Tag Archives: white now

Uncategorized, Values

It takes HEAPS of Courage to be a Visionary Leader !

With the world in turmoil with the global financial crisis, climate change and environmental disasters, humans wreaking devastating harm on one another in various parts of the world, as a species we are facing some of the biggest challenges in history. Do you have the courage to lead confidently in these uncertain times? If you can see these challenges as opportunity, you will be one of the survivors. As leaders, we must be pioneers in forging new relationships, new ways of doing business, new ways of being in the world. It requires comfort with ambiguity, confidence in uncertainty, and a willingness to celebrate diversity. It takes Visionary leadership.

Visionary leadership is an art. Unlike the managerial tools of policy, procedures, techniques and measures, it comes directly from knowing and understanding Self. A visionary leader is one who serves through being Trustworthy, Inspirational and Passionate. The emphasis on serving through being is the essence of our work with values and energy. There is no recipe; there are no seven steps or ten tips. It requires the courage to abandon what we “know to be so” and embrace the mystery and complexity of what it is to be human.

A visionary leader is clear about who he or she is, and exudes genuine SELF-confidence. Visionary Leaders have a confidence in who they are and what they stand for which is accompanied by trust that they can face whatever situations come their way. A visionary leader knows and trusts in their ability to be infinitely creative, and also trusts that capacity in those he or she leads.

Why Visionary Leadership?
The prevailing model of the authoritarian leader is under-performing and failing, and in too many cases failing in spectacular yet sad circumstances. We only have to look at the Business section of daily press for numerous examples of this. If I was to ask you “who is the source of your greatest frustration in your current business climate” and you find yourself pointing the accusatory finger of blame, then there are also the three fingers pointing back to YOU, giving you the answer to the question! Your profitability and success is a direct result of the quality of your leadership. No exceptions! The good news is that you are also the solution. The question is: Do you have the courage to liberate the visionary leader within?

What are the characteristics and skills of the visionary leader?
Authoritarian leaders focus on protecting what they’ve been in the past while Visionary leaders focus on what they are becoming in the present and future.

Key differences are illustrated in the table below:

Authoritarian            Visionary
Is very competitive. Is very cooperative.
Is focused on the shareholder.            Is focused on the stakeholders.
Is risk averse.  Encourages innovation.
Is uncomfortable with uncertainty. Revels in uncertainty.
Is a creator of teams that ‘follow’. Creates leaders at all levels.
Operates within a tangible framework. Operates intuitively.
Seeks to control the enterprise. Realises the enterprise is ‘self-organising’.
Tells people what to do.          Listens by asking questions.
Talks of what the problem is. Talks about possible solutions.
Is reactive Is Creative
Is focused on “What’s in it for me?” Is focused on “What will benefit US?”
Debates Dialogues and values storytelling
Strong masculine energy Strong feminine energy

 

How are these visionary behaviours developed?
It is important to note that these behaviours are not mutually exclusive. Today’s leaders will benefit from being able to consciously operate along a continuum encompassing both styles as varying circumstances require.

The guidelines for learning the visionary behaviours above are rarely found in any current management texts, courses or training programs, let alone when you were at school.

Your choices to develop these behaviours are to:
• Engage a mentor or coach to assist you to unfold and develop these behaviours
• Read quality books and publications in this field
• Take regular time out for reflection – to listen to your inner voice and practice recognizing your intuition.
• Understand your values, and write your purpose, visions and strategies to reflect the most important priorities in your life.

The Language of Values
There is also a new language to be learnt, to understand the nature and role of values. Values, defined as our unconscious motivators, underpin every action we take. Everyone has values. Visionary leaders are people who have revisited and clarified their core values to consciously choose which values will be expressed in their lives. Visionary leaders pay attention to honouring and dissolving those values that are no longer useful to their future as a visionary leader and releasing the energy from values that keep them“stuck in the past” to values that energise them to create a compelling future.

Examples of this skill include:
• dissolving a lack of ‘self worth*’ and relocate the energy into ‘being self*’
• dissolving the value of ‘independence*’ and relocating the energy into ‘interdependence*’
• dissolving the need to be ‘competitive*’ and relocate the energy to being ‘cooperative*’
* from an Australian model of 128 universally researched values ( New Wisdom 11 by Colins and Chippendale)

Now ask yourself, when did you last reflect on and review your:
• Personal work practices, e.g. reading, time management, paper management?
• Management skills, e.g. communications, project management, technical competencies?
• Leadership abilities, e.g. visioning, creating, listening, mentoring, thinking/concentrating?

