Here’s What Jeff Bezos Prefers To Work-Life Balance And Why You Should Live By It

Article by entrepreneurmag.co.za

Amazon is known for building a culture that values hard work. So much so that the organisation has received criticism from current and former employees for having to work on Thanksgiving, or even when ill.

When asked about Amazon’s work-life balance, Jeff Bezos remarked that he ascribed to the phrase “work-life harmony” instead.

Here’s how hard-charging business people can maintain energy at home and at work without burning out by finding work-life harmony in place of work-life balance.

Measure work and home focus as a matter of energy instead of time

It isn’t about how many hours you spend at home or at work; it’s about the energy you bring to both parts of your life. If you enjoy working long hours, and that helps you to feel present while at home, then by all means continue.

This is a fundamental principle in Bezos’s theory of dividing one’s time between work and life. Because Bezos loves what he does, he finds energy from accomplishing his work in a manner that works well with his notoriously high standards.

As many can attest, our emotions bleed into all areas of our life. When you can gain energy from doing good work, it can help to propel you to be more successful in your life outside of work. Conversely, when things aren’t right at home, it can be difficult to find the energy to do your best work in the office. A central precept of work-life harmony is living such that both the professional and personal aspects of our life energise us to be our best at home and in the office.

This does not necessarily mean that we should spend our time in a balanced way, as the phrase “work-life balance” implies. Rather, we should spend our time in such a way that we are our best selves. In so doing, we will be better people on the whole.

Build a flexible work-life schedule

Just as different people will amass different levels of energy from work and life outside of work, different people will find they are most productive at different times of the day. The 9-5 work culture that has existed for decades is really shifting now. Most modern offices allow some form of flexible work, which means you have the ability to set your own hours to some degree.

Experiment with working at different times of the day to find the schedule the helps you to be most productive. In so doing, you’ll have more time to do your best work, and more energy to spend with loved ones as a result of increased productivity.

Know when to say “no”

We tend to think that taking on as many projects as possible is a sign of a good professional. But being busy is not the same as making an impact. To do your best work, you’ll need to prioritise projects that you know you can add value to.

Spinning your wheels is demoralising. Look for projects in which you can easily enter a “flow state” where hours melt away. This is the environment in which you are doing your best work, and are happy to be doing the work itself. It is in moments of flow that we often feel most productive, and even fulfilled. Therefore, it is after moments of flow that we tend to feel guilt-free about enjoying quality time with loved ones while unplugging from work.

Communicate commitments

If you’re approaching a time-consuming work project, communicate that to the important people in your life. Otherwise, they may think you are avoiding them due to a more insidious reason.

Providing those you love with a glimpse into your professional commitments can also help them to help you. If a good friend knows it will be difficult for you to communicate for a few weeks, they will know to pause conversations so as not to burden you with having to reply to texts or emails.

Similarly, a partner who knows that you are responsible for delivering an important project may be able to rearrange their schedule in order to better support you in the short term.

Conversely, if family commitments will prevent you from working at full capacity for a certain period of time, set the right expectations with colleagues. A good workplace is one that is flexible to the realities of employees’ personal lives. Managers who care about the well-being of their people are usually willing to help employees take care of personal commitments.

Adapting to a changing work life

Work no longer happens between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM, Monday to Friday. Work happens Saturday mornings, and late Friday nights. It happens on vacation, and during graduations. The idea of work-life balance suggests that there should be an even split between working and non-working hours.

In reality, those who have undertaken ambitious careers should aim for work-life harmony, a lifestyle in which both aspects of life give you the energy to be your best self as frequently as possible.

Article by entrepreneurmag.co.za

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October 17, 2018 / No Comments /  

What’s The Worst That Can Happen With A Disgruntled Silent Shareholder?

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

While we often hear that it can be bad to have a silent shareholder that does not want to play ball, it is not often that we make enquiries about how the governance of a company can be hindered by a disgruntled shareholder.

Most of us assume that as long as they own more than 50% of their own company, they are entirely in control of all aspects of the company and how it is governed. This is not true: Even if you are a majority shareholder, holding less than 75% of all the shares in your company can still result in headaches if a minority shareholder, holding at least 25% of the company, becomes disgruntled and neither participates in the decisions of the company, nor consents to the decisions being made.

