character of ‘owner’! 

After all, when you left your job to start your own business, isn’t this the bureaucratic rubbish that you wanted to get away from?

Everyone has left and right brain hemispheres!  It is just that most have instinctive preferences one way or the other.  It’s not that we can’t do both; it is just that we don’t want to if we don’t have to.

(Oh, the luxuries of being employed!  There is always someone else to turn to.) 

However, the reality of owning a business is that there is plenty that you have to do yourself that you may not want to.

If you understand people and understand what motivates and drives individuals, then you can work out how to treat them in order to bring out their best, or to get the most favourable response.

At no time in the last several thousand years has business ever changed from being all about people.  If you put your mind to it, leadership and management can be regarded as two sides of the same coin. 

Coming to grips with it and gaining the technical ability and people skills you need are all part of the building of the new you – the successful business owner!

For more reading on business building, read Recession is a blessing in disguise   

Until next time!

Gary

Business building – make your own luck

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Make your own luck!

FOR BUSINESS BUILDING CALL GARY DIRECT ON 0408 756 531

Luck is really nothing more than chance!   It is a random event!  In business building it is better to be a lot more deliberate and purposeful.

Would you like to leave the success or failure of your business building to chance or random events?  I don’t think so!

We are talking about the future money machine that you are building for you and your family; the one that you have already invested valuable time and money into; the one that you hope will finance the rest of your life.

You make your own luck in business!   Feeling lucky is about feeling in control.  It is about ‘knowing your business’ well enough to know what works and what doesn’t.

It can be a mistake to blindly follow others.  It is often the case that other people’s strategies don’t work so well in your business.  But don’t worry, everyone takes these wrong turns.  Don’t be despondent!  It is a matter of finding the right path for you.

As you find your own way, leave your mind open to the great impact that your own presence, personality and imagination can have on your business.  It is probably far more than you ever thought.

That is what I mean when I have said in previous posts, that when business building, don’t miss the opportunity to paint your business the colour of you!

Business is still about people!  A smiling, positive and attractive YOU will create personal connections that can’t be easily duplicated by others.  It will also save you a fortune on 3rd party marketing.

For more reading on business building, go to Business building – a dream income stream

More on business building next time!

Gary

Business building – Cash is King

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Gary Weigh

It might sound old fashioned but when you are business building, living within your means is not such a bad idea.  Knowing how much is in your bank account on any day, and knowing that the balance is in the black, ensures survival in any economy.

When you look around and see business owners driving around in flashy cars and installing reception areas more expensive than there house, be suspicious.  All is not what it seems.  In my experience as a consultant and coach, most are living on borrowed money.

Leveraging is a fancy business school term for borrowing money.  For some it is squandered on trimmings and toys to give the illusion of success.  For others, it is spent unwisely on ‘throw money at it’ strategies that simply don’t work. 

I am nor saying that you can’t grow your business using borrowed money.  What I am saying is that you must be aware that the economic landscape can change in a heartbeat.  In an environment of slow sales and falling asset values, a significant core debt is the last thing you need.

No one ever thinks that a recession will always follow a boom, even though it has been a regular 7-8 year cycle for the past 100 years.  The bottom line is that when things get tough, borrowed money still has to be repaid.

Recession is the time when ill-advised business financing strategies are found out.  It is always the over-borrowed businesses that go under.  It is much safer to grow your business slowly and steadily from the profits of your business. 

That means that for a while at least, you will have to engage in that other old fashion concept of long hours and hard work to bring in sales revenue.

Email me at gary@garyweigh.com for your FREE Business Finance Fact Sheet.

More business building next time!

Gary

Business planning – build your own financial fortress

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Business planning is part of life planning.  Running a business is one choice of how you earn your income.  Employment is the other choice.  Getting a job may appear less risky in the short term but ultimately comes with less control.  So which is better?

I am not being a profit of doom here, but experience tells me that life changes and on occasions, quite dramatically.  It is not a linear experience from start to finish.  Life, including business, is an adventure with many highs and lows, interspersed with comfortable periods of coasting along in neutral.

Over time, people grow, change and want different things.  People leave and others enter.  Children are born, parents die.  Fortune and misfortune are sprinkled throughout.

Whilst you can’t control what happens around you, it is possible to take control of your own attitude and responses to the inevitability of change.  You can build a solid financial base which can become your personal (financial and emotional) fortress in tough times. 