May I suggest that the reality is that these skills and abilities continue to be essential and need to be under continuing formal review if you seek to be a leader of change and innovation?

The quantum leap forward for you as a Visionary leader, way beyond the above, is to become aware of your inner levels of consciousness, offering access to abilities that are infinite.

This inner level of consciousness within each of us is often experienced as a ‘flash of insight’, an instant solution to a complex situation, an entirely new idea, and in each instant you will express amazement and wonder ‘how did I do that?” and ‘where do they come from?’

The process of accessing the visionary leader within engages a wide range of innate abilities and will include:
• Being present with oneself.
• Being present with another
• Dissolving negative judgment of oneself and others
• Listening empathetically
• Detaching and transcending the senses
• Detaching and transcending the human constructs of time.
• Listening to your feelings
• Looking for patterns in the complexity of the issue at hand.

Now as you can see, to engage these deeper levels of consciousness calls for changes to your traditional work practices and the emphasis on rushing around getting things done to being at-one-within, thinking and concentrating.

Key questions for courageous leaders
1. Who is your mentor and your protégé?
2. What is your next formal learning project?
3. When will you formally refresh your purpose – for your Self, for your business and for the people you lead?
4. What must you, as a leader, be willing to give up or let go of in order for your business to be more flexible and responsive to change?
5. Reflect on three core principles which determine how your business currently operates. How are these helping or harming the business’s ability to achieve its Vision?
6. What barriers will have to be removed in order for your business to be stronger, more profitable and exist 5 years from now?
7. What are your top 9 values that you orient your life around?

Our planet needs visionary leaders, your country, your organisations and communities need visionary leaders. Our children need new role models for leadership in the 21st century. I urge you to rise to the challenges and be courageous enough to discover the visionary leader that resides within every one of you.

This AMAZING piece was written by our AMAZING guest blogger Karynne Courts from Values Connection.  Ph +61 2 9983 0755

Life Experiences, Uncategorized, Values

Lessons for Leaders – How we live our lives !

 

Journey to the Blue Road

The sheep station where I spent my childhood was a three hour drive from the nearest town over dusty unsealed roads. The town had nine hotels and two grocery stores, and we only went there every six weeks or so to stock up on our supplies. Living in such a remote area meant we needed to be self-sufficient and resilient. We had a vegetable garden, sheep and cattle for our meat, and we kept hens for eggs.

Every year, we would order our hens from the city poultry farmers. They were only young, not much more than a year old, and were already considered “burnt out” by the egg farmers. We would order four dozen at a time – for about 20 cents (1 or 2 rand) a chicken!

We would drive the three hours into town and pick them up from the rail depot. They were transported in large cardboard cartons with little air holes cut out. We’d bring them back home, tie the dogs up, and open the boxes.

 Out would fall the most bedraggled creatures we had ever seen. They were often featherless, their crests pale and shabby and their claws overgrown. They had spent their entire lives inside a cage in tin sheds under intense 24 hour artificial lighting, and were expected to lay to maximum capacity – sometimes two eggs per day.

They had never seen the sunshine or felt the earth beneath their feet. Some of them even had their beaks removed to prevent them from pecking their eggs. We let them out into the yard to learn how to be chooks – to pick at the green weeds, scratch for worms and bugs, and cluck at each other. After only a couple of weeks, their crests became a deeper, healthier red, their feathers grew back, and they even “walked taller”.

The most amazing thing was that they started to lay eggs again.

When we create environments that focus on who we are, that allow us to express our values and nourish us, then our natural talents and energy are released. The impossible becomes possible, and results exceed expectations.

By focusing on the who – allowing them to be the best they could be, the “what” came naturally. Of course they would lay eggs – that’s what hens do. So instead of saying “now go off and lay lots of eggs”, we let them rediscover how to be real chickens – and laying eggs was a natural consequence.

How often in workplaces do we ask our people to lay more eggs – turn the lights up, increase performance, keep producing – with the threat of replacement if they slow down?  If we focus more on the nurturing of our people, providing the environment that allows them to be the best they can be, then the natural consequence is for them to do whatever it is they do. Trust that if they are healthy, stimulated, encouraged, and believed in, you will have all the eggs you need!

Organisations, governments, and individual consumers pour millions of dollars into working out ways to lay more eggs – bigger, cheaper, faster, quicker, more! We are constantly offered tools and gadgets that are supposed to make our lives better, yet we become involved in a cycle of replacing the unnecessary to do the necessary, and we lose the ability and sometimes even the knowledge of doing things for ourselves. Tools that are supposed designed to “make it easier” have made us less productive, and many people are burnt out, exhausted, tired, sad, depressed. In order to shift the focus from maximizing egg production to cultivating healthy and happy chickens, we have to challenge the assumptions and beliefs that have created our current situations.