What is set out below highlights, among others, why it is so important to give shares in a company to prospective shareholders over a period of time, rather than from the outset. This allows for shareholders to prove their worth without you potentially placing your company in a position where it could be held at ransom for many years.

The illusion of holding more than 50% of the shareholding in a company

  • Many people assume that by holding more than 50% of the shares in a company they are free to do with the business as they please. This generally only holds true for basic decisions of the shareholders, such as the removal and appointment of directors. The most important decisions of a company are based on special resolutions. A special resolution requires that shareholders, either individually or collectively, holding at least 75% of all the shares in a company, vote in favour of a specific decision.
  • Examples of decisions that require a special resolution include:
    • Amending a company’s Memorandum of Incorporation
    • Approving the issuing of shares or granting of other similar rights
    • Authorising the basis for determining directors’ salaries
    • Disposing of company assets
    • Mergers and acquisitions.

So, what does this mean for you and your company?

  • If you are a start-up looking to raise funds, apart from some exceptions, you will not be able to issue further shares to new shareholders or anyone other than existing shareholders if there is a shareholder that is effectively dead weight.
  • Should you manage to vote a new director to the board, you will not be able to determine the basis on which they are compensated (their salary) without a special resolution.
  • If you intend to merge with another company, you will not be able to pursue this without a special resolution.
  • If you plan to raise money by disposing of or selling most of the assets of your company you will, once again, be prevented from doing so.

Accordingly, it is always best when starting a venture to vest your shares over a period of time. This means that, for example, shareholders are only entitled to have their shares allocated to them after a certain period of time to avoid a situation where you have a dead-weight equity shareholder hindering the governing of your company, and requiring possible litigation to remove them.

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

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October 10, 2018 / No Comments /  

7 Skills Every Entrepreneur Needs To Adopt Today

Article by entrepreneurmag.co.za

For some people, becoming an entrepreneur is as easy as stepping off a bus. They have a big idea, they bring it to life, they hire employees and the next thing they are in a building smothered in branding and living the business dream. For others, the idea and the passion are there but they are unsure as to how they can make these into a sustainable reality. Entrepreneurial spirit isn’t like instant coffee – you don’t add ideas and suddenly get all the skills you need to thrive.

Want to know what skills can help you build confidence and your business? Here are seven…

1. Believable vision

Make sure that your vision is believable and achievable. It has to live in the realms of possibility, not as a blue-sky idea that looks good on paper but wouldn’t work in reality. You need to be able to live this vision so make it realistic and achievable. This will not only keep you on track, but your employees as well.

2. Be inclusive

You need to ensure that every person who works with you feels as if they are part of your vision and understand it. They need to relate to where the business is going and how it plans to get there. Many leaders don’t understand why employees are not engaged with their business and it’s because many of them don’t actually understand what the business does.

3. Communication is critical

If you don’t have fantastic communication skills, then now is the time to hone them. When it comes to building employee morale, commitment and engagement, nothing works as effectively as constant communication. The same applies to client relationships. You need to repeat the vision and ethos of the company at every opportunity and you need to be part of the team that does this communication.

4. Be visible and transparent

You are communicating, now you need to make that communication genuine by being both open and clear. People respond incredibly well to transparency. They feel as if they are part of something that recognises their value and contribution and it fosters a more inclusive company culture. Often toxic cultures come about thanks to a lack of communication and visibility. People know when things are being kept secret and react negatively to it, regardless of whether they’re an employee, a customer or a manager.

5. Be practical

You aren’t going to build an empire in a fortnight so focus on a realistic and practical business strategy that has clear benchmarks and even clearer goals. Communicate these with the company and keep everybody on the same page. Practical and achievable means long-term success.

6. Build opportunities

As people become immersed in your company and part of its growth they will also need opportunities to grow. You need to tie their careers to the business and create opportunities for them.

7. Be human

It takes people to build a culture, a company and a future. It’s essential that you are human in your interactions and your treatment of others. The impact that a down to earth and authentic attitude can have on a company is extraordinary.

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

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October 3, 2018 / No Comments /  

It’s Vital To Your Business Success: How To Manage Your Budget Better

Article by entrepreneurmag.com

A budget is or should be a part of your business plan. It is one of the major control methods to make sure your plan is implemented rather than ignored.

I agree that there are some very successful businesses that operate on a seat-of-the-pants basis, but there are a lot more trying to do so but instead floundering around in the dark.

