The environment you are in has either a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is when you are open to challenges, see failures as opportunities for growth, and believe that abilities and intelligence can be developed over time with dedication and effort. A fixed mindset, on the other hand, is when you believe that intelligence and abilities are static traits, leading to a desire to prove oneself and a fear of failure that can hinder learning and personal development. Send me an email in confidence to let me know which mindset characterises your environment?
The pathway to growth
c/o McKinsey & Company
Imagine growing up with the understanding that simply being yourself would be perceived as a problem. Subconsciously, you're constantly met with the message that what you have to offer holds no value. You're left with two options: conform to the existing norms and expectations, or take on the daunting task of building an entirely new framework from scratch. I think this persistent challenge shapes not only your perception of yourself but also your approach to navigating the world around you.
““To make difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care.” ”
Questioning the question
Our identities are shaped by these mental models, defining how we see ourselves in the world. I've found that my most significant growth happens when I let go of these fixed ideas, acknowledging their limitations, and embracing the different perspectives. My strength lies in stepping outside my usual way of thinking to gain a broader understanding and discover new approaches. I think by questioning the question will challenge my own thinking patterns for deeper insights and should be applied to my intellectual mind.
Professional growth through coaching
I think coaching is such a powerful tool for personal and professional growth. By offering insights, experiences, and constructive feedback, coaches can guide coachees toward their goals and help them unlock their full potential. Here’s an example of constructive feedback…
Every leader should ask themselves these questions on a daily basis:
What did I do badly?
What did I do well?
What can I do differently tomorrow?
Looking inwards
How can I achieve personal growth and success in leadership roles?
I think aligning your actions, decisions, and behaviours with your self-awareness, your vision of the future, and your desire to make a positive contribution are essential for personal and professional development. These three questions will certainly help you succeed in leadership roles:
1. Who am I?
2. Who do I aspire to become?
3. How can I bring my best contribution?
And acting on your answers to these questions is a key part of leadership development. And leaders who continually reflect on these questions and act accordingly are more likely to lead with authenticity, inspire others, and achieve their goals while also helping others achieve theirs.
A new belief
When seeking to bring about personal growth and accomplishment, it's essential to shift our perspective from fixating solely on desired outcomes to embracing the transformative power of identity. Rather than asking ourselves what we wish to achieve, we should redirect our focus to consider who embodies the qualities and attributes required to attain those goals. This shift in mindset allows us to delve into the core essence of success: becoming the very type of individual who naturally thrives in the desired arena.
Was it worth it?
Have you considered the long-term consequences and benefits of your actions?
Yes, I engage in deliberate decision-making practices and make conscious choices about how I spend my time. If I was to offer you some advice, then it would be to prioritise activities that contribute to your personal growth, focus on meaningful relationships and the pursuit of your goals. Instead of chasing material wealth and possessions, I think it more beneficial to broaden your horizons and seek out experiences as they will provide a sense of fulfilment and contribute to more meaningful life.
Words have consequences
When you are a young company, your story will define your valuation and as a founder the words you use to describe your business can be the difference between finding an investment partner or not. With mature companies, it’s your numbers that will drive your valuation as the older a company the more the numbers drive the valuation. Start-up companies need “Steve the visionary” as CEO. As they become a young growth company they will need, “Bob the builder” because they have to start building a business. When they become a mature company, they will need “Don the defender” as CEO and when they are in decline, they will need “Larry the liquidator”.
Patience is a virtue
“True transformation takes time and happens through a series of phases. Skipping steps only creates the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result.”
The Chocolate War
We live in a society where we spend so much time doing, we fail to take time to celebrate and acknowledge the things that we have done. As you may know, I have spent a great deal of my career in the lifestyle industry, and I think fashion can be a brilliant mirror of the moment.
Last night I attended the world premiere of “The Chocolate Wars” in Copenhagen. The film director, Miki Mistrati is an old friend of mine who currently lives in London and the film highlights the modern-day slave trade issues in the manufacturing of chocolate. The fact of the matter is we live in a society where profit and growth are the key performance indicators, and I have posed this question many times before: Can we have both sustainability (ethical sourcing of materials, paying a fair wage throughout the supply chain, etc.) and economic growth?
Think like your customers
Sales and marketing are different functions, marketing is to attract people who are interested in the benefits of your products or services. And selling is the conversion to buy from you rather than from your competitors. You can’t sell if you can’t attract interesting prospects. In my experience the very best companies think like their customers, they are obsessed with their customers. They think and talk about customers all the time, they call and visit their customers, and they personally responded to customer complaints. They are just obsessed with their customers.
I think the key to success is to make your customers happy, then make them happier than your competitors. You must wake up every single day and think - How can I make my customers happier? The foundation is having a great product or service and just as importantly is the need to provide a great customer experience. Making your customers happy from the beginning to the end is so important and it’s the key to repeat business, customer retention and rapid growth. Every successful company, without exception is obsessed with taking good care of their customer experience once they get them. What do your customers want? What do your customers need? Contact me via e-mail for a deeper dive into your customer experience strategy.
We all have the same basic needs
The six basic human needs provide a practical key for discovering one’s needs, behaviours, values and beliefs. They are the vehicles we use to meet our needs and these needs underlie and inspire every choice we make.
The first four are the needs of the personality and the final two needs are those of the Spirit:
Certainty - Everybody wants avoid pain and have assurance that our basic needs are met.
Uncertainty - We also crave variety, excitement and new stimuli.
Significance - We all need to feel unique, special and important.
Connection - We want to be loved and cared for and want a feeling of closeness with like-minded people.
Growth - We all have a need to grow and expand in our personal and professional lives.
Contribution - We have a desire to serve and support someone or something bigger than ourselves in a meaningful way.
Growth is a process!
There is always room for improvement as you do not just wake up and become a beautiful butterfly (egg > caterpillar > pupa > butterfly). The process is called metamorphosis, a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape.
I think effective communication is when you are really good at delivering the message concisely. We all have a sales process, but in reality, we are not going to dictate to the buyer without creating an incentive for them to bow to our sales process. I always ask myself, “What is the 1% that I want the buyer to walk away with?” Being an effective communicator through stories is an ideal way to differentiate and may lead to the buyer relaying your story to the end-users. This is a skill that I am constantly trying to master - slowing down to speed up.
Sales is a profession and you have to put in the work just like a professional athlete. In sales the outcome is not solely based on the performance, sometimes the performance can be awesome and the outcome mediocre. It’s incredibly valuable to evaluate your sales calls and process. Contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting or workshop about building your sales process and self reflection tools.