 It is not about being a better leader, which suggests that you have something “missing”, it is about recognising the qualities that already reside within you, and allowing yourself the courage to peel away the masks and layers to reveal the infinite creative energy of your real Self.  The most courageous journey is the “inner journey” of self awareness.

 By embracing and expressing the qualities that reside within, we develop comfort with ambiguity, confidence in uncertainty, and a willingness to celebrate diversity.

A leader is a person who serves through being trustworthy, inspirational and passionate. Leadership is not about role, position, salary, or authority. It is an innate quality in everyone, and leaders are at all levels of the community, family, and work place.

We lead how we live, and how we live our life is the way we leave the world.

Welcome to our guest Blogger – Karynne Courts from Values Connection who has donated her time to Blog for you some great lessons. 

(Source: Karynne Courts, Values Connection (see www.valuesconnection.com.au for more inspirational stuff  or to purchase the book – Journey to the Blue Road … an amazing book by an amazing person!!)

Business Brands, Life Experiences, Social Media, Values

Fired up then wired up from a GREAT service experience

2 Comments

great serviceI had an ENLIGHTENING experience recently.  I’m NOT ashamed to blatantly praise a company through this blog as they simply deserve it.  In turn I’m not going to ‘name and shame’ those who have no idea what good service means.

 Recently we were looking for a person or company who could help us her e at The Now Bunch with systemizing and organizing our computers, wiring and cables in our offices.  We were about to receive new desks in 3.5 weeks and needed to get this sorted prior to their arrival.  This seemed enough lead up time to secure someone to help us for a couple of hours !

We have over 1400 friends through our different Social Media channels so we thought we would go to them and ask for referrals from them so that they could continue to build relationships as well.  We posted a simple call out “Who knows of a good electrician or data cabling person or company who can help us sort our office out ?”. 

We received many replies back which equated to 7 names/companies for us to contact.  Being as diligent as we are and respecting the advice from our ‘friends’ we contacted each of the 7 suppliers.  It is important to note that with everyone we talked to, we let them know that they had been recommended by a current client of theirs.  Here is the outcome from each;

Suppliers 1 & 2: We left a message on the voicemail of 2 suppliers and neither called back.

Supplier 3:  This guy said he was busy for two weeks but would call in a week to book us in – he never called back.

Supplier 4: They took down all our details (the wife of the sparkie was on the end of the phone) and she promised that her husband would call back either that night or in the morning.  He never called back.

Supplier 5: We called him and he did not have a pen, so I said that I would text him my name and number and also email him with our details, which we did. He was very happy with that, but …. You guessed it, he never called us back.

Supplier 6: We called this company who said that they would send someone on Friday at 10am.  We waited. No-one showed and no-one called. We never heard from them again.

Supplier 7:  this company promised that they would drop in the next day on their way back from a job but they did not show.  I called them again and they apologised and said that they would call me on the next Monday.  They never called.  I spoke to them again and they promised that they would call the next day to organise a time, they never called. 

I was over it and it was now only a week until our desks arrived.  I just wanted to give someone money to do some work !! With cap in hand and frustration oozing, I went to Toby, our CEO and asked if he knew anybody.  He said that he had used a guy when he was at Tradies who owned a company called WED Group.  The guys name was Matt Worthington.  Toby said that he always did what he promised he would do.  Toby gave Matt a call.  Here is how the journey with the WED Group went ….. 

  • Matt promised Toby that he would call me the next day before 10am.  Matt called me at 9.30am.
  • Matt said that he would send someone out the next day to have a look and see what our needs were, and if one of his team could not, then he would come himself.  He said he would be at our office at 10am.  At 9.30am we received a call from Matt to confirm that he would arrive at 10am.  He was there on time and in person !
  • Matt let us know what was needed, the time frame it would take, the approximate costs and what we needed to do prior to his team returning.  Matt then sat down at the computer and logged into his online appointment system and locked us in for a suitable time which was only 3 days later.  Perfect – it would be complete before our desks arrived.  Matt confirmed that he would be at our office at 7.30am on the Friday.
  • The day before our appointment, Matt called to reconfirm his visit the next morning.  The next morning, we received a call at 7am from Matt explaining that he was caught in traffic and would be about 30 minutes late.  He arrived at 8am as promised.
  • Matt wasted no time in completing the job
  • Matt and his team presented well (in uniform) and were polite and thoughtful to our business needs.
  • When Matt was leaving, he noticed that there was a problem with an electrical source that may cause a problem in the future (yep – a fire).  Matt fixed that at no further charge !