Unless you are gifted with unerring judgement and great insight you are likely to achieve more success by working to a plan and budget.

Budgets are often prepared by financial managers and tend to focus on operating and capital expenditure rather than sales, purchases, inventory and debtors targets. A better approach is to start by agreeing what performance your company would like to achieve for all key areas.

The sales budget could be a separate section of the main budget to manage expected sales by whatever breakdown suits your business: Type of product, by division, branch or sales channel, or type of customer. In each category budget for margins, discounts and commissions.

Correctly managing your expenses

Key expense items like payroll, overtime, marketing promotions, travel, vehicle expenses and IT costs should be planned for and monitored via the budget but I suggest you don’t clutter the expense budget with too many items which you have little power to manage.

Rather lump these together, you can always drill down if the costs get out of hand. If you have a seasonal business with variations in sales and expenses depending on the time of the year, make individual budgets per month.

Do not forget balance sheet lines, especially capital expenses for new buildings, machinery or vehicles, and also borrowings and other liabilities.

Debtors, creditors and inventory should all be planned and monitored and it is a good idea to monitor measures like average days outstanding for debtors and creditors, days inventory held, bad debts and obsolete or lost stock.

The last items can be target ratios which may not form part of the budget, but should be reported on regularly so that you do not get nasty surprises at the year end. Prepare the budget with everyone concerned to get buy-in. The budget becomes an agreed plan of operations to which everyone is committed.

Continuously review your budget

Monitoring performance against budget should be done at least quarterly, but I prefer once per month in a management meeting. If you are the only manager, set aside time each month for a vital review your performance against budget.

The actual results must be up to date and available. Use a simple spreadsheet showing budget, actual and variance or a dashboard which shows key metrics as graphics or tables.

Examine those items where the variance to budget is significant and probe for reasons. The dangerous ones are the start of a trend — for example sales in one area consistently below budget or mushrooming overtime costs.

For any bad variances that are not just a short-term hiccup you should plan to correct the problem, or if the problem is insurmountable, replan to get around it.

Course correct your budget as you grow

The budget can be changed because circumstances are different to those envisaged when the budget was prepared, but a better option is to add another column for a revised budget, so the amount of the change remains obvious.

Managing the budget should not be limited to complaining about excessive entertainment or travel costs, but a vital tool to give stark visibility to key areas of the business that are not performing as expected.

It should involve all the key players in decision-making to catch and fix problems early, but also to seize opportunities presented by better-than-expected performance at the earliest time.

Treat budgeting as a management tool and it is likely to treat you to more profit and less nasty surprises.

Do this

An excellent way to increase profits is to treat budgeting as a management tool. Never be scared of your budget — use it instead.

Article by entrepreneurmag.com

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September 25, 2018 / No Comments /  

4 Ways To Improve Your Budgeting Skills

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

Traditional budgeting methods have undergone a digital makeover in recent years, and now offer businesses an abundance of streamlined services, tools and access to experts that will help improve your budgeting skills. From regulating current expenses to applying for funding, a well-crafted budget is an essential part of developing a healthy financial forecast for any business.

1. Take advantage of budgeting software

Creating an effective business budget will require a bit more than just utilizing a personal financing software. Luckily, there are plenty of tools available that focus on helping you get your professional finances in order. Centage, which came out in 2001, is a powerful portal that gives companies the chance to streamline their budgeting, while also providing forecasting and consolidation features to help you create more strategic budgeting plans. Investing in a budgeting software is a great way to stay organized at any stage of your professional development.

2. You can’t predict the future, but you can prepare for it

In addition to making the most of the available budgeting tools on the market today, it also pays to do your research. Understanding market fluctuations, as well as competitor activity, will help you create a clear budget plan based on these variables. Keeping up to date on the changes that tend to happen frequently within your industry will also grant your business a bit of extra confidence when it comes to making future decisions. Budgets can provide a strong financial forecast help businesses adapt quickly to changes that might have set them back in the past. For example, if your product is largely dependent on seasonal trends, these projections will give you a greater sense of which months you will be seeing more revenue, allowing you to allocate these funds accordingly throughout the year.

3. Ask an expert

Creating an effective budget for your business goes way beyond simply organizing your finances. Reaching out to an expert to help you construct a budget that fits both your personal and industry needs can better schematize your current plan, and potentially make your business model more profitable.