How do you achieve this?  The first step is to take control over the generation and protection of your income!  Don’t leave it to chance. 

Look at it this way!  While ever you work for someone else you are not in control of your own income.  Your income could cease next week.  Sickness, accident, premature death, theft, fire and natural disasters are just some of the commonplace risks in life.

Whilst ever you fail to take the initiative and put protection in place to guard against life’s more obvious risks, you are leaving your future to chance.

Similarly, whilst ever you rely on a spouse or partner for your food shelter and lifestyle, you are not in control of your life and you future will be determined by someone else.  To survive in the long term in this world, you must have your own money and protective measures in place.

The deceptively warm feeling of your present comfort zone does not necessarily equate to your own solid self-built financial fortress.

To many people, business planning for a new enterprise sounds a lot more risky than the security of a good job but, in the long term, it is that self-made, steady income falling into your bank account come rain hail or shine that is the real security.

Email me at gary@garyweigh.com for your Financial Fortress Fact Sheet.

Until next time!

Gary 

For more reading about Business Planning read The Borrowing Trap

How much do you enjoy work?

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If you are thing about quitting your job and managing a start up business, this is worth a look!  This cleverly presented slideshow sums up beautifully what a lot of people put up with at work.  It is kindly shared by a UK based organisation http://www.enjoywork.org.   Watch this below!

 

Misery. Why people hate work.

And here is my comment … There are some really kind and considerate employers out there but tend to be in the minority.  At the same time, rude, inconsiderate and sometimes creepy co-workers seem to be in the majority; all competing to advance their own agenda.  So if you have moved around a bit in your industry and still not happy, it may be time for a permanent lifestyle change.  If you have lost the enjoyment of working for someone else and you deep down harbour a desire to march to the beat of your own drum, then it might be time to think about managing start up business for your self.

You can be the boss you always wanted to have; and you can regain the enjoyment of work by building your own workplace culture the way you would like it to be.  It is well known that the culture of a workplace, whether good or bad, whether by design or by default,  comes from the top.   Gather knowledge, get advice and get some good people on your side and it can be an enjoyable journey!

Email me at gary@garyweigh.com for my popular fact sheet, “Managing a start up business in Australia”. IT’S FREE!

Until next time!

Gary

Business planning – the way of harmony

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Wooden prayer tablets

The basics of business planning are relatively easy.  It is the values you hold and how you treat and interact with others that will ultimately define your business.

After practicing the non-aggressive and non-competitive art of Aikido for many years, I can share with confidence the benefits of my own experiences.  Within the development of the non-fighting mind lays a great mental foundation for achievement.

It is not restricted to achievement in business.  It extends to all aspects of life.  The benefits of a martial mind are not skill specific.  They can be applied to achievement of what ever you want.

The non-fighting mind has infinitely wide application!

Of course, this is not the first time that martial principles have been applied to the conduct of business.  Remember Sun Tzu’s The Art of War?  That book became a worldwide sensation; and a reference for aggressive corporate decision making in Western society for many years.

The difference here is that Aikido is the art of peace, not war.  Instead of applying principles of war, the principles of peace are applied to the conduct of business.   It requires a different mindset but they are vastly more powerful.

It takes a long time to become proficient in the art of peace; just as it takes a long time for those with a fighting mind to choose peace over intimidation and aggression.

The Art of war found application in large companies who had or wanted dominating and intimidating market force.  Even though the central theme of this ancient classic was to win without fighting, a thinly veiled threat to unleash half a million blood thirsty warriors still amounts to intimidation.

The Art of Peace is for smaller business; those who would otherwise be defenseless against the intimidating behavior of corporate predators whose power lies in size and strength.  So bear in mind that your business planning can build a small but very powerful presence based on the Principles of Peace.

Visit my Aikido Secrets blog site http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com for more information on Aiki Principles of harmony and their application in everyday life.

Until next time!

Gary

Business building – deliberate non-conformity

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One of the most common and very damaging mistakes you can make in business building is to be the same as everyone else.  Imitating others is the quickest way to see your business become lost and invisible in the background noise.

It is easy to prepare a business plan on a me-too business.  All the information is available or can be deduced.  Why?  Because everyone is doing it!  It’s much harder to make informed estimates about something that has never been done before.

It is not easy to sit down with a blank piece of paper and think of a new business idea.  In any case, that is not the way most innovative businesses start.

