2018 HAS NEARLY GONE, WHAT IS NEXT!!!!

 A happy New Year to all my friends and Students


Well, the Newyear is rushing at us with the ferocity of a steam train, 2019 is going to be a very interesting year for many of us in the UK, the good thing for many of us that our own personal adventure the chapter has not been written, you are in control, as Viktor Frankl said in very dark times, "we can choose" never let anyone take away your ability to choose. Last year was not great for me, and for some of my friends, a similar story can be said for many of those on my network, but I choose to do my best to write my next chapter, better, with more passion, with more energy, with more thoughtfulness. I hope you choose to do something similar, I wrote a post early in the year regarding the mirror and whom we see in the reflection, well you can choose for the next year.

 I hope all my network has a positive, fun-filled and healthy Newyear.

Gordon

Laughter will help your companies bottom line

Laughter positively affects all aspects of being. Studies show that it is a legitimate and powerful form of preventive medicine, and a complementary option to other established therapeutic strategies for physiological, mental, and emotional health, and more. Physiological benefits: laughter is a therapeutic ally in healing and a valuable form of preventive and complementary medicine. It provides important natural defences against illness. 

Mental benefits: laughter diffuses bad stress, enhances problem-solving skills, and creates a new perspective. 
Emotional benefits: laughter elevates moods, counteracts depression symptoms. Social benefits: laughter fosters better communication, and improves cooperation and empathy between people. It is a significant lubricant of human communication and relationships. 
Spiritual well-being: choosing to laugh and be positive teaches us to choose to live and be at peace with others, with our self and with our environment in our current situation. It helps us build resilience to stress and find meaning in life. 

The essence is summarized in the following question: “What can I do now to improve my life/work/situation/company with a positive attitude?”



 

homelessness

This is not a pure business related post, but it could be, but it is a personal post about a subject that I am passionate and engaged with:-
HOMELESSNESS is 24/7 
449 deaths in the U.K. from Oct17 to Oct18 
More than one person per day dies in the U.K. directly caused by being homeless. 
The true toll is likely to be higher 
Causes of death included assault, drug overdoses, illness and suicide. One man showed signs of prolonged starvation.
Their ages ranged from 18 to 94 years old, with an average of 49 for men and 53 for women. 



Here is the thing we all can help, corporately and individually, I have some great ideas but lack the resource, many folks have the resource but lack the ideas. It does not take much to change this situation in the U.K. and the ROTW, so I ask that you look at what you can do, many of my connections already will help, but a concerted effort would change things permanently for the homeless. There plenty of local points of contact that can help you to engage, how about teambuilding by helping run a soup kitchen? emergency accommodation for "death freeze nights" I hope you can help and get engaged, and that's it, no cheesy pictures or pleas.

How committed are you to your success ?

The Chicken and the Pig: 


The business fable of The Chicken and the Pig is about commitment to a project or cause, as business leaders starting or growing a company a lot of our success comes from commitment, it does not mean you will succeed, but your level of commitment is a force multiplier when trying to achieve, motivate and empower your team.  I was a senior production manager for a photonics startup, I remember working with the engineering manager at 3 am on an E-Beam Evaporator in the darkness with a torch, we needed it running in a few hours, on another occasion we had moved the manufacturing line to a new cleanroom, and one process was not working again, we had all the senior staff and engineering working on the system until early morning birdsong. These actions became legends in the company and shaped the culture ongoing, and the engineering sub-culture took those actions as the norm.  The company was successful, and we made sure all were well compensated in hard cash and other rewards, it was a good place to work. This company defined Work Hard -Play Hard, had its ups and downs but it never lost the passion and energy.  Choose where you stand and build your business, don't expect your level of commitment, but you will be surprised by the core staffs response.


