Last week in Melbourne, although I was catching up with my fabulous board, meeting with University greats and so on, the highlight of the trip was on the final night. Myself, two former student faves and one of my gorgeous Directors happened upon the fabulous brand new St Katherine’s restaurant in Kew – on its opening night!

As we walked through the door the smell of new paint was a dead giveaway as was the buzzing around of trainee staff all looking bouncy and enthusiastic. That doesn’t happen often.

Well St Katherine’s is one of George Calombaris’ (from Masterchef) brand new theme cuisine restaurants, partnered with mate Shane Delia. The food is Maltese inspired fusion fare – don’t I sound quite the foody – althought technically it’s described as “a melding of Modern Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern cultures and food”.

With great value dishes and brilliant service, I was surprised and impressed and that doesn’t happen often.

Having just delivered a course on Personal Branding, the message was loud and clear in this establishment. George was everywhere – the staff were dressed in his image, the perkiness/quirkness of his personality came across via the unique serving accouterments and the atmosphere was buzzing. All of this because Australians love this show and George has leveraged that relationship particularly well.

And here am I talking about it to you and what does that say? If it was terrible it would have been tragic. The higher you are the further you can fall. On the other hand the higher you are the more access you have to the best and the more leverage you have. Brand is about building something that wasn’t, into something that feeds itself and then all you have to do is deliver. I like it!

My mind starts to wander up the pathway of exotic holidays, leisurely conversation and fabulous coffee. And then – I am brought back to earth with a jolt, the phone rings, emails pop up and the business world roars into rabid action.

I wistfully gaze back at the invite before resolutely pulling my mind into the now. But guess what? My shoulders have straightened and I feel my backbone kick in. Why you ask? Because one of my personal goals is to live in Europe for a year and write a book. To do that I have to run a successful and profitable business. So I work with a renewed vigor.

Creating goals and giving yourself visual reminders is a great tool for business and career success. So have a little dream and then get yourself into top gear!

Painting image courtesy of www.gregbaker.com.au

A week ago, out of the blue, a young student of Entrepreneurship sent me an email with a resume attached asking for employment in my business.

I took one look at it and pressed delete – but not because I couldn’t hire someone – we are currently seeking to employ. The reason? It was obviously generic, not addressed to me as the CEO but “to whom it may concern”. It was clear that the same email was going to multiple companies as this person had no idea of what we really do. It came across as ignorant and arrogant and with quite average English as well.

I applaud the fact this person is trying a different tack but to do that without good research and an understanding of the market you are in is a ridiculous waste of time and energy.

So my recommendations to young job hunters taking this particular path are:
• Research your chosen company and pinpoint a position that you think is appropriate and in keeping with your education and career aspirations. In particular look at the company values for clues. You can ring the organisation to find out this information, Google it or look at the website. Whatever works for you.
• Point out how you think you can benefit the organisation. I, as an employer for example, need to know how your skills could be best put to use.
• Do not use arrogant language. Telling me that I will miss out or be a fool not to employ you is definitely not the way to go.
• Contrary to the popular belief held by most graduating students, you are not God’s gift to the job market! Many students have an inflated sense of their worth in the market bolstered by unrealistic and generic advice from career centres and academics. Let it go and be prepared to start at the bottom. It will pay off.

The upshot is make sure you know to whom you are speaking and it could be a whole different result.

A quote from Confucius goes something like this – “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

Most education programs work in the sphere of the “hear”! Well that just isn’t good enough.  My attitude is that we just have to put more thought into everything we do and make it more experiential. A new project that the AELC is designing for the Advantage Foundation incorporates this philosophy.

Retrobuild is an eco-sustainable retrofit of an old house involving students from multiple disciplines.

For example, design students can design the layout, horticulture students will do the garden, science students will invent a gray water system and the list goes on. How hard is this to do? Harder than teaching in a classroom. How much learning is achieved? Masses! All we need to do is cooperate across the disciplines in  multiple institutions.

Sounds easy! However, most schools within these teaching institutions don’t talk to each other and simply don’t have the expertise to manage it as a project. Cross-institutional cooperation brings even more problems.

Where there is a will, there is a way -so stay tuned to this space. The project begins in March 2011 but the negotiations start now.

I do and I understand!

Well… at first it sounds positively awful.  According to Nathan “you are going to die. Before you die, if you are lucky you will lose your good looks and your body will fall apart. Your skin will become wrinkly and your hair will fall out. If you are really lucky this will happen well after all your friends and immediate family have died and you will be alone and very frail when it happens at a very ripe old age.”

My fine friend, we will die but it won’t be alone because as you later commented we will have heaps of relationships that we have nurtured over the years including those of the younger more virile variety.  Plastic surgery now takes care of the wrinkles; and hair transplants are virtually undetectable. However the really good news is that we will live a hell of a lot longer than our male counterparts and have a better quality of life because we maintain and nurture those around us. It is therefore reciprocated well into our golden years. There are many a male entrepreneur who have made a ton of money but become really sad, lonely old men.

Female entrepreneurs don’t measure their success necessarily in terms of the green back. We value our work life balance and relationships so much more making the whole journey a much more rewarding experience. Could this softer way of doing business be the benchmark for the future for all entrepreneurs?  Most of the leadership manuals seem to think so.

Statistics show that more and more women are starting really successful businesses and that trend is set to continue. But we won’t do it at the expense of others… Good or bad?  I think it is smart!

One of the main reasons he supported Julia Gillard was because they would be less likely to go to the polls again as they would be likely to lose if they did so. Rob Oakeshott backed this decision. They would rather keep a Labor government alive than have the Australian people revote in a Liberal government.

What does this tell us, the public? That politicians can’t be trusted to be the voice of the people.

If liberals are more popular then they should be in power. I think the independents did a deal with the devil and got what they wanted.

