There’s no doubt we are in tough times and bad news is that it’s not going to get any easier any time soon. People are worried really about the future. It’s now that real leadership is needed. In difficult situations people look for hope, possibility and inspiration.

I’m not talking about a company man standing up and giving a “rally the troops” speech about how great the future is. I’m talking about real authentic leadership.

Real leaders don’t need a title or a position in an organisational chart to make a difference, they just lead. Leadership is way of being it not something you do. By that I mean that how people behave day to day, how they see the world, how they communicate is more akin to leadership than the completion of tasks.

So how do real leaders behave?

I went back to a book I read many years ago that had a profound effect on me and the way I developed as a leader. Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of highly effective people has been a permanent fixture in my book collection for years. So people describe his work easy to understand but not so easy to apply. Below is my adaptation of some which I believe translates into practical behaviours for real leaders.

Be Proactive - It’s easy to get overwhelmed with information and the negative messages about the state of the economy but the real leader knows she cannot control all that. What she knows and understands is that she has a choice about these thing effect her. She has a choice about what her response is internally and towards others and she knows that is down to her. You cannot control everything in the world but you can control your relationship with it. For example if there is talk of cutbacks and redundancy, will you sit there worrying all day about it whether it will effect you or will you understand that you have no control other than to control how you go about your daily tasks? Which is more empowering to sit there as the victim waiting for something to happen or to be proactive and exercise choice? You may start looking for another job, update CV, you could start to think of plans and ideas you can put in place – none of them have to be executed yet but be ahead of the game.

Begin with the end in mind – Most people’s decision making is moment to moment. They’re a random collection of choices that may or may not help the person achieve what they want. First establishing the end game is critical to your success. If you know where you want to be then you can make better choice day to day. You’ll be more likely to be moving towards what you want rather than away from it. Think about it in terms of identifying cost savings and cuts. If would be easy to look down your departmental budget and pick out the big numbers to slash. This might win you some ground in the short term but what if those things that were cut are crucial to the long term success of your business? What if the very things that win you some space now are the cause of your demise later? Have a clear picture of what you want to achieve.

Put first things first. Whether your running you’re own business, working in fast paced corporate environment or soloprenuer, managing your time is one of the most important disciplines you can learn. It can be easy to be swept along and before you realise it discover that time is running out. Where as beginning with the end in mind was about the mental preparation and creation, putting first things first is about the physical creation. In a world of email, Twitter, Facebook and instant response you would find yourself being busy doing things all day, but are they the right things? Are they the most urgent or important? Or are you doing them because you like to do them? Email is a great example. How many of you have outloook or whatever mail client you have open and as soon as a message comes in, you have to respond to it? I bet you’re the same person that gets annoyed if you don’t get an immediate response, right? There are of course urgent emails to reply to but I bet if you really think about it very few actually need a response in seconds. So what are bog things you should be doing instead? If you don’t have a clear end game then how can you know? I never used to make time to read but know I understand that it’s one of my core activities.

Seek fist to understand and then to be understood. One of the greatest traits of leader is to listen…really listen. A lot people think they listen and will describe themselves as good listeners but in reality they can still be much better. In words of William Stringfellow – ‘Listening is a rare happening among human beings. You cannot listen to the word another is speaking if you are preoccupied with your own appearance or impressing another, or trying to decided what you are going to say when the other person stops speaking’. Truth be told most people when listening, cannot wait for their turn to speak and get their views across. I hear managers and leaders all the time saying “I understand where you are coming from but…” If you think about it in terms of proportion we have two ears and only one mouth, so what does that tell you? There will be difficult situations for many people, conversations about redundancy and restructure, about cost cutting and putting things on hold. If you approach these conversations with intent to understand and not to agree or disagree, but understand fully the other person, only then you will be more effective at creating the space to be understood.

Sharpen the saw – If you took an inventory of all of the things you know, all the knowledge you’ve gained from courses and books how long would the list be? If then asked you exactly how much of it you consistently practice, how much shorter would your list be. The real leader knows that practice is a constant. You will continually practice your skills in order to remain sharp and effective. If Tiger Woods, Roger Federer or Lionel Messi only applied their skills during game time, they wouldn’t be half as good as they are. The investment in practice is what helps them to step up their performance in live situations. Similarly, if you only practice listening in a conflict situation are you really going to be an effective listener? If you only put first things first on occasion how can you expect you plans to work?