 

Lies, more lies and down right lying:-

Lies, more lies and downright lying:- 


 The phone rings you are up against a deadline, you tell the receptionist to tell the caller you are out the office, you lied, ok no problem it was a small "white" lie, we all tell them. I ask you but where does it stop, have you ever been caught out, I am sure you have some time, that has damaged the trust you had with that person. Actually, you made two lies, one you perpetrated yourself and one you asked the receptionist to make. It is effortless to start on the road of half-truths and lies, you have already convinced yourself that it was okay to lie, you have rationalized the first lie, the next is easier. Once you rationalize that first lie, It makes it more likely that you will say, “I’m sure I sent that email,” when you know you did not send that email. If you say it often enough, you will come to remember and believe you sent that email. Is it any wonder that workplaces can become filled with gossipy, cynical, judgmental people exaggerating their own contributions and minimizing those of others? But it is only a small white lie. Don't lie and don't tolerate it in your organization or from others. 

The Monk and the Entrepreneur:

The Monk and the Entrepreneur: 


I read a book a long while ago the "Monk and the Riddle" by Randy Komisar a must read by any business leader, two of many salient points are,  "your startup is not your pension plan" and "the business you start can you do it for the rest of your life" both looking at the bigger picture of why you start a business up. I have used the same questions during due diligence for investment companies, interesting replies have been offered. I have found a few questions to ask yourself or expand and ask your management team, what is it you really want for the company and for yourself.    

 1. What would you like?     
 2. What will having that outcome do for you?     
 3. How will you know when you have it?     
 4. Where, when, and with whom do you want it?     
 5. What of value might you risk or lose?     
 6. What are the next steps? 


 Do the answers align with what the path you are on at present, does the management team align? 


 

For a friend-help when needed

 Alcohol Recover Services Scotland



 If you, a family member or friend is struggling with alcohol addiction and you are looking for a tried and tested home based programme for recovery, then maybe it is time for us to talk. Our six month programme that is privately funded by the client, is perfect for those who are ready to make the lifestyle change away from alcohol addiction. Please note our programme requires a Designated Person (normally a friend or family member) to support the client, who is either a non drinker or whose alcohol intake is very low. We will also require you to undertake a medical assessment by our Doctor in Edinburgh. So, please feel free to get in touch by email, phone or private message and we would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Saving lives, supporting families and changing perceptions on addiction.




Scotland is known the world over for its many fine Whisky distilleries and a culture of social drinking.  For 9 out 10 of us, drinking is an enjoyable pastime associated with celebrations, good company and family occasions.
However, this is not the case for everyone. For some of us enjoying a glass of wine with a meal or a few pints at the pub with friends escalates until alcohol starts to impact the most important aspects of our lives – family, friends, home and work.
Because problem drinking affects so many aspects of life there are various modes of treatment available everything from self-help, group counselling to residential rehabilitation.
All of these methods have their merits but one size does not fit all.
Alcohol Recovery Scotland (ARS) is a not for profit community interest company offering a confidential service programme backed up by people in recovery from alcohol and drug use, experience in rehab management, qualified addiction staff and one of Scotland’s leading addiction medical specialists.




 http://www.alcoholrecoveryscotland.co.uk/


 Alcohol Recovery Services Scotland

Fake sunglasses can damage your soul

Researchers at Duke, North Carolina, and Harvard universities have all examined the impact of “fake adornment” on our ethics. In one study a group of women was given expensive Chloé sunglasses to wear, but half of them were told the glasses were cheap knockoffs. Even though they were assigned at random, the knockoff group was more than twice as likely to both cheat and steal in a subsequent study than women who believed they were wearing the real deal. In another study, people who thought they were wearing fake sunglasses were more cynical in their attitudes toward other people. We fake it in life to bolster our ego. But the result is, we feel like phonies and become more deceptive and cynical with others —so exquisitely sensitive is the need of the soul to be whole. 

