#FearlessFridays. Is the balance of power shifting?

No career is a straight line. A few follow predictable paths; most take surprising curves to unexpected places; while others receive incredible boosts leading to different outcomes. After 17 years in the corporate world, last month I started some incredibly exciting business ventures and left behind a steady visible role in a large organization and decided to invest time, work and brain into some of my (remunerative) passions and purposes.

Will I go back one day? Maybe yes maybe not, surely not for a little while: I am increasing in value meanwhile as they say, staying laser-focused on my purpose and making impact where right now it matters most to me. I am incredibly grateful for what the corporate world has given me, I could not be doing this had I not had the experiences, network and discipline that only years of hard work in the corporate world often provide. Make no mistake, I worked hard, very hard and nothing was ever given for free, in fact, the opposite really, I gave much more than I received, as it happens for many in the corporate world. But if you are smart you learn from the good and the bad, I treasure this truth and have made it mine daily.

I am born and bread in the corporate world and have met a great amount of smart,  talented people in it. I have met those who love to thrive in it, and probably could not thrive elsewhere and surely not on their own, I have met those who believe to be seriously smart, but get nothing done and really smart are not, they simply shout louder or can temporarily leverage the right "vitamin", which by the way, will not last forever. I have also met a great amount of what one of my old bosses would call "floaters" - still makes me smile thinking of some people I have met over the years who perfectly fit this definition, you know who you are guys. And finally I have met some gems that could really shine brighter in other environments and some who are just perfect where they are and thank goodness for them, please keep shining. 

These dynamics today are increasingly interesting to me. Who stays, who goes back, who leaves the corporate world and why? Is it a generational phenomenon or part of the "4th industrial revolution" or both?

What becomes apparent rapidly once out is the highly peripheral view we often suffer from when plugged deep into a corporation. I recently had lunch with Mark A., an admirable ex colleague who has decreased to the minimum his working hours at his company and started his own exciting business. Like me he has been on his entrepreneurial journey for only a few weeks and we both marveled at the amount of reality we only found out about once both out and about to build our businesses. More about him and his story in the coming weeks.

So what happens once "out"? As mentioned you realize immediately that the business world is much wider than you had perceived. Of course, you do know that while at your corporate desk, but you don`t really size it up because everything you breathe is scanned through the "corporate lens". The incredible amount of seriously smart, brave leaders, ex-corporates mostly, who are driving and launching incredible businesses all on their own while having fast, high, tangible impact is positively overwhelming. And their impact affects their businesses, the economy and society at large. Not in years and multiple headlines, but in weeks or months with stats and facts.

From years as a D&I champion in various corporate roles, I had realized the high amount of talents that the corporate world loses every year. 7 weeks into my own entrepreneurship adventure I can see where many of the brightest minds are increasingly heading to. What will the future hold for large corporations who are no longer able to retain many of their talents I wonder and what could be the impact on society? Is the balance of power shifting? Is this due to the new generations coming in, moving up and out, to the new opportunities offered by digital life, to a new awareness, or is it simply cultural and economical winds of change?

Just over a year ago I was sitting in front of a very forward looking financial services economist, UBS`Paul Donovan who stated that "Labour markets are undergoing a cultural revolution: what we are seeing in the global economy today are the early stages of the 4th industrial revolution: 76% of UK businesses today employ nobody. They are 1 person businesses." Watch his presentation here.  How real does that ring now.

“Fearless Fridays" is about outstandingly talented human capital that has started businesses in the past few years. A series of blog-posts that will showcase the amazing stories of successful, purpose-driven entrepreneurs I have come across in my first 7 weeks outside of the corporate world and of those I met along the way in my highly formative years on the corporate ladder.

We will portray talents that have left the corporate world behind to do something less conventional, whether it was to move into a different sector, to start their own business, or to do something more creative. 

Stay tuned and don`t miss our first story on Friday 1 December on the single, most successful ever-recorded case of crowd-funding in Switzerland. 

M.

(info@smartbizhub.com) 

Credits: Joseph Pisani for Manuela Andaloro

Editing genes, delaying aging, flying cars. Welcome to the present.

