On April 7th, I received the following email from Lyn Palmen AM, Founder and Managing Director of the Women's Network Australia at www.womensnetwork.com.au.
This was her opening statement in that email newsletter.
Dear Carol,
Re: The Business of Fun
Sometimes I just have to delight in the diversity of my life and the contrast every day brings with it. It's school holidays in Qld so tomorrow my daughter Maddison (11) and I are heading off to Melbourne so I can host our Power Tea at the beautiful Windsor Hotel (very swish). 'Building an Export Market' is the topic being discussed over the table that day. The next day we are in Sydney where I am hosting our April networking luncheon, addressing the topic of 'How to Take Control of the Sales Process'.
Then, having just done the tween darling, Hannah Montana 3D Concert last week (at which unbeknownst to me I was seen by WNA Members dancing in my 3D glasses - there's a WNA Member around every corner these days), I am off to see the long anticipated High School Musical on Ice extravaganza with Maddi in tow as my cover . You just have to love being a mum in business - personally, as a single Mum since Maddi was born, I have always found blending it all has been a rich and rewarding experience . Sometimes you just have to act like a kid - don't you!
Here it is the 12th of April, and I’m still musing over the contents of her statement.
Why?
Because it’s such a different attitude to 99.9% of men and women who juggle a career with children. It’s clearly 180° in the opposite direction.
I’m a sponge for lifestyle stories. Outside of eavesdropping, it’s my second favourite past time.
I devour lifestyle magazines and lifestyle articles in newspapers, listen to ABC Radio National’s panorama of lifestyle segments and watch most lifestyle documentaries on ABC1 and SBS TV.
So again, why?
Because your business and mine is all about people. No matter what you sell, and we all have something to sell every day, our end product or service goes into the hands of a person.
And the buck stops at you in terms of how you perceive your business.
And your customers instinctively respond to your perception.
Understanding the dynamics of what’s happening in the lives of others helps you become more in tune with what pleases them and how to please them.
The what and how you do it depends 100% on your attitude.
And how many times have you heard someone sound so energetic and joyful about being a single mum as Lyn?
More precisely, how many times have you heard someone sound so energetic and joyful . . . period?
It’s rare, I think.
After observing and reading about people since I was nine years old, I’ve discovered very few people who are truly energetic about much in their life.
I scan a number of blogs each week. Both business and personal. Far too many posts read like an Agony Aunt column. Comments made by people burdened by their own misery.
What you mostly hear is how tough it is to be in business. How tough it is to be a parent. How tough it is to keep a relationship going. How tough it is to make friends. How tough it is to get up in the morning.
They perceive life to be so tough, you can see that it’s an affliction that makes them want to keep their head under the doona and stay there for infinity.
Many lifestyle issues today are about the home and workplace balance. About the hazards facing children today who have two working parents or who are in single parent households.
But I read little about the joy expressed by Lyn in being a parent.
About the joy of taking her daughter with her on business trips during the school holidays. About the joy of getting down and doing girly, childish things that please both her and her daughter, Maddi.
And I can’t remember the last time I read how joyful it is to be a single parent. Certainly nothing expressed with the same ‘joy de vivre’ as her comment that being a single mum in business has been a rich and rewarding experience.
I notice that Lyn translates the business of fun to her own business, The Women’s Network.
All her emails and newsletters are full to the brim of possibilities and opportunities for women in business. And I see there are men who participate as well.
This has been her business since 1990. It started out as a few women helping each other, sharing business contacts, information and ideas for success. 18 years on and, according to her website, it has become the nation's leading networking organisation for women in business.
How much of this success is the result of her drive, ambition and her ability to enjoy herself and make her business fun?
All of it, I bet.
Attitude is everything. It makes or breaks you.
A ‘Lyn Palmen Attitude’ conquers your fear of rejection, it gets you over the low points we all experience, it gives purpose to you getting up the in the morning and starting your day with a sparkle instead of a groan.
And she has that other special ingredient that makes or breaks your business.
She loves what she does. With gusto.
I hope you can you see how every topic so far in Guerrilla From The Bush ties together and forms a circle that’s your Sphere Of Success.
I hope you can also see how your deep seated emotions affect your business more profoundly than mastering MYOB, Google Analytics, ROI or any MIS system.
Your emotions determine what shape and form your business presents to the public. That loving what you do propels you to places you never dreamed possible.
And it’s an established fact that we all aspire to mingling with the top 5% of people, whoever and wherever they are. And these top 5% are the movers and shakers in their industry.
Almost without exception, in small business, they’re the men and women who are full of pizzazz and zest. They’re the ones who shimmer and light up a room. They transfix you with their enthusiasm when giving a presentation or talking about what they do.
They are where they are because of their own belief in themselves, their company, their product or service. Their drive and ambition makes things happen. They ignite the spark that becomes a roaring flame of passion.
In other words, they are where they are because of their attitude.
Have you noticed I emphasise in small business?
Why?
Because the top 5% of men and women in big business can be dull, tedious and dreary.
Rarely are they at the top because they’ve built a business from the ground up.
They’re there because they have MBA’s and have learned to climb the corporate ladder.
They learned long ago that their deep seated emotions are unwelcome and unwanted in corporate life.
