Worries and delights shared by business leaders everywhere

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It is with great excitement that I write my first ever message as Roger's new business partner.

From now on we'll both be running our internationally acclaimed "Staying in the Helicopter®️" business growth programmes around the world.

During June South Africa observed Youth Day and I was invited to speak at a youth council series on how to build a successful future within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Based on the questions asked by the future leaders in attendance i found that they were concerned about many of the same issues keeping current business leaders awake at night:

will my skills be relevant in the near future?
will the plan I made to achieve success remain valid in a fast-changing world?
what impact will the rise of Artificial Intelligence have on the world of work?
how can I be sure that the decisions I make now prepare me for a future that is unpredictable?

The feedback from the sessions however highlighted one common area of delight: a jargon-free focus on the right set of fundamentals creates hope and space for leaders to move!

Good business doesn't need to be complex or complicated. If you've attended a "Staying in the Helicopter" or a "WIN!" session you already have the tools to regain focus, hone strategy and propel your organisation forward by focusing on the fundamentals of the new game of business. This is a gentle reminder for you to go back to your notes and strengthen the areas where you've maybe not been as consistent in application as you intended.

If you're on Linkedin please feel free to send me a connection request where I post regular interesting finds from the global business community.

All the best,

Juanita

Visit our brand new website

Hi,

This is Roger and I'd like to welcome you to the new CEO Experts newsletter which my 'Helicopter Business Alert' has now morphed into after 15 years!

In our keynotes and Masterclasses we often talk about your business aspiration and how, sub-conciously we can be self limiting by always comparing ourselves with, what we perceive as, our industry or sector.

Have you heard of The Hut Group ?

No? - neither had I - but THG employs 5500 people rising to 10000, sells in 164 countries and is valued at £4billion. That's about the same as Marks & Spencer.

I love this: Mark Moulding, the co-founder and CEO says he quite likes people not knowing who they are as he'd just rather deliver the numbers!

THG sells health and beauty products through 166 websites and owns brands such as Myprotein, Espa and Mankind and has developed technology that allows its customers to shop on their phones and receive orders the next day.

Believe it or not, Mark runs this entire corporation through his iPhone where he has a dashboard that keeps him up to date with the entire business in real time!

Wow!

I'd like to say that THG is another Disrupter but, you know what, I think we should now start looking upon this type and structure of business as the norm.

So, the question to you is:

As a Business Leader, are you regularly finding the time to spend in your helicopter looking at these types of new norm businesses and remarkable innovation going on in business?

Are you thinking about just how you might, change or even reinvent yourselves?

Because you need to!

Here's to your business success!

Roger

PS. More about the THG story

TOP TIPS

Roger's top tip

Make sure you receive monthly the key information - both financial and non financial - that you need to run your business effectively and efficiently - and sleep at night!

- and not just what your accountants want to give you in the format they chose but what you need in the order of priority you want - and using the language you want.

For more see Chapter 3 of my book: "Staying in the Helicopter®️ - the key to profitable growth"

Juanita's top tip

Check often whether the key points of the messages used by your sales team align to your strategic growth areas.

Simple mock sales meetings can be very effective in identifying gaps and areas that need closer alignment.

And remember ... prospects care more about their problems than about your product or service specifications.

INTERESTING BITS FROM ROGER

Why We’re Hard-Wired to Resist Change

by Gihan Perera

What if I told you of a new technology that could improve the lives of millions of people, but would kill 1,000 people a year. Would you support it?

Most people would say No, because a thousand deaths a year is unacceptable, regardless of the benefits. But we do already have this technology: Driving!

A few years ago, when a Uber self-driving car killed a pedestrian, it caused world-wide outrage and brought a halt to their self-driving car programme. Of course, the death of even one person is tragic. But in Australia, our road toll is 1,200 people a year – about 100 a month.

So why don’t we call for a total ban on cars?

Because most people aren’t very good at thinking about change.

It’s much easier to do what you’ve always done than to change.

