Thursday, 27 September 2007
Ever been in the flow?
| This week I was lucky enough to address the Australian College of Pharmacists about the challenges of blending pharmacy and human resources. My original brief was for 20minutes content and a few questions. Well ... 2 hours later we were still in full flight. I have been asked back for another session on marketing to Baby Boomers, Gen X&Y customers. I know my voice was crackly and I am sure the video (when it is uploaded to their site) will create all sorts of embarassment for me in looking back at it ... but the funny thing was at the time I was just downloading information and letting it all flow without worrying too much about things. That's not to say that I hadn't prepared hard for the session, with a number of run-throughs of content before the night. That's the thing about flow - when you are in it you lose track of time and things seem to come effortlessly. But, you need to have already prepared to allow it to happen. Where have you been in the flow lately? I would love to hear your experiences Until next time Ingrid Labels: flow, public speaking |
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Start from Wherever You Are
| Many people wait for things to be "perfect" before they pursue their dreams and goals. They wait for the perfect conditions, the perfect attitude, and the perfect time of year. They really want to achieve their goals ... but the time just isn't right. In business they wait to take action on things they need to do to grow their business until they have their strategic plan in place, until staff turnover settles down, until they stop being so busy, until they get a few more clients. They really want to get around to taking the actions they need to do to grow their business ... but the time just isn't right. When managing people they really want to tackle the poor performer, the rude staff member, the tardy employee. They want to give recognition to the high performing team member and take time out to plan their team's projects or tasks... but the time just isn't right. Are you seeing any patterns? Waiting for the right conditions is another name for procrastination which is an excuse for not achieving your goals. By waiting for the "right" time before acting - people accept mediocrity. People often procrastinate because of fear - fear that they won't be able to handle the results of their action (either good or bad). They may be afraid that if they have that hard conversation at work the person may cry (or resign). They worry they may not make a difference at work if they try and change things or they may go broke and cause embarrassment to themselves and their family. They end up paralysing themselves into place, numbing themselves into inactivity. So if you recognise yourself in these patterns what can you do about it? ... Start from wherever you are. By that I mean, look at one just thing that immediately needs doing and start there. Don't try and change the world ... just do one small thing which, in the process, will also help you to clarify your direction and goals. In business, if you need to revamp your brand for business cards ... start there. A great graphic designer will ask lots of questions to help you clarify your business direction and goals before they put pen to paper. The act of re-designing your brand will in the hands of a skilled designer, help you to focus on your business goals (and if it doesn't - find another designer - I know a few great ones!). If you need to manage staff performance ... start there. Part of managing performance is having clear and open discussions about future directions and objectives. The outcome of those discussions is greater and shared clarity about your business direction and goals. If you need to get some direct mail or marketing out there to draw in customers ... start there. A good writer will place your writing in the context of your business direction and will help you to articulate precisely what that direction is. If you need to get a handle on your finances ... start there. A good accountant or book-keeper will do more than process your accounts; they will help you work out your financial goals and targets. If you need to change a bad habit ... start there. Bad habits come about from a past response to a usually stressful situation. The habit was helpful at the time as a way of helping you deal with the circumstances. Changing the habit needs to be seen in the context of your broader life goals and direction. To start from wherever you are, sometimes you need a hand to help you get moving. The easiest way is to always surround yourself with people who will help you to take that step up and get a helicopter view of your situation - bigger than waiting for everything to be just right. Find yourself business mentors, coaches, consultants, friends or executive teams who will tell you when you are procrastinating ... then who nudge you off your self imposed limitations. People who won't join in on the "feeling of being stuck", but who will prompt you to see the actions and the choices available to you that you maybe didn't see before. A great support team that gets you moving is one of the best predictors of success for any business owner. You don't need perfect situations to get started. You just need the courage to take the first step (even if it isn't a big one or perfectly executed!) or the right support team around you to help you run. Labels: goals, motivation, procrastination |
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Inevitability
| Hi everyone Today I was asked a brilliant question What would you need to do to make this inevitable? In business we often spend time doing the same old same old - we set goals and targets but somehow these are not enough to get us over the line. By asking ourselves the question about what you need to do to make this inevitable, your brain kicks into a totally different gear... You suddenly find a whole lot of solutions and strategies that you never thought you had in you. So - I ask you the same question. Think about a project, challenge or goal that you really want to succeed in. What would you need to do to make success inevitable? Now - go and do it! Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: goal setting, goals, inevitability, targets |
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Fear + Self Esteem = Your Success Level