Basically, we were blown away that this company, who I had never heard of before, did everything that they said they would.  That is all that I asked for ! How can I give back to a company that simply did the right thing by us and demonstrated exceptional service?   Firstly I bought the team Vietnamese pork rolls for lunch whilst they were in the office (every blokes favourite lunch I think), I then drafted a banner for them to advertise their services with us and now I am writing to tell the world about them.  This is what great service does to others.  People like me want to put others on a pedestal when they go beyond the call of duty.  Don’t you want to tell everyone about truly exceptional service?  Congratulations Matt Worthington and your team.  You blew us away !  It is a pleasure to have met you.

You can find Matt at http://wedgroup.com.au  – say that that White Now recommended them  – because we DO!

Recruiting Tips, Values

It’s SO frustrating when you apply for a job and NEVER hear anything back ! Want to know why this happens ?

Hear NOTHING back !
Hear Nothing Back !

White Now has witnessed a trend over the past 15 years with regard to job applicants and the interview process.  With the growth of the internet and on line job applications and the subsequent ability for ANYONE to lodge an application for ANY role at ANY time, we have seen a growth in application number for all jobs ! This has brought with it some interesting challenges……..

In the old days (geesh – I sound like my 81 year old mother !), it used to take a fair bit of effort to apply for a job.  You’d have to type the covering letter and print it out.  Go to the library to get your resume photocopied and then get it bound at another place.  Buy a large envelope and suitable stamps and THEN go to either the Post Office or Post Box.  You’d then wait for it to arrive at the employer/recruiters doorstep 4 days later.  The cost of this exercise could have been up to $10 per application.  After it was posted, it would then be another week  or two (if at all) that you receive a letter back in the mail saying that the documents had arrived.

These days (sounding like my mother again – sorry) a job application can take some people as little as 2 minutes to send off without a cent being spent. 

They copy their cover letter or change the address and contact name (that’s a debate for a whole other blog post), attach their resume and just press send on the email.  The effort in applying has been lessened so considerably therefore the seriousness and commitment of all applicants in applying for the job can sometimes be an issue. 

The team at White Now can reel off so many examples of when they have contacted an applicant in relation to a job that they applied for (maybe to organise an interview) and the person cannot even remember applying for that role, or even who the role was with.  They have probably applied for 90 jobs that week and kept no record of whom or what they applied for.  I think it is called the splatter gun approach.  They don’t have a specific target, they just keep shooting and maybe one will hit the bulls-eye.

With this behaviour being so prevalent in today’s job market, there are a few outcomes that have surfaced from this trend that you should be aware of.

Often an employer now can receive hundreds of applications for the one advertised job.  If this is a larger employer (150 plus employees), they may be recruiting for 5-10 different positions at any one time.  This may mean in any given time, an employer may receive 1000 applications for 10 positions.  Many employers now put the courtesy of replying to these applicants on the back burner and the applicant simply does not get a response at all, whether that be to say that their resume was received or that they were unsuccessful.  This creates a snowball effect in itself.  These applicants who do not receive a reply then cannot narrow their application to a smaller target.  They apply for absolutely everything as they have no idea where they stand with any job. Alas, the cycle of lots and lots of applicants for jobs and employers not offering a courteous reply will continue. 

We are all so pleased with the growth, speed and automation of internet technology but think about how this has affected the process of applying for a job.  Basic courtesy has gone out the window !

As you know, on our White Now website, many of the positions advertised are ads placed by the Club/Venue/Supplier and they receive the applications directly (White Now don’t see them at all).  It is up to them to respond to the applicants as they see fit.    We place at the base of each ad the following sentence “Please Note: Only short listed candidates will be contacted.  We thank you for your understanding with this decision”.  Now there’s something that you would not have seen on a job ad 15 years ago but now, it is a fact of life for all the reasons I have discussed above.

The good news is that White Now have actually retained the ‘old style values’ when it comes to recruitment.  If we are secured by a client to undertake the full recruitment for a club or client, then we guarantee that EVERY person who applies will receive email notification from us to let them know of their status.  We are still honoured and chuffed by the comments that we receive from candidates about our high level candidate care – it seems to stand us apart from the rest !  We wish that all those who advertised with us would contact all of the applicants but as you can see, this is where the world has taken us !

Life Experiences, Values

Busy! Busy !! Busy !!!