The full seven habits are a great simple set of principles of life and business. I’m by no means perfect but these habits have had a positive influence on my life and I attribute much of my success to the practice of them. I hope that they will have an impact on you too.

I was doing my usual sweep of the web looking for new keynote speeches when I ended up watching a video clip on TED.com of David Logan talking about ‘Tribal Leadership’

In my corporate days I’d come across various psychometric testing tools such as Myers Briggs, Belbin and such like as well as the meta-programs in NLP, which are designed to give an insight in to how people think and operate. Listening to David, his theory added a further layer of looking at human behaviour from a group level and understanding how it manifests itself in organisational culture.

The basic premise is that we seek out people like us and form tribes based on how we see the world. In fact this is how society is formed.

David’s keynote explained that there are 5 key stages of tribes and tribe formation which help can helps understand them better.

Stage 1 Where people say “life sucks” – These are people see no hope for the world, they can see point in contribution and where they are cut off from or have cut themselves off from society. Examples here are prisoners, gangs and underground culture.

Stage 2 Where people say “My life sucks” – These are people who are unfulfilled with their own lives, the see no future for themselves, in terms of their job or career prospects – their job is a means to an end and a seen a just a cog an a system over which they have little influence. Think civil service, government agencies, public sector

Stage 3 Where people say “I’m great and you’re not” – The typical blue chip corporate culture. It’s about individuals out doing other individuals, the mantra is “We/I am better than you!.” To get ahead you have to be in competition with others, you are are pit against colleagues and measure against one another. Here politics are formed, motives are general about self preservation, it’s all about “what’s in it for me?”

Stage 4 Where people say “We’re great”. It’s where people come together for a greater purpose beyond themselves. It’s doesn’t have to be a humanitarian purpose – just a common goal that brings or unites the group. They see the value in collaboration, co-operation and sharing. This is where innovation thrives, where revolution is born, where transformation happens and revolutionaries exist.

Stage 5 Life is great – Leadership at the highest level, change the world kind of stuff. This is beyond the self, beyond the us and for good greater that the collective at much higher level.

In today’s ever competitive landscape where advances in technology and globalisation have transformed the way business is done and I believe that it is stage 4 tribes that will survive and prosper in this new economy. It is the organisations that embrace the need to move to a more collaborative approach to working and understand that harnessing the power of talent across functions, disciplines and responsibilities that will be most successful for the long term.

Stage 4 is where visionary, leading, cutting edge companies and organisations operate.

David’s team concluded that it is the ‘culture’ that drives the way the tribes behave and by culture I am talking about the ‘way in which things are done around here’.

Leadership in these businesses understand that it is them who drive culture. They know that when you take a group of people and unite them under one common goal which is greater than their own individual goals, interesting things begin to happen.

I was lucky enough to have been part of an organisation that did this really well in the UK. In 1998 a quirky bank called egg took on the giants of the credit card industry and promised to ‘revolutionise the experience of financial services for it’s customers through unleashing the power of people’

Rather than represent a ‘tick in the box’ for having a mission statement that so many other companies seem to do, the difference with egg was that this became part of it’s DNA. It wasn’t just a lofty ambition…it was the core purpose. It was the reason why people came to work. It was what drove the daily decisions made. It was what people referred to when needing direction. It was what the collective stood for.

When you have people from different ‘tribes’ and with such varying models of the world it becomes even more critical that the possibility being described was engaging enough for each stage of the tribes. Egg’s leadership team not only understood that their job was to give people that possibility to live into in a manner where they could then entrust them to deliver, but also once they moved people there to keep them there.

Few will argue that what they achieved in the UK market in such a short space of time was remarkable.

The approach to leadership at egg isn’t just reserved for big business…it’s just as and I would argue even more critical for smaller business to give their people a common purpose and possibility to live into. Think about it how much impact does one person not pulling in the same direction have in your business?

I invite you to find out what tribes exist in your business.

Start to observe people, I mean really observe people. How we see the world drives our behaviour and behaviour is simply the external evidence to what is really going on inside.

Ask ‘How do you people interact?’ ‘How do they react to change?’ ‘How do people get ahead in your company?’

Listen for how people communicate. What is their language saying? Do they speak “we” or “I”? Is “can’t” a commonly used word? How do they describe their prospects and they way they feel about their work?