• Cryptocurrency

• Estonian eResidency

• AI-based legislation

• Plastic ban

• Artificial Meat

• Vertical Forests

• Solar Farming

• Flying cars

• Biohacking

• Bionic Limbs

• Asteroid Mining

• Asgardia, the first space nation

If you think any or all of the above topics come from some futuristic novel, well, you may need to think again.

The future is here, and we are steadily working on solving some of the biggest environmental challenges of our time: climate change, food production, overpopulation, epidemic diseases.

Carol Hofmann presentation at FFS2017

Often, most of the latest progress made on some of these developments is happening under our nose. Literally. As in, my friend and neighbor`s husband is working on flying cars. Vertical farming and vertical forests happen 500mt from my apartment in Milan.

Milan, Bosco Verticale/Vertical Forest

You can apply for Estonian e-residency today if you wanted to. Mice experiments have shown that reversing aging is possible.  The office next to my gym hosts a start-up working day and night on alternative energy. They have one challenge only: too many requests, they are growing faster than they had ever expected.

I am an avid fast reader so I feed my brain for breakfast with news first, then espresso (or the other way round, it depends on the sleep deprivation degree).  I am a world citizen, so I care about the one and only planet we have and how we are handing it over to our children.  I talk over lunch with friends  or business partners about the tragedies happening as we speak but far from our eyes. How can this be happening. What can be done. There is little time for sadness, we need to act, fast, we can`t just sit there and read.

A month ago I was trying to come to terms with the incredible fact that we are de-facto eating plastic when eating ocean fish.  And in June I was wondering how fast can we get to use AI to counterbalance the amount of arrogance and ignorance in politics and in the corporate world. On this point, God forbid the return of Berlusconi seems to be real again. The guy is nearly 100 and while his aging might seem delayed, his stupidity is advancing.  

But what hit me the other night at the Female Founders  Summit 2017 was the amount of change that is coming our way.

Among many others, the wonderful presentation of Carole Hofmann, founder of the Summit, managed to pull together all the #FutureTech developments happening or coming our way and paint a fantastic, albeit sometimes scary picture. Thank you again, Carole, for such a good speech and event.

Carole Hofmann, Female Founders Summit 2017

What would happen if we were to have a prolonged electric black-out she asked?

My mind ran fast to the depth of our cellar where we keep a small solar panel charger. Which could probably manage to charge a mobile phone in 24 hours as opposed to the current 45 minutes. We have batteries, sure, but how many and for how long would they last? If we were to have an electricity black-out, we would go from highly sophisticated busy human beings to cavemen in the space of a few days. Riots would begin within a week. Have you ever wondered how much dependent we are on electricity? No phones, no heating, no water, no transport, no cars once fuel runs out. Surely no TV and related, and no analogical telephone lines are any longer available so no communication. No cooking, no life as we know it. Do you have a fireplace? Great, get out in the deep winter and start cutting wood once your stacks run out. Oh we have no tools for that, have we.

Suddenly the importance of the work of Tesla and all those wonderful start-ups working on alternative forms of energies and fuel seems of paramount importance.

“The smartest minds and smartest companies in the world are not only dealing with cryptocurrencies, but they are also bringing synergetic forces to finance a wide range of amazing solutions. One of these solutions: reducing travel time and solving traffic jams. For example, companies such as Tencent and Freigeist are funding Lilium, a German start-up company, to develop the first all-electrical vertical take-off five-seat flying taxi. “Lilium, a Munich-based company, promises to enable passengers to travel five times faster than by car. Lilium’s mission is to introduce “the world’s first all-electric vertical take-off and landing jet: an air taxi for up to five people. You won’t have to own one; you will simply pay per ride and call it with a push of a button. It’s our mission to make air taxis available to everyone and as affordable as riding a car.” (Read more here)

Lilium Founders

I have chosen to focus on one of the presentations that, among others, has hit a nerve. There were many others and there will be much written about them, about the great and brave founders of the event, about the importance of start-ups and of female founders. The Summit is a yearly event taking place in Switzerland, featuring pitches and showcases of innovative Female Founders, insights from the Ecosystem, access to Investors, Venture Capitalists, Business Angels, Corporate Venturing Initiatives, Networks and Mentors. In one sentence, it is the place to be if you wish to make a difference.

Follow the FemaleFoundersSummit on FB and mark you calendars for next upcoming events.

M.

What's your inner pace?

