Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’
You And Your Values in Business was first published on The Leadership Magazine
Is it easy to answer these questions quickly?
- What are your business values?
- Do they reflect your personal views or are they strictly business?
- Do you know your value?
I constantly look at all parts of my business, virtually daily. Like many other business owners I never like standing still. But understanding the values of your business and your personal value to and from your business isn’t always straightforward. It’s not something you can touch or push or poke. It’s something you learn, develop and evolve into. And sometimes, if you are lucky, those around you will help point out the obvious.
5.00am: It’s a typical day at VIVO Cafe.
Of course I say that in the car while driving to work. I listen to AM radio in the hope that I will know a tiny bit of what’s going on in the world around me. Sometimes my work bubble extends so much over my life bubble that it can, does and will totally take over. Especially on a day like today, that is about to send me over the edge. So far all is as it should be, but not for long!
5.01am: First phone call, two staff have already missed the train, they will be one hour late. As it’s against the law to SPEED and I can’t magically appear at work, I now have the ‘drive of stress’ to contend with. The one where you develop road rage against everything because the world doesn’t get that you need to go to work faster. Right now. We have over 100 booked for breakfast starting at 7.00am and we need to unpack furniture and basically get ready for the entire day. Breathe. Even after 25 years as a business owner, or maybe especially because of these 25 years, I still get worried when calls start early. It’s never good. It always gets worse. This isn’t pessimism, or a self fulfilling prophecy or me being negative. This is life in a small business and in the cafe world when you start to run late early on, you very rarely get ahead.
There are all kinds of rage these days - Road Rage, Sport Rage, Tiger Woods Rage, Waitress Rage, Customer Rage, Passenger Rage and millions more.
But what about Business Rage? The good, bad and ugly feelings that rumble inside us on a daily basis. The feelings that we suppress or allow out. Feelings that can build or destroy our business.
The last few weeks have been a frenzy of speaking engagements that have seen me running around like beans in a grinder. I am almost always very nervous pre any event, big or small. My heart pounds like an RTA bus powered by natural gas, I feel sick and I contemplate running away. If you are a potential client who is thinking of booking me, please read on and or disregard this. All artists get stage fright I’m told :). Once I approach the stage or get near a mic, it all vanishes. And then I proceed to just rock their world. Oh, you need a huge amount of self confidence in order to stand up in front of any amount of people and convince them of your knowledge, substance and expertise. Like any business or sale, you must have total belief in your product or how will anyone else believe. If I come across nervous or unsure will you trust what I say? No, because it sounds like I don’t trust me. I have the wonderful privilege of getting a lot out of all my speaking events because I have learnt that I always seem to gain some new piece of wisdom. You learn the most from those you teach.
“Hot shoes, great feet, awesome legs, bodacious body. Feet are like business, if you work on them from the ground up you are bound to get it right.” Angela Vithoulkas
I have said this in humour many times, tongue in cheek, but at the heart its serious. To me it says that without the proper foundation from the very very bottom, the whole thing can come crashing down around you. It also says that no matter how great the top is, its nothing without a great base. In hospitality we look at it from the perspective of how important is a kitchen hand compared to a head chef? Both are equally valued as one cannot perform without the other. Some would think that a lowly kitchen hand could not be more important than a chef. From an owner’s perspective I say ‘wake up and smell the VIVO Coffee’ because my business would come to a grinding halt without my kitchen hands. They will pitch in and do any job that is asked of them, rarely complain and are vigilant in their duties. Please don’t misunderstand me here, I am not suggesting for a minute that I don’t need my chefs. I am saying that I need both. That my business needs both. That any and all businesses needs both levels of the team and all the ones in-between. Altogether we make a difference. What’s a cheese sandwich without the cheese? (please disregard this example if you are gluten intolerant, lactose sensitive or a vegan).
When you are the “boss” its not just about the buck stopping with you (everything is your responsibility), its about those moments that are your fault and how you deal with them. When your team or staff have issues or cause a problem that becomes either a cost factor or worse, loss of a customer. As a boss we are quick to judge and assess these situations and know what should be done to rectify it. We just know. Supposedly. But when we are the cause, who knows what should be done? Who dares to correct us or advise us or make us feel better? No one except our own conscience and pride. We are either torn up with guilt or consumed with denial.