The rapid growth of the freelance economy has resulted in the creation of platforms that give businesses, big and small, access to a wealth of skilled finance professionals. Whether you’re in the market for a quick consulting session, or on the lookout for a long-term advisor, speaking with someone who specializes in creating budgets for business is a great way to gain valuable insight on the best ways to handle your finances. 

4. Don’t forget about funding

Access to funding is an important resource for any business, especially those that are in the early growth stages. Whether you are starting out small with a modest self-investment, asking friends and family for a bit of help, or preparing to pitch a big name investor, having a financial forecast in place is a must.

For those that are hoping to get their hands on VC funding, presenting current activity and future financial projections is an essential part of the process. Of course, investors understand that budgets are subject to change, but without a financial plan in place, investors may question whether or not your business is a worthwhile investment. A clearly constructed budget can help illustrate the value of your company, in addition to showing what will be done with supplementary funding to increase growth.

For small and big businesses alike, an agile and well-crafted budget is key when it comes to maintaining and improving your company finances. From managing the day to day expenses to preparing for unexpected changes in the market, getting into the habit of good budgeting is the best way to ensure steady growth for your company.

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

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September 17, 2018 / No Comments /  

Avoiding Bad-Debt Clients

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

How do you ensure new clients can pay for the services and products you offer?

Borrowing and paying debts or using credit is standard practice for any business. Some businesses have good payment records, whilst others don’t, so it’s important to always check the credit rating of any business before lending them funds or dealing with them.

Similar to an individual, a company can have its own credit rating. A credit rating is a number generated by a mathematical algorithm based on statistical analysis of information researched for a credit report. Here’s how to go about building a credit report that will save you from collection problems in the future.

What to include in the credit check

If the report is for the purpose of extending credit then the following items would be important to include. However, the extent of your exposure would dictate the amount of information required and some credit bureaus allow their clients to choose the information they wish to include.

  • Comprehensive company details are important to understand the type of entity you are dealing with. This could affect how you deal with the company and its information, especially considering sole proprietors and small companies fall under the protection of the National Credit Act. It can also affect litigation in the future.
  • Comprehensive details of owners/directors/members to obtain details of current and previous business interests and any judgments.  If a person has been involved in a number of failed companies or has personal judgments you may wish to be more careful in your business dealings with them.
  • Bank code. This verifies that the company’s banking details are legitimate and gives a ‘snapshot’ of the company’s cash flow situation.
  • A few trade references will give you an idea of how quickly the customer is paying its other vendors and whether they are handling credit accounts matching what they are hoping to obtain from you.
  • Details of preferred creditors. If your exposure is high ie. bank overdrafts, mortgage bonds, cession of debtors, and if you are looking for some form of security from the client, this will establish how many suppliers are already ahead of you and also the number of preferred creditors there are in the case of liquidation.
  • If your exposure is high, include further detailed financial information including turnover figures, value of debtors and creditors and audited financial statements.

Should the report be required because you are considering a supply agreement whereby the subject of the report is to become a supplier, the focus of the report would be somewhat different and should include the following in addition to most of the above, as it would be necessary to establish both financial stability and capacity.

  • Operational details, which would include major customers, contracts and agencies.
  •  Details relating to capacity would be important in order to ensure the company was capable of fulfilling your requirements. This would come from type of premises, number of permanent staff, vehicles etc.
  • Financial information, including audited financial statements to ensure stability. This may be hard to come by and depends on the disclosure. It may be easier to use an independent company to request it.
  • Customer references to establish the reliability and operating style of the company.

How to read and interpret a report

Researching a company’s judgments, bank code, financial information and what suppliers have to say in the trade references may seem to be the most important aspects of a credit report.  However, checking on previous or current business interests of the principals, the type of entity or whether the directors have been involved in a previously failed business can often be very telling and a better indicator.

It’s not sufficient to just obtain a credit rating, and by using a professional credit check you will ensure that reports include more information which improves the report’s accuracy in terms of creditworthiness and risk. Using a bureau that is registered with the National Credit Regulator will ensure that the research generated is above board and may well prevent bad business dealings from occurring down the line.

