Be careful who you stand on when you're climbing your way to the top

When it comes to life (and business) relationships rule. Sure, what you know plays a role - but who you know and how you treat them can either bring you success or innumerable headaches.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm not sure my success would not taste as sweet if I had a trail of dead bodies in my wake. There's ambition and then, there's ruthlessness. Make sure you know which of those you are displaying.

One of the problems is that people guard their feelings/ thoughts like the crown jewels.
If we were able to clearly express our views without either party getting easily offended perhaps there would be less unnecessary bloodshed in business. We need to develop thicker skins!

Unfortunately things go unsaid far too often. We even lie to ourselves. Maybe we're not doing it intentionally but by default. We're so busy rushing around trying to pioneer new ventures, keep cashflow healthy, meet deadlines - that there is very little time for reflection. Take the time to sit quietly, to turn down the volume of your entrepreneur brain and just take stock of where you are. Ask yourself - "Where in my life or my business am I conning myself? What am I feeling? How am I acting toward or communicating with others?"

The relationships you develop in business can be your most valuable resource. By all means, shake the boat, but do it for the right reasons. Don't just piss people off left right and centre because you don't know how to communicate clearly. 

So my question is - where do you draw the line? Is it possible to be tactful, but still communicate the truth openly and get positive results? Let me know what your thoughts are.

Vision and Success

Success starts with vision. Only when you know where you're heading can you chart a course to reach your destination.

How many of us can truly say we know exactly where we're going? Not many. And it shows. We get stuck in the unconscious incompetence phase and through ignorance (sometimes willful) we stay there. If you don't acknowledge your vulnerability, and you project a "I've got all it all together" image to the world - you are sabotaging your progress. 

Life is messy. Now matter how hard we "fake it till we make it" we are not perfect, and the sooner we get real with ourselves about where we stand, the sooner we can do something about getting from where we are to where we want to be. 

What do you want your life to look like in 3 months, 6 months, 12 months... 2 years time? 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that many entrepreneurs operate on autopilot - without thinking about where the plane is headed. We deal with the challenges of the moment...Which warning lights are flashing? Is there enough fuel? Is an engine on fire? Watch out for that mountain! I understand that you need to be aware of present challenges but if all your energy is focused on the now, without maintaining a clear sense of your final destination, you may be headed for a crash landing. 

If planning 2 years ahead scares you, start smaller. Think 12 months. What does success look like to you at the end of that time period? Imagine yourself there. What does it sound like, taste like, smell like? What emotional state are you in? Looking back, what have you achieved to get to that point?

Now go and write it down. It should look something like this (disclaimer - this just a fictional example - not my personal "destination")

It's the first of October 2014, and I am walking in the beach at Fishoek. The waves are splashing over my toes. The water is freezing. A feel free and content. I'm in Cape Town to facilitate and film the Hookup Dinners, which happen on the 1st Thursday of the month. The dinners are wildly successful and I get at least 5 qualified leads for business at each event.

So there you have! Go set some goals Tiger! 

Kiss Kansas Goodbye - The Branson Centre Advanced Course

Wow. 

I'm still trying to process what has happened over the last 3 months. In April I embarked on an adventure called "The Branson Centre Advanced Course". Having attended the Foundation course in October 2012, I thought I had an idea of what to expect. 

I started my business partly out of necessity. There was a little too much month left at the end of my money. I also had a dream, but wasn't entirely sure how to go about executing it effectively. One of the facilitators that made a huge impact on my way of thinking over the last 3 months, John Ballam, reminded us of something called "Unconscious Incompetence". At that stage of your business development journey you don't know what you don't know.

Your business doesn't operate in a vacuum. As an entrepreneur, your business is an extension of you. Your values, personality and aspirations are woven into the fabric of your company. If you want a better business, you need to work on yourself first. 

The Foundations course (which you can get more details on by viewing past posts) opened up the curtains to reveal my unconscious incompetence. The Advanced course set the curtain on fire and left nothing but a smouldering heap of ash - and a stark view of me, wide eyed and painfully, consciously aware of my incompetence.  It was a serious shock to my system.