Last summer I was invited to a talent development offsite,  'women fit for success'. I very much enjoy and applaude these programmes and investments on the company's talents, but I do wonder whether tailoring programmes specifically for women doesn't make the problem of gender equality in the workplace even worse.

Nevertheless, I pack my overnight bag and off I go. The whole two days programme was very interesting, one thing in particular has hit a nerve, the pace calculator exercise. 

After a short networking lunch on day 2, that followed an intense morning and an even more packed day 1, we are asked to stand up from our chairs and start walking in circles around the room, following the pace that the workshop leader would indicate. 

Mentally I wonder 'Seriously, with all the emails piling up in my inbox, my endless to do list, why are we doing this random exercise now?' It took fifteen minutes before realisation hit home and I saw how important is my inner pace, at any given time of the day, and how I could make that work to my benefit. 

So we keep walking in circles, slowly, then fast, then very fast trying to avoid collision with the other twenty ladies, then almost running, then very slowly, then we are asked to choose our pace and keep walking. 

My pace of choice that afternoon after lunch, from 1 to 5, where 1 is slowly walking as if you are admiring art in a museum and 5 is rushing for the train in heels, was 2/3. I felt uncomfortable with 4 and 5, almost annoyed, and so I did with 1 and 2. 

How would my mind and body perform when forced out of their natural pace in a particular moment?

Sunday walks.  

Following the whereabouts of the youngest driver in the house. 

Being a 'morning person' I know that would I have done the same exercise at 9am through to 12pm, I would have gone for 4 or even 5, at 5pm to 8pm probably as well, but after lunch? My mind needs focus and slow pace, as much as it needs adrenaline in the morning and early evening. Your 'inner pace' can also change depending on the time of the year, after a regenerating holiday you would probably choose a pace 5 throughout the day as much as after a long year and a particularly tiring patch (erm) you would probably want to hide under the duvet, no I meant choose a pace 1/2 more often.

Our take away, you have guessed it, was to learn to tailor our days, workload, tasks, based on our personal natural pace. Not that often we are given the choice (hello 1pm meetings) but knowledge and self awareness always make you score higher.

M.

Walking down the Zurich lake on a Sunday in October during a 'pace 1' afternoon, reminded me of the funny picture below someone shared with me. 

Pressure and productivity

I am constantly amazed when I go into meetings and am the only person taking notes, and then converting these into actions on to-do lists. It’s how I get things done. If you don’t write things down, you will have forgotten them before you leave the room. We could never have achieved a tenth of what we’ve achieved without systematic lists and actions. R.Branson

These days on most days, I have two recurring words in mind to describe how I feel. Happy. Exhausted. Some evenings once the kids are in bed, the priority items on to do lists are ticked off, the house looks decent and everything is ready for the next day, we sit there and wonder how on earth were we able to achieve and get so much done in one day. Normally this feeling lasts 3 minutes, because some memory, normally from the working day, will hit and we will immediately think “Gosh I have so much work to do!”

 Only now, some memories of my childhood come back. I recall my mother in the evenings after work while my brother and I were still running around or demanding something, often saying “It never ends, days should have 48 hours”. I hear you now, mum, I do. Even with house help and childcare, even with our families often sharing the load, days are loaded and at the end of the day we are left with zero energy.

At the same time, we have never had more enthusiasm for all the projects we are running, at work and in our private life, energy to play like kids with our children, interest for more, better and new things. And, we realize every day, we have never in our life been more productive. If in the past I needed a week to recover from a nasty flu, in the past three years, since becoming a parent, I have had to learn to recover in no time and normally while looking after a demanding little person. We have learnt to cope with little sleep which means we have learnt to make a 10 minutes break a real battery charger.

There are pros and cons about life under pressure for sure, but one big advantage is productivity.

I have learnt, and many like me who are living the same adventure on the same lane, to maximize every minute of my day. I have long moved away from “Outlook slots”, not every meeting needs to take one hour or activity needs to last multiple of 15 minutes. At work I often set up meetings of 45 minutes if I can choose. I use any 10-15 minutes commute to listen to podcasts about topics I want to hear about. I have a list of people, TED talks, blogs, sites and online papers that I run through every day and plan for the week what to read or listen to.