Dealing with cash emergencies

The unexpected can happen to even the busiest businesses. A big customer can be late on payments, or a normally busy season is not so busy. Colleen DeBaise, the author of The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook, shares three ways you can deal with a cash emergency.

Get out there and sell

Jump start your sales efforts to find new customers and work the ones you have. Now’s the time to make sales calls – if you don’t, your competitors will, especially if they learn you’re in trouble.

Review your line of credit

See if there’s any room to borrow. If there’s not, talk to your banker and see if you can increase your ceiling. They might give you the money you need to cover the deficit.

Ask your suppliers for a favour

Remember, you’re a customer too. Talk to the people who provide your supplies and your equipment. See if they can extend your terms or give you a line of credit. After all, they don’t want to lose your business. Now is the time to work those relationships.

Article by www.entrepreneurmag.co.za

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September 12, 2018 / No Comments /  

Tops Corporate Challenge – TFT Come’s out 6th!

Article by www.wildfly.co.za – Previous winners, The Finance Team, come 6th in the 2018 edition of South Africa’s premier fly fishing competition

Mist and drizzle greeted the finalists of the TOPS Corporate Challenge Final this last weekend, which not surprisingly didn’t put even a slight damper on the atmosphere of the opening evening at the legendary Notties. But, with over half a Million Rands worth of holidays up for grabs and every person guaranteed to win one of them, you can understand why.

Tiger fishing Trips to Matoya, Ichingo, Royal Zambezi, Redcliffs and Shayamoya coupled with yellow fish expeditions led by Kalahari Outventures as well as Trout adventures to Semonkong and Highland Lodge had all our anglers champing at the bit to get onto the water.

With every fly fisher kitted out in their new complimentary fishing gear, the onslaught on the poor Trout was relentless. By 6am lines were sailing and flies were being stripped with intent. The resting of the waters for a full month in between qualifying legs played a role in the fish being so obliging, with an impressive 263 being caught and released in the first day alone.

There was no room for stockie bashing, the size of each catch being key and with only a total of 7 fish per angler to count in the first two sessions, the focus was on fooling fish of stature. The bonus of every amateur team able to bequeath fish to their more unfortunate team mates also had a major impact on the leader board as the sun set on Friday. Fortunately for the anglers and guests, Glenmorangie had set up a first class whisky tasting to refresh them, showcasing their range of exquisite Highland Scotch.

Friday nights at Notties have a reputation for subduing a man’s enthusiasm to brave the Midlands Winter morning, but most were up to chasing the proverbial worm, but the teams were soon battling against 35km driving winds, making any float tubing one way traffic.

Despite the challenging winds, lunch time saw another 100 Trout that had made it to the net with an impressive 61cm from Chris Wentzel and a lovely 62cm Rainbow from Simon Giles. Three other Brown Trout made an appearance and just too many fish over 50cm to mention… Despite the abominable weather, the fisherfolk were just not taking no for an answer.

We had four ladies who had made the final in 3 separate teams this year and they were showing a lot of the lads how it was done. In particular Louise Steenekamp who in the last sessions led her team’s charge with four fish and a great winning 4th session 51cm Rainbow to finish it all off.

As one would expect after all the rod pressure only 77 fish were recorded on Saturday Afternoon, but totalling 442 Trout in a final broke previous year’s records and brought the tally to an incredible 1343 fish for the 2018 TOPS Corporate Challenge.

Grant Giles from team TDI, travelling all the way from Zimbabwe took top honours, catching in every session, with 15 Trout at an average of 47cm.

The Biggest fish was a count out, forcing me to adjudicate on actual size and in the end definitively it was Rob Rein, with his 62cm Rainbow cock fish from Dwaleni that topped Simon’s Hen from SpringGrove, making him the first person in the event’s history to catch the biggest fish twice in a row. He walked away with another Quintrex boat, compliments of Yamaha.

Every angler walked away with a fishing holiday for the entire team that evening, with the Trout destinations of Cathedral Peak, InverMooi, Fordoun, Nooitgedacht, Verloonkloof, Rivendell and Sandstone making up this wonderful ensemble of fly fishing trips. This complemented the hoard of prizes that every angler won compliments of Greys, Hodgeman, Xplorer and Craghoppers.

