Finding my voice October 2, 2013

For the past 5 weeks or so I have been fortunate to meet a great guy called Nic Paton. Over 20 of us were able to spend a little time with him and were exposed to his knowledge of music. He took many of us out of our comfort zone by taking us back to a time when we were unafraid to sing. To a time when little worried us and our confidence was not curbed by the judgement of others. I will admit that at first I was reluctant, but Nic managed to provide a space where we could all feel comfortable. I guess what I drew from it most is that as an entrepreneur you are always going to be faced with situations which make you feel uncomfortable; issues that you feel may be out of your depth. It is then the task of the individual to take up this challenge for what it is, an opportunity to learn and to grow as a person.

A theme that resonated through out the course was that of finding your voice. Below lies an excerpt of something that we had to write which encompassed the value we had taken from the sessions:

“One word expresses the pathway to greatness: voice. Those on this path find their voice and inspire others to find theirs. The rest never do” (Stephen Covey). Covey expresses the idea of finding your voice in a way which is both honest and daunting. It is scary to think that achieving greatness can be reduced to one word, your voice. It is even more intimidating that you can exist on either side of line, that is with it our without it.

On a regular basis I am faced with the question, what is your passion? What is the one thing that you feel will get you out of bed every morning with a smile on your face? The ease with which this question is asked suggests that the answer should be equally as effortless. It is not. An interesting two part question was posed which looked to address this question. The first pertained to describing a moment in my life which was felt to hold the most meaning. A time where I felt like I did something that has added a somewhat indescribable value to my life as well as somebody else’s. The second question related to whether I had found my calling; that one thing that I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.  I knew instantly that I could not give an answer for the first question, and that this delay in reaction whilst I thought of a valuable moment meant that I hadn’t been fortunate enough to have lived through such an experience. In that moment I realised if I couldn’t answer this question, then by default I would be unable to address question two, my calling. For me, the two are interconnected and cannot be viewed in isolation. As soon as I reach the point where I am able to live through both questions, is when I feel I will truly be able to find and connect with my voice.

 

My journey into Mindfulness August 30, 2013

This is an account of my journey through mindfulness, a course which we were introduced to within our Creativity in Business module. I feel it is important as it has really been a point of interest for me within my development towards the end of this year.

The beginning of the sequence…

 

The idea of mindfulness is new to me and I can’t say that I know much about it. But I do know that I am extremely interested. Strangely enough 2 weeks before we started this course I met up with a friend who I had not seen in over year. She shocked me with the news of her travels when she mentioned that she had taken up the practices of bhuddism. This shock quickly turned into intrigue as she allowed me to explore with her, her journey into meditation. It was from there that my interest for the subject matter really began.

From my friends experience the key points that she had illustrated included;

• The practice allowed her to relieve herself of any stress and put things into perspective
• It has made her much stronger person
• She gets anxious from time to time as is normal, but now she is better equipped to deal with this in a manner which not only works but also brings her a great sense of happiness.
• Opportunities just fall into her lap now
• She is able to connect with her happiness a lot more than before, and the simple things in life give her joy.
• She gets high off things like treating her body right through the eating of good food
• She is able to see auras and feel certain attractions
• Her mind is not as clouded as it was which means it is less destructive

 

All these elements which have come to make up her continuing experience have really as mentioned left me intrigued, but I do understand that it is a self-experience and the results may work differently for different people. However the feedback from her is one of the reasons that I went with such an open mind into this course.

In the first week the first thing I learned was what mindfulness was about. From my understanding it entailed;

• Being aware of that which is around us
• Making use of our five senses to engage
• It is a state of being
• About being in the present, the right now of it all

I thought I was understanding it until I had to practice it. This is the more challenging part.

My first week of practice went as follows;

• I followed the meditation track given to us which was easy enough. However I wasn’t sure what I was meant to be feeling.
• My mind kept on wondering off and thinking of everything and I found that it was quite difficult to bring it back to focusing on the present.
• I found that it was easier for me to concentrate if I focused on something like breathing through my nose because I could feel and hear the sound of it over my thoughts.
• Although short, 15 minutes can feel long when having to do nothing and concentrate on one thing.