This is not good politics. It is downright deceitful and something that should never have happened. The hands of the country was in the hands of three biased people. What a disgrace!

Always when applying for a job you are asked to outline your experiences to meet the firms hiring criteria. But what if you don’t have any experience?

Nine times out of ten the hiring firm don’t understand or care about your capabilities unless you can prove you can do it. They therefore limit their hiring pool to those candidates with the best looking resume. No experience? Straight to the no pile for you!

In order to combat this perception you have to be able to demonstrate your suitability via other methods. Business Icon, Students In Free Enterprise or Internships for example are designed to take complete novices with no experience and give them a chance to learn ways to think outside the square as well as profile themselves as potential candidates.

The entrance criteria for Business Icon is just three things, analytical applied thought, ethics and creativity. No experience required. Interestingly enough, the best candidates mostly don’t have the highest university marks but all who come through demonstrate an appetite for challenge and a hunger for success. Attractive qualities for most organisations.

It does prove though that employers are often missing out on the best candidates simply because they hire against experience and not aptitude. Be aware of this and get smart. Go get yourself the experiences that are appropriate to your career development. If you are a young professional working your way up in the firm then volunteer or get on a youth board. Just do something relevant!

In order to keep receiving updates to your RSS feed reader (if that is how you receive this blog), you will need to update the feed URL to:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/Experience-This

If you have any problems, come back to the site at www.aelc.edu.au and resubscribe.

Hope this isn’t too inconvenient, but I had to make this change to keep up with the hecticness and direction of where  AELC and I are going – so come with me and Experience This!

Tracey (Exhausted on the Sunshine Coast for QLD Business Icon)

It was a sunny afternoon, not a cloud in the sky. The mood was light and the air hazy with the luscious smell of plane fuel. I was at Perth airport (again) lining up (again) to board the plane to Brisbane when something happened. Damn plane was delayed and all my delicious thoughts dissipated in a flurry.

Standing next to me, one in front and one behind was a good looking young man and a slightly older woman. Well of course we did the mandatory bitching about the airline industry before introducing ourselves. The young man, Sam,  was quite vocal in his disappointment as this meant he would miss his connecting bus to the Sunshine Coast on arrival.  I impetuously announced that I too was going to the Sunshine Coast and would he like a lift in my hire car. Well, this was obviously manna from heaven and he readily accepted my offer. I on the other hand having realised too late that I had offered a stranger a lift was slightly dismayed and maybe a little perturbed by my runaway mouth.

Whilst I was doing my time in the line (around 30 minutes) I starting chatting with the woman whose name by the way was Lorraine. Once at the counter and having checked in, Lorraine and I proceeded to the lounge for coffee and a chat as women do whilst the young man went off to find a shower. I confided my thoughts and we shared some musings as to the young man’s occupation. He had told us both he had been on tour and was returning home and that he had travelled from Margaret River to catch this plane. Our first thoughts were that he was a musician or a surfie. I felt intuitively that he was a decent enough young fellow (or maybe I was just convinced by the cute grin – whose to know!) and Lorraine assured me that she thought so too (again, maybe just the grin).

Anyway to cut a long story short we arrived in Brisbane and Sam and I left in my little hire car. As we were leaving the airport I casually asked him what he was doing in WA. He replied that he travelled all over the country as one half of a stage act. By this time I was very curious and I asked which one and he replied “Puppetry of the Penis”. Well, thank god it was dark because after swallowing enough spit to kill a cow, the skin on my face inflamed to the point of eruption. However with all the dignity of a rat on a sinking ship I said, “Oh, that must be interesting. Do you like it?”

Thankfully it seems Sam thought it was a wonderful opportunity and didn’t seem to notice the muted choking sound coming from my throat. He seemed pleased to chat on the vagaries of touring with such an unusual show, his exploits with girls and his ambitions in life. Sam turned out to be a delightful young man who thoroughly enjoyed his lot in life and was working in the only way he knew how, towards a career on the stage and in TV.

I wonder though, if he had told me what his occupation was in that line at the airport, if I would have responded in the same manner – and it got me thinking. How many times do we categorise people, shove them in a box and put them away just because we assume they are a certain sort of person from their choice of occupation?   This encounter of the 4^th and best kind has reminded  me, as life lessons always do, to look under the covers (although probably in this case that might be a little too revealing) and to not lose the spontaneous urge to help someone just because they need it.

First published on therubyconnection 15th Sep 2009

My son called me a typical baby-boomer today! Me…. who prides myself on being able to handle technology with the aplomb of a Gen X….me…… who is the expert simpatico mentor of Gen Y.  And then what he said floored me… “If I worked the way you did it would kill me” he stated. “I need more balance, time to think and time to play”.  My son is a believer that work should stay at work and when you walk out the door, another life begins.

I think I have a very balanced life. I work with most of my family, mostly I get into the office at around 9am on days I don’t work at home, take 6 weeks holiday a year, babysit my grandchildren twice weekly and often take time out during the week to go shopping with my daughter. Even have time out with my hubby and friends. Sounds idyllic doesn’t it?

What I haven’t told you is the rest – I start my emails at 5am in the morning, clearing around 100 or so before 7am at which time I get ready for my first meeting of the day. I work very effectively at home so try to do that once or twice a week. Some times of the year I work 12 – 15 hour days especially around mid-year when I spend a large amount of time flying around Australia delivering programs. I work hard and long but reap rewards in other ways. Blast it… I am a typical baby-boomer!

Balanced – you bet. But not in the typical Gen Y finish work and go to play type of way. Balanced in MY way!

Jeff maintained that truth in politics was vital for our well-being as individuals and delivering anything else was a fundamental mistake which could see us totally destroying ourselves and the earth on which we live.