One of the questions we often get asked is, “how are things going in the land of White Now?”  (or words to that effect), and our response is usually along the lines of:

  • Flat Out
  • Flat Chat
  • Busy, Busy, Busy!
  • Don’t Know if We’re Arthur or Martha
  • Etc, Etc, Etc

What I’ve noticed though is that each and every time the above is clarified with something like:

  • But I’m not complaining, or
  • Which is FANTASTIC, or
  • I’d rather be flat out as at least we know we can pay ourselves this week, or
  • We never take our good fortune for granted

It got me to thinking just how “lucky” we are!  And when I say “lucky” it is not because of a fluke or being in the right place at the right time.  It comes down to a lot of BLOODY HARD WORK!!!  But the bottom line is that we all genuinely enjoy it and on a personal level, I am not sure what I would do with myself if I was sitting around twiddling my thumbs!

The past fortnight has seen a significant part of the team away on annual leave and whilst some in our office might suggest that the people in question do very little ‘real’ work, the fact of the matter is that they (well, at least one of them) do/does contribute to the overall productivity of the team!!! 🙂  ……office humour!

What never ceases to amaze, please, excite and drive me personally is the continual influx of business and the fantastic range of services that we get asked if we can provide or assist with.  Not a week goes by without the phone ringing or an email pinging that asks us to step outside our core business/services and look at opportunity from a different angle.

I was wondering why this might be the case.  And I think the answer is our………………INTEGRITY.  I firmly believe that the business is founded on such strong principles and that each of the team live up to those values on a daily basis so that our customers form a trusted bond with us which means that they are comfortable asking us for things that might not be on our ‘list’ of what we do.

So, in summary I would like to say that I believe we are so incredibly fortunate to wake up each day and be surrounded by opportunity, questions, ideas, laughter, integrity, honesty, support, open communication, etc, etc and that I pinch myself regularly and do a stop…….check…… every couple of days to make sure I recognise the reality of that fortune and never, ever take it for granted.

To everyone that supports “us” in the myriad of ways that we are so fortunate……….THANK YOU!!!  You are our reason for continual improvement and integral to our overall success.

Recruiting Tips

Referees – Do I or Don’t I? And if so, WHO???

3 Comments

Not that long ago, I was contacted by a Club to conduct reference checks on their final few candidates and I thought the outcome of the process was interesting enough to share here in our blog, not that it was that different from the norm – but it again highlighted to me that this continues to be a problem area in the recruitment process.

Each candidate had provided referees on their resume, which brings me to my first question of “Do I or Don’t I?”.  Here at White Now, we always recommend that you DO put down referees.  Whilst I have often heard the argument of: “I don’t want prospective employers calling my referees without my knowledge”, I would counter that with: “Wouldn’t you rather have them call the people you WANT them to call than ring up your current place of employment and ask to speak with the GM/President/Board Member or whoever else might just be there at the time of their call?”.  You may laugh, but unfortunately this happens and more frequently than you might like to think!

Consequently, we recommend that you DO provide a list of referees and that you prep them prior to applying for a role that they may be contacted.  If you are applying for multiple roles, then let them know that they may be contacted for a number of positions, but that you will do your best to inform them if and when you are down to the final few and therefore what the role is so that they might be better prepared.

Moving back to my story, whilst each candidate had provided referees there was not a lot of consistency in the number that they had given – 5 the most, down to 2.  Part of the issue with contacting referees is getting hold of them to speak with them!  Accordingly, FIVE or SIX is probably the ideal number.  Firstly, not all of them will necessarily be spoken to and secondly, if you get one “if-fy” response, there are other people that the reference checker can call.  It also means that if the checker cannot get a hold of one or two, they will hopefully get hold of the others, thereby greatly improving your chances of being provided with a reference check and therefore being offered the job!

Now, the question of WHO you should use as your referees.  With regard to the reference checking that I was asked to do, there was a very generic mix of:

  • Board Members from years gone by
  • General Managers from years gone by
  • Beer Representatives
  • Gaming Machine Representatives
  • Acquaintances from Industry Bodies
  • Previous Owners of Businesses
  • Family members

Interestingly, one of the references I called was a pretty ‘knock-about’ sort of a bloke – when I asked how he found the candidate to work with, his response was, “He’s too bloody lazy for our industry, but he’d be well suited to yours.  He’s a fat lazy bastard, so as long as he’s sitting behind a desk, he’ll be ok.  And he loves the piss so can be a bit cranky in the mornings”.  Hardly the ideal reference check I think you would agree?!?!  And yet, this is one that was provided by the candidate.