 

…the final sequence

My discipline in my meditation practice has become stronger. I now make a conscious effort to meditate even if the times vary from day to day. As long as I create space for the activity it is valuable.

I have found that it has now become easier to practice being patient. When the practice was still new I found it difficult to concentrate as time seemed to take long and more often than not, I was racing for it to end so that I could say that I had done it. This meant that I was not truly able to submerge myself in the practice and extract from it its true value. With time I have now been able to eliminate this need for speed and have been able to embrace the time contributed toward meditating as valuable. The time seems to go by quickly organically, and I never keep the issue of time as something in my thoughts whilst I am meditating. More than often I am now shocked when the timer goes off, and cannot believe that 15 minutes can go by so quickly. This has meant that I have really been able to enjoy this time alone with myself in the present moment.

I have also decided to tailor my meditation practice to a series of steps that I feel make the practice even more valuable to me. I first start off by centring my breathing, and clearing my mind. I gear my being and thoughts towards the present. I continue to do the little things that I have been doing from the beginning such as acknowledging when my thoughts deviate from the present moment and bringing myself back towards my breathing in a non-judgemental manner. I continue to feel my body exist in its current space and really try to get in tune with the sensations I feel and what they mean. A new element I have added to my meditation practice include considering both the negative and positive feelings and issues that are filling my mind and body. The negative I seek to turn into positive and the positive I use to add value to my being. I concentrate on both issues/ thoughts as well physical sensations. By the end of the session my aim is to going to sleep with a fresh and positive mind or start the day in the same way.

I feel that if I continue to do this often enough and truly incorporate this practice in my daily routine of life, it will produce long term positive effects. I am still yet to get to where I want to be, but I am slowly understanding the process and more importantly I am finding value in making it my own. I still feel there is a need for deeper discipline. With time and greater commitment toward practising and reading up I will reap the true benefits.

 

Being a salesman is no joke August 29, 2013

On a personal level I have learned that it is quite important to distinguish between the activities involved in sales versus marketing. Marketing should be used to attract, whilst the attraction should be seen as an opportunity to convert into sales. It is quite important to recognise that with any opportunity you have to talk about your brand, business and product, you have an opportunity to close a sale. In selling, I’ve learned that you have to believe in your product, and portray this confidence through transactions. The power of this belief and trust has ultimately been a success in my ability to make a sale. Lastly I have recognised that it doesn’t get any easier down the line. It is important to maintain the same amount of enthusiasm throughout in order to project the excitement that captivates potential consumers. This has meant for me that I cannot afford to be idle and hope that sales will come to me. Instead I have to be the one to go out there and make the necessary sales, regardless of the number of failed attempts that have and will continue to occur.

#TEAMWORK August 28, 2013

In terms of group learning, the most important aspect that has stood out for me is the importance of collective participation. This was not necessarily well structured from the beginning, with heavy reliance on energy. When the energy levels began to die down it was easy to see the effect that it had on the group and the group’s attitude towards achieving and meeting sales targets. Within a group context I have learned the value within setting individual targets for the greater accomplishment of a common goal. With individual pipelines it makes it easier to ensure that every member has a personal goal to work towards. Not only will this serve as a means of motivation, but it will also keep the ball rolling ensuring that we don’t become static and complacent. Furthermore, it provides room for accountability and responsibility. If we want to reach the targets that we have set for ourselves as a group, it is extremely important that we follow through with our individual targets and respect not only each other but the business as a whole.

 

#individualmeetsteam

Business. It’s a challenge. August 27, 2013

With regards to learning about the business, most of what of the knowledge I have accumulated relates to the challenges which we have faced. One of the greatest issues have been accounting for the stock produced against that sold. In this regard I have learned that there is an issue in having a manufacturing process which is not confined to one place. This coupled with having multiple storage spaces has proven to be difficult to account for sales accurately as well as inventory on hand. For future reference this is something that would need to be looked into and changed. Without proper facilities and strict systems, it is difficult to determine whether stock has been lost or whether it has not been recorded as a sale.  As a business, we need to look at implementing a more efficient way of manufacturing, monitoring, storing and recording our stock.

