Small Business Revitalization Blog

Like many perfectionists, for many years I chased the ever elusive ‘fix your weaknesses’ story, always putting myself in places where I could work on my weaknesses. Sadly this strategy did not bring me or my employers a whole lot of joy and I eventually got smart enough to avoid choosing the jobs that were too focused in those areas of weakness.

At one point I graduated to telling my employer why it would not be a good idea to give me certain tasks… I explained these tasks were not a natural talent and ability for me and they would be wasting their and my time given my capacities in other areas!  Of course, most people ignored this, preferring to squash the square peg into the round hole until they created a big mushy mess of misery for them and me.  Imagine if Frank Gehry had become a bricklayer instead of the magnificent architect he is?  The world would be much the poorer and he would be finding a whole lot less joy in his work!

I see this often with business owners – instead of allowing our team to shine in ways that are natural to them, we create a set of expectations and conditions that create the exact opposite.  And then we wonder why the business is not performing!!  As a business coach, it’s my job to sometimes deliver a little tough love to either the employee who is not loving their work or the business owner who is not creating the possibility for that in the workplace.  

Performance issues are almost always a result of the manager and the employee not being present with the strengths of the person who is not performing.  When we are truly present with our own strengths, talents and capacities it allows us to choose or create a role that is perfect for us (rather than twist, bend and mutilate ourselves to become perfect for the role!!)  

When we are present to our capacities, we work with ease and can easily outcreate and outdeliver almost anyone else… When you have a whole company full of people being present with their capacities and those people are in the roles best suited to their strengths, competition becomes irrelevant because you have a massive peak performance advantage!

Having this presence embodies a confidence, a connection with self and the willingness to be a contribution far beyond what most people see as possible.  Owning this inner presence individually and as a business builds in a set of distinctively different competencies that are incredibly difficult to copy well.  If you desire to build a sustainable, peak performing business, this is a great place to start! 

At the next New Energies of Business events we are bringing you two amazing speakers who live this strategy in their workplaces and beyond… what if we could have peak performance as the norm, instead of wading through the challenges of performance management way too often?  Would that make your business more blissful??  

If you’d like to know more, join us for an adventurous day of uncommon insights into what’s working right now!!  Bookings and more info at www.NewEnergiesOfBusiness.com  (Upcoming dates:  November 2011 in Brisbane and February 2012 on the Sunshine Coast)

(Guggenheim Bilbao image via Pinterest)

Recently a journalist asked me a whole lot of questions about balance. I found myself resisting the questions and realised that for me, balance is a myth! We have been sold the idea that balance is the Holy Grail and if we attain it, all will be well in our world!  I have two businesses and a life I love… I KNOW that is SO not true!!  Are you with me here?  When was the last time you found balance and how long did you keep it for?

When you have balance you have inertia.  When you have balance you are always precariously waiting for something to shift and then you have to go off in search of balance again.  A healthy work/life balance is a cruel joke – it doesn’t exist in the way the media would like to portray it.  We are human BEings – not human balances!

So, what else is possible here?  I choose to BE flow rather than chase balance. Flow is living the life you love underpinned by an essence of bliss and joy.

When there is flow, we can find an ease to everything, possibilities arrive effortlessly and there is clarity around priorities and creating the life we desire – we thrive!  

With balance, we are always striving to fit everything in, always trading off self, home, family and work commitments.  

A healthy ‘balance’ to me is when flow is achieved on a daily basis – there is room for fluidity, flexibility, creativity and new potentials – we are open to possibilities rather than having things be a specific way and only that way!  When we stop controlling everything it opens up paths to our desire that may look illogical but actually offer the shortcuts to success we have been searching for.  

When in flow we operate from a space of expanding what’s possible, rather than limiting our life to ensure we can achieve balance. (I add choices to my life, rather than making either/or decisions which limit me).

When in flow we have awareness of what is required and what is possible, and we are willing to have freedom of choice, rather than a long list of ‘have-to, must-do, should-do’ items that derail us from our flow.  

What is the worst thing that could happen if you didn’t fulfil the list?  Who could help you with that list?  What could you stop doing that no-one would notice?  What’s next?  These are all questions that will help with creating flow.  And none of them require you to have balance – just the willingness to choose ease!  

Awareness creates choice. Choice creates flow.  Flow creates ease. Balance does not create choice, awareness, flow or ease!  The quest for balance creates structure and rigidity and limitations.  