Another referee that I called was incredibly pleasant and more than willing to assist, however his opening remark was, “Not sure how much I can tell you about ‘the candidate’ as I have never worked with him and really only know him through the industry meetings”.  My reaction…………WHY, OH WHY, would you be logged down then.  My actual question to the referee however was, “Do you believe there is any information that you are able to provide then, that would assist the prospective employer in making a decision about this person – either positively or negatively?”.  The response was a resounding, “No”.  So again, hardly the ideal referee?!?!?

Feeling somewhat frustrated by this stage, I made yet another call (I should note at this point, these were not all for the same candidate, this was across them all), this time to one of only two referees provided.  The person to whom I spoke had not spoken to the candidate at any length for 8 to 9 years and yet was about to be asked about this candidate’s ability to potentially run a department/manage a business/lead people/make money/change culture/make decisions/etc/etc.  Again, the level of input that they were actually able to provide was skant at best!  The role that they were thinking back to was a significantly less responsible role than the one being applied for and there was obviously the hope from both the referee and myself that the candidate would have grown massively in their leadership skills and business knowledge.  So yet again, hardly the ideal referee!?!?!

Finally, I looked through the referees that were left.  All of whom were Suppliers to the candidates in their various roles.  Let me state first and foremost, “we” (White Now) are Suppliers so what I say next is genuinely said with no disrespect or accusation…………..primarily, whilst suppliers might be able to comment on a candidate’s negotiation skills and ability to spend or not spend money, it is unlikely that they will be able to provide any detail on their business/management skills in general (as an Accountant to the business, the above comment is untrue as I am sure it could be for other suppliers).  Furthermore, I would suggest that there is a small potential for a conflict of interest as suppliers might stand to gain a new account when the candidate moves on to the new business or alternatively, it might be seen as a way of building loyalty to that supplier through the provision of positive comments.  The furthest thing from my mind is to put the integrity of suppliers under the microscope.  The vast majority of suppliers that you and we deal with on a daily basis are good and decent people, not to mention, honest and trustworthy business people.  However, I would again debate their effectiveness as an ideal referee.

So, what is an “an ideal referee”?

This will vary from role to role, however if you keep some of the following generic thoughts in mind and look to provide FIVE or SIX referees along these lines – I would suggest that you will be heading in the right general direction:

Currency – can the referee comment on my current achievements/successes/skills/experience/knowledge?
Repute – are they reputable and will they make ME look good through their professionalism and stature/role?
Supporting – will they support my application and say the RIGHT things/provide the RIGHT examples?
Knowledge – similar to currency, but more specifically – do they know who I AM?
Gain – does the referee have anything to gain by providing me a reference?  If not, then consider them!

All of the above could likely be discussed ad nauseum and in truth, there is not a “correct answer”.  However after conducting hundreds of reference checks and viewing thousands of resumes, I think it would be fair to say that I never cease to be amazed at the sort of referees that are provided and how much damage that they can do to someone’s application!

Life Experiences, Uncategorized

Two ways to find an extra hour a week to bank for later !

Like all good business owners, I’ve been working on our businesses, planning, strategising and generally creating great things for the future. The problem that I kept finding is that there is simply not enough hours in the day ! I think that I have been saying that there is not enough time since I was first able to read a clock ! I then read an inspirational quote that got me thinking;

Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. — H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Well that quote just slapped me in the face and shook me up. I knew that I really needed more hours, but of course, 24 is 24 and you can’t just add time to a day, but hey, you can save time, bank it and use it for more useful reasons can’t you ? I went on a journey to try and simplify things in my life that really didn’t add any value to the essence of who I am and certainly were not assisting in achieving any meaningful goals. Everyone has heard about ideas such as only checking your emails once a day – but let’s face it, we run an online business and our White Now customers expect great response times so that strategy is just plain crazy for us. The brain started ticking. I know that the business is pretty efficient so I need to find some time in my personal life. Like all working mums, we spend far too much time on things like ironing, folding washing and the like. So how could I save time here ?

I called on my friend Mr You Tube, you know him, the guy that sucks you into his website and makes you watch ridiculous videos of kids on pushbikes running into walls and video clips of bands that had lead singers that you had a crush on when you were 16. I was this time going to abuse Mr You Tube for my own benefit. I searched on ‘Folding Clothes’ and all of a sudden my prayers were answered. Check out these two videos and you can see how I have gained an hour a week to bank and spend on improving our businesses ! I bet that you will use these technique too and buy yourself an extra hour a week !

ENJOY !

