People are Lovely!

Hi All


I find Marketing to be a delicate balance between telling people how damn good you are and humbly sharing the results you have been able to achieve.


In this vein, I wanted to share with you some lovely comments I received after MCing and speaking at a conference.  Here is what the lovely people said:

Why Would You Tear Them Down?

Last week wifey and I had 18 trees cut down out of our front and back yard.  It was not something we did lightly and it does prompt the question, "Why would you tear them down?

The majority of them were pine trees planted as a hedge over 20 years ago.  It was a great idea.  It gave extra privacy from the neighbours and passers by as well as some wind protection.  For the first couple of years they did their job well but over time, things changed.  The owners of the house got new tenants in who didn't prune the trees as they needed.  The larger trees dropped more needles.  The ground beneath the trees stopped growing lawn as it was starved for nutrients and sun light.  The path under the trees was not maintained and over grew with weeds and the trees grew so tall that they blocked nearly all the light from the northern sun.  With minimal light, moss started growing on the roof and on the path up to the front door making it slippery and unsafe in the wet.

What started as a great idea grew way out of control.

Have you ever seen this happen in the work place?  A system, process, work idea, project, guiding principle or cultural element of an organisation starts off well, has great intent and then becomes the nightmare of the business.  I have seen in many times.

Sometimes a "mild trim" is not enough, you have to rip it out at the roots and start again!

So wifey and I are now planning the redesign of the gardens including replant more suitable and more productive trees.

What about you?  What behemoths need to be torn down so fresh new ideas and practices can flourish?

Image: Warwick Merry 

Why Not?

Last week I said goodbye to an amazing friend of mine, Jen.  She has battled four different types of cancer over the last 10 years and it finally took its toll. Yes it is sad that she died, but let's face it - we are all going to die one day - so the reality is that it was inevitable.  What is more important was that she lived!

Jen was one of us mere mortals.  She was not a super star athlete, actress, model or other demi-god type of person.  She was an average everyday woman who put on her pants one leg at a time.  She had her demons like everyone else.  She had several husbands, a couple of kids, many jobs, a few retrenchments, and all the other fun stuff that comes with life.

But as her son so eloquently said at her funeral, she had a mantra for life that never failed her.  That mantra was "Why Not?"  

When she was told that she shouldn't drive her campervan around Australia on her own for almost two years she asked, Why Not?

When she was told that she couldn't beat the four different types of terminal cancer that she had over the years, she asked her doctors, Why Not?

When she was asked why she had purple streaks in her hair that changed all the time, she asked Why Not?

After some major surgery on her throat that left major scars, she stuck on some Frankenstein type bolts and went to a party. When people said, you can't dress like that she said, Why Not?

Too often we let the people who love us, who care about us, and sometimes who ARE us, stop us from doing things.  It is not safe, it is not natural, it is not normal, it is not socially acceptable, it is not what business people do, it is not what we should do, it is not how we should be seen, it will scare people away, it will attract too much attention, what if it doesn't work.....  You have heard all of the reasons.

The gift that Jen gave me was "Why Not".  I would love to pass it on to you.

When you are told you can't do something, simply ask "Why Not"?

Do You Look After Your Self?

I was suffering from Man Flu last week.  Men are always the last to know that they have it.  Luckily wifey was able to point it out to me.  It is when a man has a slight cold but they think it is the end of the world!!

Now I am not a believer in "Soldiering On".  I believe that when my body is ill I need to rest and let it get better.  Consequently I cancelled several business and social appointments.  Now I could have gone along but was just not worth it.  There was a slight chance I could have infected the person I was meeting (and depending on their air conditioning system, half of the people on their floor too!), I would have been foggy headed and not had my wits about me for the meeting and most importantly, my body would be straining to "Soldier On" and not simply recover.

So I stayed home, taking my hippy pills (horseradish, garlic and vitamin C) and let my body rest. Three days later and I was feeling fabulous.  Compare that to many who Soldier On and "just can't seem to shake it".

When you get ill, do you look after yourself?  Not just when you have a cold (or Man Flu) but also when you are grieving, distressed, or just need a doona day.  I am not saying we should all have a sick day. What I am saying is you HAVE to look after yourself and do what it takes to maintain a healthy body, mind and spirit.

How well do you look after yourself? 




Image: www.justonemore.info