22 February 2010
OK, bullying is beyond political correctness...
...but only when political correctness isn’t taken to extremes. At the risk of offending, I cite the following examples of what appear to be extreme cases, where the word ‘should’ or 'shouldn't' would have been better replaced with ‘MUST’:
Police officers shouldn’t attend 999 calls unless the crime has already taken place (even when an assailant is outside your front door waiting to beat you up).
Ambulance crews shouldn’t rush to an accident if they are on an ‘official’ break (even when to do so might save a life).
Fire officers shouldn’t wade into a few feet of water to save a child without a 'risk assessment' (even though a child may die).
Prime Ministers shouldn’t take the stress of their job so personally that they occasionally lose their temper (even when to do so might stimulate some passion into a situation that could use some)
I’m certainly not saying that bullying is acceptable
Far from it. But there such things as extreme circumstances; and running a country into the biggest debt any of its citizens has ever seen, risking the social wellbeing of generations to come and the quality of life of those here today, may quite reasonably be considered as extreme. Therefore the sentiments of one Fleet Street editor in his column today when he said something like; ‘What kind of wimps are working in Downing Street these days?’ is perhaps understandable.
If you are a business owner you know all about living with stress. And yes, I hope you are able to cope with it better than our PM seems to be, but don’t let yourself get lulled into the ‘should’ frame of mind. If you find yourself complaining that things…
- Shouldn’t be as bad as they are
- Shouldn’t be as tough as they are
- Shouldn’t be so difficult
- Shouldn’t be so frustrating
- Shouldn’t be so irritating with so much red tape, barriers etc
...Then all you are doing is ‘shoulding’ all over yourself. Turn your shoulds into MUSTS and then find a way to make USE of them. Perhaps if you did, then in your world the situation might be viewed more like this:
Things…
- MUST be as bad as they are so that I can learn from them
- MUST be as tough as they are so I get to toughen up too
- MUST be so difficult so that I find better ways of succeeding
- MUST be so frustrating so that I discover my own inner calm
- MUST be so irritating so that I can rise above it all and keep focused on my end goal; only ever asking the question “Is what I’m doing now taking me closer or further away from my ultimate goal”
If you are a business owner who wants to thrive rather than survive, I recommend joining the ‘Business Success Strategies’ monthly audio coaching programme from BusinessCoaching.co.uk . They are offering £800 of FREE material just to take a RISK FREE trial. Take a look at http://tinyurl.com/yhh6zjb
20 February 2010
Lots of people hope so
The use of (albeit well meaning) but largely ineffective advisors looks like it might be coming to an end. Even the most fervent supporter of the existing system will admit that the calibre of the people hired to give the advice is simply consistent with the prescriptions of the system and the funds available. Most of those supporters won’t be found in the ranks of the business community however. They have been vehement in their criticism of the lack of help available: From the most senior sources all the way down to the grass roots. The newspapers are full again today with condemnations of the Government’s Enterprise Tsar Lord ‘You’re fired’ Sugar. Successful he may be but rapport building he is not. Banks also still come in for heavy criticism as does the Government in general.
The FT reports today...
... that a survey of over 2000 small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) with an average turnover of £1.23m has slated Government help. The survey asked them to rank 10 different sources of advice: Most widely used were the professionals (which is a relief) but right up there with them on the list are family members, other entrepreneurs and mentors. At the bottom of the list were Government agencies like Business Link. They report that Mark Prisk (shadow enterprise minister – yes, I hadn’t heard of him either) has said that one of his first actions (if he gets the chance) will be to axe Business Link and hand over its functions to local enterprise agencies. We just have to hope that if (or when) that happens they find economic ways of delivering the professional help that is both so clearly needed and so obviously wanted.
If you are a business owner who wants to thrive rather than survive, I recommend joining the ‘Business Success Strategies’ monthly audio coaching programme from BusinessCoaching.co.uk . They are offering £800 of FREE material just to take a RISK FREE trial. Take a look at http://tinyurl.com/yhh6zjb
19 February 2010
The big news today was the Government wanting to delay making spending cuts
Of course they do! Who’d want to go into an election with the public sector up in arms about slashed budgets, pressure groups going crazy about lack of funding and loud shouts of ‘foul’ from everyone who doesn’t get the cash they think they deserve. Are the 60 economists the Chancellor cobbled together any more to be believed than the 20 that the Opposition lined up yesterday with a completely different view? As the wonderful Frank Bruno once said (and I was there) ‘There’s pro’s and con’s for and pro’s and con’s against’!
Personally I put more faith in real those with their own cash at stake than commentators
Richard Branson has a point when he says that a plan to get out of this situation would be a good idea. The advocates of the ‘lets put it off for a year and hope the economy has a chance to recover’ have an understandable point. But the facts are that the single biggest driver of new cash in the UK is The City of London and it’s hard to see why anyone would invest in a business without a plan. The greater good might suggest that we should all pretend that our worries have gone away; to have blind faith and invest as if all were hunky dory, then we’d all make pots of money and the world would be a wonderful place. The trouble is that blind faith carries risk. If the world doesn’t follow a disneyesque script and it all goes to hell in a hand basket taking your business with it there will be no one to save you. No knight in shining armour will pick you up and dust you down, pay off your losses and give you a fresh start (unless you happen to be a bank of course).
The issue is risk
If a sailor can see a storm brewing he’ll stay in port until it blows over. The reality is what it is. There is a storm out there and it is brewing. Of course, there will always be opportunities; however the prudent will plan their course with an awareness of the surrounding risk. Those with a small or medium sized business who are most aware will thrive while the majority struggle to survive. So if you haven’t done it already, identify the inherent risks in your business and plan for how to deal with them in tough times. If one or other of the economists are right and it all blows over without a noticeable storm surge then nothing will have been lost. If however it does blow a hoolie then you’ll be prepared:
- Don’t take on debt that risks your future unless you are very confident
- Don’t take on work at rates below your ability to make a profit, or at least break even, just to be ‘busy’ (unless it really is very short term and there is light at the end of the tunnel)
- Don’t start new projects that risk the success of your core business (or at least be aware of what you are doing)
- Don’t panic and take actions that in your most confident state you wouldn’t do
- Don’t take your eye off the ball – keep focused on your core activity: Consistency sits well with sustainability.
- Don’t look for a magic wand when what you need is a straight forward business tool kit
If you are a business owner who wants to thrive rather than survive, I recommend joining the ‘Business Success Strategies’ monthly audio coaching programme from BusinessCoaching.co.uk . They are offering £800 of FREE material just to take a RISK FREE trial. Take a look at http://tinyurl.com/yhh6zjb
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