I have also learned that as a business, in order to meet our targets we cannot afford to wait and hope that the sales will come to us. We have to go out there and make the sales ourselves. Each and every individual of the business needs to understand this and look towards achieving the intended vision, if we hope to accomplish anything. As a business time is a scarce resource, so it needs to used wisely and efficiently and this is something that has become extremely evident over the past few weeks. A day that goes by without an effort to make a sale is a day where money and motivation are lost. It is extremely important then, to keep the values and the vision of the business strong in our minds and look to achieve beyond our own expectations. Even if we are not able to reach the figures we have intended, it will not be from a lack of trying.  

New zealand VS NY August 5, 2013

Imagine a man who grew up in New Zealand and early in his career moved to NY. Now that accent, the cross between the two, can only be extremely distracting.

A lovely gentleman came to visit us in our genesis workshops a couple of weeks ago. And although his accent was strange and quite distracting, I managed to take away valuable and important lessons.

1. PPPP:
Praise in public, problem solve in private
2. ABC: Always be closing
3. PPI:
perpetual personal interview

These are 3 of the valuable lessons that I learned. If you believe and live through these acronyms, which in actual fact are quite obvious, then you will be successful. Although obvious, they aren’t that easy to crack. If they were, we would all be the bees knees. Being able to grip such wisdom was really eye opening. This is the sort of insight that I am easily able to label as imperative, and will most certainly add to my tool box. If anything I have already tried to apply it my life right now.

Great guest lecturer, thank you.

Another learning curve

At the end of the day what are we all doing this for?

Well one of the more important and most obvious things is that we want to become entrepreneurs. And that means starting your own business. I feel that this pretty much encompasses what I’ve learned about myself as an individual coupled with my learnings of business.

Although still premature, these are some of the things that I’ve put to paper:

Myself

In terms of learning about myself I can see that there has been a significant shift in my behaviour. There are definitely elements of myself that I can see have changed as time has gone by. Firstly, with regards to my leadership style, I have become more vocal in expressing my thoughts, but at the same time I have recognized the value of others opinion and have tried to make a conscious effort not to come across as demanding and authoritative. I have learned that it is still extremely difficult to avoid trying to be a perfectionist.

There are seven people in the group and there is no way that it is possible that things are always going to be as you want them, and sometimes you just have to acknowledge this and accept the efforts contributed by all members. I have realized that I like to try and hear every individuals input, and I try to ask about what they are thinking and feeling. This speaks to a number of the fundamental needs that we have learned in class such as understanding, identity, participation and freedom. Valuing everyone’s contribution and vocally making your appreciation known goes a long way. I think I still need to work on my leadership skills in terms of avoiding coming across as demanding.

With regards to my group interaction style, I have learned that I try to assume a relaxed approach, inserting humour wherever I can, seeing as we are always under pressure. I try to engage with the silver linings of all stressful situations, whereas before I would have just indicated doom. It is all about using proactive instead of reactive language which is something that we have learned in ES and has been very helpful.

Business

Firstly I learned the value of planning properly. Planning allows you to alleviate pressure as well as guard against existing threats. Secondly, I learned that it pays to be organized. When everything is organized, there is no confusion and conflict does not arise. It also allows for things to run smoothly. Thirdly, we learned the value of time management. We are slowly learning the value of existing in a quadrant whereby all activities are important, but not urgent because time is well managed and things are done ahead of schedule. You have to know your business in and out, and you must be able to back up any claims made. You can’t afford to rely on what you think, because what you think most of the time is not what the next person is thinking. Lastly I learned the value of having well developed systems and procedures. This means that we are able to avoid confusion, remain organized and keep communication efficient.

So as mentioned that is truthfully premature and ready for growth.