Over Easter while in Germany my mother-in-law asked how I have been doing and how I am coping with the current pace and load, given I seem “relaxed” (perhaps she meant “aged”...?? I said I think am actually fairly relaxed indeed…and thinking back I probably can give three reasons for that, the children are a daily exercise for improving patience and prioritizing, I have now for 4 years practiced regularly shiatsu and meditation (and I cannot recommend both enough) and last year I had a big reality check when one of my closest childhood friends suddenly died of cancer at 35, leaving her husband and 18 months old behind.  Of course I also have days when I would like to climb the Himalaya or any hill nearby and just sit there in peace and silence…

While I plan, have multiple to do lists, use pockets of time to check items off or to relax. I also block hours, half days or days sometimes where I block the world out and exist only for family, or for myself, trying to keep it flexible when possible as I have learnt the hard way that viruses from nursery school have not yet heard of my to do lists…

About to do lists.

“Writer Kevin Kruse recently claimed that to-do lists are a ‘waste of time’. He suggested that they make people more stressed, and only 41 per cent of items on to-do lists are completed.

The crucial part of a to-do list is in the name – you need to actually DO the things on your list. The act of writing your tasks and thoughts down is useful in and of itself, as it helps to organise your thoughts and give you focus. However, if you then ignore your own advice and don’t follow up, the lists will lose most of their power. Quite often you will only do 50 per cent of things on to-do lists because, on reflection, only 50 per cent are worth doing. But by putting things on lists it will help clarify what’s worth doing and what’s worth dropping.” Read more about to do lists in this post. 

What is your experience for a balanced life? When have you been at your most productive? What has helped to make you a better person and to live well with yourself?

M.

Why do we work so hard?

'Why? One possibility is that we have all got stuck on a treadmill. Technology and globalisation mean that an increasing number of good jobs are winner-take-most competitions. Banks and law firms amass extraordinary financial returns, directors and partners within those firms make colossal salaries, and the route to those coveted positions lies through years of round-the-clock work.

Our social networks are made up not just of neighbours and friends, but also of clients and colleagues. This interlaced world of work and social life enriches us, exposing us to people who do fascinating things, keeping us informed of professional gossip and providing those who have good ideas with the connections to help turn them into reality.'

https://www.1843magazine.com/features/why-do-we-work-so-hard

M.

Don't expect to see a change if you don't make one

Increasingly we have seen media coverage on initiatives celebrating the strength of women, the resilience of mothers, the importance of time off for fathers and the importance of a healthy life balance to better perform, and to achieve an "integrated" work life equation. 

At last! We have come a long way from the previous generation, from the previous decade and actually, from 18 months ago, come to think of it. 2015 has been a very important year for topics related to diversity, gender equality and health versus productivity.

In 2015 HBR's ranking of CEOs has for the first time considered how companies score not only on the hard numbers, but also on "soft" facts (ESG performance) "In the past, our ranking was based exclusively on hard stock market numbers. We looked at total shareholder return, as well as the change in each company’s market capitalization. We liked the fact that the ranking was based solidly on data and not on reputation or anecdote. Yet it also felt incomplete, because it failed to account for the many aspects of leadership that go beyond mere market performance. And so this year we’ve tweaked things. We’ve added to the mix a measurement of each company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance."

We have seen many financial institutions jumping into the growing trend of socially responsible investing and best of all State Street launching a diversity gender balanced fund , which will track an index comprising companies that do a great job at advancing women through gender diversity on their boards of directors and in management in general. We have seen extensive research that shows that companies with gender-diverse leadership tend to outperform long-term companies that don’t so I am surprised these funds are only starting to emerge.

Bloomberg has set up a new team of journalists and analysts covering the topic diversity.

The ex Norway Prime Minister was interviewed and asked about the reasons behind the success of her country (beyond the obvious oil related wealth) as in the 80s Norway was nowhere close to where it is now, its economy weak and common people barely able to afford decent living. "Success comes from the fact that you see fathers pushing strollers at 3 pm on a working day" she said. "What has changed in these 30 years are family politics and work culture. Retaining talented women in the workforce, giving family benefits and allowing fathers to be fathers and workers without stigma. Shorter working days and flexible working, which results into creative and flexible thinking".