Big words and ones that will have the sceptics huffing and the fans clapping. I actually believe that the ‘media’ are in charge and therefore the person who puts on the best show at any time will win. We are now running a popularity contest in Australia whilst the engine room of people we call politicians are homogenised to fit the psyche of the Australian public.

Kevin Rudd came into power on the back of television program ‘Sunrise’. In my view the next opposition leader past the polished ‘Turnbull’ will be another Sunrise veteran Joe Hockey.

The past war of words from the television will see the game played out in real life. The party people will look to the person with the highest popular profile because guess what? That is how they get into power and this is something for which WE are responsible!

Have either party got the guts to make ethical and good decisions for Australia? At the moment, I see a lot of talking but not a lot of doing! I also see a lot of prevaricating, avoidance tactics and mud-slinging from both parties.

Grow up boys, stop trying to ‘get down and jiggy’ with it on TV and get in there while you still have the chance to make the ‘right’ decisions! Our businesses and our lives are at stake.

One theory I have is that banks actually don’t understand risk. Seemly sound businesses have gone down the tubes where those that are viewed as more risky have grown and thrived in the current environment. Why? Well there is a difference between risk taking and risk management!

Banks have little boxes to tick and that’s how they work. The people who work there also work in little boxes and can’t go outside the rules. Innovative thinking is not encouraged or even permitted. They control risk by restricting cashflow which any advisor will tell you is a failure guarantee. So it is fair to say that a true business opportunity in a niche area would never tick the right boxes. That is why I laugh at certain bank campaigns which talk about innovation and ‘thinking outside the box’. Not possible!

Bully for the banks and great for the private investor. Organisations like the Australian Business Angels network capitalise on this and pick up the funding breach. I encourage small businesses that want to expand to look into this form of capitalization. It comes with experienced business advice as well as funding if your idea is good enough. No wonder more of these funded ideas are successful. Imagine having real support for your idea. No boxes, just real advice and a true market appraisal. http://www.businessangels.com.au/

Each month there are articles that demonstrate how other people have leveraged off the large pool of grants and sponsorships available to the general public in Australia. Not only is there a monthly list linking you to the source but also advice on how to do it. What a fantastic idea for anyone who needs a fundraise!

“The majority of small community groups are often cash strapped and time poor. They don’t have the money to pay qualified professionals or hire CEOs and marketing managers, these groups will be especially interested in Fund Seeker, as it supports volunteers who need to fundraise, market and hold events’ says magazine creator Lorraine O’Neill.

“It will also be a valuable resource to philanthropists and larger corporate companies who give sponsorships, as many don’t get to see what wonderful opportunities there are in our wider community.”

Fund Seeker contains a unique blend of ‘real-life’ success stories, corporate profiles, expert articles as well as up-to-date private and public funding details. It is a full colour, interactive zoom medium – enabling it to be read anywhere, anyplace at anytime.

Let Fund Seeker ‘show you the money’, go to www.fundseeker.com.au to download a free issue.

I recommend it!

When you’re managing or spending someone else’s money whether shareholders or business owners, there’s a responsibility to do well and not squander money or time which equals money. They after all do pay the wages and shoulder all the risk.

Too often employees forget this and talk about how the company could do more for them. I pose the question – why not do more for the company? There might be a little more money in the coffers then for rewards and bonuses.

It wasn’t until two months down the track the full horror hit me and I – the most positive of people – hit a wall I seemingly couldn’t climb. Ever since I have been trying to get out of that very deep crevice all the while trying to lead a high growth company and attending to my charitable committments. This insiduous feeling has robbed me of the joy I get from working in a truly wonderful venture and has prevented me from being effective or efficient. I have struggled to complete the day and my health has deteriorated considerably.

I share this with you because yesterday for the first time, I saw a small light. A feeling of hope has started to suffuse my body. I attended a function last night and actually enjoyed the experience. I still feel sad but a weight has lifted.

Luckily enough I have great people looking after my interests and my business has come through unscathed. My question to you is – how do you get through something like this and have your business survive if you have no support?

In theory, what a great idea! People who are unemployed get an opportunity to do it for themselves and become their own boss.

The scheme gives you a year of base wage – same as unemployment benefits, and access to training for small business. However it fails to take into account a person’s capability, passion or suitability to run a business.

Let’s face it though, once you are in the scheme it doesn’t matter if you fail or not because you have a wage for a year and the government has one less off the unemployment figures.

Starting your own business is very difficult. Add to that the financial strain that goes with buying new equipment, marketing and a whole host of other expenses and you can see why only very few get sustainably off the ground.

I don’t believe that buying yourself a job has ever worked unless you are both passionate about starting your own business and are suited to doing it. Before going down this road it is worth taking a good hard look at yourself and really understanding if you can handle the stress and hard work it will take to make your business really successful.

The problem with economic booms is the lack of time to focus on anything but the business at hand.

That lack of planning is now a crisis which has put most into damage limitation mode. This causes execs and business owners to scuttle into ultra conservative boxes.

My advice is don’t be tempted to pull your marketing and retreat. Use this time to be brave and focus on all that could be and get ready to thrive.

My employees are developing a number of new initiatives by devoting 20% of their time on new ideas and improving our core business process.

Start by analysing your efforts and see if you can set 3 or 4 key priorities that will build your business. Focus on what could be and not what has been. Systematically build a program that helps you consistently identify promising ideas and a wait to act on them. You will be surprised at the results.

I believe internships are the best way to recruit new hires, extend a wide network that promotes your business and develop our young people at the same time. As the premier provider of professional level internships in Australia, we are often asked about the benefits and challenges associated with this form of human resource. So I have written a list for you all to consider.