Like any great Open Championship, It all came down to the final session and the below table will give you an indication of how closely contested it was, with 9 teams in contention to win the title:

Placing After 1st Session After 2nd session After 3rd session After Final Session
1st Growler Wildguys Growler Wildguys Growler Wildguys Growler Wildguys
2nd Afriguide Logistics Guns ‘n Roses Fly Fishing Consultants Notties Football Club
3rd Notties Football Club Fly Fishing Consultants ST Ferguson Fly Fishing Consultants
4th Joint Venture Afriguide Logistics Joint Venture Joint Venture
5th Guns ‘n Roses The Finance Team Guns ‘n Roses Guns ‘n Roses
6th ST Ferguson ST Ferguson Notties Football Club The Finance Team
7th TDI Notties Football Club Afriguide Logistics ST Ferguson
8th Fly Fishing Consultants TDI The Finance Team TDI
9th Wildlife Assignemnts Wildlife Assignemnts TDI Afriguide Logistics
10th Sasfin Securities Joint Venture The Split Cane Brand Co The Split Cane Brand Co
11th The Finance Team The Split Cane Brand Co Novus Print KZN Wildlife Assignemnts
12th IDM Build It Sasfin Securities Wildlife Assignemnts Sasfin Securities
13th The Split Cane Brand Co Novus Print KZN Sasfin Securities Novus Print KZN
14th The Fingerlings IDM Build It IDM Build It The Fingerlings
15th Novus Print KZN The Fingerlings The Fingerlings IDM Build It

But it’s a hearty congratulations to the Growler WildGuys with Andrew Strachan, Edwin Bean, Martin and Louise Steenekamp who pipped their competition to take home the prestigious title as the 2018 TOPS Corporate Challenge winners!

It’s testament to the quality of this event that plans are already being made about next year, marking the 18th anniversary of the TCC.

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September 7, 2018 / No Comments /  

Passion x Challenges = Opportunities + Movement

Last year I shared a couple of tweets from this passage by Louis Groenewald and received more re-tweets than ever before: “Passion is a powerful language. Passion for a cause crosses cultural and language barriers. It is felt, rather than mentally understood. Passion feels authentic. It sends out honest vibes. It can be quiet and vibrant and at other times it can be overwhelming and dominant. Passion can also be the most destructive force on earth driving evil motives. Passion is a catching thing! It can be seen in our eyes and body language. Our passion for excellence as leaders has the tendency to cross almost impossible boundaries of cultures and philosophies. Passion is a universal language. The greatest passion is that of unconditional love, often manifested by mothers and leaders committed to universal values.”

Unfortunately I find leaders are less passionate about what they do than in the distant or even recent past. And the same can be said of employees in general, fortunately with exceptions here and there. Simple passion for one’s job seems to be disappearing quickly in the modern workplace, and as this happens the passion for excellence is also severely impacted in a negative way.

And of course there is a strong correlation between a leaders’ passion for the job and that of the employee.

There may be many reasons for this decline in passion. Clem Sunter recently touched on this when he wrote: “Where people are employed, many of them are working much longer hours than their parents did last century. It has been known, particularly in the investment banking industry, for companies to set the norm of 70 to 80 hour weeks which is 10 hours or more a day with no day at the weekend off.”  He continues: “Stress-related illnesses are multiplying and the work/life balance has gone straight out of the window. Even Australia, which is not known for having a cruel work ethic, has introduced migrant labour into its mining industry with its “fly in-fly out” system, putting pressure on the marriages and quality of life of those who spend two to three weeks a month away from their families.”

Against this backdrop, in today’s fast paced, ever moving environment which never comes to a standstill, and where pressure on leaders increases daily, they have to be on top of their game like never before – and I would hasten to add that they had better possess bundles of passion if they are going to succeed. But it is difficult to be on top of their game when the facts about the situation they lead seem to fluctuate and change at the blink of an eye – because in today’s world everything affects everything. The socio-political, economic and technological environment is so integrated that one thing changes and affects another, which affects yet something else – the well-known domino effect. Many leaders struggle to have sufficient insight into their environment to see how dynamic changes around them impact the facts of their own situation.

The environment in which leaders lead seems to be bombarded by all sorts of obstacles, challenges and negative perceptions of their followers. These too seem to change on a consistent basis, and while this was always present, the pace and severity seems to continually increase. This clearly has an impact on people’s attitudes, which has a direct correlation with performance – once again because of the dynamic composition of our modern, connected society.

