Prior Planning - the 7 P's

Yesterday evening I drove back from the Lake District having spent five days in Cumbria supervising four Duke of Edinburgh groups.  One group was being assessed and the other three were doing their practice.  Some had planned well for it, others not as much, and this was very apparent in how they set about doing things.  The groups that had put a little bit more planning and preparation into their expedition found the whole experience a bit easier going than those that had not.  This was not to say that they did not achieve their goals, they all did, but it did mean that it was tougher going, less enjoyable and certainly more uncomfortable.

Planning is a key element in ensuring that your goal or objective is achieved and it also make you think ahead so that if a curved balls comes your way you can probably deal with it effectively.  So make a plan, even if you need to change it.  Plans are for changing anyway, but you do need one to begin with.

Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance - the 7 P's.

Growing Your Business

This week I had a meeting with my 'management team'.  I say that loosely as my business, Sense Africa, is a one woman band (at the moment), but I do have an exceptionally strong network and some very good and understanding friends.  But the best thing is my 'management team', or as we like to call it, our SJD meetings.  This consists of Samantha Mant, myself and Deborah MacLeod, hence the SJD bit. 

I am very lucky to have these strong, capable and business savvy women helping me drive my business forward.  They are my mentors, my shoulder to lean on, someone to tell when I have great news, someone to share my business aspirations with, someone to bounce ideas of and someone to be accountable with.  But most of all, they are helping and supporting me to shape Sense Africa into the business that I want it to be.  How lucky am I?

Even if you have not got a mentor, why not use the network of people that you have to create your own business support group? I can see the results of SJD already.

Knowing Your Customer or Client

I have just recently got back from a charity trek in Vietnam where I was leading the expedition.  This was over 5 days in the north of the country around the mountain town of SaPa.  The scenery was stunning, the people were welcoming, the trekking challenging and the food sumptuous.  It was a great trip.

There were 14 of us in the group and there were a number of very strong characters which could have upset the balance of the group.  However, this was not the case.  I put this down to team members being flexible and honest, possessing a bucket load of humour and being determined.  I also put it down to understanding the make-up of your team members.  Chris Butler, from Outer Limits Explore, recently went through the Insights Discovery learning system with me which enabled me to understand my own behaviour, and that of others, and utilise that knowledge to benefit everyone.  It was an invaluable tool on the Vietnam trek, I would recommend it if you want to understand different people's behaviour styles in different circumstances - whether it be at work or play.