Executive Wisdom Times: The Newsletter No.50
November 2008
A monthly newsletter about business, strategy, people, purpose and processes based on the popular articles, interviews and workshops conducted by Ric Willmot, FAIM FAIPF MIMC.
© 2008 Ric Willmot. All Rights Reserved. You are encouraged to share the contents with others with appropriate attribution. Recommend your colleagues subscribe.
The Executive Wisdom Times is in six sections this month:
- Ponderances - Is your thinking in the dogma house?
- The human condition - The end?
- Upcoming Events
- Webinars & Teleconferences
- Ric's Rant - Don't read this unless you are willing to be ticked-off
- Before you go ...
Ponderances - Is your thinking in the dogma house?
Greek philosopher and mathematician, Plato, dictated that the circle was the perfect form for celestial movement. So then for the next one-and-a-half millenia, astronomers said that the planetary orbits were circular even though their observational data suggested otherwise.
Even Copernicus utilised circles in his heliocentric model, explaining the universe and its relationship to the planets. Finally, it was the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler who described the planetary paths around the sun as being elliptical.
How should your business react to the global economic "slowdown"? Do you bunker down, slash costs and retrench staff? Do you reduce prices in an effort to increase turnover? Do you move from quality to commodity in an attempt to attract the masses rather than purposely market to the classes?
You need not be technically smarter to survive these tough times? Put the technical training on hold; get better at the basics. Basics such as: production, customer service, after-sales attention, problem-solving, marketing, sales, business development and most of all, common sense.
To protect your business -- protect your staff; the game will be won or lost at the coalface. ANZ Bank recently announced the lay-off of around one thousand middle management positions before Christmas. I wonder why if these people were effectively contributing to business results and outcomes one year ago, why they could not be utilized today?
The circular thinking of Plato obviously is alive and well in the limited thinking of the supposed strategic executives at head office. There were a myriad of options available to ANZ to maintain the employment of these people and continue to have them contributing to the bank's overall revenues. But the sun is still revolving around the earth, apparently!
In your business, there may be some opportunities or there may be a lot of opportunities, depending on the industry-type you are engaged in; but in these current economic times, the opportunities will all evolve from "execution-excellence" rather than "inventiveness", "creativity" or "cunning". The first steps towards execution-excellence are to mentally turn-up and to be turned-on for your clients and customers. Are you fronting up for the essential work practices that are necessary to thrive and are you prepared and engaged to deliver your best, always?
Management has to be considerate in all they do, no matter how tough it is. And, we all need to remember to get down in the trenches with our team so we can experience what the front-line are experiencing. Smarter decisions can then be made. A lot of the time, the best answers to the problems your organisation is facing are made at the point of contact with product, service and relationship. A lot of the time, the best answers to the problems your organisation is facing are made by the people doing the work. A lot of the time, the best answers to the problems your organisation is facing, is just plain "common sense".
Over the next 6 to 12 months aim and hit the small victories, consistently and regularly, with tenacity. These will culminate in some rather large results. Am I recommending organisations cut costs to survive? Luxuries like silver service coffee in meeting rooms can go. Largesse bonuses and incentives to CEOs and Boards of companies who have failed to perform can go. But excellence in staff development and resources, in product or service delivery, excellence in customer service and excellence in relationships will not only allow businesses to survive but they will in fact, thrive in these current economic conditions.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Especially today! Understand who needs your product or service, know where to reach them, provide opportunities for them to learn about who you are and what you do, then when they buy you, be excellent and deliver sensational outcomes for them.
Business in general may be finding it more difficult than a year ago, then five years ago, then ten years ago. But let's face it; anyone can make money during an economic boom. It's certainly not as doom and gloom, as many other experts would have you believe.
Just like Plato and Copernicus, we all have extrinsically-imposed shoulds and values that influence our views, opinions, decisions and thoughts. And, this is many a time, the reason why we are unable to get out of the doghouse and enjoy the mansion.
What dogma is holding your thinking back from breaking conventional wisdom? What could you let go of that would allow you to challenge current beliefs and discover an alternative path to business success and Executive Wisdom?
We're here to help.
The human condition - The end?
People in every culture believe in an afterlife of some kind, or are at least uncertain about what happens to the mind at death. Jesse Bering, the director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture at Queen's University Belfast, believes that these are irrational beliefs, but rather than resulting from religion, they are an inevitable by-product of self-consciousness.
Because we have never experienced a lack of consciousness, we cannot imagine what it will feel like to be dead. In fact, it won't feel like anything, and therin lies the problem. Consider the startling fact that you will never know you have died.
Jesse's observation may not sound like a major revelation to you, but I bet you have never considered what it actually means, which is that your own mortality is unfalsifiable from the first person perspective.
Although we spend periods of our life unconscious, such as when we're in dreamless sleep, by definition we don't actually experience these moments. So when we try to imagine being dead, we have no frame of reference. This may be one of the reasons we find it terribly difficult to emotionally cope with the death of a loved one, in the short-term.
Opportunities in Propinquity
We have now placed a specific page on our website for Developmental Opportunities. We trust this helps all of you, especially those who suggested just such a page on the site.
Here is a reminder of what is approaching.
