 Is it really the last Friday before Christmas?! Where has this year gone? And how ready are you for the one that’s about to begin?
I’m sure that, with so few days left before the big day, your mind is way too full of all the things that you have to get done...for both your family and your business...to read a long post from me, so I’ll keep this brief. I have two simple suggestions for you, which I believe will not only make your Christmas both merry and bright...but will also set you up brilliantly to roar into 2016 with renewed passion and energy. Suggestion number one... Take time off over Christmas and the New Year...and I don’t just mean Christmas day! Take at least eight consecutive days from Christmas Day through to Jan 2nd to relax and think of nothing but yourself and those around you. If you can avoid checking e mails...do! If you don’t have to write a blog or post on social media...don’t! Take long walks, watch trashy films, spend way too long over breakfast and dinner putting the world to rights. Eat, drink, and be merry...the business will still be there when you come back to it. And what’s even better...while you’re ‘not thinking’ about your business, you’ll have some of your best ideas! You’ll be able to see the big picture, and get clarity on those issues that have been your bug-bears over the last few months when you’ve simply been too busy to think. The coming year will seem less daunting, more exciting, full of opportunity...and you’ll come back to the game knowing what you have to achieve...and why! Which brings me to suggestion number two... Before you switch off, spend a few hours, maybe an evening, with a glass of wine and a notebook pondering the question: ‘What am I trying to achieve...and why?’ It’s a hugely powerful question for planning - whether you’re looking at the next year of your life, or the next hour - forcing you to focus on what’s really important...your meaningful priorities. Then, while you relax and have fun with your family, your subconscious will work its magic, just as it often does overnight when you’ve posed it a problem before drifting off to sleep. When you come back to plan the year ahead, you’ll be amazed at how clearly you see the year laid out before you...not only what you’re going to achieve...but why...and how. Of course we all know it’s not magic, just like we know that Santa doesn’t really come down the chimney...but even so, the presents still end up under the tree! So maybe it’s worth giving it a try. What’s the worst that can happen...? Have a fabulously fun and festive Christmas, and a hugely prosperous and Bright new year. And if you’re still thinking you're way too busy to take the whole Christmas week off, think on this... "Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived” ~ Dalai Lama God bless us...every one! For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk
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 I read some interesting stuff the other day which really hit a chord with me and the growing Bright7 team. It was all about what makes a workplace great.
One of the points was about having simple ‘Rules of the Game’ to reduce waste and make expected behaviours clear. I don’t know about you but the word ‘rule’ is a bit like the word process, conjuring up something that will block and stifle people. But the article summed it up like this… ‘Rules allow systemisation without bureaucratisation. When organisations systemise, people know what the rules are for; when they bureaucratise, the rules seem to have no function’. In ‘my speak’, it’s like the difference between McDonald’s simple, logical and repeatable systems, and the form-filling, tick-boxing paperwork for paperwork’s sake of the likes of ISO9001. So your rules, like your systems, should say to your team ‘this is how we do things here’ because our way:
Netflix have a simple rule, ‘Act in Netflix’s best interest’. Simple, clear and constructive, saying to employees that they should use Netflix’s money with the same care as they would their own. How many of us at work accept standards at work that we wouldn’t accept at home? I loved that mantra of Netflix, it gives people a simple authority to make the right decisions. It’s so in tune with how we want to work at Bright7, and how we encourage our clients to work - give your team simple systems, and give them ownership to do what they think is right for their customers. We’re great believers in KISS ‘Keep it Simple…. Systems’ (we would never call you stupid!). Do one thing: Take time now to check out our Simple System 'How to create your first simple, logical and repeatable system' ps Check out your rules too. Do they support simple systems or are they rules for rules sake? For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk  Ode For A Small Business Owner...
When the road is long Keep forging on Don’t look ahead to see How far you’ve still to go Don’t look from side to side The faces you see there May cause you to stumble Sometimes take a look behind And see how far you’ve come. I’m not really into poetry, but these few lines, along with Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ - you know the one… ‘If you can keep your head while all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you’ - have kept me motivated on many a day when I was working in the machiavellian corporate world. These words hold just as true today though, as I drive to grow my own SSB - Successful Small Business. As business owners we have big goals and big plans, and we beat ourselves up on a regular basis if we fail to deliver. We are almost invariably hard on ourselves, and it’s rare that we stop to reflect on how well we’re doing…and how far we’ve come, particularly on a bad day. So today I want you to do one thing: Think back to when your business was just a twinkle in your eye…a small seed germinating in your mind. Think about how you took that small seed, planted it and nurtured it and built it into the successful small business that you have today. You had the Vision. You had the guts. You did what so many talk of doing, but never actually do. Despite the doubters who thought you were mad to set out on your own - mad to leave a well-paying job, mad for not setting yourself up in a ‘safe’ job, first. Despite your own fears. Despite the challenges and the steep learning curve you faced… Here you are! Your own boss. Free to do whatever you want, when you want. How good is that? Yes, of course you’re not where you want to be…yet, but take the time to be inspired by how far you’ve come. Take the time to celebrate with those who’ve helped you get there. Take the time to pause, and reflect, and remind yourself how bloody awesome you are! To your Awesomeness! To your Freedom! If you don’t feel that your business has brought you the freedom you thought it would, download The McFreedom Report, and take few minutes to understand how you can change that! For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk |
AuthorMarianne is the author of three books, and is currently working on her fourth, whilst regularly writing her blog, we hope you enjoy it :-) Archives
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