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Browse published articles attributed to Alexandria Joy, with full-archive search.
So you’ve decided to take the plunge and start your own business. You’ve got stars in your eyes and grand visions of working in your jeans, having the time and flexibility to “do lunch” with friends and pick up the kids each day from school. SOUNDS APPEALING, DOESN’T IT?
From an early age, most of us are raised to believe that success equals happiness. We work hard to get good grades, finish school, and land that fantastic job. Then many of us find that we still are not happy, so we work hard again to climb the corporate ladder and get that promotion, in the hopes that as we become more successful we will also become happier. However, does success really equal happiness? Author Shawn Achor believes that things should actually be reversed, instead of believing happiness comes from success, we should believe that success comes from happiness.
We all know that the life-blood of any small business is cash flow, cash from clients and customers. However data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that times are tough for smaller operators and over the past ten years, conditions have worsened. While small businesses contribute around 35 per cent of industry value to Australia’s GDP, around 20 per cent of small business owners still earn a gross weekly income of between only $400 and $599 – that’s as little as $8 - $10 per hour for their efforts.
Remember these four words and see if you can recall them by the time you finish reading this article: apple, penny, key, admire. Have you ever noticed that as you get older, time just seems to fly by? Time doesn’t speed up as we age, but this perception is a result of your ageing brain and the loss of neural connections. In other words your memory, or lack of it, plays a huge part in your perception of time passing quickly. Use it or lose it
In our inaugural Leading Ladies International Top 20 list we issue the names of the women who we believe most positively impact our world both locally, nationally and globally. Why women? “In today’s changing world we believe there is an increasing need for greater focus on right brain thinking,” Ms Pollard, Founder of Leading Ladies International said. “Moving from the logical, linear form of business that dominated in the industrial and informational ages, the new conceptual age will see a shift to more creative, artistic, empathic right brain approach to business and life.”
Good leaders are great communicators who build trust consistently over time. A leader with poor leadership communication will find leading far more challenging than a great communicator. Respect and confidence on the part of staff, executive teams, members or a board will be much harder to earn. But even good leaders can blow it with one stupid comment, a slip of the tongue or a poor performance in a media interview.
How often do you hear yourself saying "I can't afford that", "I don't suit that colour", "I couldn't do that. "I'm not good at that"? Have you ever thought about how your unconscious mind hears and receives these messages you say to yourself? No? Well spend a moment now to consider. Control Your Inner Voice
Stuck in a rut? Feel like you've hit a plateau at work? Not sure what to do next to get your career progression into gear? Then it might be time to take a look at your attitude. Just what attitude am I referring to? There are many positive attitudes that can enhance your career advancement - a few of which I believe can really help you get ahead.
Your success in every area of life will be influenced by the relationships you develop and maintain. The ability to communicate and converse with confidence and clarity is a key trait that will help you get to the top of your profession and field. Without making these business relationships or connections you may find your leads and work drying up in these challenging times. Now more than ever, your focus on getting out from behind your desk and into networking and conversing with others in business is critical to your future success.
The world’s high profile and top earning companies are not immune to the everyday challenges that the rest of the business realm experiences. They too can suffer a hard time maintaining highly talented employees; even the cream of the crop in the most senior positions can end up leaving their office with a view, and 7+ figure annual salary. So why do the best and brightest walk out the door despite having been courted by their organisation and paid huge sums of money? Basically they leave for the same reasons as everyone else – poor people management and a lack of inspiration.
Today's leaders are faced with problem solving opportunities every day - what sets apart average managers from great leaders is the way that they approach them. Managers generally focus wholeheartedly on the problem, acknowledging, worrying over and discussing the problem to themselves and with others. Great leaders on the other hand, don't draw attention to problems. They focus on solutions.
During my initial years as an employee a couple of my superiors drove me to my wit’s end. Sure they were nice and I would have to be fair and say they meant well however in my view they were completely incompetent as leaders and managers. To make it worse people on the outside used to comment to me how lucky I was to work for such a great person.
If you haven't given yourself a New Year's resolution yet, here's one for you....get in early and take advantage of the new property cycle. Buy the right property, in the right location and most importantly, for the right price and you could do very well in the long term. Here's three great reasons why I will be investing in property again this year: 1. Supply and demand Take a look around where you live right now and notice how many houses are for sale and how quickly you see the “SOLD” sticker slapped on them. Pretty quick huh?
The holiday season is upon us and no matter what country you are in or faith you follow, I am sure you are finding yourself winding down, filing things away and putting off new projects and meetings until the new year. This could be a big mistake! The fastest way to achieve what you want and set yourself up for success is to see December as the start of the new year and deliberately prepare yourself and lay the foundations for a solid start come January 1. Instead of winding down, consider December the time to ramp things up!
This past week I have had a lot of discussions about meetings; in particular how much time we waste making meetings, attending meetings and travelling to meetings, how managers are always the ones calling meetings and how bad we are at running meetings. If you added up all the time people waste in bad meetings every day in your organisation, it would probably equate to a months profits or more. The truth of the matter is that long, unproductive, poorly focused meetings cost time, money and energy.