Upcoming Events
SURTHRIVE 2009 & BEYOND
Brisbane, Australia, July 8
Limited to only 15 participants, this interactive day is designed for business owners and partners to gain maximum leverage from strategic business approaches that will give you the edge over your competition. One time only - this will not be repeated.
EXECUTIVE WISDOM BUSINESS COLLEGE
Brisbane, Australia, August 6-8
Dubai, UAE, November 8-10
The intent for this program is straightforward. A 3-day intensive program for business owners, partners and executives to grow and build a thriving business in spite of the economic uncertainties, perceived vulnerabilities, and situations which are causing other businesses to perform at less than optimal capacity. Not for the feint-hearted! 
THE ULTIMATE EXECUTIVE NETWORKING EVENT - RIC'S SYDNEY
Sydney, Australia, December 4-6
WOMEN-ONLY EDITION - Sydney, Australia, December 11-13
Limited to only 5 participants and Ric, only unique people will share this ultimate executive networking and learning experience. A long weekend in Sydney, indulging in the best food, wine, shows and conversation while staying in luxury on Sydney Harbour.
 The May 2009 webinar-conference is: Marketing for people who can't sell.
There are many people in business who are not natural marketers let alone salespeople. Accountants, lawyers, financial advisers, recruiters and alike. But the reality is that if you are in business then you have to be marketing if you want to remain in business!
Monday 18th May at 12 noon EST (GMT +10). You must register to reserve your place.
- Current Mentor & Coaching Program Members are FREE
- Current Members of the Online Coaching Club are FREE
- Members of the Society for Executive Wisdom are FREE
- Registration for all others is $39 including GST
This is a Coaching Club that is accessible no matter where in the world you live!
Our clients benefit from our knowledge, experience, and straightforward advice during good times and bad. They make better decisions ... decisions that have improved their businesses, their careers and personal lives.
- Are you interested in learning about organisations, like yours, that not only survived but thrived during economic slowdowns and recession?
- Are you willing to undergo an objective and truthful assessment of your organisation's capability?
- Are you able to face the brutal facts about today's economy?
- Are you dedicated to the long-term future of your organisation?
- Are you committed to doing whatever it takes to survive and thrive, today and in to the future?
For less than the same price of an espresso per day, here's what you get:
- An educational webinar every month on a business facet that will give you immediate results, even in these tough times.
- A monthly teleconference on business which will include interviews with successful and smart people, tips from me, etc.
- Unlimited access to the "Members-Only" section of my website that contains an enormous amount of tools, articles, information and resources to help you and your business.
- Access to download and keep all of the webinars and teleconferences so you can replay them as often as you like.
- Access to me, to bounce ideas off, ask questions, get second opinions, etc. I am a sounding-board ... a resource to you.
- You become part of a community of like-minded business people interested in thriving and succeeding, not sulking over problems.
This is limited to only 50 people; and 32 have already been secured.
Ric's Rant - Don't read this unless you are willing to be ticked-off
I am a Luddite. Technology and Ric do NOT mix under any circumstances. Late last year we transmogrified our business by shifting to Apple from Windows. Recently, I was in need of recovering some data from the hard drive of one of our PCs now neglected and forgotten in an antediluvian storage area.
Feeling proud and confident in my technological advancements since going to the "dark side", I decided to connect the necessary cables, flick the switch, gather the data and copy it to the Mac.
Every time I attempted to start this PC, which has been in hibernation since January this year, noises would emanate that were not comforting. The screen would remain black. My attempts to diagnose and correct this technological malediction were sluggish and otiose.
I take the PC to my computer guru, explaining the situation. A gentle and calm man of asian origins, he always is relaxed and in control. I feel at peace when in his presence. I explain my predicament.
"Mr. Ric, it's over-heating."
"No, it can't be Charlie, it hasn't been turned on in nearly 10 months and it hasn't been going at all. So, it cannot be over-heating. Can you find the problem? I need the data urgently."
"It's over-heating, Mr. Ric."
"Charlie, please. I haven't had it on. It cannot be over-heating."
"It's over-heating!"
I huff gruffly to show my disdain.
Charlie reaches for an electric screwdriver and swiftly has the casing off the box. With a can of compressed air he blasts away at the tiny fan near the grill blowing an enormous amount of dust from both the fan and the grill. Just as quickly, the box is screwed back together, a power cord attached and the PC connected to a screen Charlie has on the desk. He pushes the launch button and presto the computer boots up.
All the dust and dirt had jammed the cooling fan which needs to be activated on start-up. Embarrassed, I sheepishly inquire, "How much do I owe you, Charlie?"
"Nothing, Mr. Ric. It's okay. Just go."
As I blurt out thank you's, and please let me pay you, the words not seeming to be enough; and so, searching for the mot juste, I stutter long enough for Charlie to add, "Quickly".
There are far too many blogs by way too many people, that are boring, repetitive or plainly self-promotional and nothing else. This blog will never be boring or obsequious. My purpose is to offer alternative views to management’s conventional wisdom so that organizations can deliver increasing value, acquire increasing business, and develop Executive Wisdom for Breakthrough Executive Performance.
© 2008 Ric Willmot. All Rights Reserved.
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