They’re stilted by the pressure to conform.
To get where they are, they’ve learned a different set of skills.
Which eventually turns them into corporate clones with no distinct personality.
In small business, it’s all about attitude. And attitude matters.
Are you aware of your attitude?
Is it positive or negative? Is your glass half full or half empty? Is everything all bad?
What’s your focus? Do you focus on yourself? Or on others? Or are you so overwhelmed, you’ve lost your ability to focus on anything?
Nothing is ever all good or all bad, but it’s important to focus on and celebrate the smallest things. And best of all, when you focus on others rather than yourself, your rewards can be outstanding.
For example.
Many years ago, a Sydney based company, which has now been swallowed up by a larger organisation, built up their business simply by focusing on their staff and celebrating the smallest achievements.
These celebrations electrified their staff and kept them motivated and stimulated. This company had plenty of competition, but they had a company policy not shared by anyone else in their field.
That attitude matters. And a firm belief that motivated staff press on and do things that take the company to places never dreamed possible.
They celebrated the smallest new jobs, everyone’s birthday, and both personal and company milestones.
Special occasions like Valentine’s day, St Patrick’s day, Easter, a new baby, all warranted at least a cake at afternoon tea time.
Valentine’s Day was special. It was an opportunity to create a company bonding experience.
First thing in the morning, everyone picked the name of a co-worker out of an urn and they lavished attention on their 'Valentine' for the day. Including the company founder and all the top brass.
Do you get it?
In 1988, I remember attending an Institute of Directors lunch where the Founder and MD of this company was sitting at my table. He was an inspiringly positive and charismatic gentleman in his early 50’s.
During lunch, I observed he rarely talked about himself, but was interested in everyone around him.
When the luncheon finished and I was walking out with a luncheon companion, I heard a disparaging remark about this particular company. It was a put down made by someone critical of the company’s ‘party mode’.
Their credentials spoke volumes for the success their ‘party mode’ brought them in their market segment. And I was intrigued that the concept of celebrating achievements was misconstrued into being a trivial pursuit.
They were number one in a very crowded market. They also had a top class reputation for good, solid work. So good, in fact, they reached the stage where they could avoid the ‘cattle call’ of competing for a project with every Tom, Dick & Harry.
In 2000, they were rewarded with multimillion dollar profits when they accepted an offer to merge with a larger organisation.
Where is the new, larger company today?
I don’t know.
I never read anything about them.
As a much larger company, I suspect they’ve been overwhelmed by the clone syndrome and are now operating just like everyone else.
They’re probably preoccupied with ROI and MIS reports while contending with all the other albatross necklaces that medium to big business seems to delight in asking their management to wear.
If you’re reading the papers and listening to the news, you’ll know that in the coming months, your attitude will be truly tested.
We seem to be entering a new period of doom and gloom.
The media is already awash with bad news and anecdotal evidence of lack of corporate and consumer confidence.
This is what the media loves.
Bad news.
It sells newspapers, magazines and keeps people glued to their TV’s and radios for further confirmation that we’re heading in a downward spiral.
Bad news causes angst.
And angst drives people underground with fear. And their fear stops them from taking action to do things. And before you can blink your eyes three times, businesses start to fold.
And once businesses start to close, a form of depression takes hold and the economy starts to slide downward at a faster rate. Everyone seems to have the ‘black dog’ of despair hanging over them.
Then they start acting like lemmings, ready to jump off the precipice at the slightest nod from the Pied Piper.
They bunker down, nurse their misery and take no positive action. They blame their fear of everything and justify their inaction on ‘the state of the economy’.
Hang on.
Everyone?
If you had your druthers, which email would you prefer to receive?
Lyn Palmen’s ‘business is fun’?
Or the dreary drivel now coming your way from Tom, Dick & Harry, who want to beat up the doom and gloom so they can prey on your fear?
Just remember one thing. Attitude matters.
Lyn Palmen’s Women’s Network Australia started in 1990. At the beginning of the ‘recession we had to have’. It was the worst recession since the depression of the 1930’s.
But even in the deepest recessions, the businesses who believe in themselves keep moving forward.
As a Guerrilla From The Bush, I implore you to take a close look at your attitude. Because it makes or breaks your business. In good times and bad. But when the doom and gloom soothsayers take hold, your attitude is more important than ever.
If you have a plan and a vision and see a future ahead of you, and work to your plan and revise it when necessary, your business is in good hands. Your attitude will carry you through the uncertain times.
What I want to know is this. Why shouldn’t running a business be fun? And for most people, why isn’t it? At what stage does life stop being fun and become a chore?
I’d love you to post your comments so we can help each other. Your expertise and wealth of experience is wasted if you don’t share it with others.
Take care,
CAROL
Carol Jones
Director
Interface Pty Ltd
Ilford NSW 2850 Australia
Designers of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover
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A comment about LinkedIn. If you’re not a member of LinkedIn, when you click View Full Profile, you’ll be asked to join. It’s free and the option is yours. There are benefits to joining. Once you’re a member, you can key in the name of any person you do business with. If they’ve taken the trouble to complete a Profile, you’ll be able to assess their background, their capabilities and the calibre of person they are. You might be, as I am, often pleasantly surprised. So go have a look.
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