A new Definition

We need a new definition of humanity. One that is not based on historic structure that defines us by colour, sex, creed, geography, financial wealth, age and stature.

We are born naturally fluid with an ability to morph ourselves to an environment. Unfortunately the "normal" environment we have created is not natural at all and forces us onto a train track called age with milestones of what is expected as achievement at certain ages. So by age x we are meant to have started spelling and by age y we are meant to have started mathematical computations, at age z we get married, and so on.... Those that do not comply, are somehow cast aside as lesser human beings as defined by academic "progress" or cultural limitations. Those that do are mostly on a treadmill of further expectations of "success" as defined by a third party and are white-knuckling it through in case they fall off this path into the abyss of "non-peak performance". And this supposedly is progress!

Just writing that previous paragraph has made me feel stressed. Let alone living it!

This linear path of progression in our lives, is designed around the needs for banks to make money from interest and for governments to continue re-inventing new taxes that they mostly squander as proven in the last Global Financial Crises.

So, now that obviously money has no value as governments in cahoots with the reserve banks continue to print money to hand-over to those that quickly redirect it to their bank accounts and where in America, 20 individuals are worth more than half the population there, has the time come for the majority to redefine what human life is all about and what defines humanity?

Beware of "Talking" Managers

Beware of your managers that talk a lot about their strategies, strengths, team building concepts, etc.....

The old adage "the proof is in the pudding" is very apt here. Furthermore, usually managers that talk a lot about these "methods" are often found to be dropping slogans to big-note themselves (usually out of fear) and are a long way from understanding let alone adopting these methods - They require Leadership training.

As an example, I recently observed a manager that whenever involved in meetings (be-it one-on-one or in a group) talks at the rate of knots. She stresses that in her view it is all about listening to the team and operating on the basis of team feedback. However, at no stage did she really stop long enough to catch breath, let alone to create a real space where the team could contribute.

In a particular meeting, one of her team members, who was the only one still eager to rise above the barrage, and raise a point during question time was met with a "close" response! Something like, "I will collect everybody's feedback and take it to management'". Wow; his was feedback had she teased it out!

This is not to say that these managers will not meet the lowest required threshold to performance, embellished by their constant "qualifying" to management that all the negative outcomes are a result of externalities and that they are doing their best in "the given circumstances". Just that these managers end up with a team that is not truly empowered, losing the Leaders (as defined by CxO Consulting) amongst them and always struggling to get there, rather than allowing the team energy and capabilities to truly maximise opportunities and to grow into previously uncharted territories.

These type of managers are certainly not Leaders and will not create a Great Organisation complete with Leaders at every level.

It might be however that as the Leader of your organisation, you prefer this type of "driven" (as often, vocal is confused with driven) manager. Unfortunately, if this is you, then the prognosis is not good for your organisation. Your competition and their Leaders are operating in a different paradigm and will more likely than not, eclipse you.

Be a true Leader and ensure that your managers are Leaders too and that their Leadership shows-up in visible results, without the excessive "talking".

Listening is the domain of the wise, excessive words are the domain of the fearful.


Aldo Grech - CXO Consulting

Energy is Energy

Energy is neither positive nor negative, it is just energy.

Energy is a gift of our nature that passes through us in response to a given situation. As it passes through us it gets coloured as positive, negative or neutral on the basis of our Ego, our upbringing, our state of mind. Based on this judgement, we then respond in a given way, either reacting negatively, positively or, not at all. These moments, unless seized as opportunities, are squandered gifts.

True Leaders, perceptively understand that every time this energy within them is triggered for a given situation, it is a GREAT opportunity to grab the moment and respond with an approach that engenders empowerment, growth, well-being and empathy.

Others that have not understood this basic, and often unconscious reality, automatically react through the filter of right or wrong. They do not understand that ultimately, there is no right or wrong except that, which has been tattooed in their brain. Our brain is a strong and capable resource that protects us on the basis of what it knows - OUR HISTORY.

Leaders understand that our history is not who we are. We are everything there is and our brain is only able to give us a small percentage of reality limited by our years on this planet; and should we be guided by this, then we are missing-out on the bigger picture which is available to each and everyone of us.

So if Leadership is what you are aspiring to, then remember to question any auto-response your brain triggers when faced with what you then perceive as calamities, crises and issues. Better still, feel your way through a situation, trusting your god-given intuitive self rather than being limited by your history; your brain.

These are challenging choices to comprehend as, as you are reading this, your brain might be giving you all sorts of triggers, informing you to view this negatively and to discount it as "a great theory that will never work in the real world", or some similar notion. If this is you, then make the leap of Leadership and allow yourself to see beyond the tyranny of your history to embark, one "calamity" at a time towards your full potential that already exists within you and that your history is holding you back from.

In fact the brain, by its nature is selfish as it, to a large degree, exists to protect you.

