Surviving on 3 hrs sleep....zzzzz

I have just got back from an overnight expedition on Dartmoor.  I am managing a group of apprentices who are participating in Level 3 ILM - Institute of Leadership and Management.  Anyway, part of the course which has been specifically created for these particular apprentices is a 24hr experience on Dartmoor.  This involves a task of trekking to certain locations all over the moor to pick up "battery cells" to create a large energy saving device to cut consumer spending and to keep them all in a job.  It is all in the way it is presented you know!  The teams got given their brief on Tuesday evening and by yesterday lunch time they were out on the moor after 'Jenny's Crash Course in Navigation'.  None of them got lost so I consider that a bonus.

A fair few of the guys had never experienced anything quite like it; carrying packs, radio comms from one meeting point to the next, walking across the Dartmoor landscape, camping, night navigation for 4 hours and mild sleep deprivation - most having had only 4 hrs sleep.  This is my eleventh time and I am still not used to it.  Some of the team members had to man an ops room throughout the night, so they had even less sleep to operate on.  And to top it all the moor was rather eerie last night, as the mist settled and the moon's halo tried to throw some light on the moor.

The most rewarding thing to see was these teams of people, who had never met before, gel to achieve a common goal. They got to know their own strengths and weaknesses, they gave constructive feedback and they developed their own individual style in leadership.  It was through these 'Action Learning Sets' that the apprentices could push their boundaries but in a safe and secure environment. Tomorrow they are in a sinking ship, and that is another adventure.

And of course they saved the world by creating an energy saving device!

SMART Objectives

Tomorrow I am driving to Plymouth to start teaching an ILM course on leadership for five weeks back to back.  It will involve working on HMS Raleigh, doing an overnight expedition on Dartmoor (with a spot of sleep deprivation thrown in) and going into a sinking ship simulation tank.  All in the nature of teaching leadership.

One of the main things that as facilitator I have to do is to hammer home the importance of setting SMART objectives; being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound.  As I was reading about it I realised that I often set goals for myself but hardly ever applied SMART objectives. Life would be so much easier if I had done so - I may have not tried to count parrots in the Caribbean.... without a pair of binoculars.

My advice is that SMART goal setting does work, so apply them, and I will endeavour to do so too.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Business.

Over the years I have come to realise that in order to run a business you need to look after number one, yourself.  And there is no way you can run your own business effectively and efficiently if you are tired, feeling out of sorts or out of kilter.  And this is where having someone to help balance your health and well being is essential.

Last week I went to visit Emma Treharne of Nuveya, I visit her on a regular basis and she has worked miracles.  Last year I had an emergency operation on my neck, not a pleasant experience and something that came out of the blue.  I had to stop my active lifestyle and work for six weeks and there was time for reflection - actually too much time, but it made me put things into perspective.  And I needed a helping hand to set things on the right course and this was where Emma came in.  Not only did she help with the recovery process from my operation but she has also helped me with getting that work/life balance into my life.

So last week, as I was lying down and Emma was doing some sort of 'voodoo' stuff on me, I thought how lucky I am to have found her.  I openly admit that at times I have not got a clue as to what she is doing but it works, trust me.  You may understand the whole process, I am just happy to have a bit of 'me' time, knowing that I feel better as a whole and that I am in safe hands.

We all need to find an 'Emma' to give us that boost and to ensure that our businesses can grow in the right way.