We trick ourselves by ignoring or diminishing the downside of what we have now (1,200 deaths per year) and magnifying the downside of the change.

Or we set impossibly high standards for the change (“Even one death from a self-driving car is one too many!”), so we can claim to have acted responsibly and with due diligence.

This is a natural way of thinking, because

Can a Male Boss Mentor You?

Since #MeToo, senior men are more reluctant to mentor junior women — a lose-lose situation for everyone. How can we stop this disturbing trend?

by Fleur Britten - The Sunday Times

Finding a mentor is often about finding the right moment. One female lawyer found hers during the drive to court, where she got to travel by car with a senior colleague and discuss cases with him.

But post #MeToo, the movement that finally gave women the permission to speak out about sexual harassment and assault, the invitations came to an abrupt halt — as did the mentorship.

This, sadly, is no exception, according to new research has found that 40% of male managers in the UK are uncomfortable participating in a common work activity with a woman, such as mentoring, working alone or socialising together (a 33% jump from how they felt before

#MeToo).

What’s more, senior-level men are twice as hesitant to spend time with junior women than with junior men in work activities such as one-on-one meetings, business dinners and travelling for work. Of the men surveyed, 25% admitted that it was because they felt nervous about how it would look.

STUFF

A Chat Bench - what a great idea!

Mark Ritson analyses the fantastic Tide Super Bowl ads - as a lesson in how to resist being commoditised

Be careful - Emojis can have very different meanings in different countries!

Achieving the impossible - that amazing Thai cave rescue a year on

Juanita has introduced me to the great Otter.ai transcibing app with a massive 200 minutes free.

Finally - maybe I'm fashionable again! - the influential Mayfair Times says bold, colourful ties are back in!!

INTERESTING BITS FROM JUANITA

Don't Drown in Your Convictions: How to Let Your Ideals Evolve With Your Business

By Erik Huberman - Entrepreneur.com

If you want your company to navigate change successfully, learn to thrive on uncertainty.

Even the big guys get it wrong sometimes: Microsoft has a rich history of promising big tech but failing to deliver -- a failing that has made audiences hesitant to take the tech giant at its word.

While Apple keeps its finger on the pulse of consumers, Microsoft often falls behind in translating innovative ideas (such as tablets and smartphones) to demand. Remember the Windows phone? What about Microsoft’s early tablets before the iPad blew everyone, including Microsoft, away?

Perhaps that software giant will turn the tide on its next consumer device; but if it wants to outsell Apple, it will need to evolve its strategy.

Whether you're a large or small company, you can’t maintain the status quo during periods of growth and expect things to work out. When it’s time to scale, you can either adapt quickly -- or watch the competition outmaneuver your outdated tactics.

Consumer Behavior Every Business Needs to Consider

By Gary Z. Bizzo - Equities.com

For the past 60 or so years marketers have consistently tried to find the ultimate way to entice consumers to buy the products they are flogging.

The traditional marketing industry believed that people made buying decisions based on rational, conscious thought processes.

Science turned that fundamental belief on its head and has proven most decision-making happens at the subconscious level. The subliminal mind makes people decide one way or another. Neuroscience continues to research how to change our buying decisions.

What does this mean to the young marketing executive hired by the startup founder to have his product on the mind of everyone and to make his company successful?

It means an understanding of consumer behavior must take into account everything from the psychological reasons to purchase as well as the sociological and anthropological, and a lot more – phew!

So, what types of consumer behavior affect buyers in the shopping mall?

STUFF

Authenticity is a huge buzzword in 2019. Make sure you're using the kind of authenticity customers will pay more for.

This is how Best Buy used a combination of corporate strategy and emotional intelligence to save itself from ruin.

I travelled quite a bit during July and relied on the trusty Tripit app to keep all my travel arrangements easily accessible without having to trawl through a bunch of emails.

Are you one of the 8% of leaders that are good at both strategy and execution?

Innovative workplaces are willing to question the accepted old in order to build their relevant new. Read how Investec stepped up to the innovative workplace plate.

INTERESTING BITS

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