It’s June already; officially summer. There are rumours that it might be hot and some love that. Half term has gone and some people are already off on holiday. Wimbledon is coming for all those who are tennis fans. Some young friends of mine are talking about new “big” schools from September with great excitement and at least one friend has just graduated. I am looking out at some glorious peonies in the garden and am back into a regular routine of watering of my newly planted geraniums. The evenings are long and the nights shorter. It is a wonderful time of year.
I am thinking about dinosaurs! The BBC is showing a new series of Walking with Dinosaurs and all I seem to be hearing and seeing are ads for it. It looks like great fun. It has made me think of that wonderful story of the little boy when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up answered “A dinosaur – a big one”. I love that. His idea had no consciousness of what might be possible but he was aware that he wanted to be BIG.
So what about you. What is your dream when you grow up?
Obviously it changes as we amass more data. Our vision changes as we learn what we like and what we hate. They say if you do what you like you will never work another day in your life. I have been very fortunate that I have been in that position all my working life. I loved retail. I loved transport (and still look longingly at some of the fabulous rigs I see on the motorway). I loved working in all aspects of HR (which I particularly liked when it was Personnel and covered Industrial Relations and Learning & Development, though writing endless policies and procedures was not that much fun). I loved managing small, medium sized and big operations because motivating people and setting them off on course is so satisfying). Now I love supporting and helping people develop their businesses. It can vary from developing effective working methods to talking about the next acquisition and how to integrate it into existing operations. It is different every day.
So what more could I want? I want this level of satisfaction for everyone. And what has this to do with dinosaurs? The little boy was very clear about his desire and he knew he wanted to be big. Not all my clients are so sure what they want. Sometimes they are a medium sized business that is just about to become a big business. Sometimes they are a smaller business that is just about to become an SME. Sometimes they are tiny and have the chance to scale what they are. Often they are scared. It is to much too fast and they have not the skills, the knowledge and most of all the confidence to take the next step. Sometimes they limit themselves. This is all absolutely fine if it is a conscious choice. It is not good if it comes from that place of fear which is self-limiting. All you may need is the courage to be brave and to step forward with confidence and excitement.
Most of us know how big we want to be. When I started out with a management consultancy back in the twentieth century I knew I wanted a team of consultants so we could offer clients a range of skills. I was not quite sure what that meant in terms of size except that I knew I had to be able to measure the quality of our service. That turned out to mean a team of six.
On the other hand I was talking with a school manager recently who was talking about his school opening another school in India with exactly the same tried and tested ethics and processes as he has in the UK. He had total confidence in the product and no fear about starting something new on a different continent with its own culture.
Anything is possible for you whatever your dream might be. It is about having the vision then finding the correct support to help you make it happen. This is all about selecting the right professional advisers. At a minimum this probably means a good accountant, preferably one who understands your business sector; a good marketing person who understands your business, your avatars and how to contact them; and a business mentor who can help you craft the plan and then to whom you can be accountable for making it happen. The other thing I do is take the angst when you have a wobble. We all have tough days, when everything seems to be against us. These are the days when you cannot see wood for trees, when customers are difficult, when legislation changes around you or the economic situation is grim. Often the best thing is just to have someone like me who can process it with you and work out what is best to do.
f you want to be a dinosaur, big, medium sized or small, then why not talk with me about how you get there. Let me be your sounding board. Let’s talk. We can find ways of developing your skills; of using that amazing asset you have: you. I love speaking with people, off the meter, to help them explore possibilities and whether/how to take them forward. I hope you will be one of them.
And maybe we should both watch Walking with Dinosaurs and see which big variety is our favourite!