This year has flown by faster than ever before. It has certainly had its challenges with stock market fluctuations, interest rate rises and the retail sector experiencing the strain of consumers reigning in their spending. You only have to switch on the television or read the news headlines to get swept up in the negativity engulfing the business world. But does it have to be this way?
We live in an interesting world, would you agree? Companies it seems, are rising and falling faster than ever before. Technology, globalization and the speed of communication has totally changed the workplace environment. Yet even in these fickle times, some companies and brands endure. More than that, they thrive and excel. They innovate and set the pace of change.
This year has flown by faster than ever before. It has certainly had its challenges with stock market fluctuations, interest rate rises and the retail sector experiencing the strain of consumers reigning in their spending. You only have to switch on the television or read the news headlines to get swept up in the negativity engulfing the business world. But does it have to be this way?
How often have you heard an executive or CEO tout "our people are our greatest asset"? A dozen or more I wager. And yet how many employees have you heard say "management just don't care about me. I'm just a number. I get no respect"? Dozens? Hundreds? How is that possible? How can it be that two sides of the same coin can have such different viewpoints, and more importantly, what can be done to bridge the gap?
According to ABS research around a quarter of all employed people go to work feeling unappreciated and considering leaving their employer. Why? Because they feel unappreciated or no longer valued and like they aren’t making a difference. Sobering facts huh. Even more conce ing is the fact that depression occurs in 20% of all people over the course of a lifetime. Did you go to college or university and learn a profession or a trade? Studied hard, learnt the skills, took the tests and completed the assignments?
Trust – it’s a term bandied around all the time when it comes to leadership and organisational culture and with good reason. Nothing builds a solid culture better than growing a cushion of trust and nothing harms an organization more than a lack of trust in those leading it.
Do you make resolutions at the beginning of each year? With the new decade upon us, now is the time to review, renew and reignite your plans for what you want the next year to hold in store. So how can you create results and not just empty resolutions? Simple. Treat the new year as you would any other project and begin with the end in mind. Take a moment to sit quietly and visualize yourself one year from now. What do you want to have accomplished? Who do you want to have become in the process? What kind of relationships do you want have?
A recent blog post by Jamie McIntyre got me thinking… “If the world had 75% females and only 25% men civilisation would continue unabated and be an even safer place. However if the ratio was reversed to a point of 75% men and only 25% females, civilisation as we know it would be likely to come crashing down and become a very dangerous place, especially for women.”
Have you ever met someone for the first time and felt an immediate connection or felt uncomfortable with them straight away? Researchers from New York University found that we form opinions about one another in the first seven seconds of meeting. First impressions count! Whether we like it or not, people do judge books by their cover. It’s not necessarily a person’s ego at work, but it is a natural human response to survival. When a stranger sizes you up, whether consciously or not, their brain determines whether you are approachable or need to be avoided – whether you are friend or foe.r
It’s a well known fact that your ability to set goals and make plans for their accomplishment is a foremost skill of success. Developing this ability and embedding it as a habit will do more to assure continued success and achievement in your life than any other skill you can possibly learn. And yet many of us still don’t do it, otherwise we’d all already be thin, rich, in love and healthy. I'd like to make a suggestion. Don't make any new year's resolutions. Instead make a plan!
The power of communication is what the listener does with the message, not what the message does to the listener. Messages, stories, speeches, movies and advertisements that move people deeply do not do so because they are powerful in themselves. They do so because they touch the audience's most desired wants, most cherished values or even the things they dislike most. They evoke responses that are already in the listener, they don't put them there.
Do you set goals or make resolutions at the beginning of each year? With 2009 upon us now is the time to whip out a pen and paper or your Blackberry and make some plans before another digitally enhanced year speeds by! Want to know the secret to setting goals that you will achieve? It's all to do with your unconscious mind and the way you frame your goals. You see when you talk about accomplishing something in the future, it will stay in the future in your mind. For example here are some typical goals: "I aim to increase my profits per client by 50%."
Building a company and brand today is very different from building one 50 years ago. It used to be that a couple of executives got together in a board room, wrote some fanciful, aspirational words on a flip chart and Bobs your uncle, the company’s values and brand positioning was decided. Today this strategy flies in the face of creating a sustainable, profitable, engaged company that will survive in the modern world.
Have you ever noticed the thoughts that run through your mind the minute you wake up and the moment before you fall asleep? Unless you make mindfulness a daily practice, chances are probably not. Despite the fact that we live in an abundant world our usual daily reflections are those of lack, what we don't have and what we don't get enough of. Think about it. How many times have you woken up, pushed snooze on the alarm and your first thought is "I didn't get enough sleep." Interesting.
Power. What is it? How do we use it? Who is seeking it? Why do we have a love/hate relationship with it? "Power is just the ability to effect change." Martin Luther King "Powerlessness is the most dangerous state that we could ever experience." Brene Brown Dictionary - what say you about power? - Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events ie: a political process that offers people power over their own lives.
Being offered an interview often means you are part way there, but the toughest test is still to come. The key to success at interview is preparation, preparation, preparation! Do your research, surf the company’s website, news articles about them and internal literature such as the annual report or company newsletter to gather information and get a feel for their style.