 Don’t fake it 

 

Raindrops make Oceans:-

Raindrops and Oceans:- 


The world will be creating 163 zettabytes of data a year by 2025 I ran a Taguchi design of experiment setting up a modulator wafer fabrication line in my early life, the data produced was huge and the analysis, well glad it was not me running it is all I can say, took time, but the output of that DoE allowed us to fix the problems we had. But it gave us another set of challenges the data that we need to collect to maintain production process was huge, and we needed to develop a tool to display the data in a format that we could analyse in real time and make changes to the production line to keep it running well. Data is not cheap: there are many costs involved in obtaining the data and then making use of it as leaders we need to understand that each set of data has cost something so it needs to be made available to drive the business Data can be messy: Data needs to be collected in a structured manner to allow fast analysis, the biggest problem for big data is the amount of unstructured data Bad data costs:- Poor data can cost businesses 20%–35% of their operating revenue, you need to get it right Decide what data you need and when and structure the delivery method to suit your learning style, and use it wisely.

The Gardner and the rose:

The Gardner and the rose:





 Growing beautiful aromatic roses takes time and effort to produce, one of the things you don't do is shout at them, you can prune, feed, water that will help. As a leader look at your style of leadership how do you manage and grow your business, I worked for a disk drive company running the manufacturing line, the CEO was the loud shout type of Gardner. I left, so did many others, the last I heard the site is now a call centre, and the CEO, don't know where he is. Make sure you have an environment that encourages growth, yes prune where needed, but that should be a last resort, you are just losing resource you have invested in, do your employees head for there offices and close the door when you walk the factory or do they treat you with respect and enthusiasm as they recognise your effort to allow them to grow both personally and professionally or not ? have a great weekend, no back to looking for my next role. 


 












#leadership #business #manufacturing #investments #personalization #ceos #culturechange #culturedevelopment

Culture, Passion and Coffee:-

 Culture, Passion and Coffee:-

When I was living in the US, I was "addicted" too good coffee and comfortable seat, a coffee house. Fundraising in the valley was hard work, meeting after meeting and sorting pitches and decks to adjust, but I always looked forward to a black coffee and comfortable seat in the coffee house, just absorbing the atmosphere. I had a few discussions about the relaxed atmosphere and how things just seemed to get done, it makes me think as leaders, what makes you go to work, try the "5 whys" and I hope the money is below the third why and ask yourself do you have a passion for what you do ? and what flavour of culture do you set for the company. The big key to a profitable and growing business is the culture and the passion that the employees have, not the plastic smile and platitudes, as a leader do you provide a culture that allows the employees to thrive, grow and perform and is it a comfortable culture for all, not too comfortable, do the staff want to come to work not just for the money, I suggest that you read   Yvon Chouinard's book "Let My People Go Surfing"  and drink some coffee, we all like the salary but there is more to it than that  

The map, compass and altimeter

The map, compass and altimeter 

As a leader, you need to know where you are going, how you are doing, and have you climbed as high as you want to. The adventure is the same as wilderness hiking, and so are the tools. The Map: Which route are you taking, or are you going to be like the cartographer and draw your own map and map it. There some leaders who follow a well-trodden route or others who make there own, you decide. The Compass: What compass will you steer with, there are some who have thrown there "moral" compass away and become lost. The compass you decide on now will direct you through the storms and keep you safe, you decide on the morals of the compass. The altimeter: The altimeter tells you what height you attain, in the Alps and other high places, without the altimeter you can become lost, struggling for air, and on occasion dead. Know the height you wish to climb to on the corporate ladder, understand your capabilities, and don't push too far ahead, and end up out of breath and can't enjoy the view and the rest of your adventure. As the leader, you need to know where you are going before you can take others with you. 





Regards G

The Mirror

The Mirror:

 Tomorrow before we hit the shower and before we go to the gym, or even drink the first cup of coffee, take a look in the mirror. 

Don't look at the marks of time 

Don't look at the imperfections of life 

Look at the eyes of your heart and 

-ask am I happy with what I see 

-ask am I happy with where I find my self  in my adventure 

-ask am I happy with who I am 

When you are finished write the to-do list with dates and actions and move forward or don't and stay where you are- Moss does not grow on a rolling stone, a rudder cannot steer a stationary yacht.   Have an awesome week, enjoy your adventure,  earn your keep and remember the to-do list

Regards G 

www.linkedin.com/in/gordonwhyte/