Leadership is everything but selfish.

Aldo Grech - CXO Consulting

Unedited

I write what, how and as I feel and with little editing. I certainly do not avail myself of 3rd party editors. Many of you that have read my articles will absolutely agree with a nod of the head and an "Aha"!

I refuse to put the make-up on my writing.

This may be because at the young age of 7, I won an award for an article I did not write. My uncle, the headmaster wrote it for me! This was somehow meant to help me in my path in life; I guess the more awards bestowed on me, the more intelligent I appeared, or something. What it actually accomplished for that younger version of me, was shame that I was obviously considered unable to write my own article, and at that young sensitive age, I seriously, was not, nor should have been. Rather than empowerment, I was left with a lesser-then feeling as obviously the implication was that at that young vulnerable age I should already have been running a publishing empire all with editors, printing presses and brilliant marketers!

On the other hand, it may be because, I want to show-up for who I am, without make-up. And if there are those that will judge me because sometimes my grammar is long-winded or my spelling sometimes erratic; then probably they are not my target audience.

In my writing, I am sharing myself, and I wish this to be felt even more than read. My beloved siblings have often remarked, " Aldo, your messages, passion and concepts are absolutely felt in your writing and here are some spelling corrections......". I am grateful and obviously gladly go ahead and correct the spelling. However, what matters to me is their and other friends' and readers' feedback, that my messages and passion are palpable, and so I have achieved my objective.

I thank those that still persist in reading my musings and hope that you get something from them; if nothing else, the gift of Leadership through authenticity. I encourage you to respect your natural and innate passion and purpose and show-up for who you are. You only need around you those that respect you for who you are now, and can do without those that expect perfection from you, as this, at best is unreal and certainly not who I am now! Perfection is so seriously overrated anyway.

True abundance (even the financial kind) is mostly found in authenticity in whatever we do, while riches can be made from inauthenticity, but often that comes with many layers of despair and depression. Your choice!

Aldo Grech - CXO Consulting

Believers and Chameleons

Leaders are believers. The rest are chameleons. And there is nothing necessarily wrong with any of these options as long as this is a conscious choice. By believers we do not mean religious or cultural beliefs, but organic and granular beliefs we were born with (our purpose and passion) often derailed and apparently lost in the process of turning us natural beings into normalized (domesticated) beings.

We all have innate beliefs and most of us, mostly subconsciously, discount them to blindly follow others' (civilization trains us towards this); we become chameleons, adapting to environments with the main objective being safety! Never quite exposing our authentic selves.

The few of us that live by our beliefs and values, have tapped into that leader that exists in each and every one of us.

This simple concept of personal beliefs and values, is often a great challenge for most of us preferring instead to live an inauthentic life that leads us to depression and despair. Most then medicate (often subconsciously) through things such as need for money, authority, shopaholic tendencies, alcoholism, workaholism, gambling, drugs and various other forms of obvious and often less obvious addictions.

These distractions are meant to fill that gaping hole left by our self-avoidance and self-negation, but they often do not and the only answer then is prescription drugs, which is no option at all. Well, maybe one step better than the suicide option!

Living from our authentic self is the only answer and the magic of leadership and self-fulfillment while contributing to society from our purpose and passion. The alternative is not a feasible option as most of us, in our authentic moments of clarity, are able to see but seem unable to follow-through.

So, be a leader in whatever you do; at home, at work, in your hobby, etc. And discover the leader in you that will lead you to greater peace, fulfillment and abundance.

Else, there is always prescription drugs and the despair of Ego.

Aldo Grech - CXO Consulting

The Future Is Uncertain

The cycle of change has sped-up to a degree where we now have catastrophic and micro economic cycles, making the present unpredictable, let alone the future. This does not work well for traditional managers and traditional Marketing 101 plans.

5 - 10 year business plans are, at best a wish list and certainly not how the future will turn-out; and even if it did turn-out according to your plan, so much change would have transpired that you would have only managed to suffocate your organization, should you have managed it to the 5 year plan, as your nimble competitors would have sped past you at the speed of the unstoppable change we are experiencing.

So how is this good news?
Well, those that sped past you while you were anchoring your organization to its plan (the past), certainly have some answers.

Managers Manage, Leaders Lead. These 2 are not mutually exclusive. In fact, management is a role, while Leadership is an attitude, an approach. If as a manager you are not a Leader, you are probably short-changing your organization, your team and yourself.

Leadership, on the other hand is not about limiting, white-knuckling, anchoring and holding-tight to that plan. This only produces stress, depression and a paralyzed organization. Yes, Leaders have a 5 and maybe 10 year Vision for their organisation. However, true Leaders tap into their passion and purpose to find the creativity within them to inspire their teams towards a future tha, in augmenting the organizational Vision, fulfills their team's purpose and passion.