How to fold a T Shirt in 2 Seconds

Peeling Eggs with Speed (OK, I don’t really use this one but it’s pretty funny !)

Life Experiences, The 'Read & Recover' Initiative - Helping sick kids!, Uncategorized, Values

Plan all you want, but flexibility is what is needed !

Read & Recover

When we started our Read & Recover Initiative in partnership with Brad Sugars, we knew that it was going to be a big job, full of fun and a fair bit of hard work and hey, we’re ALWAYS up for a challenge and ALWAYS up for hard work !  To us, it was going to take some great organisational skills and a passion to make kids smile. If you think about the process in its simplest form, all we have to do is buy 1600 books and send them to 100 hospitals.  All of us at White Now consider ourselves as organizational machines (and we usually are except when one of our kids has been up all night then we are more like organisational disasters) !!

We started with a plan and a time line. Isn’t it true though that it’s not until you plan a process that you actually work out that the simple logistics that you had once thought of, have turned into a 68 page procedure manual that takes 2 weeks to develop and another 2 weeks to digest ? Our aim though is to get these books out there and we will do what it takes to make that happen.

We are rapidly crossing the tasks of the list with each cross triggering a smile on our faces knowing that we are one step closer to getting those books out.  There have been so many people who have offered their assistance to pack or deliver the books or simply be involved somehow, and they are patiently waiting until it is ‘packing day’.  We had many photographers offering their services to do photo shoots for us with Brad and also taking images of the delivery of the books to the hospitals. We ended up securing Michael O’Farrell from www.ofarrell.com.au, who is already an absolute pleasure to deal with.  This contact came through Facebook and we thank his daughter for putting his name forward.

We are right in the middle of calling the hospitals and this is where the interesting challenges have manifested.  The plan was to call each hospital, find the appropriate person to chat to about the initiative, grab their details, gain their permission to donate the books, send them a formal letter, get the delivery volunteers to call them when it is time to deliver, have the hospital contact receive the books at a mutually suitable time and there endeth the process.  Don’t forget that we are organizational machines here at White Now and if there is a process to follow, we will do it.  What we didn’t plan for was all the variables that we would find once this ring around started – these include;

  1. The person we need to talk to is on leave
  2. The person we need to talk to is unable to return our call
  3. The Reception staff want to handle this themselves and won’t pass the call on
  4. The hospital is unable to take books for hygiene/OH&S reasons
  5. The hospital is unable take books, they can only take monetary donations
  6. The message gets lost
  7. The hospital wants to give the books to kids to take home
  8. The hospital wants to see the actual books prior to accepting them
  9. The hospital will only take them if they are posted

With all of these variable thrown at us, we soon realized that we had to be flexible to meet the needs of either the individual taking the call, the hospital or the donation protocol.  So guess what ? That is what we did.  We put our ‘flexible, accommodating’ hats on and tried to meet all of their needs.  Once we did this, we could achieve White Now and Brad Sugars’ goal of getting 1600 books to 100 hospitals.  What was so great about talking to the hospitals was that even if they could not accept the books, they usually offered suggestions about other hospitals that could.  Everyone seems to care which is simply amazing.

We have learnt a valuable lesson with this process and that is that you can plan and set up procedures to YOUR requirements, but the other stakeholders may not always be able to follow your procedures. You have to quickly adjust your strategy to suit everyone…… and that is just what we are doing;  Some books are staying in their factory wrapping, some books that were to be delivered are now being posted, some hospitals that were to receive books now are not receiving the books with other hospitals being added to the list, our formal letters change depending on the individual requirements of each hospital and soon there will be 1600 more books in Australian hospitals.

It is certainly true that if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail, but when you are planning anything, build into the plan the flexibility to meet the needs of others as you cannot always predict others behaviours.

The 'Read & Recover' Initiative - Helping sick kids!

The Read & Recover Initiative gets GREAT ideas from Facebook mates!

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1600 books to 100 Hospitals

The Read & Recover intiative, which is a joint venture between White Now and Brad Sugars from ActionCOACH (you can read about this amazing gift in previous posts) took its next  step – finding which kids hospitals people thought the 150 books should go to.

If there is one thing I have learnt in my years of running businesses, it is to always ask others for their input and ideas – whether it be your team members, clients, potential clients or simply people that want to add value to what you do.  With this in mind, our team put a post on the Wiz Whitenow Facebook site “Wiz WhiteNow” (http://www.facebook.com/wizwhitenow).   This is what the post said “Wiz WhiteNow is needing your help to recommend hospitals to us! We are sending 150 kids books to 10 NSW hospitals with kids wards. This is a gift we are giving jointly with the amazing support of Brad Sugars from ActionCOACH. The generosity of this entrepeneur is inspiring & the time and efforts of the White Now team are appreciated. Would you like to suggest a hospital that would appreciate the gift ?”

