Its November – cold and blowy. Most of the leaves have turned colour and many are already on the ground. The curtains need to be drawn at 4.30 and some days the lights never get switched off. And of course we face another lockdown. I would prefer not to mention it but the reality is we face at least a month of curtailing our normal behaviours and activities. We are watching our families and friends carefully and supporting them on the bad days when they cannot rub together enough motivation to get up and get dressed. And we know they are watching us and supporting us when we need it. There is huge kindness and love all around us and we are grateful for it.

Meanwhile what am I thinking about?
Last month I told you about my client who was imminently to have a baby. I am delighted to tell you that she was delivered of a gorgeous little boy, Edward Matthew, on 24 October. He made us wait 16 days beyond his due date – little tyke. Poor mother, apart from anything else this did not fit in with her business plan.
So I have been thinking about what I hope for this new baby (or any new baby). If I was a Fairy Godmother standing by the crib with my magic wand, able to donate gifts what would they be?
Well, we all want them to have the life gifts of good health, wealth and happiness. I would add to that courage to face whatever comes; resilience to withstand the tough times; optimism to see the upside of life; creativity to express ideas and work out emotions in some way; and the ability to think laterally about problems and concerns.
And I want him to listen to Everybody’s free to wear sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann at least once a year.

Then I started to think about what I would gift this young man if he decides to go into the world of business and emulate his mother. These are the things that came to mind:
For himself
- Focus on the big picture and reach for the stars
- Once you know what your values and ethics are never compromise on them
- The ability to determine priorities
- Concentrate on tasks
- Persevere in getting even the tough jobs done
- To plan, do it and then review how it went and change things in the future
- To take every opportunity to learn and gain qualifications because they open doors and offer the maximum number of options
- Read anything and everything but always ask yourself who has written it and what their agenda is
- A sense of humour so that he can laugh at himself and never take himself too seriously
- The ability, open mindedness and willingness to learn from anything and everything
- To learn how to work effectively and do it most of the time
- Always find time to celebrate the good things
For those around him
- To be a good team player – playing for the team and its success
- Not to hold back but take the lead if it seems the right thing to do
- To work with fun and a smile on his face
- To be reliable
- To be trustworthy
- To be honest and tell the truth
- To be generous and always give other people credit for their thinking, ideas and actions
- To have a sense of responsibility
- To ask questions all the time especially why? And why not?
- To deal with any problem when it is only an issue rather than before it becomes a drama
- To treat everyone in the same way, as an equal and with respect and dignity
- To own up to mistakes and learn from them
And I wish him the good fortune to meet people who share his values and approach to life, who will support him, value him and make his life fun.
I suggest he always finds time to read something that lifts him whenever life feels a bit grim. I love The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy but there are lots of other great books out there.

This is a huge list. If I could only give him three what would they be? Focus, a sense of humour and the open mindedness to learn from every situation. What would your top three be?
This is a different type of Thought. Now I have written it I realise that I have been writing Employee Specifications for many years and much on this list would feature in them. These are the sorts of things we want for small people and we want them in the people around us, our colleagues and our friends. Some of them are things we can gift, some of them are things we can model (and should) and almost all of them we can learn if our Fairy Godmother forgot to gift them!
So if you like my ideas and want to grow in your business life why don’t we talk? I love speaking with people, off the meter, to help explore possibilities and whether/how to take them forward. Please give me a call.
Life will be good again; let’s be more appreciative of how lucky we are and live the lessons we have learnt.