EM Superhero

Where were you when the volcano erupted? I was busy writing a speech on positive thinking and opportunity taking in business when I realised that I could use the volcanic eruption in Iceland as the perfect analogy as it is the perfect example of how people’s personalities in business will set them apart.

What is seen and billed by the media as a natural disaster causing chaos for the world’s airlines can also be billed as a natural phenomenon and a boost for local trades.

From farmers who are now supplying more UK supermarkets with produce as we can’t import it into the country, from photographers selling their images of the smoking volcano to the bed and breakfast’s along the coast where people from Heathrow and Gatwick journeyed to to ensure that they still got a bit of a break away.

All of these people had the mindset to ask: Where is the silver lining in this situation? How can I turn a negative into a positive? As a business owner you will make more money or stimulate awareness if your attitude is one that pushes you forward to surviving whatever life throws at you…

Lastminute.com stopped sending out their regular travel updates and adjusted their marketing plan to promote UK based adventure and spa activities. Through their positive stance on the crisis, they will make sales on those items but also inflict a sense of purpose to the public by showing them that they do still have options for fun…

There are some mistakes or occurrences which can’t be turned around to make a profit but will leave you wiser so in the long run they will stop you from making those mistakes again – still a silver lining.

Now I’m not suggesting that you head on a boat to Iceland and scour the area for natural pumice stone to supply to Boots – if you can do this good luck! But instead, use it as a good example of how to turn a situation round and view it with the glass half full, not half empty of Volcanicity…

Between now and the 6^th of May, we are going to be inundated with political messages from all of the major parties – the election campaigns have already sprung into action and every type of media outlet will be carrying a political message – and you won’t be able to avoid them – the newspapers, the radio, the TV and now of course social media.

Although the date was only announced yesterday, everyone has been planning for this event.  Every single message/interview/comment is part of a well-thought through plan which has been in the making for many months and probably even years.   However haphazard certain messages seem – rest assured, every single piece of action is being managed by a team – who are responsible for the execution of a carefully considered plan.

Regardless of the political persuasion there is a common objective by all parties and individuals of winning the election on 6 May 2010 and each party will have a plan of how they are going to gain supporters, who in turn will be fired up enough to take action and ensure that they win sufficient seats to have control of the country.

Every party will be approaching their entire campaign from a business point of view – perhaps they have even used my 7 Business Disciplines as a start point:

Strategic Vision – to run the country and be elected on 6 May 2010

Business Planning – a plan will be at the centre of everything they do – and every risk will have been considered, they will be constantly assessing the competition, and reviewing everything they do and the impact on their ratings

Marketing Management – each and every element of communication will be reviewed to see whether it has been effective – and it won’t be about the size of the budget but more about knowing their market

Practical Finance – improving the countries financial situation and ensuring that we make a “profit” or at the very least break-even should be at the heart of every party – how they communicate this will be key to winning

Team Building – having an effective leader is one thing – having a great team is another – ensuring that the right team is in place, pulling in the same direction, is actually the most valuable asset of each party.   There is no I in team.

Customer Commitment – this should be the start point of each political party – becoming totally tuned to their customer’s needs with constant review.    The successful parties should treat the electorate as a business asset – because without them, they simply can’t survive

Personal Development – the truly committed party, where they have a team of committed individuals will actually be putting their own personal ambitions to one side and focussing on the benefits they can bring to the country.   Considering the recent controversy about expense claims – the winning party will be the one who convinces the electorate that those days will never be repeated. Ever

As Business Owners we should watch and learn from ALL of the political parties over the forthcoming weeks – and I think it could be said, that the winning party will not necessarily be THE BEST they will simply have communicated it better and prompted more people to take action on the day.

Let us all learn!

If you would like to buy your own copy of my book BOOM! visit www.BOOMbusinessbook.co.uk

Right, in case you weren’t already aware, next Monday is International Women’s Day 2010. Men: if you’re reading this don’t panic and stop! This is not going to be a blog complaining about you at all, actually I can empathise with both sexes… Rather a blog about the promotion of true equal rights.