Benefits

1. This is guaranteed “try before you buy” staff recruitment – interviews are a very inefficient way of finding good staff. Internships are a fabulous way to see if someone has a potential fit with the company and can do what they say they can do.
2. There is a lower cost for recruiting new staff – It actually costs thousands of dollars to recruit a new hire. For the fee it costs to recruit one new staff person you could have 3 interns come into the organisation. Employers can then pick the one that has the best fit.
3. You’ll be able to expand your workforce for special projects or short-term assignments, without taking on a long-term commitment.
4. Talented postgraduates can provide analysis and ideas for business projects when internal resources are stretched.
5. Branding – Gen Y in particular have a tendency to viral brand your organisation as an employer of choice if they have a positive experience.
6. New ideas – these interns are clever and being new can often see things previously overlooked. They are also future potential customers or clients. This is a clever mechanism for your company to capture new impressions and translate that into actionable ideas.
7. To create an effective internship you need good processes – If you take in interns as a strategy, business units can become more efficient, more capable of bringing in new staff and handing over when they leave, making your company more flexible to change.
8. Develops staff mentoring and leadership capacity – The more you do this the easier it becomes.

Challenges

1. Needs a structure for it to work including job or project descriptions with achievable outcomes – This is similar to something you may do with all new recruits but keeping in mind that most interns have limited or no experience.
2. Resources need to be deployed for supervising – it is not a set and forget experience. Staff need training to mentor new interns. However if this is done your organisation will dramatically improve its ability to not only look after new interns but to retain and manage existing staff.
3. Finding the right interns is often difficult so make sure you partner with an organisation like the AELC to help find and induct appropriate new recruits. You also need good feedback mechanisms and defined outcomes for the time they are with you.
4. If you don’t have a company like AELC to do it, you have to cover insurance, so put in place good intern contracts and make sure the intern is well looked after on site.
5. This is a limited time experience. Under industrial relations law, interns can only be onsite and unpaid for up to 3 months. After this time it is the obligation of the firm to employ them if you want services to continue.

All considered, Americans have been using this mechanism for years with great results. If we do it well in Australia, recruitment could change forever and our new generations will be better prepared for work. If you want to know more please contact us at the AELC to find out what is involved.

I sigh and book myself into my trusty hairdresser for the lift I most definitely need.

Hairdressers are miracle workers, counsellors, colourists, fashionistas, business owners and all round nice people… and also they have to do a great cut. Well those are the traits I look for in my hairdresser! Good hairdressers create a place where people feel comfortable and leave feeling fantastic about themselves.

The girls at my current favorite hairdressing salon, which by the way is located in the Brisbane CBD (I am located in WA but travel a lot) are brilliant at this.

The manager has strived to create a salon where they know the names of their clients and have intimate knowledge of their daily lives. They do this in a very unique way by engaging each other in a conversation that includes the client but does not necessarily focus on the client. Once the client is comfortable enough and has an opinion, they naturally join the conversation and the banter begins on a variety of topics. I and the other clients were quietly engaged where otherwise we would not have been.

In talking to the girls I came to realise that this was a genuine exchange. The girls really love each other and enjoy the unique conversations they have with their clients. How often have we gone into a salon or boutique and heard the right words but not felt like engaging? This is because the exchange is not genuine. It is contrived.

Geena has created a culture of fun and true joy and the girls follow her lead. Management have carefully chosen their staff and it is obvious they all love their jobs.

I think all businesses could take a lesson from this. ‘Stefans’ is a thriving business and I highly recommend them. You can find them in the Myer Centre in the Brisbane CBD.

Makes me sound slightly retarded doesn’t it?

Well I have to tell you that over the past 10 years I have increased my girth by 30 kilos and have managed to gain an increase in headaches translated from poor back posture and about 29 other ailments all through neglecting myself so thoroughly.

In direct correlation to this I have increased my time at work and now spend an extra 30 hours per month working. Most of those 30 hours were spent at breakfast events, lunch meetings and evening board meetings all of which involved sitting on my ever increasing behind exercising my mouth and not my body.

I am very intelligent but failed miserably to even take notice of the effect of those extra hours of munching on my body.

Sound like you? Well lots of people – men and women in the business world have the same issue and it is usually through a health scare, relationship crisis or even when the wardrobe has increased so much there is nothing to wear that we have a wake-up call. Then of course you have to actually do something about it and that’s where the pain begins. The pain of trying and failing at diets – the pain of trying and failing at exercise and the pain of just thinking about how awful you (me) increasingly feel about your appearance. What a sad waste of energy.

It took me a while to realise what I was doing wrong. The key to any change comes before the doing. I had to be in a mindset where change was possible!

For me as with others there was a catalyst and then came a period of introspection. This is the make or break time when you make a choice and choose to change in a sustainable way. To be successful you have to search for a method that will best suit your lifestyle and personality. This thinking faze where we strategise and develop a plan is just like when you start a business. If you fail to plan it is pot luck if you succeed. Develop a plan and follow it and you are most likely will attain your goal.

So this is my recommended process:

• Analyse your eating habits and write down everything that goes in your mouth.
• Note down any exercise you will do and not what you optimistically might do for a week or two. For me that included foregoing the gym membership I bought yearly and never used because I didn’t have time to go. Buy a ‘Wii Fit’ if you don’t really like exercise – See my blog on Ruby Connection www.therubyconnection.com.au for more info.
• Develop an eating plan that you can adhere to with business commitments – see www.calorieking.com.au or go on ‘Lite n Easy’ like I did at the beginning.
  Make a commitment to yourself not to fall off the whole diet if you have a binge day.
• Have fun along the way and don’t cut out all things nice forever.

I have now lost 22 of those kilos and have had a complete change of image. The effect it has had on my life is enormous. I had actually forgotten what it was like to feel good! The headaches are at a minimum and my brain is at super-speed.

The way I feel has dramatically affected my energy levels and has changed the way I work and do business. I now spend less time at work but do the work in a more effective way. I also feel attractive again and that makes me more confident in my business dealings.

