Jacaranda Blues: Why self imposed deadlines are the most important

Jacarandas have a distinctive purple blue hue. Right now in Brisbane their vibrant blossoms are starting to emerge as spring unfolds across the city.

As a university student, the arrival of the Jacaranda blossoms was a cause for great fear and dread. It heralded the imminent arrival of exams and a very stressful time of year. One of the legends of our university was that if a jacaranda blossom fell on your head, you would forget everything you'd learned. You would never see students sitting under jacaranda trees when they were in bloom!

That's a shame, because they are magnificent trees, with strong branches and sweet, delicate blossoms. Now that I'm no longer studying, I welcome the appearance of the beautiful blossoms and the upcoming festive season.

I may not have exams anymore, but I still have deadlines. This year I've been writing a book, with the launch date set for mid November. I've set my timeline to ensure that the book will be written, edited and published in time for the launch. Of course, I've had to set time aside to do the work required to meet these deadlines and certainly at times that has generated stress, as I've struggled to balance commitments to get everything done.

During this process one friend said - don't worry, they're only self-imposed deadlines. The implication is that deadlines we set for ourselves are somehow less important. If we set the deadlines ourselves, then surely we can change them to suit ourselves? Of course, that's true.

Students don't choose the date of the exam, but they do choose to study a particular course and to put themselves through a process that involves examination. In some way most deadlines are self-imposed.

If we can't keep to the deadlines we set for ourselves, how can we keep to the deadlines imposed by others? If we want to achieve anything in life, we need to have an end-point in mind. There are many demands on our time and energy. So, why do we consider our own goals to be less important?

I challenge you today to set one goal for yourself that you'll complete before the last Jacaranda blossom falls. Will you be true to yourself?

Monique's book, Pivot Point: making the decisions that matter in business will be released in November. You can pre-order your copy now.

Yell for Cadel: What are we really celebrating?

Today in Melbourne, crowds will fill the streets to shower accolades one man and his bicycle.
You might ask why?
Three weeks ago we were in Paris, waving our Aussie flags and singing along to Advance Australia Fair with Tina Arena. It was a spine tingling experience that was undoubtedly the highlight of our honeymoon.

We had many people ask why we chose to plan our honeymoon around a bike race.
We must be keen cyclists - no, I don't even own a bike.
We must be huge cycling fans - not really, but we have been captivated by the Tour de France for many years and have spent endless long nights following the progress of Cadel Evans and his Tour de France dream.

It's not about the cycling, it's not about the race, it's not even about Cadel himself.
It's about the dream.

It's about setting a goal and pursuing it relentlessly.
It's about having the courage to share your dream and the leadership to have others buy into it - the Tour de France is not won by one man and his bicycle, but by a huge team, all dedicated to the same dream.

When we wave our Aussie flags and yell for Cadel, we are celebrating the power of dreams.
What is your dream and how will you harness its power?

Standing out from the crowd

It's been a bit quiet on this blog over the last couple of months.
My excuse is that I've been working on a major personal project - my wedding.

A wedding is an event with a certain number of standard elements, and yet each one is unique.
The challenge is to create an event that reflects your individuality while still meeting a series of expectations that fit within particular social norms. Which expectations do you need to meet and which ones can you push beyond the boundaries?

It's the same in business, where there are certain customer expectations and industry norms. Successful companies are able to meet the essential elements of these expectations while differentiating themselves from their competitors. It can be a delicate balancing act, to push the boundaries far enough that you stand out from the crowd, but not so far that customers no longer recognise the benefits you offer.

Among many individual touches, I decided to wear a wedding dress in a traditional design, but in a non-traditional colour.

So, where do you draw the line?

Re-birthing your business

I've just returned from a conference in New Zealand, where I was asked to speak on the topic of Re-birthing your business. Easter is an opportune time to turn your mind to how you might re-birth your own business. It's not just because of the obvious symbolic associations with re-birth at Easter, but also because for many of us, it's an enforced extended time off, a chance to take up to a week out of our normal routine with perhaps some time spent with family, friends or just ourselves.

Business strategy is often framed as something strictly rational and planned. However, imagining alternative futures is a creative process that may not come together in a strictly rational way. Instead, to imagine creative possibilities, we need to allow our minds to work holistically, we need to let the different parts of our brains connect in surprising ways.

Generating this type of creativity means taking a step back and perhaps focusing on something else altogether. It's when we're out for a walk, in the bath, or in that hazy time between waking and sleeping that the best ideas can happen. In business we sometimes try to force a rational approach to making critical decisions, when instead a better approach may be to take some deliberate time out.

I have a young nephew and when he was about three he was out in the backyard with his dad one night, admiring the magnificent full moon.

"Daddy, let's fly to the moon!"he exclaimed.

His Dad chuckled to himself and said, in a very sensible, adult tone, "We can't fly to the moon, because we don't have a rocket ship."

"That's no problem, Daddy, " my nephew replied. "We'll go to the shop and buy a rocket ship, and then we can fly to the moon!"

It's hard to escape the enthusiasm of a child who sees everything as possible, and nothing as impossible. As adults we limit our thinking by imposing barriers on ourselves as part of what we believe to be sensible behaviour.