This sounds easy, simple and even simplistic. And whilst this concept is easy, the practice certainly is not. It works against convention (the past). Everything within us tells us it is unsafe, unchartered, unorthodox and even fool-hardy. Why should I stick my neck out? Why not follow the beaten track? At least that way I can always blame the system and keep my job. This is unfortunately, now, old thinking. No organization is safe from absolute failure as we have seen in the recent (and ongoing) Global Financial Crises. Your organization could be gone and so would the safety of your job unless you inspire your team to endorse Leadership by operating from their purpose.

Safe is not the same as pragmatic. Risk awareness is not the same as risk aversion.

So take a risk-aware and pragmatic approach towards restructuring your organizational DNA to have inbuilt change endorsement; another phrase for Leadership. This is achievable through a commitment to Leading by example of authenticity, purposeful approach, encouragement, empowerment and absolute determination of eliminating lethargy and inertia.

Be a Leader and empower the Leadership in others so collectively you are able to develop a dynamic and sustainable organization. An organization that operates out of respect for the individual, the team, the community and the environment.

The time of lip-service of Environmental Friendliness and Employee EMpowerment is gone. True Leaders know this and those organizations that seem to be unstoppable even in these times are likely to have already endorsed these basic concepts and deployed them.

Your organizational greatest asset is your people and if your management team still sees them as a liability and an easy cost-cutting method, I feel your organization is going to face a challenging future indeed.

Read authors like Seth Godin and books like The Accidental CEO by Tom Voccola and you will see you are not alone in understanding that the future of your organization is written with different rules to those that got it here. And seeing that few organizations have been able to endorse, let alone deploy these concepts, you will be on of the first organizations to join the few that seem to be speeding towards a prosperous and abundant future for themselves, their teams and their investors.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

A sales executive without a CRM system is equivalent to a writer still using her typewriter!

I have heard so many excuses as to why a sales executive might not utilize the Organisational CRM, and they range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Examples include; not as good as the one I used in my previous Organisation, I prefer my paper based system, I have my own and I'll load it on the company PC, I find it slows me down having to enter all that superfluous data into the system, and many more!


Any team members that utilize these and other excuses should never be part of a progressive sales effort. Having said this, there are many reasons why sales executives might be utilizing these cover-ups and they may include; previous bad experiences suffered at the hands of inadequate managers or even at the hands of your managers, lack of induction training, non-enforcement of Organisational tools, in rare cases - a desire to keep knowledge away from the Organisation that employs them. You get my point, none that you wish to accept in your Leading Organisation.


Sometimes however, it is the non-integrated concept that proves to be the Achilles heel; that is, organizations with badly implemented CRM systems that are not integrated into the standard sales process, as an example still utilizing spreadsheets for reporting, systems that do not feed straight into order-raising/invoicing/forecasting, etc..


So, if you are a Leader of a progressive Organisation, ensure that you have followed the "paper" process confirm that there is only one process, utilized by all and that is designed around eliminating paper.


If you are a Sales Executive, engage your Organisational-supplied CRM (none of them are perfect and sometimes there are good reasons for the differences), speak-up and request training, changes, and enhancements. But do not do so unless you can clearly show that you have utilized the system as otherwise it will be clear that yours are just excuses and will not be taken seriously. You can always leave and join a dinosaur Organisation that allows you to operate without their approved CRM system; and you know what happened to the dinosaurs.


Aldo Grech - CXO Consulting

Leadership Cannot be Trained! But......

Managers, CEO's, and other similar titles, are manufactured human concepts that are based around a set of specifications (job descriptions) mainly designed at the start of the industrial revolution to slot people into roles, to deliver results for business owners or to create support infrastructures around these businesses.

Indeed a very successful number of decades have transpired that seem to have vindicated this structure. However, this is also the structure that created the destruction and greed, that resulted in the GFC (Global Financial Crises).

Like those explorers before us, that gave us access to lands far away and that have reached out into the cosmos, Leaders seem to come out of nowhere and stretch our imagination further than we thought was possible. Leaders like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Larry Ellison were orphans, nerds or school drop-outs. before they redefined the same world we live in.

There is no curriculum that these people followed to realize their visions to achieve such outstanding results. They merely believed in, and focused on their innate intuition, the Leader inside each and every one of us; our purpose.

Now there have been many studies, writings and biographies, designed to explain the phenomena, that these and other similar luminaries are. However, none of this literature will make another person a Leader. One might break down the successes into studies and come-up with formulas for success and possibly emulate some of their successes, but rise to their measure or even create new disruptive directions, highly unlikely.