Whilst the government and the UN work incredibly hard to ensure no difference of treatment based on race, gender or age – finding the balance is increasingly hard in today’s work place. Have you found this?

Let’s get real – when I founded Diva Cosmetics, naturally a lot of ladies were attracted to the roles that I advertised because when applying for jobs you look for subject areas that you have knowledge of and if you’re a woman the chances are that you’ve been playing around with makeup for years. Makeup is generally perceived to be a women’s subject even with 20% of all cosmetic sales being made by men – Prince did wonders for eyeliner…

Whilst I fully respect and applaud every movement resulting in women getting the same opportunities as men and not being held back in their creative or intellectual flair I think that we have to tread very carefully not to confuse the issue…

As a business owner I find the employment angle very simple – I want the best person for the job. I don’t have any preconceived ideas on race, gender or age – as a small business owner you want to be able to freely interview people and select the person that will fill the role and push your company forward be it a man or a woman.

Simply put: The best person for the job is the person that should get the job. This is based on skills, experience and everything else that is relevant when recruiting. The thought of someone failing to get given a position because their gender is not required to complete the correct ratio for the work place is utterly crazy.

Whilst men tend to dominate the financial sectors, women are gradually making their way up the ranks and earning their respect from making good decisions. It will be a while before they don’t have to earn respect and just get delivered it like men but it’s becoming easier thanks to the many women around the world that have the guts to make a stand when they see unfair treatment in the work place.

I am lucky enough to mentor several key business leaders, both men and women and the characteristics displayed by both are the same. They both harbour the same drive, vision, determination and creativity needed to be extraordinary in this world. So men: Don’t feel threatened by women – work with us and rejoice in the fact that one of our species must have helped you at some point with an issue of multi-tasking when you’re on deadline…

And women: Believe in your ideas and be strong enough to see them through. If you genuinely feel that unfair treatment is being dished out on you then seek help from the relevant information sites on how to act.

Until next week – enjoy and celebrate next Monday’s International Women’s Day – for an event near you see the link below, and in the words of five fabulously spicy and confident women: GIRL POWER!

www.internationalwomensday.com

Yesterday, just for a change, I went on the Independent Newspaper website to find a different source for my daily news update. Now I don’t know if any of you readers went on it yesterday but I thought I’d share with you what was so apparent from their home page – it’s all about consumerism. Everywhere I looked…

Right next to the core news story of the bomb that people narrowly escaped, was a headline on the results of a poll taken to decide which celebrity had the best body, hair and of course the worst…

I then flicked onto the next news story about political matter and once again, situated right beside this one was the headline entitled ’50 Best Coffee Shops.’

And so the page went on: Hardcore news vs. consumer polls.

They even have a results column so you can view the ‘most clicked on’ stories and interestingly enough out of the top ten, the first winning six were all of the consumer poll stories;  A coffee story is more popular than a newsworthy bomb story…

It’s very simple how this happens and it’s the same reason that I, myself drew the mouse over the page and clicked on the coffee story. Because I can relate to it; I like to pop into a coffee shop when I’m in town so I was drawn to the story wondering which came first, and more importantly had I been there and did I agree?

I clicked on the coffee article first, not because I don’t care about the other news stories, but in some little way it could benefit my own life. Maybe I’d make a better choice in the future about which coffee house to have my twenty minutes of caffeine fueled peace in before the kick sets in and I’m ready to keep on charging…

Readers are looking for affirmation that they are making the right decisions in life, even from small choices such as seeing who got voted to have the best hair (Jennifer Aniston) and then running out and buying whichever brand she happens to use feeling that if their hair is better, they will be better. Now there’s a whole wealth of discussion on that topic which maybe I’ll go into another time.

For now I’d just like to say that that’s all consumerism is – appealing to a new consumer about a product that may and hopefully will benefit their lives in some way. If you’re in business or are a sole trader you will have spent hours convincing yourself of the reasons that people should choose you when they need your product or services.

From this page it’s clear that there is so much choice on the market these days that people need help choosing. So get your brand out there into the consumer eyes and help them make the right choice!

I’m off to check the headlines today – perhaps I’ll see you in one of the top fifty coffee shops later…