The challenge of a re-birth is to re-think your situation through the eyes of a child, to consider what might be possible if you weren't a sensible, rational-seeming adult. How might you do things differently if anything truly was possible?

Enjoy your Easter break and when you return to work, take a fresh approach to the way you look at things and imagine the possibilities.

Pivot Point: Making the decisions that matter in business

If you've been following my blog for a while, you're probably wondering when I'm going to write my book. So here it is - the cover page!

...but wait, there's more.

Pivot Point: Making the decisions that matter in business

by Dr Monique Beedles PhD

Chapter One is due for pre-release to participants of the Teak Yew Business Book Club, on April 7th 2011. Book Now  If you can't make it to the book club, you can express your interest in the complete book, which is due for release in late 2011.

About the Book

One of the most important issues facing business decision makers today is how to prepare for an uncertain future. Managing the day-to-day demands of running a large corporation, not-for-profit organisation or family enterprise can be draining, leaving little energy for more long term thinking.

In Pivot Point, Corporate Strategist Dr Monique Beedles addresses the seven key decisions that every business must make. Question by question, Pivot Point builds a robust decision making framework to propel your business forward.

By taking a design approach to business decision making, Pivot Point helps you to cut through the myriad of trivial decisions that constantly bog you down to focus on the decisions that matter.

About the author

For more about Monique visit moniquebeedles.com

Playing to win: who are you competing against?

This week saw the demise of a major book retailer in Australia, and with it calls for changes to Government regulation with the claim that retailers cannot compete with cheap imports from overseas suppliers.

It's a predictable response from companies that choose to compete primarily on price. The risk with this strategy, is that it's easy to be undercut. When you compete on the basis of price, you attract customers who are price sensitive and who will change their buying habits readily if a cheaper alternative is available. Competitive advantage based on price is most often driven by economies of scale, and there is always someone else who is bigger, faster & cheaper.

As well as books, there has been recent debate about retail more broadly and the role of Government regulation in these industries. A few key points have been largely missing from this debate:

Competing on price is not the only strategy
Michael Porter, in his classic book Competitive Strategy, defines three generic strategies on which companies compete. The first is price, the second is differentiation across the industry, and the third is niche specialisation. With the example of books, specialist retailers don't compete on price. Indeed, in most cases, they will be more expensive than the larger retailers. Instead, they offer a unique experience, specialised products in a niche focus area, or exceptional services that are not offered by their larger competitors. The advantage of this strategy, is that is doesn't rely on price sensitive customers.

What do customers want?
The other factor that has been starkly absent from the debate around retail regulation, is the question of what customers want. Indeed the customer seems to be left out of the equation altogether. The underlying assumption is that all customers are driven by price alone. While regulation might influence prices to some extent, no amount of regulation or taxes will protect retailers from smart competitors who listen to their customers and deliver a retail experience that is worth going out for.

For all businesses, it's important to understand who your competitors are and how you compete in your industry. There are risks in every strategy, but also opportunities to differentiate and come out a winner.

If it's time to review your competitive strategy - contact Monique for a strategy consultation.

Make it happen: Turning your resolutions into plans

We all know how it goes.
In the heady haze of the New Year celebrations, you announce that you're going to lose weight, quit smoking, get fit, or read more books.
Now that February is well upon us, how are you going with those resolutions? Have you had success, or are they a feint and distant memory?

The reason why most resolutions never happen, is because they aren't converted into plans. A simple statement such as "I want to lose weight," is far too vague. Instead, take a few simple steps to turn this resolution into a plan and actually make it happen.

Making it happen

We'll use the weight loss example to convert this resolution into a plan. The same principles apply no matter what your aim is, whether business or personal. There are a few questions you need to answer.

Why do you want to do this? Without answering this fundamental question, you may as well not bother with the rest of it. You need to answer this question for yourself, very honestly. When sticking to your plan becomes challenging, this is the thought that you need to come back to. It needs to be compelling and motivating. You need to know before you start that you actually want this outcome and why. Otherwise, it will be just another empty resolution.

How much weight do you want to lose? You need to be specific with the numbers. Your progress needs to be measurable. Base this on a realistic figure. In this example, seek medical advice if need be to work out what is reasonable and realistic.

When do you want to do this by?  Set a target date. You've decided you need to lose x kilos - by when? How much will you lose per week? What are your interim milestones. Set up a graph or chart to track your progress.

How will you do it? Now that you are a bit clearer about what you actually want to achieve, work out the steps you will take to get there. In this example it could be a whole range of things involving nutrition, exercise, motivation or professional advice. Again, when creating your plan, be specific and allocate time.


How will you know you have achieved your target? If you've made specific goals and plans, as outlined above, then this part will be easy.

How will you cope with obstacles and challenges? Setting interim milestones makes it easier to track your progress. If obstacles come up, or progress is off track, you can re-set your plan to suit without losing sight of the ultimate outcome. Thinking in advance about what some of these obstacles might be will make it easier to overcome them when they arise.

How will you reward yourself? Don't underestimate the power of an incentive. While achieving your aim is a reward in itself, other incentives can also help you when challenges arise. In this weight loss example, a food based reward is probably not the best. How about a new dress, or a weekend away?

What were your resolutions? Or have you given up making them?
Take some time now to rethink your plans, before the year starts to disappear.