The response was amazing and we qiuckly gathered up the names of the first 10 hospitals named.  It shows that people can be so passionate about things that are close to their heart !  White Now and Brad Sugars would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the following people and their recommendations !

Hospital Suggested By
The Sydney Adventist Hospital Andrew Bassett-Smith                                    
Westmead Children’s Si Harris & Susan Churchill & Denise Ferguson
Gosford Hospital David Younie
Nepean Hospital Leah Gibbs, Emma Huszar, Tanya Westcott Gorton
John Hunter Hospital Leah Gibbs/Amy Waight
Sydney Kids Hospital Randwick Kathy Carnemolla, Damien Greig                                    
Royal Darwin Hospital Marianne O’Farrell
Coffs Harbour Hospital Sue Patterson
St George Hospital Garry Weston
Sutherland Children’s Ward Sue Jago

Our next step was to source the books – we searched high and low.  We wanted to look for books that were a mix of Australian authors and popular well known kids stories.  We went to many book shops, online stores, auction sites – you name it, we researched it.  The final decision was made yesterday and the books were bought.   The most amazing range that suited our needs were actually at an Australia Post shop – yep, it’s true.  To those who recommended the hospitals and to all of our friends and colleagues who are supporting us in this venture, thank you so much !  People are the true essence of life !

These are the authors and titles in case you are interested;

Author Title Title
Pamela Allen Mr McGee and the Big Bag of Bread Waddle Giggle Gargle
  Herbert and Harry The Pear in the Pear Tree
Graeme Base The Eleventh Hour The Worst Band in the Universe
  Jungle Dreams The Waterhole
Dr Seuss The Cat in the Hat Fox in Socks
  Green Eggs and Ham  
Beatrix Potter The Tale of Peter Rabbit The Story of Miss Moppet
  The Talk of Jemima Puddleduck The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
Disney Cars – A friendly Crew Toy Story 2 – Toys to the Rescue
  Monster Inc – Monsters  Everywhere Little Mermaid – A Different Life
  Finding Nemo – Adventure in the Ocean Cinderella – The Magic of Dreams
  Sleeping Beauty – A Secret Princess Snow White – A Princess Hiding
Mem Fox Possum Magic Shoes from Grandpa
  Sail Away Hattie and the Fox
Roger Hargreaves Mr Strong Mr Messy
  Mr Noisy Mr Funny
The 'Read & Recover' Initiative - Helping sick kids!

Facebook is a Winner for Wiz Whitenow

I was reading through Facebook and one of our Facebook friends is Brad Sugars – billionaire, entrepreneur, business success story and all round good guy !  He was looking to make someone’s wish come true and posted a Santa Brad offer that you could not beat.  He offered all of his 5000 plus friends on FB the chance to have anything that they wanted for Christmas.  You just had to post what you wanted.  I was simply amazed to see the responses. People wanted their house paid off, a new sports car, cash donations to start their businesses, free coaching from the coach himself, holidays to expensive resorts, you name it – they asked him for it.  I sat and wondered to myself.  Here is a man who has made his millions by working hard, being smart and being devoted to his future.  Here are also a bunch of budding entrepreneurs as his friends wanting to get a break from him and get some cash to get ahead in their career/business/personal life etc.  Amongst the hundreds and hundreds of requests there were a few who asked for monetary assistance to help others.  Here is witnessed the TRUE Christmas spirit.  There were a handful of people, who knows if they were wealthy and successful or lived in poverty but they asked for donations to help others.  The light bulb went on !!

I have spent many nights in hospital throughout the year with my 3 year old. He has by no means got a life threatening illness like many other children, but has been hit with pneumonia multiple times.  We have had such fantastic experiences in hospitals with people whose vocation is like no other – nurses !  If I could take my hat off to anyone, it would be them.  The hospital we usually go to has a reasonable range of books for kids, but many are old and tattered and if I was to be honest, they are from another era.   If there are two things that bring a smile to a sick, bed ridden child’s face, it is people and books. I then went to visit a range of other kids hospital wards and found that many wards had virtually no books.  I then put to my team the idea that we could start a Read & Recover program and donate books to these hospitals.  Everyone was on board and we were ready to post our Christmas wish on Brad’s wall. We want to give 150 books to 10 hospitals !  Let’s wait and see what happens !

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