However, there is a way, (the way these luminaries achieved their amazing feats) simply by tapping into your innate Leader, by following that which your heart tells you. Doing this because of your belief, passion and conviction and not because you need a job, a stylish car, a house the envy of the neighbourhood, or other "normal" objectives. Because you, like each and every one of us, have been blessed with an innate design that created us and made us unique. Humanity needs your unique intellect, creativity and contributions and you know what they are, if you stop the noise of "normality" and tap into the silence of your gifts. Share them with the rest of us, as this is your god given right and duty. Be proud of your purpose and do not be derailed by the voices of fear from those that, "wish the best for you", and plagued and shackled by "normality", divert you from your natural course. They too will be inspired by your eventual achievements. Be a Leader and show us the way in your chosen field, craft, business or adventure.

Go, be a Leader whether you are a store person, a reception, sales manager, CEO, entrepreneur or even a parent, and create the new in whatever you do.

Compromise a Lose/Lose Strategy

A compromise is when 2 or more individuals almost agree, are almost happy and almost accept a less than ideal outcome for a situation. So at best, these individuals have accepted not to be totally happy, at peace, content, etc...

We have been trained to believe this is OK, and it has to be, for a society that is co-dependent. Co-dependency is not the same as respect and support. In fact it is the opposite. A compromise is about me not being true to my beliefs, visions, opinions and values, for the misguided purpose of making you happy; and this is also true for the other, who I reached a comprise with. It is synonymous to saying that my views are not totally valid unless you agree with them and vice-versa. Absolutely unacceptable!

This is both untrue and unhealthy and points to inappropriate engagement models.

My truth remains true to me independent of what you might think and at the very least, you should respect that I have every right to hold my views as it is for you. The true strength of a healthy relationship is where I honour your truths, views and ideals and you, mine. This is true relating independent of whether it is a parent/child relationship, husband/wife and any other healthy relationship.

We are all after truth and in care-taking, we abandon truth and choose what amounts to deceit.

An old adage goes, "I rather be hurt by the truth than a lie", and yet the latter seems more acceptable which is what compromise is all about. Our truths than become trapped behind the "but I do not want to upset him/her" behavior, that then turns to resentment and eventually probably rage and who knows what else.

So let's never choose a compromise, rather respect for each others opinions which is fertile ground for truth, intimacy and growth.

There Is No "I" In Nature

We live in an ecosystem that's made-up of subset and superset ecosystems. They are inter-reliant and by their nature are very fragile. This fragility ensures the ongoing evolution of the same ecosystem that relies on this mechanism as its method of survival and development.

Humankind is an ecosystem within this ecosystem. Unbalance in an ecosystem creates shifts that alter our ecosystem for the better; survival. Sometimes this happens at the cost of some specious as we have seen with the dinosaurs. If humankind really desires longevity in this ecosystem, we need to respect this balance or suffer the worst possible outcome for our kind.

All ecosystems are constantly in a state of change and rebalancing as they become more and more resilient. Humans are one phase of this ongoing ecosystem change. So by design, we are transient and as we transition to our next stage (should there be one), we need to work collectively towards this aim. There are many nascent initiatives, towards this goal, some spiritual, some industrial and others conceptual. I believe that the real answer lies in the "WE". The energy that lives these ecosystems is one energy and it is the same energy that is us. It is one and the same energy that lives and breaths us as does trees, and every other living organism. As one, we are able to continue the evolution of our species. As "I", we are one-by-one, driven by the greed and ego of "I" destroying the "We", our same humanity as we destroy our planet.

The "I" results from our upbringing, in a society that has been galvanized by the success of the individual. But this is a misguided notion as real success stories are underpinned by the work of a collective rather than one individual. The greed of our Ego is driving us to compete at any cost, in the process losing ourselves, our families, our sense of compassion and more importantly humankind, as we race blinded by the objective of being the ultimate winner who, in our culture is defined as the one with most money.

There is no "I" in nature but the collective "We" that includes the cosmos, our solar system, our beautiful planet, the trees, the oceans, you and I. Our fear and shame drives our Ego to achieve at all cost, in the process losing everything. And yet, the alternative brings so much more adundance, peace and happiness, bundles of compassion and a humanity that lives as one with nature and itself.

Call me a dreamer. However, at 55 and many of these years driven by greed, I see the only real alternative we have, which is to focus on our creativity rather than the greed of Ego. The only real and sustainable wealth!

To iPad or not to iPad

The following are my comments on an article recently published about the new Apple iPad.

I remember the die-hard apple lovers, knocking the PC decades ago (using similar arguments to the ones above) and we all know how things evolved from there.

Now the non-apple die-hards are at it and they are equally as out of touch. Your technology arguments might be correct. However, as Microsoft proved with it's PC OS and applications, Apple is showing that it learnt it's lesson and now engages the industry developers to produce apps that will make its hardware successful. Except that Apple has a new weapon in it's arsenal, great design.

iPad is a paradigm shifter that contemporaries are not able to comprehend and I am sure history will show that negative views are just "limited vision"!