The effect it had on my co-workers and friends was also a revelation to me. I seem to have inspired a “get fit not fat” revolution. The gym at work is now in full use, workers are eating healthier meals and the atmosphere is one of hope.

Leadership wise if I wanted a great result for the team then leading by example really did the job.

Give it a go! You have nothing to lose except a few kilos…

Executive coaches are people who typically work with executives in large firms so better results are produced for the organisation.

Business coaches are experienced business professionals brought in as agenda-free surrogate mentors for small to medium businesses.

Life coaches, on the other hand, are brought in to help people reorder their life to get to where they want to be.

Making hard choices about what’s important and paying attention to your intentions requires being listened to by a supportive, brainstorming and independent viewpoint. The last sort of coach is a career coach who will help you make choices as to your future career direction.

The sort of coach you need is dependent on the outcome you wish to achieve. At the AELC we provide small business and career coaching and have partnered with Australasian Coaching to provide executive and life coaching. We did this because we recognised very early that training needed to be complemented with personalised material and coaching provides that opportunity.

So do I think coaching is needed for organisations and individuals? The answer to that is most definitely YES! The reason why is simple. Coaches are there to help you and that is their sole motivation. There is no agenda because you are simply paying for the service. If the service wasn’t successful for you then you would disengage from it.

Many times the people around us don’t have the expertise or belief in what we are doing and actively discourage us from taking the steps we need to be successful in life. A coach does not have that bias and can help you see things clearly. Businesses that receive coaching grow faster than their counterparts and are more aware of issues and challenges. They are also more prepared for changing market conditions.

To find a good coach can be a challenge though. Business coaches should be successful business people in your field or have had experience in your industry. Executive coaches should be qualified and accredited with a coaching organisation. Don’t be frightened to try a few to find that one that most suits you.

Many of the networking books will tell you how you should just get out there and make a little conversation and hand out your business card like that is the answer to all your problems. Well I am here to tell you that just does not work for shy people or those with very little confidence. It feels false and quite frankly, tacky. Meeting someone doesn’t create a relationship. And relationships are what you need to succeed.

A network is a term that is used to describe people with a common set of connections. Super networkers supposedly connect well to lots of people and manage all those relationships efficiently. This is just not realistic for those of us who are human and shy. So I am going to give you my tips for making networks from a non-networkers perspective.

1. Firstly if you feel uncomfortable in a networking environment, bring someone with you who is more proficient and can introduce themselves and you into various groups of people.
2. Even if you are nervous, make an effort to speak to people. In fact confessing that you don’t know anyone might be your passport to being introduced to key players in the group.
3. If you do manage to talk to someone, don’t monopolise their entire time because you feel uncomfortable to move on. On the other hand if you do connect and are having a great conversation don’t feel pressured to move onto another prospect. Take the time to create a quality connection.
4. Have a list of topics that may be interesting to help start conversations. For example I was at a function on the state of the economy recently but my topic of the moment was how the Government had dumped all the Innovation programs that supported start-up companies. I know a lot about innovation as this is one of my passions. The topic opened up conversation and debate around the table. Other topics can include travel, pets and children.
5. Give a little of yourself. You can’t connect unless you open yourself up. Often others see shy people as aloof and unapproachable. Do your best to smile and act friendly.
6. Once you have a connection take the time to follow up. There is no point in making a connection in the first place if you don’t do anything about it. If you are not good with the phone then try an email. Any connection is better than none.
7. Even if you don’t succeed the first time, try and try again. Sooner or later the right conditions will see you start to network and the rest is just practice. Don’t beat yourself up if things go wrong. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Remember that you are trying to make a strong association and to do that you must be authentic in what you are saying and doing. It is more important to make one quality connection than 100 insincere ones. I can also promise you that the more you do it the easier it will become.

So what is experiential? According to Wikipedia, experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event. The history of the word experience aligns it closely with the concept of experiment. An experiment is a set of scientific observations performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to retain or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena.

In our context we take current education theory and turn it backwards. Most people enrol in a generic course with the hope they will gain skills or knowledge in a particular area. There is no direct experience from this, just observation of the theories and studies of other peoples ideas and experiences.

We take the view that each person needs to analyse where they want to go and we then design a project experience for them to undertake and learn from in order to acquire that knowledge. The generic skills they need to do that project is gained by relevant short courses they will need as a person to complete that project. Each person undertaking the project may have quite different needs in this area. That way they can experience theory in action.

Is this the way of the future? We think so. Classroom based learning is not the way to embed knowledge.
Practical application is!

Try this experiment. Think back to your university or TAFE lectures and try to remember what they said. I guarantee only those theories you applied will be imbedded in your memory.

Print articles:

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23666946-5010800,00.html

yourlifeworks.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=456348

From Employer to Employee – The West Australian February 20th

Helicopter View brings the parts together – The Australian Financial Review Monday 14th April

www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22398467-5012424,00.html

As the babies get older, the mums have decided they will have a nanny come in. That way mums get to have their cake and eat it too – including choosing the nanny and supervising it all in the same area.

This is not a crèche situation where you drop your child off and pick them up at the end of the day. Depending on your job, a child care centre may be the best option. However for women, especially in the year after they have their babies, most do not want to give up the interaction that they have at home on a daily basis – yet with the rising cost of living, many have no choice.

I am not a large corporate and do not have millions to spend on this but have found that these women who are supported in the workplace are loyal and efficient. I have also found that others are lining up to work for us just because we have this true flexibility. Like all situations, this has taken time to set up and to manage.

We have had issues such as how to manage the phones and other employee interaction if the babies are sleeping; irritable children creating noise that disturbs the entire office and we have changed the office layout to accommodate both mum and baby needs. We have had meetings on handling and interacting with the infants but I can tell you that our office is a better place for everyone to work in despite some of the challenges. We also have set the mums up with laptops and skype for home if they have sick or restless infants and let them set their own hours because sometime babies stay up all night and mums need their sleep. Our employee turnover by the way is nought. The question is, if we as a small business can do it, why can’t corporate and government?