"Inner peace is impossible without patience. Wisdom requires patience. Spiritual growth implies the mastery of patience. Patience allows the unfolding of destiny to proceed at its own unhurried pace." - Brian Weiss The above quote reveals a secret I found unlocked and practised by many in Eastern cultures. A secret so simple and yet so profound that it can impact the lives of many.
Sometimes the first thing someone sees of us is in writing – it might be our online profile, a website or maybe a snail mail letter or advertisement. So it is super important to consciously shape our brand image by choosing the right fonts and look to reflect what we want to be remembered for. And you want to be remembered as awesome, professional and upbeat and not some daggy, has been right? So to help you shape your personal or company brand, I am going to put on my hat and become the FONT POLICE and kick those overused fonts to the curb!
Are you one of the 25 to 50 per cent of people reporting feeling overwhelmed or burned out at work? Do you find you are working for more hours than the dollars you earn and end up like a circus performer trying to keep all your spinning plates in the air at once?
Decades of research, in multiple countries around the world, has shown time and again that investing in a positive, high-trust workplace culture yields distinct, tangible business benefits. Studies show that great workplaces enjoy significantly lower turnover and better financial performance than industry peers. In a nutshell – positive teams means a positive workplace and positive profits. Sounds simple. The trick is making it happen.
It's a fact of life that everyone makes mistakes and the busier you are and the more you do, the more mistakes you will make. The important differentiating factor between ordinary people and extraordinary people is how well they deal with these inevitable ups and downs of life.
I’m wondering if you have you ever had the experience of trying to help someone, and you weren’t able to do so because they wouldn’t stop talking for one minute? They ask you a question and then jump right in stacking another question, a solution, or continue to rattle on about how frustrated they are. You know where I am coming from.
Feeling like you're overwhelmed and there's not enough time to get it all done? Whether you're a business owner, manager or employee, the end of the year can be a very stressful time to navigate. It can often be like running the last few miles of a marathon and you just want to finish those end of year reports and meet those final deadlines.
It was during working on a campaign while I was Director at WorkCover that I had an epiphany that would stay with me into all my future work and businesses. We ran a marketing campaign called Homecomings with the help of creative agency Shannon’s Way – it was all about the need for workers to come home safe from work every day to their family, friends and loved ones. The taglines for the campaign included: “Your reason for workplace safety is not at work at all.” “Work safe. Home safe.”
It's true – innovation is a huge buzzword and we are all aware. Craig Lambert describes it as being "...bandied around a bit like a Miss Universe contestant talking about world peace." While the idea of innovation is tossed around and misused, it doesn't mean businesses can't or shouldn't be innovative, but rather the opposite: businesses need to embrace creativity and exciting new ways to connect with customers. It is important to know the two relevant types of innovation in order to start thinking outside of the box and reaching your business potential.
Let's face it - the GFC was financially crippling for many companies and individuals around the world - but the Global Leadership Challenge should be more conce ing as it has the potential to be even more devastating if it isn't addressed and reversed.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man with a vision. It was a huge vision which he dedicated his life to and who challenged the rest of us to do the same. Not only did he champion equal rights but also equal access to economic opportunity for all Americans. A lesson we can all learn from MLK is the power of a clear and compelling vision, for our lives, our companies and our communities.
Leadership is all about communication. However most leaders when preparing for an important pitch, a crucial board meeting, an employee review or a supplier negotiation go about it all wrong. They prepare and plan, concentrating on the words they will say, the handouts they will use and the presentation they will give. They’ll fuss and worry about how knowledgeable and credible they’ll sound, if they’ve got all the facts and data and what question the other party may ask.
"Our jobs are killing us and the people who are responsible are our leaders." I recently heard Simon Sinek say this in a YouTube video and it really struck a chord. How did you feel when you read that? Harsh reality? Don't believe me? Or perhaps you have had an experience yourself or heard someone say "my boss is busting my balls" or "my manager is killing me!" These might be throw away comments around the water cooler but sadly they are a reflection of reality.
Ever since childhood I have been an avid reader and been fascinated by words. From the creative delights of Land of the Faraway Tree to the complexity of The Hobbit I loved losing myself in a narrative.
I get it. Companies need to have some rules, but ‘brules’, that’s what leaders need to question. Coined by Vishen Lakhiani, founder of Mindvalley and author of The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, brules, otherwise known as ‘bullshit rules,’ is a term for limiting rules, largely unconscious, insidious limiting rules that a company or culture is holding that no longer serves the greater good.
Most businesses understand the tremendous value associated with growing a base of loyal customers. However the old loyalty program model is getting a little tired and a little too same old, same old.
I believe the fish rots from the head. I believe profit is hoarding. I believe people join a company and leave because they don't feel valued and seen as a unique human. I believe culture change must start at the top.
Diversifying your investments as well your products and services can help you to tap into a broader market share, it can help to reduce your financial risk by spreading it over multiple ventures, and it can help to grow your wealth more quickly.
I read a quote in the book Apprenticed to a Master by Sri M this week that really got me pondering: