OMG!

Apparently, some guy has written a story about me…how cool is that?

http://moneyfornothing01.blogspot.com/

Mentoring for beginners

So, it’s hard for me being in such a position of power, authority and being the person that most wannabe businessmen naval gaze about. For this, amongst other reasons, I frequently get requests for help.

When I say help, I don’t mean handouts. Help for me is a word of hatred and frustration. I never ask for help, so I don’t appreciate people asking me, but when help comes with flattery, it’s harder to resist. This is why I have succumb to the temptation of becoming a mentor.

Fortunately, the combination of me being time poor and my services being oversubscribed, mean that I get to cherry pick who I share my intellectual property with.

Mentoring is supposed to be a 2-way process, but it’s taken me years to build up my competitive advantage, and it isn’t for sale. So my number one tip for people who are taking up a mentoring role for the first time is this. Don’t advise, recommend, advocate or caution…they all take your IP and give it away. Just ask questions. My most recent mentor even bought me a bottle of Port as a thank you, which is ironic as I havent really helped him. If I had I would have suggested a fresh wardrobe with new suits, some better business patter and an improved education.

Still, he loves being asked questions. What are your tips for mentoring?

What is your value?

Value is a word which is banded around frequently in business terms. There are permanently consultants trying to sell value add, real estate agents wondering where value can be added and executives pimping their value proposition.

Many consumers don’t always understand the art of marketing and the perception of value versus cost. Value is a personal thing. It is the level of importance to you. So why am I wittering on about this?

What is your value? When you think about the pillars of our existence and the elements of lifestyle, love, finances, work, family and society. The intriguing thing is that value isn’t a $$  measurement, but an overall level of impact on us all. That said, have you ever thought about how those elements combine to make you ‘happy’ in life in general, and what compromises you’d make?

How much do you need to earn in $$’s to maintain your lifestyle? How much would you be willing to compromise for a more fun and engaging job…$10k…$20k? It brings me back to 2 questions that I want you to help me answer:

1: How do you measure your success in life?

2: What things do you value and how do you calculate your personal value proposition?

Do a search for value proposition in Google Images and be amused by the array of pyramids, flow charts, bubbles and light bulbs!

I love the analogy...lift off or crash and burn?

The ‘Value’ of Life

Elton John sang about the circle of life and Monty Python mocked the meaning of life, but what about the value of life.

Many people think that outsourcing is a business term, but it’s not. Outsourcing was invented by people in society, but it was perfected and monetised by the business world into its own trade.

The simplest principle of outsourcing is something that we don’t like to admit to that often. Our time and effort has a value. In fact, you could almost say that everything in life has a value.

Businesses can often outsource their IT, or support services, distribution or printing. In essence, if you look at everything in life that we outsource, the vast majority are things we don’t want to do, not things that we can’t do.

This linear and calculated approach to life hasn’t won me many fans. Some question my ability to run my life like a business, but I ask “why the hell not?” Everything that happens around us does so because of economics. There is a dry cleaners near me because a market exists. There are people willing to pay a premium for a service, and so up pops a business. It’s the same whether you are selling cleaning, repair services or sex.

The question that often comes my way is about valuing the intangible things in life. My argument is that everything that has a value, ultimately has a price.  The difference between me, you and the person sat opposite, is our tolerance and ability to match that price. I value my time. First and foremost is the need to work, and the money I can earn in an hour working out-strips many chores, so I outsource my chores.

As you get closer to the margins, the value proposition is harder. The debate more gritty. There are those things that you can’t value directly with $’s, £’s and €’s. My suggestion is to play those scenario’s out and you’ll eventually find a measurable hard currency that you can value that decision in.

Happiness is the one that most blinkered people throw out there. “You can’t put a value on happiness!” Well I’ve got news for you; of course you can. Sometimes the easiest way to value something is to consider the opportunity cost. By chosing to be happy I am chosing not to be unhappy. Unhappy would impact my motivation, slowing my career, stifling my chance of promotion, reducing my pay, thwart my disposable income, kill my social life and result in instant depression. That sounds like an expensive experience, and by chosing to NOT do that, I can put a value on happiness. The trick is that value and source of value is different for everyone.

So do me a favour. think about your life as a business and think about the things that you outsource and whether you get the value, and also think about the things that over time, you might want to outsource.

Then answer this question. A senior executive loves his wife and children, but he has needs that his wife can’t and doesn’t feel comfortable satisfying. He has a lady who he visits. They transact. His need his met. Win-Win-Win situation. Is he outsourcing?

It’s harder being clever

Now this is a topic that is sure to split my readership, but it is also something that I am passionate about and that I am certain needs wider discussion.

Taxes, levies, welfare, health care and various other government institutions are there to aid the general population and ensure that we all get treated fairly. Having done some policy work with the local Chamber of Commerce, I can comment first hand on how tricky these political positions can be, but there is a subject I want to raise and want to hear people’s view on.