Speaking - a critical skill

If you’ve ever managed people or tried to get a group of people to do something in business you’ll know how frustrating it can be when you don’t quiet get the results you wanted.

So who’s fault is that? Many  would look towards their people and make the assumption that “they didn’t listen” or perhaps “they just don’t get it”.

How interesting that we look to the capacity of others to understand the message we deliver but seldom question our own ability or effectiveness in conveying the message.

As a leader in business your job is to motivate, inspire and lead your people to execute your plan. It’s fair to say then that your speaking skills are critical to this process, after all if you can’t get them to listen, how can you expect them to follow through with actions?

Whether you’re speaking to your staff or your prospective customers, it’s your ability to capture their attention and imagination with your message that  is going to define your results. So really when you look at it in the cold light of day, the responsibility sits firmly with you.

It’s not that people don’t want to listen, it’s just that your message has to find it’s way through all their other distractions. It doesn’t matter if you’re speaking to one or many, whether it is a sales or conference call, a team meeting or a sales presentation; the truth is you have short window of opportunity to captivate the listener, create the desired impact and inspire them to take action. In a world where people are bombarded with more and more information, that window of opportunity is shrinking fast.

Refining, developing and learning speaking skills is a must, otherwise you’re just wasting time in front of an audience that’s not listening. Sure, they maybe there in body but are they off on a mental trip across the globe while you’re trying to share important information?

Communication experts across the world agree that it’s the speaker that makes the difference when it comes to engaging the audience. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s personality, charm or charisma that makes that difference either. The most charismatic of leaders can have their message fall on deaf ears. No, it’s to do with your presence, integrity and ability to connect with others that is the defining factor.

We’ve all been in presentations where your eyes glaze over or you start looking at your watch wondering when the break is. Is that the kind of impact you want to have on your audience?

So here are some tips to perk up your presentations.

• Make a point and tell a story – This phrase transformed by presentations. When you are trying to get into people’s mind the last they want is a bunch of numbers, statements and boring data. You have to bring what you are saying to life, make it interesting and make them take notice. Yes the data and information is important but in order to make it real share a story or personal experience that illustrates the point.

• Keep distractions to a minimum – In the business world we have become accustomed to using powerpoint slides and flip charts, but many of the speakers I come across end up using them as a prompt or worse still read from them word for word! If you are going to use props like powerpoint be careful to ensure that they don’t become the focal point. You are the messenger not the slides!

• People will forget 90% of what you say – If you think that everyone in the audience is hanging on your every word then you are sadly mistaken. Yes you may be passionate about your topic but they’re not. Your focus instead should be on stirring up emotions. Think about the best speeches you’ve ever heard, do you remember everything or a specific message because of the way it made you feel?

• Slow Down – One of the biggest mistakes in delivering a message is speaking or moving too fast. SLOW down…take a breath and pace yourself. The speed at which you speak is probably faster than you think and what you hear inside your head is probably much faster than what they hear!

• Say it, don’t read it. – The best messages are delivered when it doesn’t feel like a speech. It’s a conversation and should come across that way. If you write a speech out do so using the words you would use normally (obviously there are exceptions!) and not elaborate phrases. You should sound natural and not robotic or over rehearsed.

So, act now. Make the decision to upgrade one of the most important skills that you can posses in business. It make sense to invest in a skill which is universal and easily transferred no matter where your career path or business will take you.

As a business owner, leader, entrepreneur, consultant or coach speaking in public is one the most critical skills you should develop in order to bring you success.

Speaking in business means speaking at meetings, in interviews, with potential clients, colleagues, and customers. In today’s hi-tech world of video casting technology and the popularity of social media it now also includes video blogging, podcasting, teleconferencing, and making corporate videos or appearing in the national media.

Simply public speaking is anytime you need to deliver message and influence an audience through the spoken word.

It’s art that when mastered will improve your career prospects and your business results. Employers consistently rank speaking and communication skill as one of the key skills they look for. In fact both undergraduate and graduate Business school alumni who attended the University of Minnesota placed oral communication at the top of a list of skills that were relevant to overall job success

Being an effective leader requires the ability to communicate and inspire. Public speaking skills are a essential part of being able to communicate effectively. When you think about it, most problems in business are down to poor communication. Increasing your ability to get your message across means you will reduce the problems you experience and save valuable time in the long run.

