2017 is almost over – can you believe it?! Each year seems to go by a little faster than the previous one.
Below is a snapshot of this year’s blogs which provides a summary of the content, as well as a framework to help with some reflection. Being the end of the year it’s a natural time to reflect…..reflect on the year that was, how we went against our goals, what did we learn and what will we do different next year.
Blog recap:
I went skiing…..
My ski trip to New Zealand taught me that strangers hurtling down icy slopes can work as one team because that’s the ski culture, be it organising yourself into a group to fill a chairlift, being in synch with your fellow ski’ers zig-zagging down a hill to avoid collisions and most importantly helping complete strangers to their feet – a ritual benefited from on more than once occasion.
Reflection question: did you help anyone that fell during the year?
We heard from Dr Suess…..
Our Dr Suess inspired conference (based on the book ‘Oh the places you will go) taught us the importance of connecting your culture to your commercial vision, your market position is what your clients think of you (not what you think of you), and the importance of effective communication to bring the vision to life.
Reflection question: how clear is your vision? Does your culture enable your vision or is it blocking your vision?
We discussed the three most common growing pains for business….
The more prepared you are for the growing pains, the quicker you move through them. The 3 most common form of growing pains are:
1. Leadership
A leader’s ability to transfer knowledge into other parts of the business. I started this Business because I’m passionate about selling shoes, no one told me I had to become a teacher and a coach.
2. Structure
The organisational structure isn’t keeping pace with the growth of the business. This means that too many decisions are sitting in the Leader’s role creating bottlenecks.
3. Culture
“The culture used to be great when the team was small but we are losing it” is a very common concern we hear all the time.
At a certain size, it is important to clearly define your culture, your standards and have things in place to ensure the standards are real – through both positive reinforcement and accountability.
Reflection question: which growing pain is my biggest block right now?
Happy holidays and happy reflecting!