There is McKinsey research on how and why "Women matter" and the latest Mercer report "When women thrive businesses thrive" being presented at the WEF last week and discussed by the CEOs of Cisco, eBay, Marriot and the president of UBS Wealth Management, Jürg Zeltner: "One other thing we all found common ground on was retaining talented women. They leave the workforce after you’ve invested and trained them as many find that workplaces are not family-friendly. Our challenge is to keep them and make the workplace flexible and supportive of their needs and priorities."

So there is all the progress being made just cited above, the daily strong commitment of many of us to raise awareness on the challenges women face and to bring positive change in the world. All of it is still probably only a drop in the ocean but change is happening out there.

Out there.

Then there is me, and I know that like me many other women and working mothers at times have a similar behaviour.

Rewind of two weeks, Monday 11 January, 6am. My husband and I are getting ready for work, kids still – thankfully – asleep. My phone rings. Terror (not quite, but close...). Our current Monday babysitter's little child is sick so she won't be able to come today. And it is of course no problem, it happens. However, a well known feeling that I merrily refer to as "the cold –spine" starts taking over. We quickly and frantically go through our blackberries, our plan in these cases is to take half day off each to look after whichever child is at home, aim is to cancel the half day which would result in the lower damage for the rest of the week. We decide that I stay at home in the morning with our 9 months old baby, dialling in for a couple of meetings, and my husband stays at home in the afternoon, also dialling in when he needs. I let my boss know, who very nicely and empathically confirms it is no problem at all (she has been there too). I tell my colleagues and team. On we go with the plan. At 11 am my baby is happily playing on his mat babbling away while I dial in for an internal meeting. I dial in and immediately go on mute. I barely comment and step in only quickly for fear that someone might hear my baby gurgling cheerfully in the background. Why did I do that? Even if anyone heard the baby chuckle, so what? They all knew where I was and why. I am not that junior or young any more or shy or lacking self confidence. So why did I try and hide the fact that as a working mum this too can be part of my life and it is really no big deal, in fact, hat off really for pushing through and balancing it all??!

Fast-forward to 4pm. The above nearly forgotten and not even yet properly processed. I have now been in the office for a couple of hours and my husband at home for 2 hours and taken as well a (video) call. I call him asking how the afternoon is going. "Oh great actually! Baby M. was sitting on my lap during my call, they loved him and he behaved really well."

No need to comment, I think these two episodes speak for themselves. Perhaps I will add that I am proud of how my husband handled the situation and a little less proud of how I did not stand up to my ideals.

So here is my lesson learnt and a better version of myself has come out of it.

Change, real change, starts from us and from how we expect the world to view us. We all have a lot more responsibility and impact on driving change than we often think.

M.

Mindset shifts

A short post today about one of the most important topics being currently discussed in our world: the future of the workforce.

Change is happening. It`s a matter of how much and how long some of us will resist to it. Neither economies nor businesses want to be the next Kodak. Who wants to miss out on progress?

More on the topic soon!

M.

Childcare and the privilege of pressure

This time it was all planned. This time we were going to have everything organized and taken care of.

This second time my return to work post maternity leave was going to be smooth. Considering we were about to start new jobs, it had to be. We had it all sorted. It took 10 months to plan. It lasted one day.

In Switzerland maternity leave allowance is normally three months. Yes a “generous” three months. In my company the allowance available is exceptionally up to six months. The average EU mother has and takes 12 months leave, considering countries like Germany where parental leave is up to 3 years, although most mothers take 10-12 months, countries like Italy and the UK where it`s normally 1 year and countries like Spain where it`s around 6 months.  And considering countries which are 100 years ahead like the Nordics where parental leave can be shared, fathers can take 3 months off without stigma, flexible working is a reality and not a career killer and results are not based on face time, childcare is available, high level and affordable for everyone. 

Per se Switzerland´s 3 – 6 months would not even be too extreme if the support network around parents and childcare arrangements were functioning well or in some cases existed at all. If mothers and fathers who decide to invest in their careers had it a tad easier, going back to work a few weeks after birth would be possible without major headaches. In a country where nursery schools are mainly private (unless you fall under a certain income threshold, and only about 10-15% of the population does, in that case you could apply for one of the few subsidized nursery places, well before you plan to get pregnant), where the 0 – 5 care is fully and only up to the parents, it is not a surprise that only 25% of the women return to work after the first child, and less after child number two. 

