Reflections for Another Year November 2012

Insight 1: Trust your gut feel
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then stop treating it like a Swan – it’s a duck! When it is too hard to work with someone or a situation and a pattern of behaviour and disappointment continues to repeat itself, well then it is a good time to stop and get out of the land of denial and confront the situation. You can’t work with everyone, even with the greatest intentions. This year I had to confront a number of situations where I had to see things as they are and extract myself out of situations that just were not working for me anymore. Great learning for an optimist like myself, who always wants to see the positive in a situation and is always hopeful that things will improve - sometimes they don’t!

Insight 2: Don’t be afraid of your own success
Sometimes I have played too small (for myself, never for my clients). Maybe I should practice what I preach? My Partner has always encouraged me to play bigger. I like my clients to shine and to work behind or beside them. This year we have experienced amazing growth and I am now allowing myself to be OK with our own success… I think I have been hinging too much on my client’s success… I have recently joined a Board with amazing people and I told myself that I would just observe and sit quiet. At my first strategy session I had an outer body experience where I saw myself driving and leading and challenging, the part that was observing this side of me wanted to gag me and tell me just to shut up! One of the other Directors commented “I should hide my light under a bushel”, this very much reinforced my natural inclination to play hard or not at all! So to all my client’s, family and friends yes I can be perceived as intense at times and please know it is coming from an intense passion to get the best out of each other. I am going to continue to be happy with other’s success and now allow myself to be OK with my own.

Insight 3: Surround yourself with exceptional people
I am blessed with exceptional Partners, Associates, Mentors, Colleagues, Developers and Office Managers. Our recently appointed Office Manager is our Office Angel, she just gets everything done with a smile on her face! I have people around me who are better than me at a lot of things – and together we create magic. I am letting go of that whole control freak issue and working collaboratively with likeminded and aligned value people. Life just works so much better now!

Insight 4: Constantly reinvent
We have dabbled with Applications and now are registered Developers with Apple. We have been part of a team that has commercialized a business to business app and now have a number of developments in the pipeline. The Applications support our core business to get the best out of people and business. It is giving us a vehicle for innovation, experimentation and learning. It is also fun to play out of our comfort zone. Always be open to reinvent and redevelop your business offerings it brings a new lease of life to the business.

Insight 5: Lifecycle – Born, Live and Die
We are born, live and die. We lost one of our Grandmothers this year after 94 years of life – she has left an amazing legacy 17 Grandchildren and 18 Great Grandchildren. As the Matriarch of the family she was a powerful influence right to her dying day. Another reminder to live fully and not complain or put off anything you really desire. So brush off your bucket list. Make sure 2013 brings lots of opportunities to live fully.

New Skin
We have been in our own business for over 12 years and each year there are new discoveries, new opportunities, new insights. Each year as we evolve we seem to shed products, services and replenish them with a new skin. There are of course our constants – our values, our purpose and our core offerings.
The act of renewal is cleansing.
Renewal is a natural part of our ecosystem, we see it in our body every day through our in-going and out-going breaths and our scaly, exfoliating skin.
Nature constantly renews itself, each brand new day we are reminded of this by the sunrises, leaves changing and flowers blooming.
We have recently shed our home office into our ‘real’ office (5 minutes walk from home) and we were amazed with the business clutter that had taken over our home. Clearing the clutter has created open space. Our rooms even have an unusual echo to remind us of the cushioning we once had to pad out our existence.
Our homes and offices like businesses need a refresh and renewal on a regular basis. What clutter have you built up in your business that perhaps is weighing you down and preventing you from moving in a new direction?
Where is the white space in your business to allow new ideas, opportunities or challenges to be identified?
My recommendation at the start of a new year is to shed, let go and see how it feels. Who knows what you will uncover and discover.