You will increase your capability to express your ideas, influence your colleagues to explore options, work collaboratively with greater confidence.

There is also evidence that shows that people who good at speaking in public have higher levels of confidence and self esteem. If you can engage your audience with your message and do it with impact, integrity and credibility you will have a formula which all but guarantees you success.

Like all skills you learn the abilities you develop as a speaker will spill over in to other areas and bring about benefits in other areas of your life.

In short, speaking in public is a critical skill for anyone who is serious about their business or career.

This week I was delivering a leadership workshop with a partner company to a group of senior managers working within a large blue chip organisation.

One of the questions we asked the group to contemplate was “What is the leadership mindset?” The question drew out some interesting responses. Some described it as a set of beliefs, values and attitudes to empower people, whilst others talked about leaders being born not made and that the “mindset” was either there or not.

For me the mindset for leadership is a simple shift in thinking and in priorities which moves you focus from ‘you’ to ‘them’ and therefore I side with Robin Sharma when he says “leaders can be trained” as I believe leaders are made not born.

The glory in leadership comes not from what you achieve but from what you help others to accomplish. It’s a selfless journey into empowering your people to better themselves and perform to their greatest ability. The priority of a leader is to remove the interference that gets in the way and instead create pathways which lead to peak performance.

More than that though, leadership is about authenticity. It’s about being real.

The problem is that in many businesses and organisations ‘leadership’ is something people think that you do. Leaders are ticking boxes or carrying out a set of functions rather than actually leading. Why? Because as much as companies may demand that people be themselves at work, but the ‘unwritten rules’ in organisations stop that from happening.

People become fearful of being the real them and instead create a ‘persona’ which fits the bill and keeps them ‘safe’. Which then perpetuates a culture where people fail to be transparent and adopt strategies to look after themselves first.

The further you journey into the world of leadership the more you have to be real. People can spot a fake a mile off. I am sure you know or have known with people that claim to be one way but in reality are very different, if not look to the world of celebrities for countless examples. To lead you must be the same person ‘off stage’ as you are ‘on stage’ to truly win the hearts and minds of the people. Your teams will notice even the slightest of inconsistencies between what you say and what you do. This video from www.50lessons.com is a great example of who a CEO stood for one thing in all that he said but his actions failed to match.

As leader you drive the culture. It is your actions that define how people around you will behave and respond.  If you demand people have a particular stand but you fail to hold up that same standard then you lose credibility and you know how incredibly difficult  it is to win it back.

So ask yourself, how real are you as a leader? If you were in the audience with your people watching you, what inconsistencies might you see? Do actions match your words?

Team Five Alive – Three Peaks Challenge 2009

My brother and his friends recently completed the Three Peaks Challenge which involves climbing the the three highest mountains in the UK over 24hr period. It’s no mean feat!

The boys did great, they completed the task and raised over £5000 for the Anthony Nolan Trust which I sure you will agree is a fantastic achievement.

I agreed to pick them up from Mount Snowdon after the last decent, though i didn’t bank on driving a mini bus full of very excited wives and girls friends – but that’s another story.

The luxury of today’s mod cons meant that we got regular updates and as we got close we learned that two of the lads had suffered set backs as they’re knees gave in after completing the second climb. They rest had gone on.

Here is the crazy thing, even though they had completed two of the highest peaks in the UK – over 6,500 ft – they still felt liked they’d failed.

Go figure that? Most people wouldn’t climb 1000 ft let alone 6500ft!

Isn’t it interesting that even after a such an achievement the focus goes on failure?

The group that went on to complete the third peak included my youngest brother. When he finally made it back, he talked about how he almost gave up after seeing the impact on his friends on the second mountain. So I asked him what kept him going and he told me that it was all about mental state. Even through his body was saying “no more” his mind and mental strength focusing on ‘why’ he was doing this carried him and the rest of the team through.

As one of my great teachers Steve Siebold says in his book ‘177 Mental Toughness secrets of the world class’

“When a performer begins to experience physical or emotional pain in the heat of the battle, the brain, whose primary role is self preservation, asks the question: “why must I suffer?”. The champion will answer the questions with the vision they have carefully constructed , and will continue to fight….”

I’m not sure if you’ve seen this guy before but he is nuts – He is like “Steve Irwin” for grown ups!