If you are in a large corporation or government organisation the first place to start is with internal awards. In the university system there are teaching awards, research awards, department and university wide awards. The same goes for most larger organisations where achievements are recognised on an organisational scale. Even within a small business there can be weekly or monthly awards for best employee.

Outside your organisation, to dabble your toes in the water so to speak, I would be looking for local and industry based awards that recognise your business or your profession.

For example many local chambers of commerce have business awards in their local areas. Every industry has its own awards – education, property, manufacturing, hairdressing, office administration – you name it there are hundreds in every profession. These local awards give you an idea of how you rate against others on a smaller scale. It also enables you to practice writing an award submission, a very valuable skill, as what you are doing is learning to sell yourself or your business.

Once you have a couple of small awards under your belt it is time to look at state and national awards. Again these can be industry specific or they can be gender based like the Telstra Business Woman of the Year or specific recognition of personal attributes such as the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year or Australian of the Year.

Often people start applying for awards when they are not really able to demonstrate notable achievements over a period of time. Keeping a diary of when you do really notable things is a great idea and gives you the fodder you need for the award submission. For example starting a business is an achievement but the longer it is running and the more clients you service and the reputation you build is the substance on which awards are built. Winning lotto is arguably an achievement but you wouldn’t write an award submission for it. Instant success is not the stuff of legends.

Writing an award submission is like writing a job application. These are the key points to take note of:

1. Make sure you understand the awards criteria – What is the purpose of the award and what sort of person are they looking for? Are they looking for a role model or are they looking for a unique and compelling story that typifies an industry?
2. Don’t overstate your achievements but also don’t understate them. Many people feel embarrassed to talk about themselves and their achievements. I hate to tell you this – judges are not mind-readers so be specific and pretend you are writing this about a colleague you admire.
3. Think about the submission from the judges’ perspective – what particular points will make you stand out from the crowd? This is just like a job interview in that a judge must choose someone for the role. What will be your point of difference?
4. These applications are read by a range of people from a range of backgrounds so don’t assume they will understand your industry or your journey unless you describe it well. Remember this is a story and unless you engage the reader or interviewer the points you raise may be missed.
5. Answer questions succinctly and with good spelling and grammar. A badly written submission will likely be binned.
6. Don’t have someone else write your submission. If it goes to interview it will be very obvious to the judges and that will go against you. However do have someone edit your finished work
7. Keep your award submissions and use them as grist for the awards mill. You can recycle what you do, add to it and improve on it in other submissions.
8. Read your submission before going for the interview as many times you forget what was in there and be prepared for questions on what you have written.
9. If you don’t succeed try and try again. Many a time awards have been won after multiple entries over years. Just keep going. What is the worst that can happen?

So now you need to research and see what awards are out there for you. I have added a few example links for you to start. Of course these may not be the awards for you however all you have to do a ‘Google’ search on awards in your profession or industry. Good luck!

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/Australia/Entrepreneur_of_the_Year_-_Welcome

http://www.businesswomensawards.telstra.com/?PageID=248

http://www.telstrabusinessawards.telstra.com/home.aspx

http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/pba.html

http://www.exportawards.gov.au/

http://www.australiantrainingawards.gov.au/

http://www.tourismalliance.org/tourismalliance/TourismAwards.html

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/austawards.html

http://www.australiaday.com.au/awards/default.aspx

http://www.sai-global.com/improve/awards/

http://www.achiever.com.au/

http://www.awardsaustralia.com/RACA_nsw.html

http://65.182.104.91/champions/

http://www.awardsaustralia.com/YAA.html

http://www.sa.engineersawards.com/

I was first nominated for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award in 2000 but did not enter until 2005 because I was just too busy and didn’t think it was worth the effort. I was wrong.

The first award I ever received was the Business and Higher Education Roundtable Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year. I was nominated for the award at the time by the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Curtin University. To prepare for the award the Vice Chancellor assigned a person from his staff to interview me and compile a submission which was to be judged by a prestigious panel of experts. I was quite blasé to the process as I a) didn’t believe I would win it and b) I just didn’t realise what could happen if I did win. Well, I won and that was the beginning of my journey into the realms of a “known identity.”

Firstly, before the award, the VC sent a note out to all staff about my nomination and then later, congratulations on my winning. Along with this came publicity, both statewide and nationally in papers and magazines. I went from little known entrepreneur to well known entrepreneur overnight. My actions and work had not changed but now others knew what I had done.

The reactions were incredible, both positive and negative. I received a huge amount of support from the business community for my projects and was invited to speak in universities and organisations all over Australia, UK and Europe. The negatives came from a couple of staff members of the university who obviously felt threatened by my success and these were quite upsetting for me.

It seems that from then on I was nominated regularly for many different awards. I felt most comfortable with those that recognised my work rather than me personally and I pursued these with vigour. The more well known my programs, the more money was available to me to run my programs. The correlation between awards and support was absolute. In the University system where I regularly competed for funds, the awards really helped my program to survive in an uncertain environment.

The personal awards I struggled to complete but realised from my first win that I had to brand not only my program but myself in order to survive the budget cuts. The Telstra Award was the icing on the Cake.

Now as a business owner those awards have allowed me to win contracts and promote my business in ways that others can not. I have access to networks, for example the Telstra Business Women’s Network and am invited regularly to speak on radio and comment in print on a variety of topics near to my heart. I also regularly promote my business in forums such as conferences and speaking events.

So is it worth it? Well I believe I can price my awards in the millions with business sales, in-kind support and publicity and while I was an employee at Curtin it helped my program grow from nothing to a large not for profit entity with projects running throughout the world. It may be time consuming and you might feel funny doing it but I urge everyone out there to enter an awards program.