What would it take for us all to have more awareness and more flow?  Discover more through my free 'Festival of Flow e-class… I desire to create a Festival of Flow in the world… sounds way more enticing than balance don’t you think?

Love your work!
Lisa

When in need of inspiration, I often randomly open books.  Today two ideas arrived within seconds of each other.  Seth Godin suggests we need to Raise The Bar – as that is where great progress occurs.  Jason Fried from Rework is adamant we need to Do Less.

Putting these two ideas together sounds incongruous, until we see that in doing less, we create the space for seeing where exactly we should raise the bar (and how high!) if we really want to create profitable change in our business.

When I look at my project list for my businesses, I can see the two or three projects that totally raise the bar.  That make everything else I do look, well, not so important.  I can see the 30 or so projects that would be nice to do, if I had the time, resources or inclination… and I can see the 10 projects that need to be taken off the list right now because I already know that they won’t deliver the world-changing impact I require when I invest my full energy into a project!

What could you do less of that would allow you to have more impact?  You don’t need to spread yourself thinner, you just need to make the hard choices that allow you to be phenomenal!  We get caught up in being nice and saying yes when really we mean no.  What if you saying no gives that opportunity to someone else who does have the energy to invest – would that allow them to raise the bar in their own unique way?  Could the world be a better place for that?

This is one simple tool for looking at everything you have in front of you and seeing what is truly important.  What will make the biggest difference?  What raises the bar and makes your business more enticing and more enchanting for the people you serve?  Choose that one thing.  And do it with everything you’ve got!  

Less is More.  LEAP forward, don’t crawl!

I have a co-mentoring arrangement with another coach and we have a quick session by phone every Friday.  One of the things that makes us giggle are the multiple and creative avoidance mechanisms we have for (not) getting things done.

Whilst lots of progress is made, it's often not on whatever we've discussed the previous week... so when I came across this I knew it would make lots of small business owners feel infinitely better immediately!  Read this and you could probably take a long weekend or two starting right now ;-)

So here it is... the cult of done manifesto... a great recipe for overcoming overwhelm (momentarily at least!)


(via The Manifesto Project)

Yes, it's slightly tongue in cheek, but there were a couple of tips in there I'm really tempted to play with!  And I loved 'Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.'  That sorts out quite a few projects that I was getting back to later... (of course, failure doesn't really exist, it's just a big hint from the universe to change something!!)

What are your biggest challenges in getting stuff done?  I'm a great starter... and I'm working on the 'done' bit with my awesome co-mentor!!  Do you have any other ideas you would add to the above manifesto?  Share in the comments below...

Building a business happens with ease when our foundations are in place, but can be a struggle when we are missing the basics.  When did you last sit back and take a good look at the castle you have built?  Did you check out the foundations while you were at it or did you just admire the shiny turrets and gorgeous environment you have built?  Did you look to see if it is getting a little top heavy... are some bits quietly falling over?

As business people, we are often full of ideas and there is always the temptation to build castles in the air.  In fact, many a great business starts off this way – with the outward facing structures.  Sooner or later you will need to ensure your foundations are up to the job!  Sometimes a little renovation is required!

A simple place to start is to look at where your business is right now and look at where the structures are crumbling, and where they are holding firm and contributing to your vision.  

Sometimes it’s not easy to see that the marketing manager who was your answer to everything really isn’t working out because of their vile personality…. Or that much as you detest systems and processes, without them you just have a different variety of chaos everyday (entertaining for some, stress inducing for most!).  And it’s even harder to acknowledge that just maybe it is you that is the bottleneck between your dream and the current reality.

2011 is a foundational year… what you set in place now will provide the base for your future growth.  Are you standing on solid ground or do you still have a few castles floating about, waiting to be tethered and grounded in some sort of practical reality that will allow your business to grow?  If something's not right in your business, take a good hard look at the foundations.  When you have the fundamentals in order, all else will follow with far more ease.

If your current essentials are in great order, imagine your business doubling in size and ask:  ‘What foundations are required here for everything to flow with ease?’  Systems that work right now may not hold up under the pressure of growth.  Now is the time to create new possibilities.  In looking at your business in new ways, you open up doors for further growth.  

Think of it like an upward spiral… you create an idea, generate the energy that moves it forward and then you institute the practicalities that allow it to flow with ease.  If you keep all three processes in balance, your business grows up in an ever bigger spiral.  If you miss one, it always feels like you are starting at the beginning – no growth is possible!