In this episode he was making his way through the dense growth of the Amazon when he narrowly avoids a huge falling branch which crushes the camp he had set up a few metres away. Austin explains that more people are killed by falling branches in the Amazon each year than by snake bites.

He then went onto explain that this falling of trees and branches was a natural process and that actually it was about creating life. You could stand there and be sad that a 100 year old tree had collapsed and caused enormous damaged to the surrounding area as it fell, but the gap that has been created allows the light to shine through so that the smaller saplings and vegetation can continue to grow stronger.

It got me thinking about two things that relates to life in general.

Firstly, you would think that snakes pose a bigger threat than huge branches. Sometime I guess we are that focused on the obvious dangers that we fail to keep our awareness open enough to notice what else is happening around us.

Second, in the journey of life we will suffer loss of some kind -  maybe financial loss, emotional loss or even loss of things we own. It’s part of the system. Like the trees is the Amazon which fall to create space so the light can get in, our loss creates windows for the light to reach parts of us that have lived in the shade for too long and allow them to grow.

When my mother died tragically a few years ago, it tore my world apart. The sense of loss was unbearable but over time the light started to shine through and reach the parts of me that had been hidden for so long – the true passion that I felt about life began to grow. It was then that I decided to do what I do now, had she still be alive perhaps that passion would not have been ignited.

Beyond all the glitz and glamour, hype and sensationalism, and cliched headlines, what the world will be witnessing is the achievement of a goal. Whatever President Obama and his team have achieved it could not have been done without the creation of a clearly defined, well formed goal. Without that key ingredient it wouldn’t have mattered what resources they had, how much financial strength they could amass, or how good a speaker President Obama was, they would not have won that election…at least not in the manner in which they did.

Having set your goals, what happens next?

All the greatest plans in the world are worthless unless you actually do something about them. We’ve all heard the phrase “actions speak louder than words” right? You need to take immediate action to get where you want to be. You don’t just set your Sat Nav destination and sit there do you? No, you have to fire up your engine and start driving! Far too many people write their goals down and then sit back waiting for them to happen all by themselves. Trust me, this will not work… (I know this from personal experience)

How do you take action? Simple. Do one thing differently NOW that will get you closer to your goal.

This is where so many people fail. They look at what they want to achieve, where they are now, and then do one of two things: a) they go at it hard and try to make all the changes at once or b) they look at all the things they need to do and are so overwhelmed they think “forget it, it’s too hard”.

I agree with Tony Robbins when he says “Most people over estimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in a life time” Think about it. Every year in January fitness centres see hundreds of new people keen to lose weight. These people are excited and committed but within a couple of months the 4 times a week routine turns into a 4 times a quarter routine! If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone I’ve been one of them!

Trying to do too much in one go can be just as damaging as doing nothing. So pick the one thing you can do NOW that will get you closer to your goal and do it consistently for the next 4 weeks. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, the key is that it must be different to what you are doing now.

So, how was 2008 for you? Being the kind of person you are, I’m guessing you will have had some goals or targets set out for the year. Did you achieve all you set out to?

I don’t know what your answer will be but I do know that most people I talk to don’t actually achieve what they set out to. Many end up in the vicinity but few actually land on “X” that marks the spot.

So, what’s the difference between those that hit the bull’s eye and those that land on the outside of the board you might ask? Well, there is no one definitive answer but there are some key points which contribute to the difference. One of them is the way in which successful people structure theirs goals.

Now, I’m pretty confident that you already know something about setting goals and about how much more likely you are to achieve them if you write them down versus carrying them around in your head. (over 50% more likely for the record.)

However it’s not just about writing them down. Many people who set goals fail to achieve them in the way they wanted because the directions they give themselves were not “tight” enough. Let me give you an example – “I want to make more money” – that’s a fairly generic statement. It’s kind of like getting in your car and programming your Sat Nav to take you North.

There is a specific proven structure to setting out goals which all but guarantees your success.

Here are some key questions to ask yourself when structuring your goals for 2009 which I believe will get you closer to that “X” on your map : -

Make sure you state your goal in the positive – What specifically do you want?
It never ceases to amaze me that when I ask people what they want, the first 10 things they tell me are what they don’t want!
Be sure to write what you actually want. It should be something you are moving towards as opposed to something you are moving away from. For example when working with people who are overweight they often come along with a goal of “losing weight”. This is still a negative statement. “Losing” is moving away from something as opposed to “ I want to achieve my ideal weight of 75lbs” which is a positive moving towards statement.

