Notes From The Week #28

Happy Monday! Hope we’re all doing well. I’ve been spending time revisiting my goals and plans. A few years back I made a commitment to ensure my self-talk was positive and graceful. I found that constantly berating myself didn’t actually make me more productive (shock!) and so I’ve made it a habit to regulate my internal dialogue. Over the past few months I’ve seen my self-talk become a tad bit more critical so I’m working on being patient with myself to ensure progress. I’m interested—what would you say is the level of your self-talk?

This week we’ll be taking some lessons from business systems and apply to our personal lives. I’ll also provide some podcasts that I’ve really enjoyed listening to recently.

I’m A Business, Man

I enjoy taking concepts from particular fields and leveraging them in others. I’ve been spending time working on my business systems and have found useful crossover application in how I manage my personal life.

Businesses take different paths in their pursuit of growth. Every business has its own unique circumstances—but four broad strategies dominate: investing to grow, divesting and optimising, pivoting, and doing more with what you have. In a similar way—as individuals we take different and distinct paths in pursuit of our own growth. Different seasons call for us to position and align our lives accordingly. The four business strategies offer a useful framework to consider how our current context should inform our paths forward.

• Investing to grow: while organic growth can be the right choice for some, for those with a surplus of cash and a healthy balance sheet, acquisition of a promising business can be the go-to option for growth.

  • Personal Application: Am I investing in our personal development? Are there skills I should be looking to learn? Relationships I want to invest more time into?

• Divesting and optimising: Companies that are focusing on their core business, selling off anything that no longer fits with the central strategy or purpose. It’s an increasingly popular strategy – but doing it well takes care, planning and preparation.

  • Personal Application: Am I consumed with so many things that we’re burning the candle at both ends? Do I need to think about delegating some responsibilities to others to allow me to focus on the most vital tasks only I can carry out?

• Pivoting: Many businesses are forced to pivot by economic headwinds, but pivoting can be about opportunity and not just survival. A true pivot shifts the business to reflect changing customer needs and in doing so creates access to tangible benefits like revenue growth, increased profitability and a greater market share.

  • Personal Application: I may have made progress up the ladder but have I realised that I’ve put it against the wrong wall? Do I need to spend time course-correcting while it’s easier now as opposed to a different season of life where it may be more difficult to pivot or change direction?

• Doing more with what you have: It’s very rare that we see true optimisation in large, complex businesses. More value can always be found, whether it’s through more efficient ways of working, maximising the potential for cross selling, or encouraging greater innovation and collaboration.

  • Personal Application: Are there areas in my life that I have neglected? Do I need to think about how I can make my resources work more efficiently for me as opposed to thinking about how I can accumulate more? Am I using my time well? While I’m waiting for a pay-rise do I need to be more diligent in my current financial situation?

Roll The Dice: Recommendations For The Journey Ahead

(1) Have a mentor(s) — it will be important for you to have someone or a group of people who can provide encouragement and inspiration for you along your journey. There will be moments where you’ll feel disheartened, uninspired and tired. It’s important that you have a system of accountability to keep you on track.

(2) Be impatient in the short term but patient in the long term. Be fixated with all the things you can do to reach your goals; read, learn (and unlearn if necessary) and implement diligently — but don’t concern yourself too much with the payout of it all, be confident that if you remain consistent with your efforts — you’ll eventually see results.

(3) Never be afraid to take calculated risks. Learn the rules of engagement for the world and assess what opportunities you could explore. When those opportunities arise, be confident in your preparation and leap. The world is changing drastically and we’re all being invited to participate in the change.

Pass Me The Aux

Podcasts I would highly recommend to tap into. If you do check out either feel free to hit me up and let me know your thoughts. I found both to be great listens.

Great playlist for the times in your week when you’re looking for some chilled sounds.

Until next week. Peace.