On the positive side, as challenges and obstacles arise, so do innumerable opportunities, options and possibilities. This is the nature of life and amidst the persistent change of facts and constant wave of obstacles a leader needs to be fully aware of this. If he is not and allows himself to be consumed only by challenges he is on a losing streak.

Because of all this and more, these distractions make it very difficult for most leaders and their team members to keep a focused eye on the strategy and vision.  As a result they easily divert from what they agreed on, in order to get a handle on the changing facts and deal with the never ending challenges. As this happens and performance is negatively affected, they panic and seek answers or even quick fixes by unnecessarily changing direction and relevant structures, implementing new systems and procedures in a desperate attempt to impact performance indicators and accommodate or correct the course. And then their organisation moves towards becoming a compliance institution rather than a value adding institution. This is a dangerous place to be.

Under this mounting pressure leaders neglect to calmly, consistently and systematically follow up, evaluate and measure the right priorities pertaining to the plan and vision. Or, they do far too much of this because of a compliance culture. The emphasis becomes one of measuring or evaluating for the sake of doing it or to simply enforce compliance, rather than doing it in areas that add most value or that are core to the business. They lose confidence to adjust when needed and more often than in the past act tough inappropriately, out of context and due to frustration and lack of confidence. They stop trusting and listening, and instruct instead, sending a message of panic and spreading the feeling of distrust and even fear across the organisation. And so the spiral continues.

To make matters even worse, the environment does not slow down to give them a chance to breathe. In fact it just continues to pick up pace and thrust new and different challenges at them, or the same one’s in different guises, but faster and more regularly than in the past.

What to do about this? As is always the case the answer is simple but difficult, yet it remains the answer nevertheless.  A leader must implement a process, system or way of always remaining in tune to the following:

  1. The changing facts of their relevant responsibility – not only as they see it but as their team sees it. They have to keep listening.
  2. The constraints, obstacles, challenges of their relevant responsibility, together with the negative perceptions their people may have at any given moment. Why? Because these impact directly on their attitude, which has a direct correlation with their performance. Again, this must be viewed not only from the leaders’ angle but his team must always be part of identifying and addressing these.
  3. The positive opportunities, options, strengths at their disposal, together with the positive perceptions that exist. Also for reasons of attitude, to remain sane and positively focused on solutions and even ways to miraculously leapfrog their pressured environment into proactive space where they achieve profitable movement.
  4. Exactly where they are leading their people to – the destiny. This must be on every agenda and always top of mind.
  5. The clear and relevant plan or strategy that will take them there and continually raise the believability levels of followers that they can get there.
  6. The relevant resources, structures needed to follow the plan towards the destiny. If this is not done structures will get out of hand, irrelevant, expensive and consume unnecessary energy that should be expended in other areas.
  7. The above six points need to be evaluated together with the leaders team, on a regular basis and in accordance with the pace of change of their environment
  8. Only when the leader feels on top of the seven points above may he adjust where relevant and even act tough appropriately where the situation requires it or people require it.
  9. Finally, he needs to continually focus and re-focus his team and organisation on the vision, the destiny of where they are moving to.

As we have assisted leaders to “culturise”,  “habitualise” or institutionalise this crucial nine step process on all levels of their organisation, we have seen how the timing of when to refresh, revisit or tap back into it changed. A team may for example feel to do it every year or six months, but soon realise that the pace of their changing environment requires a more regular approach. They are forced to stay on top of every point every month, week or even day.

This is the reality under which leaders operate today. There is no way of escaping it. If leaders do not master these nine steps they will become crises managers that mostly feel out of control and they will lose their passion, resulting in their people losing their passion, which can only move one way fast and that is nowhere – failure.

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September 4, 2018 / No Comments /  

Avoid Burnout With These Small Changes To The Way You Work

Workplace burnout is real. I know, because I’ve been there, and I know most others have as well at some point or another. Thrive Global’s Arianna Huffington is no different. She’s on a mission to fix what she deems a “culture of burnout,” after her own collapse from exhaustion in 2007.

Huffington rightly says: “When we take care of ourselves, we are more effective, we are more creative and we are more successful in a broad definition of the word.”

