Ever since I moved to Sentosa,
I’ve had the opportunity to meet with wonderful people from all walks of life.
In addition to social events, I also had the opportunity to meet with other business owners from SBNG.
What’s SBNG?
It stands for Sentosa Business Networking Group.
It’s always nice to have business owners come together to connect and collaborate.
In person.
It’s been shown.
Happy workers have:
📈 Higher levels of productivity
💰 Produced higher sales
👍 Performed better at leadership positions
🤒 Taken less sick days
😊 Less tendency to quit
Having the right initiatives to build a happier workplace isn’t only smart.
It’s also great for business growth in the long run.
The company then decided.
To give him another opportunity.
But he would have to accept a lower position.
Sure, it wasn’t easy for him to go back to an environment where he used to hold a higher position.
But he was determined to succeed at this second opportunity.
When his bosses recognised his determination, they were willing to invest in coaching sessions for his professional development.
Now, he’ been promoted and doing well.
All because he embraced a growth mindset by:
👍 Handing feedback positively
👈 Understanding the past doesn’t determine the future
✌ Turning a crisis into an opportunity
The reality is no work, even if it’s work you are passionate about, is 100% fun or engaging all the time.
This is where discipline becomes a critical factor for success.
Because the ones that are able to muster discipline to create value,
in spite of how we feel are the ones that are more likely to succeed.
To quote Chuck Close:
“Inspiration Is for Amateurs—The Rest of Us Just Show Up and Get to Work”
A client enthusiastically said this:
“Smart companies invest in consultancy.
I’ve experienced first-hand results from the strategic interventions and neutrality of consultants!
Good consultants, that is!”
That’s right.
The size of your company doesn’t matter.
Even as a boutique consulting firm, I too have engaged specialists in their respective fields.
Because:
👀 their perspectives add to my world-view
🧠 their insights challenge my mindset
📈 their inputs helped scale my business
In today’s context, you can’t possibly know-it-all.
By working with specialists, you can grow your business faster than you can do it alone.
“Is there a particular industry you focus on?”↘️
My reply.
“Any business that have people is where we can create value!”
As a result, I am honored to work with clients who value their people.
Today, I’m showcasing one of my clients, the team at Mothercare.
They help their customers, the ones who are going through a
🤩 wonderful
😟 frustrating
🤪 hilarious
😑 serious,
😫 exhausting
🤗 rewarding
process called parenting.
How wonderful is that!
She smiled and said, “I’m not ok.”
I was at a cafe and said hello to a server.
She shared the challenge she was facing.
Despite finding a cheaper rental option, she wasn’t happy.
Initially she was focusing on the forfeiture of her current deposit.
Upon closer analysis, she realizes the savings from new housing option was 3X the loss.
She smiled and said:
“It’s not a problem but an opportunity!”
Very often we focus on the challenges of the situation.
Instead of opportunities that come from viewing it via new perspectives.
📸: The cube-houses in Rotterdam are an architectural phenomenon. Whichever perspective you view from.
We, as Singaporeans, are known to complain.
I recently left a review on Facebook about a cafe.
Upon my return visit, I asked the supervisor if the management gave him the feedback.
To that, he replied: “only feedback complaints; not compliments.”
When I showed him the post, where I share my compliments about him on the cafe’s Facebook Page, his face lit up!
As a manager, do you only share complaints or do you highlight compliments too?
By sharing compliments, we affirm the great work of our people.
Because that works wonders for staff morale and engagement too!
At a recent Strategy Meeting with a group of leaders,
I invited them to share ↘️
What they think are non-negotiable as a leader.
Interestingly, one of them said: “Leaders with fixed mindset.”
I cannot agree more.
I once had to work with a manager with a fixed mindset.
Then I had the opportunity to work with one with a growth mindset.
He was:
💡open to ideas,
👀 willing to explore opportunities
👂 pay attention to feedback
With him, the team is more engaged and our performance increased, which in turn contributed to the company’s profitability.
In today’s context, we cannot afford to embrace a fixed mindset.
Or else, the performance and profitability of our businesses will also be fixed.
In my role as a mentor for budding entrepreneurs, I sometimes hear this:
“But Bernadette, I don’t have the skills or experience or [fill in the blank]”.
Truth is many of us choose to focus on what we don’t have instead of what we do.
Today, I have the good fortune of learning from a local publicly listed company.
The founders were illiterate and don’t read English.
However, that did not stop them.
They found a way to collaborate and start with whatever resources they had.
Don’t wait.
Start with what you have.