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Corporate anorexic lethargy

We see it in most interviews, most meetings, strategies and decisions.

Cleverly it has been perfectly masqueraded in sophisticated concepts such as steering committees, team-work, delegation, "I'll talk to my people"..... you get the point. Not that some of these are not important business concepts. However, one needs to ask themselves, "am I getting involved in these processes to cover my arse (or CMA as one of my colleagues recently explained to me!), or am I clear about what I know needs to happen in this situation and I wish to get everybody's feedback to ensure the best possible outcome"?

This sounds like a subtle (but significant) diversion between the two. And the diversion is fear. Fear is at the core of corporate decision-making. After-all, I need my job and why should I stick my neck-out and get victimized by those that decide my tenure. Our experience is that this fear is experienced at both sides of this discussion. The "manager" is equally as fearful as you, in case they authorise the wrong proposal as they too report to somebody; and so on and so forth.

The end result is mediocrity.

Volumes have been written about agile businesses. Agility is key, especially in today's interconnected world. We have introduced amazing efficiency tools and yet, as always, the biggest expense in an organisation is human resource and organisations that allow this "fear" to manage decision-making are ensuring that this already significant cost, is even larger.

So what are we doing about turning this significant expense into an investment. The problem is where do we start. It is a chicken and egg situation. Most are not prepared to stick their neck out, and even when they do, those around them feel it is their responsibility to protect them from themselves. So, the result is corporate anorexic lethargy (CAL) where expensive time is wasted wallowing and avoiding the unavoidable, making a decision. We have all heard that not making a decision is ALWAYS making the wrong decision. "Oh but at least I get to keep the job, after all, nobody was ever sacked for not making a decision"!

How do you gauge CAL? What internal research do you regularly carry-out to monitor the (hopefully) decreasing levels of CAL within your organisation?

For the problem here is about creating an open environment where fear is parked at the door. Fear is not the result of how you or your managers behave and manage. However, you and your managers could trigger the fear that exists within most human beings. This fear is the result of the "wounded child" inside most of us and rears its ugly head when threatened, and the person in fear has no power over it once threatened!

So what do we do?

The short-term answer is to ensure empathy at every level of your organisation as a result of your understanding as a Leader that the best in everybody is found by allowing them to freely contribute their best creativity within their role.

The long-term solution is to devise programs that free your people from the tyranny of the "wounded-child" that once freed and in your nurturing environment will transform your business into a GREAT organisation.

A true leader has already faced this fear and is already ensuring that the nurturing and empathetic environment has been created and they are your toughest competition should you be competing for the same business. ("The Accidental CEO", available from CxO is a great read regarding this subject).

CxO engages experts in the field of "wounded child" and "adaptive adult" to unleash your organisational true potential. Contact us for further information.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia, a true Leader?

I have been waiting with great anticipation the emergence of the real Mr. Rudd, from behind the nice suits, the great rhetoric and well prepared 3 liners that seem to roll-off his tongue in response to any question of note levelled at him.

Today I believe we start to see his Leadership emerge. He is promising to correct a huge error on the Australian business landscape; the break-up of Telstra. Leaders operate from their essence and do the right thing rather than the most popular one (or the one that wins more votes).

Kevin Rudd is in a great position to do this. His unquestionable electoral lead protects him from a back-lash of some level that his government will undoubtedly face. Greedy organisations (that have raked-in millions if not billions of dollars) and their powerful media partners will embark on scaremongering campaigns designed to protect their income at the cost of every tax-payer.

The telecommunications industry in Australia is well behind the rest of the world with Telstra traditionally overcharging for its services and under-delivering, protected by its monopolistic position.

And yes, some of us will be impacted by seeing a short-term lowering of share values. This is the time (as we recommend in the article "Vote with your Money") that you divest from Telstra and invest in the Telco that you have chosen as your service provider. In any case, you stand to win as investor or not, once the scare-mongering and the defense mechanisms of Telstra pass, we will be left with a competitive environment where prices will be lower and service will be better; as has been the experience in other countries that have truly followed the path of de-monopolisation.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Depression; a gift of Ego that guides us to our Purpose

For those suffering depression there is little sense of hope. The world becomes a slow process of withdrawal into doubt, inertia and often thoughts of suicide. Many resort to the only one or 2 things that gives them a sense of joy, relief and often moments of bliss; such as music, nature, creativity, reading, etc...(1)

Depression was a lesser known condition before the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution took a colorful race of human beings engaged in those things that they were naturally passionate about and normalized us and turned us into a race driven by greed, shedding our passions, for work we often do not enjoy; driving us away from our purpose.

From the day we are born, our parents, the education system, the media and everything around us normalizes us to a world where money is king and where academia is valued above all other types of vocations. The result for most of us is a suppression of the natural talent and creative self that we were born as, to become aligned with the normalized world.