Wow what a fortnight I have just experienced! Starting on Thursday two weeks ago I began the match of the century.

Tracey in her office preparing to be inteviewed by a film crew ahead of the Veuve Cliquot awards ceremony

Time in business versus time out and time ‘in’ won. There was so much to do, with so few of us to get everything done that the dilemma of time management was moot.

There was no time and therefore we needed no management. Gulp!

This doesn’t happen often, usually around 3 or 4 times a year only. I run wonderful time management courses and know all the principles which I practice religiously – but sometimes there are other issues that have to be addressed so that time can be managed effectively. Usually these issues are resource based. Or perhaps I should say “lack of resources” based.

So from Professional Development days to conferences, award ceremonies and such like we worked 14 hour days across the country.

However we got all the work done and from all reports, we did very well.

So, sometimes there is no choice – you just have to accept that the only way to get the result you want is to put your head down and attack the task tenaciously at the expense of all other areas of your life.

But then give yourself time to collapse and make up for the lost hours or days with the important people who have probably missed you.

For me, Easter gave me recovery time – that was planned. Now my husband remembers what I look like and thankfully my darling little grand children still remember me.

Most of the time I am SUPER organised. I get more done in a day than many would do in a week. I organise my time and use it efficiently.

I am flat out but not just ‘busy’. I am productive at a higher level in planning, strategy, broad concepts, meetings, mentoring, executive responsibility etc.

I don’t fuss with detail though (which can get me into all sorts of trouble – the term ‘absent minded’ has been thrown at me more than once). I’m always losing my glasses, forgetting my phone and not checking things such as email addresses – Michael Kyriacou is probably wondering why I sent the first draft of this blog to him for reviewing instead of another Michael who is my editor.

So I get a LOT happening in the time I spend working.

Shan Shan, one of our lovely AELC web specialists mentioned to me once that for every sentence I utter, “an hour of work ensues”. True, so true.

Concepts and strategies are relatively easy to state and only take a small amount of actual time to describe. The devil is in the detail.

What about you? If time is not doing its best to be available whenever you need more of it, you would probably benefit from learning some time management techniques like I use.

We run courses at the AELC on Time Management and Work/Life Balance. This is essential stuff to know if you want to have a career, health and family all at the same time. Divorce should not be one of the outcomes of your new job responsibilities. Neither should cancer, heart attack, depression etc.

Finally there are some excellent time management resources at www.mindtools.com .

Time is one of the most precious resources you have so go to it and use your time well to become more efficient, more productive and more balanced. Now I have to run . . .

We were having a funny little chat about influence and weight gain as we ate.

I commented that I felt that when I was thin (definitely not at the moment) people tended to take less notice of me and that that men in particular tended to take me more and more seriously as my girth widened.

To my surprise one of the women, a psychologist, told me about some research she had read that proved that larger women were taken more seriously by their male counterparts. So those women out there with a few spare tyres take heart and use your talent for the greater good and influence away.

Is this excitement radiating from their pores or is it pure terror? Well from my experience it goes hand in hand. When you do exciting or challenging things there is an element of risk and the knife edge of that can be very sharp. And with today’s busy lifestyle and workplaces the challenges can be incredibly difficult to handle.

Skills shortages, long hours, overdue bills, rising child care costs and a myriad of other problems litter the landscape.

In the normal course of our life, we encounter stress. Sometimes the levels are high and sometimes low.

Research shows that life without any stress can be just as bad for us as life with too much. We need stress to aid us to strive and achieve. However. . . when that stress level goes into hyperdrive it creates a haze in our mind, hindering our thought processes leading to a loss of productivity and general DIStress.

Stress management then becomes very important. Too many of us feel the effects of sickness and depression that are caused by not looking after our stress levels properly.

This week I challenge you to take a look at your life and do one thing that will bring about a tiny change for the better. I am going to start a new exercise plan. What will you do?

Imagine a workplace where an 88 year old man shares his office space with a 23 year old. Where a 4 year old worker’s daughter and her 35 year old mother have a special mothers’ work room.

Imagine a place where people of all ages come together, interacting, exploring, working and building meaningful relationships. The power of combining two populations at opposite ends of the spectrum will soon be realized as more workplaces get with the program and really add flexibility to their organisations.

I would like to see people thinking about how to bring seniors and mothers back to the workplace by creating more flexibility.

For example our workplace has a mothers room complete with adjoining mums’ offices and a breast feeding couch. Our mums can also work from home and come in as necessary. We also have a wonderful employee who is 72 and doing a great job – just not full-time and some of it from home.

It is possible and with the skills shortage set to continue, it is becoming more necessary. Why not give it a try?

One of the most bemoaned issues we hear through our HR colleagues is the blockages that come from management every time they try to solve this problem. Why is it that some managers ignore the very people who look after their most important assets?

There are many theories that could account for this behaviour. Maybe they detest change and therefore resist trying anything new. Maybe it seems too hard. Maybe the initiatives cost too much money or maybe they can’t be bothered. Maybe the HR managers are not perceived to have the same respect as other managers in the organisation.

Whatever it is, these people are responsible for recruiting and retaining the people that will staff the projects that will make the money. If only organisations would recognise that this is one of their most important business functions.

Too often, simple misunderstandings among co-workers or just bad personal habits lead to workplace tension. Practice these simple tips and some of the stress can be avoided.

Firstly monitor the volume at which you speak. Many people just simply talk too loudly and disrupt workers around them. Be sensitive and look around to see if people down the hall are looking up when you start conversing.

