I rarely get to go on conferences these days, especially more general business ones, but I have just come away from the one I make a huge effort to get to – The ‘Members Only’ annual 2-day conference. A chance for business Directors to get together, share ideas, learn, listen and reflect on our businesses and how to improve them.
Held in the beautiful Oakley Court Hotel in Windsor and hosted by the equally beautiful Simon and Dan who run Members Only; it was full on (during the day and the evening!) but packed with the most inspirational speakers and a truly lovely set of peers to sit with and chat to.
There were so many ideas to take away but I always try to encapsulate my ‘Top 10’ to bring back to the team – ideas I feel am actually going to use to make a positive impact.
A number of my Clients are business owners or team leaders and I thought this would provide some inspiration for you at your desk, not just in the gym 🙂
- Business success is motivated by what you are seeking to achieve not by what you are trying to avoid. For example, if you are aiming to grow by 50% in the next year think about all the things you are going to do to make this a reality not about all the things that may hold you back. Positive thinking!
- Event + Reaction = Outcome. For example, something happens (the event), how you choose to react to the ‘event’ will completely determine the outcome. If you never create a new event then you have nothing to react to and therefore there will be no new outcome. Be brave and create your ‘event’ and positively react to it, to create an outcome.
- Find the energy source in your company. For example, if you have an enthusiastic and positive person in your company, really nurture and work with them to enthuse then further and others and encourage this behaviour to create a positive environment, culture and progression.
- Don’t wait for perfect. For example, if you are trying to make something happen but you keep finding reasons why it isn’t right yet, you will be waiting forever. Nothing is completely perfect, but trust yourself that it will be fine and you will make it happen.
- Visualise success. For example, if you are trying to launch a new idea, have a think in your head what the end goal is and what you think this would look like. Keep this in mind the whole time you are working on this new idea and this will help keep your focus and positivity.
- Ingrain the values. Think about what you stand for as a company, write them down and live by them. Talk about them frequently with the team to ensure everyone is clear and praise positive behaviour of the values. They soon become the norm.
- Celebrate the small wins, not just the big ones. It is quite easy for companies to focus on the main wins just once a year in a summary, but smaller wins can happen all the time and can be lost in the day to day. To help motivation and focus, ensure the smaller ones are also acknowledged as well.
- Your business story and purpose is key. A company that has a clear purpose that people can get behind will be a much more successful business. It will have commercial and cultural benefits. When a company has a ‘north star’ to navigate towards, in this volatile and unpredictable world, it will make the navigation much easier.
- Act boldly. The most successful and influential people in the world did something out of the norm and never sat on their laurels. Be aware of risk to reputation and ego but this is in your mind and you can learn to control these impulses of ‘flight.’
- Super strengths. Appreciate what each team member are best at and what they enjoy the most – celebrate and positively channel their super strengths.
A massive thank you to everyone who contributed to my learning – I feel inspired and ready to take on the world and improve how I operate – not just at work but at home with the family as well.
Rebecca x
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