Then..... depression hits and all the world can do is; feel sorry for us, medicate us and re-route us into normality.... the ability to once again fit-in (usually totally dependent on drugs)!

There are few that answer the call of depression. They are the lucky ones, the ones that often by pure coincidence end-up working on themselves in a non-traditional way, by allowing themselves a healing process through "a journey in" (to borrow a line from a yet unpublished author, friend of mine), into the discovery of who they really are... dare I say a spiritualy journey. And I am not necessarily talking about religion here; although some find solace in this, I am talking about balancing our normalized bias to everything logical and worked through mental processes, with our natural self that comes from feeling, rather than just thinking, our way to the beautiful creative person we are.... finding our true purpose!

In my opinion, mid life crises (which I have redefined as mid life creativity; see my article on this subject), is another form of depression. And like depression, it is our purpose (our natural creative self), calling us away from our ego (our normalized self). Some heed this calling and evolve back (!) to their natural self, allowing their purpose in life to be fulfilled, others plough-through (once again often with the ongoing support of medication) and live a less satisfactory life.

There are many inspirational writers and supporters of this process of a journey in, "a journey from Ego to Purpose" (to borrow a line from Tom Voccola's brilliant book, The Accidental CEO). They include; Shirley Smith, Pia Mellody, Tom Voccola, to mention a few.

If you have had enough of the ineffective medical solution to your depression, look-up these and other authors and set yourself on the most amazing journey of discovery, discovering the beauty and abundant creativity of YOU! (1)This is the gift of depression and those few moments of bliss that cut through your depression are pointing you towards your purpose and cure.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Random acts of Leadership

This morning's papers are ablaze with coverage of the Australian Prime Minister's response to the unions that take a short term view of employment and disregard the lessons of the past, that is; protecting jobs by forcing government or any other bodies for that matter to contract local resources that are more expensive than imported ones creates serious medium to long term negative impacts on employment.

We are in a global economy, and as a result we need to be globally competitive. Unions that do not remember that what more than anything else saved the automobile industry in Australia, was the Button plan of reducing tariffs over a period of time, are simply peddling ignorance or misinformation.

We trust Mr Rudd will power through this nonsense, continue to show Leadership and not buckle-in to political pressures that he would be under, in this process.

Proprietors and Leaders of these organisations, represented by these unions, know that the only effective long-term strategy to longevity in good and not so good economic periods is to constantly offer better value than their competition. We live in a world where the price has to be right and customers choose us on the basis of us offering better value, be-it; better customer service, better turn-around time, better warranties, better designed products, etc...

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Call for Leaders

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress, from the 9-11 attacks to date, the cost of the "War on Terror" has been US$863 billion, and growing. Since 1993 Greg Mortenson, an American mountaineer from Minnesota, has among other things, single-handedly built 55 schools for impoverished children in the forbidden terrain that gave birth to the Taliban. Which approach do you feel is producing the best outcomes in making the world a safer place, the War on Terror or Greg? To us the answer is simple, the latter.

We recommend that you read Three Cups of Tea and find out more about this amazing American and the power of the humanitarian spirit. And imagine what Greg could have achieved with the squandered US$863 billion! CxO and this newsletter are about Leadership, not necessarily about humanitarian stories, although we do draw courage from the human spirit of benevolence. However, this example patently demonstrates the difference between a CEO and a Leader. There are many approaches towards a desired outcome, and we believe that the only approach that achieves sustainable and great outcomes is Leadership (that emanate from our Essence). All the others come from ego and achieve a variety of short-to-medium-term good outcomes, and in some cases long-term, damaging, often irreparable outcomes. In our example above we see, one one side, the ego of a nation and its president and on the other, an American with a different approach, operating from his Essence, the stuff of true Leadership.

Ego is a difficult armour to wear

Ego is conditional and conditioned. It operates within certain parameters of expectation. It deals with image, consistency, expectations, biases, learnt behaviours, conformity, protection, defences, pride, routine, and much more. Paradoxically, it also feels safe for the carrier as it is built around known behaviours, survival instincts, and defence mechanisms.

Essence, however, is pure. It is about passion, purpose and the authenticity of the objective/s. Essence takes courage. It often goes against norms, at times it demonstrates unpredictable behaviour, and it is often blocked, rejected, and derailed.

However, these are not times for easy options. In our opinion the current global financial meltdown was brought about by ego and greed. It takes true Leaders and true Leadership to take us to the next stage of human evolution. The CEOs who led us to this place will not cut it for the next stage. Much discussion in our internal workshops, and much media scrutiny, has revolved around what to do to punish the CEOs and board members who have brought the world to this place and how they should repay society for their failings and the treacherous conditions in which we find ourselves. Whilst this would soothe the human desire for revenge, it might not be the right solution for achieving the next stage of human growth, as the "War on Terror" has so clearly demonstrated.