The childcare bill is on the high end, come June, when our second son will start nursery, we will have a monthly CHF 6000 bill only for two nursery schools, 7.30 to 6pm, and we are not in the most expensive school. No, it is not in line with average salaries, it is well above, this the reason why mothers in the workforce are so scarce in full time or executive roles. The same goes for the majority of the working parents we know, mostly affluent or above, and still. That does not include a possible nanny to help with late work days, sick days, school holidays (12 weeks a year for which you still pay school fees). Nannies cost between 20 and 40 CHF per hour and most importantly it is not easy to find a person to whom you leave for the whole day your children, your house and your car while you are gone. Of course there are some amazing people and professionals out there, and we were blessed until now, but what an adventure to find them?

We are lucky to be able to afford this so that we can both have the choice and continue with our careers. But it is little wonder that a strikingly high number of mothers list costs as reason number one for deciding to take care of their kids themselves and stay at home, in many cases giving up to her aspirations and careers. Reason two and three being the pressure from the employer, from society, and of course from themselves. Yes, society. It was a family doctor in his 40s who told me with a grave voice “Why are you doing this to your family? Can you not just stay at home.” when I asked for vitamins as I was feeling slightly exhausted the first few months after my return, the lack of sleep, the weekly nursery bugs of my first baby and the long work days were tough.

Switzerland is an amazing country and we chose to stay here in Zurich instead of London, Milan, Frankfurt for example, because of the many advantages it offers. But one thing that this country is missing is realizing the potential of the many amazing talents who because of the above we are losing daily. While it is a great country for having a family for example, it is very far from being a good country for working mothers and fathers. Here a good article with stats about this.

After our first son was born, I returned to work after 5 months for 3 days a week for a short period of time, before going back to full time, we had a part-time nursery school and were positive that things would just work out fine. They do for some families, they didn`t for us. This first particular school we had in order to “stay competitive” accepted sick children, in some cases highly infectious children – the normal standard of care states that when visibly sick children should be sent home. This meant that my son hardly ever went to school as he was sick every other day, we paid for the nursery school to keep the place and we paid for a nanny who helped when he was sick to go to the school that weekly made him sick. An interesting loop. Until we cancelled the school and got stung with 3 months "exit fee" anyway although my son had been there 20% of the time while he was still enrolled. So nanny and family stepped in until our little man and his immune system were able to cope with the daily bombardment of nursery school germs.

Aware of the above and of the fact that this time I was going back to work full time, a few months before baby 2 came we started looking for a full time nanny who could take care of him the whole day for the first 14 months of life, until he would start nursery school. We made our choice and our new nanny started a few weeks after our second little boy was born. I was keen to have her with us during my maternity leave so that we could all get used to each other. Things worked, she was doing a very good job, the kids liked her and I felt in good hands. The plan was waterproof, older child in nursery school full time, 5 months baby at home with the nanny and family a few days a month when and if needed.

I went back to work on October 1st. On October 2nd I almost choked on my coffee while reading a text from our nanny, who was off that week as my family was with the kids, who asked if we could meet for coffee the next day.

I just knew. I have to say I totally understand her reasons and there is nothing none of us could have probably done differently. She was about to go back to the corporate world as had been offered a great job by a very good company. What can one say? Is there a prize for worst timing?

What was I supposed to do with my job and my baby? Our place at the nursery school would not be available until June, that was only ...8 months to go. I was now back at work, to a new job too, and had very little time to interview or “try” nannies. Once again one of our blessings, family, and a friend whom I cannot consider anything else than family, came in. But how many parents can rely so quickly on their families really? We will find a new nanny of course, but could timing have been worse? Why do many parents have to cope with and live in a constant house of cards when it comes to childcare?

To make things easier, within the first week of me going back, our then 5 months old baby started to:

- Wake up between 4 and 8 times a night (he had been a superb sleeper since birth and until then)

- Refuse formula (which we had often been given as a little top up and were now trying to increase)

- Demand milk the whole night and refuse it during the day (while I was away)

Only who has been there knows what it means to survive on little, interrupted sleep for months on end and try and perform at work and be on top of your life. It is a type of exhaustion, effort and pressure that cannot be explained. Thankfully, like everything else, you get used to it. Almost.