Medical News Bulletin recently published “Can Positive Psychology Traits Prevent Burnout?,” referencing a study where participants completed a survey about the balance of the effort versus reward from a job. This particular research was focused on the manufacturing industry in China, given the “monotonous and repetitive nature of their work,” but this can be said for many professions and sectors. It was found that hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism can help to manage work stress, and people with these qualities are less likely to become burnt out.

There have been many studies published over the years that working less results in higher productivity (hint: the optimal number is less than 40 hours per week). Perhaps even more important is that it’s nearly impossible to stay focused for long stretches at a time. Some research suggests that you should be breaking as frequently as every hour.

Work smarter not harder

In line with that, I believe in working smarter, not harder. While there are 24 hours in a day, they weren’t all made for work. I’m in the camp that working eight hours nonstop is actually more unproductive than it is beneficial. Your brain has peak operating times, and what works for one may not work for another.

Some people are at their best in the mornings, while others are most efficient late at night. I firmly believe that dictating what hours you should work and when is not the best method to yield quality work.

I often get asked how I can get things done. I work from home, and some have the perspective that I have no one to hold me accountable throughout the day. Inquiring minds wonder everything from what my daily schedule looks like, to how I motivate myself to finish up a project or prospect for my next client.

tim-ferrissLet me start by saying that I strongly value flexibility. It’s the reason why working for myself is the best fit for me. But I hold myself accountable, and there’s a certain amount of self-discipline involved in doing that. Everything I do is because I’ve set goals for myself.

I have a duty to uphold to my clients and my partners, and a commitment to myself about the success of my business. I also pride myself in the underrated aspect of efficiency. It’s not how long you do something for, but how well you do it.

Several books I’ve read over the years on this topic have stuck with me. Getting Things Done, by David Allen, addresses the two-minute rule. If you can do something in two minutes or less, do it now. Don’t make a note and come back to it later. The time you spend thinking about it, planning it and recording it is more than the time it actually takes to complete the task.

Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Work Week covers the topic of efficiency as well. He’s a prime example of taking the phrase “Work smarter, not harder” to a whole new level. To be successful, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to work more, only that you need to work more efficiently.

Based on experience, I’ve adopted these top five tips to do just that:

Free up your mind

There is no need to remember everything. You read that right. Why are you keeping everything in your mind, which only serves to bog you down and make you feel overwhelmed? Find a record-keeping system that works for you.

Some people prefer old-fashioned paper notes. I prefer electronic. With a Mac laptop and an iPhone, I use Notes and Reminders apps to store everything I need to do or think about. I schedule reminder times to make sure I’ve checked something off my list. No matter what device I’m on, I know it’s available to me.

Schedule

Plus, I schedule everything on my calendar – my morning activities to start my day, hours allocated for every client and even things like time to take a walk. But again, I’m flexible. I move things around as needed, but I know I have set time to focus on a task at hand.

Plan and bucket

Some projects seem daunting from the start, but they need to be done whether you want to or not. Oftentimes the hardest part of a project is starting it.

Create a plan and break it down into manageable chunks. If you can complete a portion each day, not only will your mind stay sharp, but that focus will also help to make the task more bearable. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Follow the 80/20 rule

I’m a longtime follower of the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle: 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of the work.

Why are you spending time on things that take 80 percent of your resources but deliver 20 percent of the value?

Stop doing meaningless tasks, or outsource them if they must be done. Prioritisation is one of the most important keys to efficiency.

Take breaks

It might seem counter intuitive that you can get more done by working less, but the human mind was not created to work non-stop. As research suggests, breaks are beneficial. Go for a walk, have lunch away from your desk, read a book, catch up with a friend or colleague – I promise you’ll feel refreshed and ready to reengage.

The 40-hour workweek is so synonymous with the American culture that it’s unlikely to change in the corporate world anytime soon. Most of us know that 40 hours isn’t really 40 hours anyway, it’s “whatever it takes.” That being said, with influencers like Huffington working to educate companies on the detriments of overwork, there’s hope.

There’s nothing wrong with working hard – it’s to be admired and valued. But don’t work long hours only for the sake of it. The companies that are getting it right realise that face time isn’t everything.

The results you deliver, the reputation you hold and the relationships you build should always outweigh the hours of your workweek. As an entrepreneur, you can take advantage of this and you can evangelise this approach to others. Work smarter, not harder, and you’ll be better for it.

This article was originally posted here on Entrepreneur.com.

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August 13, 2018 / No Comments /