Most of these executives did what they thought was be st, and yes, some are possibly corrupt. However, these corrupt individuals are likely few in the scheme of things and need to be dealt with directly. We are going to have to trust that these governments that are handing out trillions of dollars hand-over-fist will take appropriate action to discipline them, but let's not toss the baby out with the bathwater. Surely they are not all crooked. Surely most were doing their best and have had a notably successful track record. Still, their best will not cut it any more unless they too learn to give heed to their Essence and change from being just CEOs to being great Leaders. The lesson from Greg Mortenson is clear, take a compassionate approach to adversity. This takes true courage and comes from our essence, which at its core is pure, exploratory, growth-attuned, astoundingly innovative, and frankly, exhilarating, for when things get to their worst and humankind seems to have lost everything, great Leaders seem to emerge and take humanity to its next stage of evolution.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Know but don't tell

A young executive I am mentoring in sales is very keen and knowledgeable in his subject matter. He operates in the IT industry and has an engineering background. He is a very giving individual, ready to share all his knowledge to the benefit of his potential customers. I sat with him through a potential sale to see why his closing percentages were so low when he had so much to offer.

What I found was that as soon as the customer expressed their situation, this sales executive went straight into the pitch, singing the praises of his product and explaining amazing technological breakthroughs in quasi lay terms. The potential customer eventually thanked us for the meeting and indicated he would contact us when ready to buy. We never heard again.

It is very difficult for me to sit through these meetings as I HATE losing a sale where the customer obviously requires the product/service.

The fact that we know our product inside out, does not give us the license to bombard the poor potential customer into submission.

The lesson for my mentee was...... Know but do not tell!

One of my best sales executives during my stint in New Zealand once said to me...... "there is a reason we have two ears and one mouth, I keep reminding myself to shut-up". Ask, ask and ask again is the simple but difficult to execute answer. Sales is no different to peeling an onion. The questions serve to peel away layer after layer until we get to the core; in the case of sales, the core of the customers' needs. They eventually will tell us what their real (rather than the perceived) needs are and there you have a sale. And I say those words very purposefully; it is not that you have closed a sale, it is that you have virtually received an order without "selling".

It serves to know your product inside-out as only then do you know how to pick the moment when the customer hands you the sale. The alternative, which many sales executives use is to bombard the customer with product features hoping that one or some stick. This often does not work and alienates potential customers that have real needs.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Sales driven Marketing

OK, times are tough and the Financial Department has taken the slasher to marketing budgets; so what next? As a Client of mine recently told me, "I am not used to such small marketing budgets"! This was before she left and joined another company (presumably with larger marketing budgets).

Smaller marketing budgets are quickly becoming the norm and for good reason, and as a leader of your area, you could do worse than being proactive about re-cutting your budget. So how do we adjust to this new world of smaller marketing budgets and how do we continue to achieve the same or better outcomes from the smaller investment?

Simply address these three points, (the first one is obviously nothing new):

1. These are indeed tough times so go and re-negotiate your suppliers down as they will do almost anything to keep your business (in fact we recommend, unless you have already done so, go and get third party quotes as well).
2. Get rid of any market research expenditure which is a waste of time, if;
• you are able to capture the feedback from your sales-team. If you have not, this is a great time to institute formal feedback mechanisms for your sales executives; they are a gold-mine of direct customer feedback.
• your organisation enforces the appropriate use of a CRM system. In today's world, it is unacceptable for any organisation not to have an effective CRM system. It costs very little (compared to any market research you are currently funding) to get a SaaS CRM system such as salesforce.com. The next thing is to ensure it is being utilised effectively.
3. This is the key step. Renegotiate a different approach to marketing budgeting and gear it around sales. We find an effective way is to ask for your standard budget on the basis of the organisation achieving its projections for the year. Then get the organisation to commit to 50% budget and the balance extended to you on the basis of results. Furthermore you should have no ceiling so if the organisation overshoots its projections, you continue to receive extra marketing funds. The formula would look like this;
• P=Projection, B=Marketing Budget, A=Actual Revenue
• then; B=((B-(B*.5))+((A/P)*(B*.5)))
• ideally calculated quarterly.

If you are thinking that this is nonsense, then think again. In our experience, many organisations (mainly successful up-and-coming ones) have adopted this, or similar, mechanisms and so you really have no choice.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Has China missed the Opportunity?

In the blink of an eye, the future became the past.

For decades, we have been forecasting China becoming the leading state a super power, super economy and as a result the leader of the world surpassing the USA. Then the new millennium brought about unanticipated events that strained the American and Global economies, bringing them to their knees, at a time when the world's eyes were focused on the amazing economic and polished Olympic performance and BANG, China is the powerhouse of the world. Becoming one of America's biggest creditors with stunning economic performance driven by low-cost manufacturing, exports and growing domestic consumption, accelerating China to a position of dominance.