Make April the month where you strengthen your foundations.  It will mean that May, June, July…. will all show up with greater ease and more capacity for profitability.  Not sure what to do or what to look at?  Arrange a free 30 minute business coaching session with Lisa Murray.  Seeing what you aren’t seeing comes naturally to Lisa!

"no matter what the cost to our people..." is the bit that most organisations conveniently forget to add!!


Recently I had a fit of curiosity and asked my LinkedIn connections for ideas on how they would reinvent business.  I had a heap of thought-provoking responses, including the fellow  who wrote back and pretty much said it’s been a fabulous system for the past few hundred years and there’s no reason to change a thing! 

After I got over wondering where he keeps his blinkers while he sleeps, I started thinking about what an interesting response it was – I’ve been searching for years, how could I possibly have missed the Centre of Utopian Business?  Does it exist or is it yet to be created?

Here’s the top 5 things I’ve seen since I’ve been in the workforce that really don’t work…  (hmmm the word ‘workforce’ does not exactly exude joy does it? Could we call our people ‘peopleflow’ or ‘playflow’ instead??)

1.   Since the industrial revolution business has put profits well in front of people, leading to record-breaking levels of bullying, stress, depression, death, slave labour, environmental destruction and many other non-joyful outcomes, all for the benefit of the few at the top.

2.   The business world has a really severe case of ‘meeting-itis’ – apparently no drugs have been found to cure it yet and the virus is confusing people into believing they are leading rich, rewarding, purposeful lives.

3.   The insanely competitive race for profits, efficiency and productivity has seen the death of honesty, integrity and authenticity at pretty much all levels of many organizations, leading to a talent exodus from big business.  The structures that have sustained us for hundreds of years are disintegrating quickly!

4.   There is a lack of innovation and creativity in most businesses – real differentiation is rare except in the new-fangled creative accounting departments which sadly surprise us with their financial ingenuity far too often!

5.   There is little sense of true connection or community, even though bank advertising would have you believe it’s all about the love they have for us (LOL!).  There is mostly surface level connection between shareholders, senior managers, staff and customers – instead it is all about secrets, sabotage and scarcity.  What if there could be true non-competitive collaboration instead?

What would it take to reinvent business in ways that allow new and more blissful business choices?  The good news is, some of the real leaders in business (and generally that’s NOT the CEO’s of big business!) have already started paving the way…  times like these create massive possibilities for those willing to be different!!

Some businesses are choosing to make their workplace an engaging and enticing place to spend 8 hours a day rather than worrying about every last cent – think Google, Red Balloon Days and Carmen’s Fine Foods - (funnily enough they are all growing businesses.)

Some leaders are smart enough to know that ‘meeting-it is’ can be cured using holistic approaches – apparently simply holding a stand-up meeting will bring massive relief to sufferers!

Smart, intuitive, creative people are leaving big corporations to start their own businesses in droves because there is no bliss, love or joy to be found in traditional business and spending 8 – 12 hours a day doing something you hate just doesn’t cut it anymore.  Many are now building their own authentic, collaborative, inspirational communities so that business can be reinvented to sustain purpose, people and profits!  

I predict that over time these new leaders will be teaching the old leaders how it’s done…  Every day I connect with courageous, interesting, creative business owners and employees looking for ways to reinvent business that are ethical, blissful and sustainable… what would it take to be the change you want to see in the world?  (Or you could keep on with groundhog day… how’s it working for you??)

Want to join a conversation of real leaders?  Here’s a couple of choices for you:

Connect with people who are ‘different like you’ for two blissful days of Unconference presentations and conversations at The Bliss Connection in beautiful Maleny (Qld, Australia) on 30/31 October 2010…

or connect with BlissTribe on Facebook!

Image Credit

In the course of my somewhat chequered career in marketing and sales, I worked for a range of small – medium businesses.  One of the oft quoted platitudes from business owners was “we’re family  here” – mostly said to entice employees to work enormous hours for no extra cash, to make unreasonable demands rather than requests and to create a general sense of guilt – as in: ‘we gave you a job…you owe us everything’ .  This approach is often coupled with vague promises of future rewards.

It makes you wonder what type of family these people had!! As an employee, working conditions like that generally bring the response: “ If that’s how you treat your family, I’d rather be an orphan!”

So let’s ask the multimillion dollar question that most business owners are really wanting to answer when they behave like this:  “What does it take to have employees do their best work and for everyone to profit?”

