Posts Tagged ‘vision’

Snow Business

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Like so many of us, I awoke this morning to magnificent snowscape.  I have to say that I respond to this kind of scene just like a kid.  I went out tramping through the woods this afternoon and not only was there a wonderful white coat over the landscape but they were completely silent as the snow muffled the sound.

I was wondering about why we have such a strong emotional response to this kind of thing and I thought that perhaps it was something to do with seeing our world in a a whole new light, and changed way we perceive it.  Suddenly gaining a new perspective on Life is exciting, so why do so many of us cling like a shipwrecked sailor to our old ways of looking at things.

If tomorrow is another snow day for you, take the time to do something different that lasts a little longer than your snowman!

“Sex is like snow, you never know how many inches you’re going to get or how long it will last”

“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels”

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The Little Chef Change Experiment

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

I don’t know if you have been watching the Channel 4 programme, ‘Big Chef takes on Little Chef’.  Heston Blumenthal, the 3 star Michelin chef, went into one of the most run down of our bits of national food heritage, Little Chef to see if he could revitalise it.  He looked at what they prepared, how they prepared it, and the environment in which they operated.

I didn’t necessarily buy into all his methods or ideas but the there was no doubt that not only did Little Chef need to be much better but the motoring public deserved much better too.  The thing which interested me was the reaction of the staff.  Initially they were sceptical, some were openly hostile to the new ideas, then they were scared they couldn’t do it.  When the big unveiling came they felt incredibly proud and excited.  This was an experiment in running a more successful restaurant, so it needed to make money as well as serve better food, and when they feared the bosses might not carry on with it, they then began to wonder if they could go back to the tired old ways.  The thing was the experience had changed them too: it changed how they saw themselves, their attitude to their own sense of value and their dreams of the future. 

That is the the thing about Change, you can never really go back!

“I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then”   Lewis Carroll

“I wanna go back
And do it all over
But I can’t go back, I know
I wanna go back
Cause I’m feeling so much older”  I Wanna Go Back – Eddie Money

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Ends, Beginnings and Continuations

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

I was thinking today about all the ideas and advice that we get at this time of year.  Reflect on the old year, celebrate its achievements, learn from our mistakes and make plans for the new year based on this review.  I can see the value in this and certainly intend to do some of it myself.  However, for all this, I think we also need to remember that we are in a continuity too.  One day slides into another and, in the midst of that, is the ever-present Now.

I know that physicists have some very clever ideas about the true nature of time, all of which go right above my head.  Whatever the reality is, it is a concept and construct, and as such, essentially a tool.  So we need to use it in the most helpful way possible.  Review, make plans, set goals, but don’t forget that the only time you can make any difference is Now. 

I wish you all a fabulous 2009, but if you want to make changes, Now is not only a good time to act, but the only time to act.

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”  Anais Nin

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Contrary-wise… advice on how to make hay when it is raining!!

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Warren Buffet, the richest man in the world, has just invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs.  His advice is “Be greedy when others are fearful, and be fearful when they are greedy!”; this is interesting advice.  He is not afraid of going against the trend and following his own sense of direction.  I think this is bold advice for today’s leaders.  How are you going to differentiate yourself from the herd  if you are just following along.  Look at the fundamentals, ask searching questions and follow your own insights.

There is real opportunity in the market place now for the bold and the brave; don’t be paralysed by all the negative news, use the imagination, brains and wisdom of your team to take positive action and control of your destiny!

Resources:

    2. LA Times

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The Sahara Forest project

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

I was listening to a radio program the other day where they were discussing the innovative use of new technologies, which could use the evaporation of sea water to purify it and produce not only usable fresh water but cooling, this is combined with concentrated solar power.  These two technologies have the power to grow trees in the Sahara and green this most arid of places.  For those who are interested in the science of it read more here.

What interested me was the sort of mind that could look at something like the Sahara desert and envision a forest.  The name of this project is evocative and powerful.  This level of vision and bravery is so often missing in business.  So much time and effort is spent in marginal and incremental changes.  This kind of bold transformation is very compelling and powerful, for those brave enough to commit to it.

Vision and imagination seem to be rare qualities in today and I’d love to hear some examples you have of them please.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create”  Albert Einstein

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.”  Carl Sagan

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