This on a back-drop of questionable human rights, a state controlled media (a government mouth-piece) and growing evidence of cleansing and atrocities; while at the same time the developed world is sobering-up to the destruction of greed and ego. The emergence of a new type of Leadership based around true concern for the environment, the less fortunate and the anti-nuclear weapon proliferation; symbolized by the remarkable actions of the Obama administration that contrast the failures of the previous administration in these same areas.

Then, almost as a test provided to China by the universe, we see an ex-Chinese, Australian Citizen, Stern Hu, arrested for suspected inappropriate actions (it is not for us to discuss the merits here), not yet officially accused of any crime. The world will take note and China potentially risks alienating investors, organisations and expatriate employees right at the crucial time when the Lion was ready to roar. This very publicised arrest could become the catalyst for China's new direction and could easily (with the ongoing Tibetan struggle and other less publicised challenges) turn into China's symbolic Achilles heel.

It could be speculated that the timing of such events come at a crucial moment in history when we observe the rise and rise of India. India's highly educated population that is experiencing significant growth, with a strongly growing economy and established and stable infrastructures, is a formidable challenge for China.

Has China missed the boat, or is it facing the revolution it had to have?

And where is the US in all this? What role does it play in a global economy that is experiencing seismic shifts?

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

iPhone; today's PC?

Of course there is WindowsMobile, Blackberry, Android (or Google phone) and Nokia, and having strategies for these platforms should also be on your consideration list. However, the exponential growth in sales of iPhone is not to be ignored. It is quite interesting to see Apple beating Microsoft at its own game......

You see, while the iPhone is indeed sexy, easy to use and has now achieved cult status (all important aspects for product success). There are, have been and will be equally good or better designed products that might or might not dethrone the iPhone. So why is it that we believe that the iPhone is such a key strategy for any business and why do we say that the iPhone is the new PC.

We do not believe the answer is a technical one. This is not a technical newsletter and in fact it is a newsletter for leaders and great leaders know that a key aspect to successful strategies, is picking the right horses to bet on.

In our opinion, much of the success of Microsoft is unrelated to the quality or indeed effectiveness of their software; and let's not even entertain sex appeal. Many technocrats have for the last 25 years discounted Microsoft technical prowess and in their earlier years, their future fortunes (obviously proven wrong in retrospect). What Microsoft brilliantly did (knowingly or not) are in our opinion, 2 key tactics:

1. They made many people rich
2. They created an industry around them (now known as resellers), many of which became wealthy fulfilling Microsoft's Client's needs; arguably sorting-out difficult to use software.

So, why do we believe that the iPhone is today's PC? Simple:

1. Apple's Appstore is a new channel a virtual chain of resellers, adapted to today's delivery systems and customer needs.
2. A great direct to customer channel of software sales; allowing developers to reap significant rewards.

As a leader:

1. Are you ensuring that your products are being aired to iPhone customers?
2. Are you ensuring that your employees and partners know that they stand to benefit significantly financially from their involvement with your organisation?

A few examples of iPhone successes/strategies:

1. Robert Murray, chief executive of mobile games development studio Firemint, says the iPhone and App Store also helped save the company after the downturn showed them their model wasn't working - http://www.smartcompany.com.au/leisure-and-gaming/20090703-firing-up-the-gaming-industry.html
2. With more than 60 percent of Toyota Motor’s WAP traffic coming from the iPhone, the automaker decided to take a different approach to mobile with the promotion of the newest Prius car model - http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/database-crm/3636.html
3. Rental resource provider Apartments.com has launched a new iPhone and iPod touch application to complement its online services and claim some territory in the coveted iPhone demographic - http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/search/3625.html
4. Pernod Ricard’s Absolut Vodka is leveraging the mobile channel for branding, customer engagement, entertainment and affinity. The liquor giant has launched an iPhone application for meant to help it connect with legal-aged drinkers and provide relevant information to this audience - http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/3600.html
5. Sam Plowman, head of online banking said: "It was very apparent to us that Apple had developed an interface that would bring forward the use of browser and internet apps on mobiles. We decided we had to be ready with app when the iPhone launched here.'' - http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/gadgets/business-goes-for-iphone-apps-20090709-de79.html

And finally - According to Clevenger, 44% of businesses that have not yet embraced iPhones plan to do so this year. As one attendee observed, where the one-laptop-per-child initiative failed, one-iPhone-per-child appears destined to succeed - http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid40_gci1359509_mem1,00.html?track=NL-315&ad=710878&asrc=EM_NLN_8099263

So if you have been thinking that the iPhone is not the right channel for your products/clients, maybe, as a great leader, you should rethink your strategies! Early adopters will reap the benefits.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting