​They used to say that there were only two certainties in life, death & taxes.

But in reality there are more and CHANGE is one of them.

Change in ourselves, in our circumstances and in our perceptions/attitude to these changes. 

If the world is changing around us, how can we stay the same?  If we are changing, then how can the world not be affected?

If we look at our past, there will be trends that emerge, patterns of behaviour that reoccur in most situations that can "define" our past and how we will respond today to change.

So how do we "change" so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.  How do we grow so that opportunities are taken in the future and not missed.

Firstly it is vital that we embrace change, even desire it for ourselves.  I remember a speaker many years ago at a conference stating "if you are green we grow but if we are ripe we rot!"  It was about our attitude  - if we consider ourselves to be learning  then we can grow and develop but if we consider we know it all (or enough) then we will only become less relevant in our changing world.

This is as appropriate for each one of us in our individual walks and well as in our workplace or communities.

When we adopt the attitude of "Always be Growing" we are on the path to succeeding in life and releasing positive change though what we do.

Another aspect of embracing change is to challenge our own thoughts and why we think the way we do.  We are to some degree a product of our upbringing/inputs but also of our inner "identity".  Knowing who we are really and not being controlled by what others think we are is a major driver in growing as a person and growing to our maximum potential.

And challenging those inputs into our lives is another key driver.  Social media is a good example of this.  We celebrate how many "likes" we get but seldom do we challenge opinions (in a healthy way).  It seems that the PC nature of society has robbed many of us of the ability to challenge other people and their opinions.  Sadly, without the ability to express and challenge ideas  we will never know our own viewpoint unless someone tell us!

Poor leadership models or insecure leadership is also a key factor in minimising challenge and therefore minimising the growth and contribution others can make.  This is especially true in the workplace.  There is a great deal of improvement to company performance and profitability that can be achieved through a culture of change, encouragement and exploration.  Managers need to grow, staff needs to grow, our shareholders need to grow - we should also include our clients and suppliers in this "culture of change" if we really want to embrace the full benefits of change.

Personal growth + team growth = company growth

At The Winners Circle we have started our own growth journey.  Patrick and I (and others to follow) have developed some tools to assist both individuals, companies and community groups to start their growth plans.  Finding out who we are, why we think things, how to process information and how to work better in teams are just the start of the assistance we can provide to our clients.

There will be more.

​Because just like you we also need to "always be growing."

​-Kim

Is success is all about the money? Is it all about the bottom line? What about the people in the business?

Whilst profits are important, they should only be one of the factors that determines success. Remember, if you only concentrate on the bottom line, your business could be really sick and you will be none the wiser. A healthy business is a profitable business, which has a healthy, honouring and thriving culture. Business is not all about money, one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of business is people, and people can be challenging!

It’s obvious that to build sales you need to concentrate on building your customer base. You need to find out what your customers are looking for, what makes them keep coming back and what it will take to create loyal customers. Longer term, you seek to turn your customers into your brand’s advocates and look at ways to reward loyalty. Some businesses actively contract companies to survey their customers so they can keep track of customer satisfaction rates, dealing promptly with any issues that arise that may negatively affect customer relations.

Whilst this is definitely wise business practice, have you considered your own internal brand ambassadors? How many businesses spend the same or more resources on their own internal brand ambassadors - i.e. their staff? There is a raft of processes and products, which we can offer, ranging from psychometric profiling to team building etc., which you can implement to improve your internal culture and communication. Change is always messy and true change takes time. During change, you may have reduced profits, but the long term gains and benefits for you, your stakeholders and your company make this worth it. You will be amazed at the amount of customer information your frontline staff possess, and how businesses can sustain mind-boggling business growth, once they have the correct internal culture that honours and empowers staff.

I attended an interesting three-day conference recently, regarding changing the culture within a not-for profit organisation. One of the many gems I learned was that it only takes 3 things to allow people to feel accepted, namely: they need to feel like they belong; they need to feel that they are significant; and finally they need to feel secure. Implementing strategies that allow all employees to feel these 3 things daily, will go a long way to start changing a business culture.

Remember, we all have choices; your customers choose you when they buy your product; your staff choose you when they apply for employment, and then again every morning by arriving at work. You choose your clients when you design your product, pricing and service levels. You also get to choose your staff when you employ them, and again every time you pay them, every morning when you grant them access to your workplace.
Why not choose to create a better culture within your workplace. Your customers will notice it, you and your shareholders will notice it and your staff will definitely appreciate it.
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The team at The Winners Circle are here to help you define what success looks like for your business

Patrick