Everything beyond kids and work becomes secondary unfortunately. A particularly gifted journalist like Carolyn Hax, was  able to explain why parents really have little time and what they can do about it (guess?). Here is a great read.

However, I have now known for some time, while stressful, pressure can be good. In fact, pressure can be a privilege.

One of my favourite entrepreneurs, Mr Branson just wrote an illuminating post:

"The other day someone asked me how I deal with pressure. Without thinking over my response, I said that pressure is a privilege – which really is a great way to think positively and proactively about any challenge. When we are faced with exciting scenarios and situations, dealing with the stress that they bring can lead us to be more alert, alive and attentive. It can help to improve our performance."

"You need to balance high-pressure periods with plenty of time for rest, reflection and recuperation, or else you won’t be able to switch off and get perspective. This is partly why work-life balance and spending time away from the office is so important," he says.

"And remember: When the stakes are higher, the rewards are greater — and the journey is more enjoyable."

M.

Einstein's 8th Wonder of the World

One of the many interesting guest-posts I will be hosting here. Thanks to Chris Sinclair from AimCFO.com. 

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” – Albert Einstein. Try to picture Einstein as this reality began to hit him.

Most people never pause long enough to consider the significance of this statement. Those that do usually only look at it from one perspective and that being money.

Money

Money is one of those things that we all need at least some of and often seem to be lacking, at least from our perspective. Yet we often treat money as if it rules over us. We cannot seem to control how we spend and often don’t even think about saving. Yet saving money to prepare for the future is really something we all should be doing, and, as Einstein observed, these savings compound.

For example, assume you put aside $2,000 at the beginning of each year and receive 10% interest on the balance at the end of each year. I know 10% may be dreaming, but I’m using it for easy of demonstration. At the beginning of year 1 you have $2,000 but at the end of that year you have $2,200 ($2,000 + $200 interest). In year 2 you add another $2,000 for a total of $4,200. However, at the end of year two you receive interest not just on the $4,000 in principle you have added ($400), you also receive interest on the first year interest of $20 ($200 x 10%). You will have $4,620 after 2 years. If you carry this out for 20 years you will have $126,005. Of that you have contributed $40,000 in principle ($2,000 x 20), earned interest on the principle contributions of $42,000, and earned interest on the interest of $44,005.

Notice that most of your balance at the end of 20 years is from interest on interest. The balance of $126,005 is composed of $40,000 you contributed, $42,000 was earned on the principle you contributed and $44,005 was earned on the interest you accumulated. That is a demonstration of the power of compounding when it comes to money.

Compounding however is about More than Money.

While we typically think about the power of compounding in terms of money, it really applies to other aspects of life. Here are a few:

NETWORKING – As we build our personal and business networks we find that both opportunities and results compound. Each new relationship opens the door to more relationships which in turn open the door to even more. This is a playing out of the concept of six degrees of separation, which says that on average we are approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world. We have more opportunities to help others and more people to help us. On top of that, we have more resources within our reach. As long as we build those networks with the correct motives (that is not just what’s in it for us), we are using the power of compounding in a fruitful and honest manner.

BUSINESS GROWTH – Have you ever noticed how a business suddenly seems to take off? While much of that is attributable to the efforts of management and employees, there is one thing that is somewhat beyond their total control – customers. As customers use a product of service, they frequently spread the word to others. Those people in turn spread the word to more and so on. As you see, this spreading of the word by customers is really a demonstration of the power of compounding. Of course, it is important to remember that this works both ways. If a customer is unhappy with us, we can quickly find the negativity spreading in a compound manner. This is a key reason that we need to be in regular contact with customers to address potential problems before they have the opportunity to compound.

PERSONAL REPUTATION – Just like networking and business growth, the personal impression we make on people has the potential to multiply exponentially. If someone has poor integrity, the word will spread. If another has a reputation for honesty and going the extra mile, this too will spread. This is really the idea behind a company checking personal references as well as business references for potential employees.

It’s Like Magic.

Actually, this heading is not exactly correct. While the power of compounding may seem magical at times, it really is a very logical process. Unfortunately it is lost on many people and companies. That is sad as they miss many opportunities to help others and get the help they need.

Think about it, and I think you will agree with Einstein that compounding is the eighth wonder of the world. Are you considering this as you go about your daily life?

