Ben’s Newsletter: Anything but average!

Hi there, it’s been a slightly painful month. I was free dive training in the pool a couple of weeks ago when my right eardrum ruptured. My Doctor told me it would probably heal naturally and that I should avoid getting it wet and anything where I have to equalise… which would have been fine but the following week I was due to fly to Wellington to host Connector.

So I decided to do a road trip. Luckily for me my mate Michael Masterson was running the workshop in Wellington with me and offered to do the roadie back.

8 hours in a car, what do you talk about?

What is the Opposite?

At one point we got chatting about what is the opposite of something. One of the frameworks I always liked when I was being coached early in my business ownership journey was ‘Choices’. Choices were all about the opposite approach when in self-talk or looking at others.

The opposite of –

·?????? Judging (being judgemental) is Acknowledgment

·?????? Blame (blaming yourself or others) is Responsibility.

·?????? Fear is… Love.

?It is a useful framework to get away from reacting to things to responding to them.

What is the Opposite of Business Progress

This is where it got interesting. We got chatting about what is the opposite of business progress?

Mike’s business Intrinsika are experts at identifying the handful of intrinsic things you have that drive your business value, how to protect them, how to grow them and how to maximise the value on the way out.

The instinctive answer to what is the opposite to business progress is business failure.

But iteration, innovation and rapid failure cycles are inherent in developing the true value of your business. You have to ‘earn’ this knowledge.?

In Mike’s view the real opposite of business progress is being average. If you are average at the things that actually matter, you will not progress. His advice – don’t be average.

Don’t Be Average at What?

I tested the idea with Debbie Humphrey from D/srupt. Along side Mike I rate Debbie as one of the best business strategist for growth companies I have met (disclaimer – I use both in my businesses).

She agreed with Mike and… she pointed out that one of the jobs of a business owner is to determine what it is ok to be average at. She suggested that you can equate average with competent. For most businesses there are a number of things done in business that only need to be over the threshold of competent – then you are free to invest time, effort and other resources in the things that matter.

After all – when was the last time you asked if your financial reporting is world leading…

Are You Average?

Back in 1980, a Swedish psychologist named Ola Svenson conducted a study: in two different sessions, he asked 81 American college students and 80 Swedish graduate students to rank their driving ability among their peers. The results were striking: 88% of the Americans and 77% of the Swedes ranked themselves in the top half when it came to driving safely. When they were asked to rank their driving skill, 93% of the Americans said they were better than average, compared to 69% of the Swedish students.

So, a caveat for business owners. We need to be realistic about –

1.?????? What we need to be world leading at, and

2.?????? Whether we are really average at these things or not.?

And for the record I am definitely an above average driver – feel free to ask Mike when you see him ??

The Thoughts of a Madman… in audio

I had a great chat with Ryan Melton on his podcast a couple of weeks back – we took a good look at what is required for a business owner and a business to grow, what are the blocks and what are the deliberate choices you get to make.

If you are interested we are on –

YouTube – click here

Spotify – click here

?When Staff (Or Owners) Don’t Quite Get Someone.

You may recall I have been running the reconnecting challenge over the last three months. In essence it’s a reminder to get out and reconnect with people you have not seen for a while.

Off the back of it I have had a few interesting stories. One that struck me was a business owner that encouraged staff to get out as much as possible and have face to face catch ups. It turns out some clients haven’t been ‘seen’ for a couple of years!

The owner was telling me that he had noticed that one of his staff was struggling to engage with a couple of clients. A quiet word with the client and the feedback… the staff member was a bit of a ‘dick’. The owner’s question to me – what do I do now?

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Several of our members at Connector suggested having a chat to Nicole Coyne at Tikumu Consulting. One of the things she does is run a workshop series on Understanding Emotional Intelligence for business owners and their staff. Apparently the next course kicks off on the 10th October. Feel free to email Nicole on [email protected] if you would like to learn more.

October Connector Community Events - Invitations

If you or a friend are keen to explore Connector communities and would like to be invited as a guest please feel free to touch base with the community leaders (details and dates below in my signature) or drop me a line.

?Until next time –have fun out there!

Cheers

?Ben

Mobile: 027 4799 950

Website Link: Connector Communities

?About The Author: Ben Marris runs Connector communities and events for the owners and leaders of emerging ($1m + turnover) growth companies and the advisors and suppliers who support them. He believes that these companies are vital for the prosperity of our communities in a fast-changing world. He loves red wine and a good story. He is also dyslexic, so if there are any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors blame his spell check, he does!

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Connector North Harbour 2023 Dates: Usually the Second Tuesday of every month – Wednesday 15 February, Tuesday 14 March, Tuesday 4 April, Tuesday 23 May, Tuesday 13 June, Tuesday 18 July, Tuesday 15 August, Tuesday 12 September, Tuesday 10 October, Tuesday 14 November.

Contact Christie on [email protected]

?Connector Auckland 2023 Dates: Usually the first Tuesday of the month. Tuesday 7 February, Tuesday 7 March, Tuesday 4 April, Tuesday 2 May, Tuesday 6 June, Tuesday 4 July, Tuesday 2 August, Tuesday 5 September, Tuesday 3 October, Tuesday 7 November.

Contact Debra on [email protected]

?Connector Wellington 2023 Dates: Usually the Third Tuesday of every month. Tuesday, 21 February 2023, Tuesday, 21 March 2023, Tuesday, 18 April 2023, Tuesday, 16 May 2023, Tuesday, 20 June 2023, Tuesday, 18 July 2023, Tuesday, 15 August 2023, Tuesday, 19 September 2023, Tuesday, 17 October 2023, Tuesday, 21 November 2023.

Contact Mary on [email protected]