This is not a comfortable place to be. But comfort is for children. If you want to be an entrepreneur, welcome being uncomfortable - because that's the point that motivates change. 


Here's how the cycle works:

Over my next series of posts, I'm going to attempt to explain what happened during the Advanced course from a business perspective. Slightly more difficult to explain (but for you, I'll try!) is how the last 3 months have impacted me personally. 

As a taste of what you're in for - I'd like to leave you with a quote from the Matrix's shady character, Sypher - "Buckle up Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye bye".

CTV: Refreshed and Reloaded

 In a world where first impressions count, we have one chance to make an impact.  CTV hit the proverbial refresh button this month and will soon reveal its ‘reloaded’ look-and-feel across the board – both on and offline.

We’re excited about the changes. As a vibrant, dynamic, up-to-date team widely recognized as one of South Africa’s premier providers of customised training videos, we wanted to embrace a new look for our brand that communicates this. 

CTV: producing quality, cutting-edge customized training videos for your industry

The changes have been incremental though, as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Managing Director Denise Sherman, had this to say:

“Entrepreneurship is a journey of growth, both personally and professionally. Over the last year, particularly as a result of our journey with the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, we have really grown. Who we are, where we are now as a business and where we want to be is a lot clearer. We want our new brand to relect on the outside the transformation that’s already going full steam ahead on the inside.

Rebranding can be a daunting task. We’ve wanted to do it for a few months already, but one of the main mental hurdles we’ve had to get over is “Who do we approach to do the rebrand for us?”. Finding the right person to walk your rebrand road with you is more of a process than picking up a yellow pages and finding a designer. Your “brand architect” needs to have a similar flavour to that of your company. Their vision, values and approach should be in sync with yours.

We have been fortunate enough to engage exactly the right person – Paul Taliadoros from Downtown Design. Paul is one of my fellow Branson Centre Entrepreneurs, and completely sold me when he presented his business to the class. He has a fresh, slightly cheeky, “out-of-the-box” approach – which resonates with us. In short – exciting stuff ahead. Watch this space."

A better business starts with a better you

The Branson Centre regularly blows my mind. Whether its the people in my class, the passionate staff or the knowledgeable course facilitators - every interaction I've had has filled my brain almost to bursting point. If you like being comfortable, living a safe and predictable life - stay away from the Branson Centre.

I started with the Centre in October 2012, and its been an adventure so far. I've met people that inspire and challenge me on a daily basis. It's not comfortable at all. But that's fine by me. Comfortable does not yield results. Comfortable does not shake the planet. Comfortable does not bring about change and challenge.

I've had challenge in bucket loads since starting the Foundations of Entrepreneurship course. So much challenge that sometimes I wish I could press the pause button while my body catches up to where my brain is. One of the things that I so appreciate about being in this environment is the infectious positive attitude of my fellow Entrepreneurs. It's a hard road when you're running your own business, but its also very satisfying. Interacting with people who are taking risks, following their dreams and persisting despite problems inspires me.

So where am I in my journey at the moment? I'm in the third week of a 12 week advanced course. I've been manically busy since completing the foundations course, and my business has gone through a radical transformation. Our turnover has increased dramatically, and we've gone from a team of 2 to a team of 5 (and possibly employing our 6th person by the end month). I've made some great connections, gained clients and entered into joint ventures with some of my fellow tenacious and driven Branson Centre Entrepreneurs. My favorite venture that we're involved with at the moment is The Hookup Dinner (see https://www.facebook.com/TheHookupDinner ) If you're in Johannesburg, South Africa you should definitely check it out.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the connections I make, and the knowledge I gain during the Advanced Course will affect my life and my business.

So there you have it, the scene is set - let's jump straight in to what's happened so far

Session: 1 Personal Effectiveness, Thursday Class
Presenter: Deshun Deysel

I couldn't help but be inspired by this session. Deshun is a prime example of what can be achieved when you set goals and exercise persistence. In her case the exercise part is quite literal. Deshun is an avid mountaineer, most notably - the first black South African woman to climb the mighty Everest. Running a business is (or should be) about more than making money. Primarily it's about living your passion and achieving the goals you've set. Ou have to really know what you want and what it's going to cost or take to get what you want.