• In some workplaces, privacy is difficult to find so don’t spend time on the phone or in corridors speaking about personal matters. Your best bet for being treated as a professional at work is to keep all workplace conversations professional.
• Gossip should not be tolerated. Sharing professional information is necessary, gossiping is not. Only discuss personal matters directly with specific individuals, superiors, and management.
• Workplace kitchens can be a big source of co-worker tension. If you expect everyone you work with to cleanup after themselves, model that behaviour yourself.
• Be sensitive to scents and smells surrounding you and don’t wear excessive amounts of perfume or cologne. Many people are allergic to strong aromas.
• Do not eat highly perfumed foods in closed spaces. It can make your co-workers feel positively ill. Also do not burp from any body part in the presence of your colleagues. It is just plain rude.
• Maintain all shared items in “like new” condition and return borrowed supplies. We all expect and want to be able to use items and equipment when needed.

So keep in mind the next time you are “up close and personal” in a work environment, make it “up close and professional”.

Listing what you value and determining its priority can really help you make appropriate decisions. Once we know what we want only then can we create the life balance we need. Well that is the theory anyway. We do actually have to action it.

We say we value health and then eat the wrong foods and don’t exercise. We say we value family and then when we see our family we fight and argue. We say we want more time for ourselves and then strive harder and work longer to buy plasmas and new cars.

We need to be honest with ourselves and work out what we value most – but realize with that comes a compromise. We can have better health, a great family and more time for ourselves but that means giving something up.

Downsizing cars and homes and not eating takeaway is not the end of the world. Our houses don’t have to be Mc Mansions for us to be fulfilled. I would rather have no television than have a heart attack from overwork. I would rather have a happy family than a tension filled divorce.

The choices are there for you to make so be clear and be real.

Attitude is everything. You carry your attitude with you like tinted lens on sun glasses. It colours your perception and creates a truth that is slightly biased. That perception can be rose coloured or brown, light or shade, rich or dull. And with it comes your interpretation of the world and what you see. You are seeing the truth but you are seeing a truth that you created and with that view you can shape your reaction to what you see.

Our reality is shaped by our attitude to everything around us. We interpret and react differently to situations according to that reality. If we choose to see things in the right light we have a positive experience and are optimistic. If we choose to see things negatively our life will be full of woes and sorrows.

We have the choice on which coloured sun glasses we choose to wear. Just like we have a choice to the attitude we take in our lives. Why not take the rosey option. Sure beats the hell out of the dull brown version.

Now I have found that I am not alone. Other people are not only doing the same thing but they are demanding it. According to the Economist, more and more workers are seeking greater flexibility in their work and that often means undertaking large chunks of intensive time in exchange for a more time off later. “Flexibility is no longer a privilege, but a right,” the report said. In a highly competitive market where one of an organisation’s key assets is its people, the warning to employers is that, if they can’t adapt to these new ways of working, they are going to miss out on an important pool of talented people.

In the past I have been labelled a workaholic for my work practices with all the bad connotations that brings. But the report shows that binge working isn’t, in fact, at all bad – and that it allows people to both be more effective at work, and get more time to do other things. Yes, this might actually help you get more out of life.

So what if we want to work 60-hour weeks. If you get to go island hopping in Thailand (like me) for two weeks every quarter on top of your normal holidays, surely intensive working isn’t such a bad thing.

So what is workplace etiquette and why are we are we so perturbed? Well to me it is the natural courtesy we extend to those with whom we work. And the reason this theme is burning up the airways is it seems many organisations have a breed of employee whose “non-courteous” actions make it difficult and sometimes even impossible to work. Not a great situation to have to face every day.

Why ask me you say? Well at the AELC we run the most comprehensive workplace etiquette course in Australia and believe it or not, this is a serious crisis that is hitting companies where it hurts – their hip pockets.

Our research shows that bad etiquette creates unhappy workers who in this current skills shortage environment are leaving in the droves. That’s got to hurt since bringing in new workers means thousands of dollars in recruiting costs. Many workers will stay in the most mundane of jobs if the people around them are thoughtful and courteous.

I first recognised this as an issue when I was working with university students on our Advantage Internship program. We developed the course in response to our observation of students entering an organisation for the first time. They seemed to be technically skilled but many did not have basic report writing, adequate professional telephone or email skills.

Many also seemed to be more direct in their communication style which was making managers complain about a lack of courtesy that bordered on arrogance.

Of course this is not true of everyone but it was a big enough issue for us to design a transition course for graduates. Then HR managers started saying that they wished everyone could go through this as it sets some very clear guidelines for workplace behaviors and we responded by developing a guideline to Australian Workplace Etiquette. Soon those guidelines will be available in a book form and online course as well as the physical course we now deliver.

So what are the main workplace beefs? Well they are so numerous we have decided to start tackling them through this blog. We invite you to send in your workplace etiquette challenges and we will go through possible solutions.

Today’s tip is: Personal Calls in an open office environment.

I am starting with an observation from an HR officer of a large mining firm who works in an open plan office and finds it difficult to concentrate with all the chatter that is happening around the floor. “Many people speak long and loud on the phone about non work stuff and even private conversations” she stated.

This is a massive issue in open plan offices and one that is not easily fixed. Our workplace guidelines state that communication on work telephones in an open plan office about non work related issues is not appropriate unless there is a very good reason and even then should be dealt with discretely.

A text message on a mobile phone (one that is on vibrate or silent) or an email message is more appropriate.

You should only answer or return a call immediately if urgent (death, dieing or other agreed scenarios between an employer and employee). Otherwise restrict personal calls to a lunch or break time and not on the office floor. If it is urgent then still leave the floor and go into the employee common room, kitchen or outside the building.

Put yourself in the shoes of the business owner. Imagine if this was your company and you were personally paying your employees. How would you feel then about conversations of this nature when they are supposed to be working?

Not only are personal phone calls on the floor not suitable but answering work calls loudly is highly inconsiderate as it can seriously affect other employees work flow patterns. Some of us cannot concentrate when the environment is too noisy. So make sure you are considerate of other employees and speak quietly so as not to disturb those around you.