Where you are starting from.
In order for you to begin to plan your journey you need to know where you are starting from. Be clear about where you are now. For example continuing on from the weight example above “I am 15 stone and 7 pounds with a body fat ratio of 27%. My waist is 36 inches and and I have a 17 inch collar. I can jog up to 5 minutes without stopping and have never lifted any weights. I skip breakfast everyday and drink 5 cups of coffee with 4 sugars in each.”

What will it be like when you achieve this?
In as much detail as possible begin to create a picture of it will be like when you achieve your goal. What will you see around you? What will the colours be like? Who else is in the picture?
What about the sounds? What will you be saying to yourself? What will others say about you? What else can you hear? Is there any music?
How will you feel having achieved you goal? Describe the sensations as much as you can. Where in your body will they be? Are the hot or cold? Are they still or moving? What’s the intensity like?

What’s your evidence for success?
Just as you look for signs that you’ve reached your destination, you need to ask yourself how you will know when you have achieved your goal.
What will be present? What will be missing? For example “ I’ll know I have achieved my goal when I am able to run for 10 miles without stopping and can fit comfortably into my favorite pair of Levis jeans”

Is this what you really want?
Ask yourself is this what YOU really want? Is this goal about you or about what you think others want you to do? If you are not fully congruent with it the chances are you will nit keep up the action required. Think about what achieving this goal will enable you to do or what it will get for you?

Is this goal only for you?
It’s important that the goal is self maintained and is for you only. Often people set goals that involve other people changing what they do. For example “I’ll start my training plan once my boss stops asking me to work late.”

When you rely on someone or something else to change in order for you to achieve your goal you are effectively giving up your responsibility and personal power. What happens if they never do what you need them to do? What ownership will you take?

What’s the context for this goal?
It’s important to remember that achieving a goal in one context doesn’t automatically make it appropriate in another. You should be clear about where and when you want to achieve this goal. For example if you had a goal of “Being more loving and affectionate with your partner” it would be inappropriate for this to be achieved in a work environment.

What resources do you need to achieve this?
In order for you to achieve your goal what resources do you already have that you can use?  We often forget what we already have, so it’s important to search deep and look at what resources are already present in your life that will enable you to start your journey. For example continuing on from the weight loss scenario, you may state that “you have some training clothes, some running shoes, a skipping rope and park nearby to run in.”

Have you ever done this before? Again, people often forget what they have done in their past. If you look back at your past you’ll be amazed at what you have already done in your life. For example, you may look back as far a school and gym/P.E. classes in terms of looking at when you may have exercised before.

Do you know anyone else who as done this? We live in a highly networked world now, so the chances are that you will know someone who knows someone that may have done what you are looking to do. Tapping into that resource can help you understand what other resources you may need.

Is this ecological?
The process of setting up goals and targets can be very self focused. It’s important to check in with yourself as to how you achieving this goal will affect the people around you including loved ones, and how the environment is impacted. To help you uncover some of the impacts asks yourself:

For what purpose you want this?
What would you gain or lose by having this goal?
What will happen if you get it?
What won’t happen if you get it?
What will happen if you don’t get it?
What won’t happen if you don’t get it?

By following these steps and asking yourself there questions I’m confident that you can constructed a well formed goal and have a great chance of achieving what you want.

So get started, have some fun and craft out your successes for 2009!

The latest example of this is the claim that Woolworth’s demise is down to the credit crunch. Far from it.

The Woolworths story is yet another example of what happens when you fail to respond to your operating enviroment and make changes. Whilst organisations such as Kodak adapt to the changes companies like Woolworths and MFI continue to do what they always done. OK, so they may have revamped their stores and decor but beyond that what have they done to change the way in which they operate?

Kodak saw the changes in the photography market. They saw the rise of digital photography and instead of continuing to produce negatives they began to produce paper, printers, software and other accessories which would embrace the changes and keep customer close.

Woolworths on the other hand did not change the way the operated. They have sold they same stuff in the same way for last decade. Whilst the world has gone digital, they have stayed analogue.

This is not limited to business, we as humans are also guilty of the same unawareness that could result in our demise so to speak. When was the last time you looked at what you do and the results you get with a view to changing the way you do things?

Are you a Woolworths or a Kodak?