When you study the birth and evolution of what is different and new in recent times, you will find that more often than not, the entrepreneur was simply following his or her passion or attempting to make life easier for themselves.

Regardless, there are many things you can do to transform yourself into a deliberate non-conformist.  Here are just three:

1.    Keep an open mind

One of the surprising things that often happen in business is that your customers are not the group you first planned on.  Consumers have a habit of adapting products and services to their own needs.  They create the market; you just have to be alert to it.  So your products and services end up satisfying needs; just not the needs you first thought.

2.    Do online research

Even though the basics of life remain the same, tastes are constantly changing.  Therefore, finding out what people want is really helpful.  This can be achieved by communicating with your blog readers or by conducting online surveys at a survey site such as Survey Monkey.

3.    Tell stories

Everyone loves a good story.  Even people who wouldn’t otherwise buy your products and services will still follow your story.  So long as you don’t deceive or mislead, your stories can be very creative and can serve to set you apart from your competitors.

Check out my Aikido Secrets blog at http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com/

Until next time!

Gary

Business building – a different mindset

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In my last post I announced that I was making myself available for a limited number of Mind-body Balance private classes, both personally and online.

Over years of business building I have come to realise that the martial mind skills that underpin the phenomenal art of Aikido can also have wide application and a very profound effect on business.   They also form the basis of Business Mind.

Aikido is known the world over as the art of peace.  Its popularity is soaring because it is a defensive art that can be used by anyone and everyone because it doesn’t rely on size, or physical strength.

Aikido is as important as Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ as an Eastern martial philosophy with instant appeal and widespread application in Western business.

Indeed, Sun Tzu’s Art of War strategies were designed to win without the need to fight.  However, his strategies were largely devoid of moral considerations as is often the case in war.  This is not surprising given that they were written in a feudal age where life was cheap.

Whilst Sun Tzu’s warfare strategies deserve their place in revolutionizing Western business, Aikido can go one giant step further.

Aikido, the art of peace, is built upon a foundation of moral considerations; such as valuing life and taking care of those who seek to do us harm.  Furthermore, Aikido provides more than just strategies.  It develops the mindset for peace, in the form of the non-fighting mind.

This is Business Mind’.  It is achieved through the application of the Japanese principles of Ai-ki.  It is a strange sounding concept that means harmony (ai) with the universal energy (ki); the life-giving energy that invisibly connects all people and all things.

I will reveal the secrets of a powerful business mind in my coming business building blogs.  Meanwhile, check out my Aikido Secrets blog at http://www.aikido-secrets–to-calm-success.com

Until next time!

Gary

The Great Aussie Business Coaching Challenge …. Call 0408 756 531

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Business success is about motivation, knowledge and experience but above all, it is about business mindset.  You must be savvy; and you must be courageous, creative and willing to put yourself out there.

Our role in The Great Business Coaching Challenge is to actively encourage you to achieve your business goals and to help you live the life you want.  We do that firstly by showing you how to plan, and then by asking you to roll your sleeves up ready for action.

 

If you take up the challenge!

You will learn the skills you need to run your business.  You will learn by doing, whether the task is easy or not.  Your classroom will be in the school of hard knocks.  We will be there for you to help you overcome your fears.

Don’t worry, we know what you’re going through; we have all been through it.  Very few people succeed in business without help.

Will everything I do be for real; and all for my benefit?

This is not passive coaching or a static business plan preparation service.  You will gain real live business knowledge and experience by doing …. and doing ….and doing some more!

Will I be overloaded and mentally challenged?

Yes!!  There is a lot to learn and at times, you will be out of your comfort zone doing things that you have never done before.

So what can I expect?

  • Direct access to myself and my team as needed
  • You will learn goal oriented action planning without the fluff
  • You will be set weekly homework and reading to do
  • You will be given a weekly business challenge to perform
  • You and your business will be tested by invisible shoppers.

After completing this challenge, business will suddenly appear easy!

How long is the challenge?

We help those who are willing to help themselves.  So, after a one-on-one qualifying period of 1 month, your challenge runs for 3 months.  Over that time, we will show you how to earn multiple times your cost of entry.

Does the challenge apply to both new & existing business?

It makes no difference whether you are starting up a new business or renovating an old one.  Business is business!  And we are on your side.

All we ask from you is that you are ready to back yourself and you are doing something that you are passionate about.

In Australia, call 0408 756 531 to accept the challenge or email to coach@garyweigh.com