| Here is this week's lead article from Heart Paths - my weekly ezine for people wanting more out of their business and personal life. Have you ever wondered why some people seem more successful than others? Yes, there are lots of external techniques that can be taught to improve your outcomes ... lots of processes and strategies that once applied help to give a foundation for success. But ...by themselves, these skills will only get you so far. Have you seen people who seem to be headed for stellar success only to shoot themselves in the foot? People who know every trick, every technique, every theory but still can't get ahead. There is something more at play. A little something I call my hidden success equation. People will only ever rise as far as their fear lets them and the determinant of whether or not they are even on a particular ride at all is their level of self-esteem. The level of success you reach is the result of these two internal factors combining. The universe does not create your success level, it merely reflects back to you what is already inside you. Everyone in life and business is presented with opportunities - whether or not you see them and how you respond to them is purely a function of your fear and self-esteem at the time. Let's explore this a bit further. Your self-esteem is your personal belief of your worthiness and deservedness for good things in your life. It is your belief of whether you deserve the great things that happen to you. It is the value you place on yourself, your skills, your needs and wishes. If you believe deep inside your core that you don't deserve good things, that somehow you are bad or less than other people, then your self-esteem is not as healthy as it could be. If your self-esteem is not healthy, then you will often not see the opportunities presented to you. You will discount flashes of insight, great ideas and suggestions as "pie in the sky - I could never do that". You will procrastinate, delay and self- sabotage. You will wait for others to take action and then blame them if they act in a way that doesn't match how you would normally do it. Intuition and self-esteem are linked. The more you discount your intuition because your self-esteem is low, the more you turn down the volume on your radar of opportunities, and the less opportunities you will see. You feel stuck - with no chance to succeed. You stay in the same old routine, wishing your life were better, but not stepping up to make it so. I see this with businesses all the time. If the CEO or Manager has poor self-esteem then the business will struggle. Conversely, if you have healthy self-esteem you have an internal compass that tells you that generally you are successful at things you try ... so your internal radar is tuned to more opportunities to find even better things to try. You will see more possibilities around you, more chances to succeed. Your success level will be that much greater than people around you as a result. Successful people all have healthy egos. Where does fear come into the equation? The level to which you lack confidence is the level to which you will experience fear (paraphrasing Mark Douglas). Fear is a highly debilitating emotion. When your body is in a state of fear, your senses close down except towards the trigger of the fear. You literally can't see past the fear-inducing trigger. You can't see other options or find other solutions. Each opportunity in life carries its own risk - no opportunity comes risk free. If you are fearful of the negative result that may occur, then you will not be willing to fully accept the risk and take the opportunity when it presents itself. If you are afraid of being wrong, then you will do something that will end up making you wrong. If you are afraid, even if you do see an opportunity in front of you, you will be too scared to take it - worrying that you may fail. You will go out of your way to talk yourself out of the opportunity - looking for all the evidence to support why you shouldn't do something. You will interpret every bit of data as telling you the reasons why the opportunity wouldn't have worked. You talk yourself out of success. So what does success feel like? Have you ever been "in the zone"? Athletes talk about times when they just knew they couldn't fail and everything was happening smoothly. Have you ever experienced a time when everything just fell into place ... you just responded instinctively to whatever came along, you were fully in the moment and fully present, doing what needed to be done and as a result you were successful? Think back to that time. Did you feel any lasting fear or were you just totally focussed on what you were doing? When you are in the zone, you are totally aligned - your belief in your capability matches the opportunity in front of you. Fear may be present, but it is put to one side while you focus on what is in front of you. Athletes don't just talk themselves into a state of alignment - they combine training, techniques and visualisation with repetition and testing of their limits. They take the data from each test and then build on the data to improve their performance. Each successful athlete takes each success and uses it towards building a belief they can succeed. The belief builds their self-esteem. They know they can fail, but the fear is of failure is less than the will to succeed. That is how success is built. So ... how strong is your self-esteem? How afraid are you of failing? Shift your mental radar upwards and you will experience greater success both in your personal life and in business. Labels: fear, self esteem, success |
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Ever notice the changes?
| Hi Ever notice the revolutionary changes that have been taking place in some of the traditional professions? I was having lunch with my accountant today and we reflected that she must be one of the only few accountants who always takes the first week of July off - EVERY YEAR. She teaches scuba diving in her spare time and performs at bellydancing events. She has also completed her Masters in Counselling. ... Oh and she is on the Qld Council for the National Institute of Accountants as well as the North West Convener for ongoing professional development for the NIA (so she really knows her stuff). Rana Jewell looks nothing like the archetypal suit and starch accountant. Another accountant I know used to moonlight designing and selling anarchistic t-shirts to uni students (and no he didn't own a suit). It seems that the traditional accounting profession - seen as the last bastion of pocket protecting geeks, are loosening up, finding a bigger world and enjoying life. I am sure you can still find some old-school accountants out there - but if your business is entrepreneurial and focuses on the application of cutting edge technology - perhaps you need to find an accountant who understands precisely where you are coming from. After all - part of managing a great business means having a great team around you to support you. Does your support team fully "get" who you are and where you are going? If not, consider finding someone who better matches your needs. Until next time warm regards Ingrid Labels: Accountants, accounting |
Welcome to Heart Harmony's Blog
| Hi everyone Welcome to the Heart Harmony Blog - where the main articles from each week's newsletter combine with thoughts, tips, strategies and general observations on:
I hope you enjoy each posting and look forward to your own thoughts and feedback warm regards Ingrid Heart Harmony
|