Reflecting on 2012

Of course, what else would you expect at this time of year – we reflect on the past year and look expectantly to 2013! 

For me 2012 was inspirational, frustrating, uplifting and depressing – not all in one day, but, over the course of the year I have experienced the highs and lows!  I have lost good friends and relatives who passed away this year and had to deal with a difficult neighbour while trying to remain positive.  It may come as no surprise, I lost from time to time! 

I could have lived on a more even keel if, during, down periods I would remember how fleeting they really are in the grand scheme of things.  But, as usual, I would fret and despair over things that had gotten out of my control.  Will I do that in the year to come?  I would hope not, but, if the best predictor of what you will do is what you have already done in a similar circumstance, I probably will again.  My hope is that those periods will become less and less.

Getting Ready for 2013

In just about 6 weeks, we will be celebrating a new year.  What will that year look like for you? Has the year you imagined been the one you experienced in 2012? For many people, that answer would be, no!

So, if you sketched out your goals and aspirations for 2012 and they didn’t materialize, are you reluctant to work on 2013?  Is it easier to not have any expectations than to have some and be disappointed?  Of course it is!  But that is the only agreement you’re going to get from me.  I’ve been there too!  As a matter of fact, not everything I worked towards in 2012 became a reality either, but, if I had not worked on them at all, I would be no further ahead than I was last fall at this time.  Perhaps the words of Tennyson say it better than I;

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

 

Charitable Giving

A discussion with a colleague recently, caused me to wonder about how much thought we really give to causes that on the surface appear to be so altruistic and their methods of fund-raising.  

I personally have my favourites as most people do and have gone to the CRA site on occasion to get more information on their fiscal responsibility.  To be more specific, what percentage is being spent on administration (overhead)?

While it's great to have not-for-profits, charities and service clubs available to assist during a natural disaster or fund medical research, finding homes for the homeless, or any other prevalent need; the organization should strive to maintain as low as possible administration costs to ensure maximum return on donor dollars.  

Charities that commonly run lotteries are a prime example of the amount of money that has to go into actually raising money.  If, before $1 goes into a research fund, health fund, homelessness fund, $100,000 must be spent, is the return on your donor dollar well spent? On the surface you would think not, however, the end game is what counts and if the lottery raises $1m, then the $100,000 has been well spent as that represents 10% of the total. On the other hand, if the overall amount raised was only $150,000, then the story changes as 67% of what was raised has gone into raising it.   

Added Service

    

     Recently, I spent some time at a resort, which bills itself as resort and spa.  First impressions are very important and even more so, when you’re shelling out big bucks for what you consider is going to be an exceptional experience.

     I could have overlooked the newspaper and real estate guide dispensers in an entrance that was barely wider than the double doors to enter, however, the snow pusher and the fact that four out of the six posters in the entrance had expired (some quite a few months before) and the dead-fly laden chandelier were not welcoming sights. Then, upon entering, discovered only one luggage trolley for the whole resort, no elevator to the second floor, which was where they had assigned a room for someone who couldn’t walk upstairs (this after not one, but two calls to the resort to ensure a ground floor room).  To be fair, they did upgrade that person with an upgraded room on the main floor.  But, this should not be confused with added service.  That was making it right!

My Friend, My Mentor

         A visit to a dear friend, living in a hospice, has me thinking of the journey of my business as well as my personal life. 

         This woman, who coached me through the incubation period of my business and continued to mentor me through her friendship, has left an indelible impression on both my professional and personal life.  We hadn't seen each other often lately, however, each encounter, whether it was in person, on the phone, email or facebook had been precious or funny or whimsical or commiserative.  What started as a purely business relationship morphed into a lasting friendship.          

Coaching - Exploring the Paradigm!

        Sometime, in the fog of uncertainty, we can use a bit of coaching.  I like coaching; however, I need it sometime too!  Today, it came in the form of a 'thank you' from someone I spoke to recently, encouraging her to follow a different route to her goals. 

        A young mother, who had decided after the birth of her children to stay home and pursue another path as a self-employed individual, was attempting to enter a program that would allow her the opportunity to work on her new business and get support and encouragement from business mentors along the way.  After months of passing from one pre-qualifier to another, she found herself at a crossroads.  A seemingly insurmountable obstacle had been thrown in her path and in her frustration; she couldn't see a way through to the other side.  However, she took the encouragement offered her and ran with it! 