Well, integrity is a good start.  In western countries slave labour has been abolished for quite some time.  So if you truly intend to create a workplace that feels like home in the best possible sense then it’s time to get creative!

Carmen’s Fine Foods in Australia provides an inspiring example of what’s possible.  Ever had the pleasure of an office nanny… your car washed every fortnight… or a boss who actually asks ‘on a scale of one to ten, how stressed are you?’ each week and then does something about it?  Hmmm I didn’t think so!!  (And for the scrooges out there… Carmen’s has virtually NO staff turnover… ) wouldn’t you rather invest in keeping your team loving their work, than hating you and leaving as a result??

Just a thought… as someone who has sat on both sides of the fence… (maybe its time to dismantle the fence too!!).

If 'we're family here' is a value you hold in your business, what are you doing to uphold it?  Please share your creative ideas here...

Are you struggling with a target you have set, or finding you just aren’t making any progress on a project that’s important to your business success?  The bigger the dream, the harder it can be to get moving…  Here’s a few simple tips that will make today productive for you!

1. Keep a list of current projects and scan them daily… which ones require your attention?
2. For each project, break it down into doable bites (yes, this is where you eat the elephant one bite at a time).  Seriously, that little bit of planning at the start will make you and your business so much more productive!!
3. Set aside ‘project time’ when you work on the important parts of your business.
4. Commit to completing one ‘next step’ before you go onto another bright shiny new object… we all get tempted but the most successful business owners are those that actually complete their growth projects!
5. You can often do 5 – 10 simple ‘next steps’ within 30 minutes if you focus – what would it take to make progress on a number of projects today?

Your ‘next step’ can be as simple as a phone call, a web page for your project or responding to a client request.  You can make it more complex if you like, but mostly I find simple is best – it’s often easiest to do too!  (e.g. ‘learn about business finances’ is way too broad, but ‘choose three metrics to measure weekly in my business’ is a lot more manageable!)

For best results, mix a clear vision, some focused time and some very specific actions.  ‘What’s next?’ will soon become your favourite daily question!

Most importantly, if you really are stuck and don't even know what to do next, find someone to talk to!  Another brain in the equation often clears the path in moments... how many hours have you wasted so far?  (BTW, that's another good reason to have a business coach - you have advice and ideas on tap from an experienced business person!) How does it get better than that?

What are you going to commit to doing today that will move your most important project forward?  Share it below and let us know how you go at the end of the day!

Stefan Sagmeister offers an inspirational perspective on the creative benefits of sabbaticals...


Personally, anytime I'm too tired, stuck or can't think, the best thing I can do is go and do or be something completely different to what I've been doing.

Half an hour in the hammock, taking the dog for a walk or cooking something delicious will reboot my brain and allow what I require to flow with ease. A whole weekend of being creative in all sorts of ways ensures that I can work at lightspeed during the week.

Whenever we have too much to do the solution is often in doing nothing or doing something different! What are the infinite possibilities of seeing your challenge differently?

What do you think? Please share your comments then go enjoy yourself!!

There must be something in the air at the moment – I’ve received at least 4 calls in the past week from people in various stages of distress, overwhelm and anxiety about what they are doing with their life, what their real purpose is and why their job or business isn’t working as they imagined.  The last question in each case was…‘can you help me feel better?’

In every case, I made a few simple suggestions that we can all employ when the need arises… we all have these moments, it’s what you do with them that counts!!

1. Remember that ‘this too shall pass’ – but only if you do or be something different to what you have been doing or being! 
2. Get really clear about what you most truly desire… write down everything that’s important to you and what you want to do before you die.  Look for the patterns and the things that make you go ‘zing’… then you can start to live your life meaningfully, rather than just getting through your days!
3. Take a few deep breaths, sit quietly and ask whether this anxiety and overwhelm is really yours?  How often do we ‘buy’ the second-hand opinions of those well-meaning friends and family we know and love, and accept these ideas as real when we may actually want to do something completely different?  What if you returned all these ideas to these people, in kindness, and then started to ask questions about what you really would prefer to choose… would your life look different?

If you'd like some more strategies for getting yourself and your business on track, would the February Revive Playshop contribute more than you can imagine?  If you want more prosperity and productivity then it's for you.  Book today - it's on in Brisbane on Feb 15th...  Who knows, investing 3 hours to set yourself up for 2010 could be the most productive action you take all year!!