M. (re-post)

Resolutions, goals and codewords

That time of the year again. Everywhere I look I see articles, posts, links about New Year's resolutions. Shame that they punctually don't work and nobody remembers by February. 

Over the years, like many, I have come to realize that New Year's resolutions not only don't work, but provide us with a sense of guilt that we could happily do without. I am not suggesting we let our goals drift away, rather the contrary. Just "having" a goal isn’t enough. We need a plan and a system.

Have a look at this extract from this blog, does anything here sound familiar?

"SAVING ON POINTLESS EXPENDITURES: This is why you see people constantly trying to cut back on lattes or other pointless savings goals…and when it fails, they resolve to “try harder” next time. Codewords: “I did all the right things…and look how it turned out.”
WORKING OUT INCORRECTLY: This is also why you see people who’ve been working out for years but don’t really show any visible changes. It’s scary for them to to admit that perhaps they’ve been working out wrong for years — and that while it makes them feel “good,” they are not getting the results they want. Codewords: “I’m not the kind of person who can lose that kind of weight” or “Lift weights? I’m a girl. I don’t want to get huge!”
SENDING OUT 100+ RESUMES: We have people who send out 100 resumes, then complain about the economy. They never understand that there’s an entire game being played around them, and top performers are snatching the best jobs away before average candidates ever see them. Codewords: “The Baby Boomers and immigrants stole my jobs…I guess I just need to send out another 50 resumes and wait and see.”

So yes, we want to change, but don’t know HOW to do it. So we do what’s easy, and what the media tells us to do: Make a New Year’s resolution!" 

For years I have failed to reach many of my annual "resolutions" until I realized a few things:

- I had to be clear on the motivation behind my goals.
- I had to get a clear buy-in from myself, work on my mindset and have a plan with deadlines (this book by Carol Dweck was revealing for me).
- I had to be realistic. Who knows me well knows I am a fan of diaries and to do lists. By the end of the day/week/month/year whatever is on them needs to be marked as "done". Or else it won't be on my list.
- I have to get some decent rest here and there or I will just not function well.
- I somehow got better at managing my time (more on this topic in January).

I have also learnt to let go, so rather than a list of things I will do more, I have now a yearly list of things that I am letting go.

- Donate more. Less clutter somehow makes me sharper. Clothes, toys, anything we don't really need goes to the Red Cross or equivalent (on-going hopes still here as every birthday party, every family reunion sets me back!)
- Control. I just can't have it over many things so I have learnt to let go of what I can't change, sometimes thinking karma helps…
- Perfectionism. There was a time where especially in my house I wanted things to be done my way. Then I read once a quote from Sheryl Sandberg "Done is better than perfect" and it immediately resonated with me. As long as it is done, it does not matter whether that shirt was not washed the way I would have wanted it (I am useless at that anyway), who cares if the baby was dressed with mismatched clothes or the playroom looks like we had an earthquake. 
- Too much reading. I love to read. I used to be able to read a huge number of books. Then kids came. I still make long lists of what I want to read, save articles, pile up books. I will have to let go. Read the excellence and just scan through half of what I have saved.
- Fears. I refuse to live in terror. Yes we got broken into a few years ago, yes I am scared of terrorism and ignorance and of many other things. But I won't change my life for fear of any of that. 
- Excuses have stopped. "Sorry, I can't" will have to do.

My hopeless open resolutions? 

- Getting better at social media (whatapps, emails, FB messenger, sms, emails, work emails, ….. some days I just lose track and forget to get back to friends and family!)
- Convincing myself that I do not really need daily sugary drinks from Starbucks…
- Getting my baby to sleep through the night!

One more thought. My company organized an interesting event with a "mindset trainer",  Caroline Ferguson, might be worth checking her profile and work here. 

Caroline Ferguson, trainer to high performers who want to stop sabotaging their potential and start living fully and deliberately. She equips her clients with proven mindset tools to overcome limiting beliefs, behaviours and emotions that are blocking them from being successful and happy. Before training as a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, Caroline worked as a Corporate Communications Consultant, specialising in business transformation. This has given her a deep understanding of the challenges facing business leaders, and the effects of change on people and culture.

Have a fantastic holiday season and start of 2016!

M.

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