Some of the things that stood out from Deshun's presentation for me:

Personal growth is the catalyst for business growth. If you want a sustainable business that makes an impact, you have to start with you. A better you results in a better business.

You need to be deliberate about your development. Start by assessing where you are, and determine where you want to be. Then track your progress. Monitor your growth and development an a monthly basis.

You need competence in the boring stuff (accounting, legal compliance etc.) - challenge yourself!
Your business may be started on you your passion but you need to fill in the gaps

Deshun's session was focused on personal development, using a model she's developed called the Peak Performance Toolkit. It details 5 areas of effectiveness for personal success

1. Aspiration - vision, mission, values, purpose, (clear direction) live in your flow
2. Self mastery - locus of control/ area of control, resilience, accountability, motivation
3. Competence - talent, skills, knowledge and experience
4. Environment - policies and procedures, culture, systems, diversity (its up to you create the environment in your company. How does your presence add to or draw from it?
5. Opportunity - Luck, (opportunist is not negative, recognizing and taking advantage of opportunity), preparation, success and failure.

We're all developing in each of these areas. Some areas are more developed than others.To be truly effective, there needs to be a balance.

During the session we completed an assessment, and charted where we were in each of the areas. That part was relatively easy. Gauging we were. What I (and many people in my class) struggled with was setting goals in each of those areas in the short term (0-5 years), medium term (6 - 15 years) and long term (15 years plus).

We'll be doing the same assessment again in the second and third months of the course, and tracking our progress. My two big areas that I'd like to make progress in are Aspiration and Competence.

Watch this space!

I'm in! Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship Advanced Course - April 2013

I officially got may acceptance email today for 

the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship Advanced course! 

I'm excited about how things are going to change with each new session I'll be exposed to. I've already seen a remarkable change in our business since doing the Foundations of Entrepreneurship course. Our monthly revenue has more than doubled since October 2012, and our third staff member started today. It feels a bit like we're moving at warp speed! 

I'm predicting that sleep is going to be even more scarce, but as a mom to 3 toddlers I'm no stranger to sleep deprivation... so BRING IT ON!

Here's an excerpt from the email to give you an idea of what I'm in for over the next 12 weeks:

The Advanced Course is run over 12 weeks, 1½ days a week.  The full day (08h30 to 17h00) is on a Thursday and the half-day (08h30 to 13h00) is on a Saturday.

The course is designed around the concept of entrepreneurship as value creation, and each of the 11 topics falls into one of four value 'tiers' - (1) Creating Value - topics 1 to 3, (2) Communicating Value - topics 4 to 6, (3) Delivering Value - topics 7 to 9, and (4) The Value Creator: the Entrepreneur - topics 10 & 11.  Outside experts will be brought in to facilitate the course, and the topics are as follows:

1. Developing a Strategy
2. Innovation
3. Finance
4. Marketing
5. Sales and Customer Relations
6. Communication
7. Human Resource Management
8. Operations Management
9. Governance and Ethics
10. Leadership
11. Habits of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs

During the final session, Session 12, the entrepreneurs will deliver a 15 minute presentation on their businesses.  From these presentations, entrepreneurs will be selected to present in front a group of Virgin MDs, potential investors and other industry experts at a 'Screw It Let's Do It' Day.

The course starts on the 18th of April, and will be blogging about my experiences as I go. Every now and then I'll feature a few short video interviews with course facilitators, and pearls of wisdom from my fellow classmates.

So buckle up and join me for the ride as I blog about this crazy, tiring, eventful and rewarding journey called entrepreneurship.

P.S: If you live in Gauteng and are interested in applying to the Branson Centre follow this link http://www.bransoncentre.org/SouthAfrica/applications.html 

After completing your application, you may be called in for a series of interviews. If you get accepted as a Branson Centre Entrepreneur - its a 2 year partnership, consisting of training, mentoring, access to facilities, networking opportunities - all funded by Virgin Unite and Enterprise Development contributions from Corporate South Africa. As an entrepreneur the only cost to you is your time! What are you waiting for?