        Today, the 'thank you' was because the idea worked in her favour.  But, she did all the work, so, I humbly accept with a joyful heart.  God knows, I enjoy what I do, by His grace!

        But, that got me thinking about coaching and where it fits in with your business goals on a whole.  I believe it is every bit as important as some of your more tangible necessities to run a business.  For example, most of you will have liability insurance.  You hope nothing is going to go wrong, but, you provide yourself with a safety net in case it does.  Coaching is your intellectual safety net.  It provides you individually, or your team as a whole with a safe place to discuss your fears, reluctance, obstacles or frustration. 

        A coaching session brings out the best in you by ensuring that you’re not just seeing one tree in the forest.  It provides you with answers, which mostly come from within, to the nagging questions about, what to do now, how to get past this setback, why continue when you’re not being appreciated, or, where a problem originated. 

        So, why don’t more people hire coaches?  The first answer probably lies in the area of time.  They don’t feel they have time.  There are more pressing issues.  Running the day to day of the business, instead of taking a good hard look at the business and determining what’s working, what isn’t and how to get onto a solid footing.  The second is likely, “the coach knows nothing about my business”.  That is probably true, but, irrelevant.  A coach is there for you personally, not for your business.  If you wanted someone to work on your business you’d go find an expert in that field.   

        Even people who coach have coaches.  I personally have one or two people I know who will walk me through the emotions of my confusion.  It helps and I wouldn’t want to do without it. 

        Can you do the same with a family member or friend?  Yes!  However, family and friends usually try to fix the problem for you or convince you that the problem you’re seeing isn’t a problem at all.  There are very few natural coaches out there.  Most are trained to do what they do.  So, go on, find yourself a coach, give a try and see if you don’t get more from an hour with a coach than you did from all your discussions with family and friends. 

Enjoy!

Disaster and Emergency Response

A sudden and tragic disaster in Elliot Lake managed to galvanize a community torn apart by disaster and bureaucracy. Too much time passed and two lives were lost in the partial collapse of the Elliot Lake Mall on June23, 2012!

The first lesson, we have learned, from the recent collapse and subsequent rescue efforts at the mall, is that the voice of the people is still able to affect change. Too many times, we may feel powerless in a situation, yet, as a group we do have power. Speak up! Make your voice heard. When the people of the community of Elliot Lake saw that the efforts were moving from rescue to recovery, they spoke loud and clear that this was not acceptable.

The second lesson we have learned, is that our emergency response coordination is not as effective as it could and should be. This is Northern Ontario. We have some of the best trained mine rescue teams to be found anywhere. Those who had worked in mine rescue were standing by waiting, having offered their services, for a call that never came. Or even the Ottawa-based disaster-response organization International Rescue which travelled to Elliot Lake to offer their support.

Setting all that aside, why did the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Unit need approval from the Premiere of Ontario before alternate measures could be employed in an attempt to rescue those trapped? Why are we not learning from one another? Why is expertise that could be valuable in a crisis not being accessed?

The events of this past week are going to be analysed, lessons learned and recommendations are going to be made, no doubt about it. In the end, this tragedy took too long to resolve and two people died. First responders should be localized, even in disaster situations.  One HUSAR team in Ontario is not enough for the entire province.  And, if the rumours are based in fact, the funding for even this team is going to be eliminated.  Although, this is not good news, perhaps it not all bad either.  Had coordinated efforts included more than just the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Unit perhaps a resolution could have been reached sooner and if so, might we have had a different outcome? 

Remarkably, there were not more casualties in this disaster, although numbers of those missing kept fluctuating, in the end two women were trapped in the rubble.  Two women brought a community together, struggling for remarkable efforts to be made while keeping up a constant vigil until everyone trapped was brought out.  Rest In Peace, Lucie Aylwin and Doloris Perizzolo. 

The Meaning of Success!

Success is measured differently, by different people.  Success to a child may be learning to tie their shoelaces or earning their first dollar.  Success to an adult is much the same, the first job, first car, etc.  What I consider success may not be your standard.  So, how do you know when someone is successful?  Ask them – plain and simple. 

Reclaiming a Passionate Life

            Passion can become all encompassing!

            When you start unleashing the passion in your life, you’re going to find direction and focus and ultimately, the reason you are here on this earth.  So many people never get to the point of fully living their passion because of the demands of daily life.     