Let’s regroup

Group work has been the bane but also the joy of my existence this year.
I don’t think I ever had the opportunity to work so closely with a group of people for this length of time in my life. It is a strange feeling.
I must admit with all it’s irritations, It presents an exceptionally steep learning curve.
So alas this post is dedicated to what I’ve about being in a group and being in this group…

With regards to group work, you can never stop learning. I have learned that you can never underestimate the power of effective and efficient communication. This is one of the most critical points in seeing this group till the end. At this point our communication efforts have been quite effective, and everyone is on the same page. This is something that we have continuously stressed as group and therefore make great effort. However because we have gotten fairly used to each other, this sometimes slips, with things like meetings not being properly communicated. This leaves some members feeling upset. Thus I have learned that it is extremely important to constantly re-evaluate how our communication channels are working, and improve where necessary.

The idea of conflict has reduced considerably due to efficient communication. The policy that we had put in place from our previous conflict resolution session has really left no room for significant conflict to arise. I have learned that as long as you treat everyone as you expect to be treated, then you won’t run into conflict. Furthermore it is extremely important to be open minded and respect everyone’s opinion and address people in a mature manner.

Accountability is a big thing in groups, and I have learned that as hard as it might be, everyone has to be accountable for their work, and therefore have to be called out for lack of performance. If you don’t address those who are not working then it will result in conflict.

And this is only the tip of the ice berg.

We’re back!!! July 2, 2013

Hello again…

It has been a while since we last engaged! Ever since exam season kicked in there has literally been no time. We have gone from a group who used to spend everyday with each other to a group who occasionally whatsapp. I guess it was all about prioritizing, and we knew that exams were at the time very important. At the end of the day both academics and genesis play an equally important role. This is something we all thankfully agreed upon.

 

Now that exams have passed us by and we’ve all made through the first semester I think…(considering all the ‘let’s drink celebratory statements), we can finally get back onto our product full force.

Launch day is just over a month a way, which as we have witnessed is no time at all. We’ve tried to manage the process as efficiently as possible, by giving each person a responsibility to fulfil over a given time period. It is the duty of all members to report to the group regularly, and with any major decisions a group consensus is required. So yes the system is going well, and hopefully before we know it, we will be manufacturing and ready to sell!

So far these are the various responsibilities that we have all been focusing on:

Chris, Colin & Sly: manufacturing the product (boys stuff)

Candice: aesthetics

Tumi & Amy: packaging and social media/promotions

Shani: website and promotions

So basically over the duration of the holiday we have been having weekly meetings when possible. BUT we have also given ourselves a break which was well needed. We decided that we should all give ourselves time for relaxation over such a stressful term, and I must admit I look forward to going back fresh, with a clear mind…ready to rock n roll!

 

Well that is what is going down for now. We have a meeting coming up soon which seems as though it is going to be quite interesting, so I will be sure to document!

 

Just another Thursday April 4, 2013

Today was not such an eventful day, no war stories to tell.

At this point in time, I think we are all pretty overwhelmed with the week that is to come. Stress levels are high, but we are trying to keep as calm as possible and learn which way best to deal with the anxiety. I guess everyone has their own methods. We actually had a discussion in class pertaining to every ones methods, and the following suggestions came up:
-exercise
-keep a diary
-create false deadlines
-prioritise
-practise self discipline and time management
-record how you spend all your time
-tackle one problem at a time
-work in teams
-be proactive
-work smart, not hard

With regards to cake sale, all that was discussed yesterday has already been put into practise, which shows a sign of the groups initiative. Every person is taking care of their assigned duties for the preparation of cake sale, which is definitely a change from the cake sale 1. We have revised many of strategies initially devised, and have realised that we actually put ourselves in an unnecessary stressful situation during the first round. I am not sure if we are a lot calmer because we have been through the experience before and are wiser for it, OR we are just so overwhelmed with everything that we just sort of want it to pass us by. Maybe it is a bit of both. None the less, we are going to rock cake sale. We have been having quite a bit of good news from sponsors, which is always a good sign. The only thing to really worry about now, is the weather!

With regards to all our other work, at different levels we have been trying to implement the ‘work in teams’ in order to alleviate stress. This shows that there is a level of trust between team members and that we all want every individual to succeed.

Well that’s just another Thursday for you, Until tomorrow…