Being clever is bloody hard! Now I take nothing away from the achievements I have made in life. I wasn’t born into money and everything that has been notched up has been done so through hard work, commitment, graft, intelligence, timing and skill. ‘Fortune’ and ‘Luck’ are for the religious and gamblers. My success is based on me.

But being successful, and being clever is very hard. Firstly, clever people (like myself) have a myriad of psychological knowledge and analytical tools that engineer us to question every situation and consider all the possible reasons, rational and motivations for what we’ve seen. To a person with a lower IQ, someone saying “Hello” is simply being nice. Say hello to a clever person and their mind will be in over-drive. What does this person want? Is it a favour? Do they want my money? Maybe they just want to ride my coat tails? Maybe they want to kidnap me for a randsome.

The reason being clever is hard, is the same reason that rich famous people say they are lonely. Because when you are the top of the pile, whether it be on brains, brawn, brilliance and boobs, you know that you are there to be shot at and that jealous has many disguises.

Do the worlds CEO’s survive on 4 hours sleep a night because they are busy? Or is it because their brains are so busy trying to assimilate all the stimuluses that they’ve experienced during the day, that they are now insomniacs?

The more we educate and become aware, the more we see the double edged sword of every situation and the alternate interpretation of what we see. With each alternative, our view of reality gets darker and our assumptions crumble.

Right or wrong, it’s just another point of view. Thoughts?

Economics of Charity

I must start off with an apology, which is something I really don’t like doing. However, I do feel like I’ve deserted you over recent months.

The only sanctity I can provide, is that what I was busy doing, was more essential and important, than sharing my pearls of wisdom with you, which is a massive call.

As the months have passed, my hours and brain matter have been dedicated to an ordeal or true national security. Whilst this conjures up images of terrorism, assassinations and treachery, this form of national security is more relevant to you, my readers, and to the general public out there.

I’ve spent my time on secondment to an organisation that I can’t tell you too much about, but it brings some important parallels into question. Whilst I may not have government clearance to spy on people and place bugs in phones, I domaintain a position of responsibility in organisations that dominate this countries economy, and by securing their continued business and safe operations, I do my bit to keep this country alive and prospering.

It is for this reason, that I mention charity in my topic line for this blog. Strolling down the street in my sharp suit, I regularly get asked by clipboard holders who can’t get a real job, whether I’d be interested in providing my bank details so that they can feel better about themselves. My usual response is “I’ll donate exactly as much as you do”, which is often met with a blank look. But during this festive season, I have replaced that aggressive technique, with my own form of charity. When I donate, I give in education currency.

So when stopped last week by one of these overly energetic fools, I engaged in a fascinating conversation about economics, and how if you give money too easily, you are actually encouraging poverty and begging, rather thanproviding solutions. By not giving, I am actually providing these people with some impetus to get up and take control of their own destiny. I prefer to give my time, and even though I charge for every 6 minutes that I am engaged in work, I feel that the contribution I make to the economy as a whole, has far more significance to the people around me, than donating hard currency.

Now that normality has resumed and the New Year is upon us, you will no doubt see more blogs from me as the push towards a better world continues.

Please as always, feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and messages on the blog. You don’t have to agree with me. After all, not everyone can be right.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Some of you may know, that a life at the top is a tough one. The rest probably think it’s a breeze up here…all this success, money, lavish lifestyle and endless opportunities. But being here comes with a stack of responsibilities, a smattering of expectation and a heap of occasional uncertainty. Bare that in mind next time you look up to us.

One responsibility I have is to credit some comments on this blog from the Fox family, who form 2/3 of www.shoesofprey.com, a new online, design yourself show business.  A tremendous venture, and I’m sure as avid fans of my blog, there is some credit in their eventual success to my words of wisdom. I didn’t specifically help them on their journey directly, as their lengthy gestation period meant they couldn’t pay me for my consulting hours. As far as my mantra is concerned, pro-bono means that you support U2…there is no such thing as a few lunch in this game. So todays GOOD is their brave, courageous and classy leap from corporate world into self-employed shoe heaven.

The bad that I want to report, is the severe lack of comments on this blog. My nice technical man tells me that plenty of you are reading it, and he can even tell me how long some of you spend on here. What he doesn’t need to tell me, is that for the hoards of you who flock to be inspired by my words, few of you leave so much as a thank you, let alone something meaningful. My only rationalisation is that you fear that your words cannot compete with mine, which is understandable….but you won’t know if you don’t try.

The Ugly, is the final comment that got left on my blogs last entry. To me, there should be no battle or wars in business. I live with a theory around business that assimilates nicely to Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest.  For me, religion and bigotry creates wars, and some good old stiff competition separates the winners from the losers, the wheat from the chafe, and the consultants from the bankers. But it would be short-sighted and potentially incorrect of me to actually suggest that the blame lay with a country (inanimate!) or one group. The true blame lies with the policy makers, regulators and greedy guts who sit behind desks and let this happen. Maybe Bretton could add more commentary around this from his perspective…