             By now, you have been revealing through self examination, the when, why, what of your passion and of course the ‘who’ is you and ‘where’ is just where you are now.  
             Now, sit back and let’s do a bit of reminiscing.  Go back in your mind to a time when you were living fully as you.  Who you are, doing what you love to do, doing it when you want to do.  How far back did you have to go?  Are you a young adult, teenager, preteen or younger? Has it surprised you how far back you had to go?

Passion - Moving Forward!

          Let’s get a bit of your passion in your life, shall we?  What could be more satisfying, even in lean times, than knowing without a doubt, that you are doing what you were meant to do, maybe even what you have dreamt of doing should you no longer need to earn a living.   

          By now you know the routine, review, and then move on.  Last week we covered the ‘whens’ of following your passion.  To ensure we’re all on the same page, we’ll take one last look at the ‘whens’,‘whys and whats’ before we move on.

Volunteerism

     This blog was first posted about three years ago on my old blog and again last year, here.  But, recently, I have been reminded that volunteers are still struggling to understand their function within an organizarion and quite often experiencing the feeling of expendability, thrust upon them by many people who utilize the efforts of volunteers and when an inconvenience arises, abandons them. 
     I have have found working with volunteers  to be so complex and this avenue (blog) does not lend itself to complex issues, that I nearly didn't address it at all.  But, in the spirit of 'finishing what I start', I've decided to, in a small way, address the animal most at risk - the volunteer.
     As much as I would like to say working with non-profits, charities and organizations is a rewarding experience - which it is - it can also be a frustrating one, as many hundreds of thousands of volunteers have found out.  It can also be frustrating for the person responsible for recruiting volunteers. 
    To be sure, many organizations wouldn't get things done without volunteers, however, voluntarism in general has dropped. Why is that the case?
    Judging from the stories I've heard and work I've done with these types of organizations there are three main reasons I've identified for volunteer apathy and/or attrition.  Communication, Resources, Briefing and Debriefing. 

The 'Whens' of Passion and the Exceptional Person

           An exceptional person doesn’t despise adversity, they overcome it!  When life gives them lemons, they don’t just make lemonade, they make a whole line of lemon products.  Then they plant the seeds and compost the rinds!

The 'Whats' of Passion

OK – update – last week we began our series on passion with the ‘whys’.  You may remember them, but, here they are again.

Why do we spend our precious few years here on earth toiling at a dead-end job in an arena that is not entirely of our choosing?

Why do we not follow our passions more?

Why do we have a thousand excuses for continuing to be a slave to mediocrity when our brilliance is waiting on the periphery for us to recognize our true calling?

            This week these questions may be more fully explored in this entry.  Better known as the ‘whats’.

What is keeping you where you are and preventing you from moving forward?

What is preventing you from following your passion on a part time basis?

What excuse are you using to stay right where you are?

If you were able to answer the ‘whys’ from last week and only you can answer them, then, you can also answer the ‘whats’. 

Follow Your Passion

It's true, I've covered a wide assortment of topics over the years, however, this latest blog area has brought me back to basics.  And, I'm going to ask you a few whys. 
Why do we spend our precious few years here on earth toiling at a dead-end job in an arena that is not entirely of our choosing? 
Why do we not follow our passions more? 
Why do we have a thousand excuses for continuing to be a slave to mediocrity when our  brilliance is waiting on the periphery for us to recognize our true calling?  

Accessibility - How Do We Measure Up?

I took a walk with a friend of mine, well, to be exact, I walked and he rode his scooter.  We were downtown Sudbury on a beautiful summer day and one would think it would be the most scooter friendly area of the city.  One would be wrong!

Good Customer Service

I don’t know how many company 'Value Statements' I have read which proclaim the customer experience is the reason for their existence, yet find that the actual customer experience is anything but exemplary!  We believe we know what to do, but, the delivery remains unsatisfactory.

How do we get it so wrong?  Let’s examine one story.

Welcome 2012!

It’s a new day, in a New Year – 2012! 

This year promises to hold exceptional opportunities, just like last year did, but, we need to identify these and grab hold and make them our opportunities!

I’ve been blessed this past year with good friends, absolutely brilliant colleagues and a family to make everything else a bonus.  I wish this to each and every one of you for this coming year. 

Are you working?  Do you enjoy your job?  If not, why not?  If so, are you giving it 100% or are you coasting?