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Mother Nature’s Son…

I had a very relaxing Easter. From my twitter feed, you’d have noticed, I spent most of the time eating, drinking… and more eating.

I also, managed to watch some TV. And on TV, there were some re-runs…. of some old sitcoms, like Keeping up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine and Only Fools and Horses.

For those outside of the UK… and wondering, Bal… what are you talking about, the latter of these sitcoms was… and is, a classic! (Mind you, all of them are – but the latter being more popular)

It was based around 2 brothers… Del and Rodney, who’s only goal in life was to become rich. Their famous saying… “this time next year, we’ll be millionaires’.

They tried their hand to everything… and I mean everything. Every opportunity they were given, they took it and tried it… to make some money.

So, over Easter… the episode called, ‘Mother Nature’s Son’ was on.

For those who remember Only Fools and Horses… it’s the time when they hit big with ‘Peckham Springs’.

Yep – you’ll indeed be laughing… with the memories of that episode.

For those unsure, I’ll run through the story line – then I thoroughly recommend you find the episode online (YouTube, Vimeo, etc…) and watch it.

In this episode, Del Boy becomes a land owner. I say land owner, he… owns an allotment. Now, Del Boy… who’s always looking for an ‘opportunity’ has an idea.

One of Rodney’s friends, has a shop – that sells all naturally sourced products. And is very well connected. Del Boy makes friends with him, and invites him to the allotment, to give advice on what he can do with it.

Rodney’s friend does indeed come down to the allotment, and has a look around – but also notices a fresh spring… which Del, let’s him know.. has been there for ages and is called Peckham Springs.

Uncle Albert provides a sample of it to Rodney’s friend – for analysis.

Cut the long story short – the ‘spring’ was made by Del Boy. It’s not been there for years, but was an idea that Del had, when he saw people paying a lot of money for water in a bottle, he thought if he could have it endorsed by Rodney’s friend, there’ll be money to be made!

As Uncle Albert… (who didn’t ‘really’ take a sample, just poured some water into a sample kit for Rodney’s friend to test) was part of the plan – it all went quite smoothly.

Before you knew it, it’d been endorsed, orders had come in… and Del Boy was filling bottles of water… with water!

The episode was absolutely brilliant!

As my nephew and I watched it… I mentioned to him, there’s a few lessons that can be had from this episode for young entrepreneurs and business minded folk today…

1. Look for Opportunities – Del Boy, was always looking for opportunities. The allotment in this episode, was an opportunity – not to grow vegetables and have organic foods – but to see what he could do, with what he has, to make money.

2. Understand Trends – What’s the latest? What are people looking into purchasing? What can make you money? Understand the latest trends, and be quick to react and make it work for you.

3. Look at your network – It was Rodney’s friend who was able to help, I say help…, in the loosest meaning. Del knew Rodney’s friend could help him test, certify and allow the opportunity to sell water in a bottle.

Nephew, I hope you take these learnings onboard and keep watching Only Fools and Horses…

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Bal’s Friday Thought…

Integrity…

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A Leader Leads by Example…

Last week I was in lovely Stockholm. At a Leadership Meeting.

At the meeting, we had our Chief Executive share a short presentation – well, in fact, he didn’t have any slides… he just spoke.

There were a few things he said, that really resonated with me, and some phrases he shared that I wrote down.

You could be thinking – Well Bal… Leaders are meant to say things and share things that should resonate and folk write down. That’s why they are leaders.

True. But I’ve seen leaders previously… to whom, i’d listen to. But wouldn’t have the urge to write anything down.

This then got me thinking. In general. About Leaders…. Leadership behaviours, Leadership traits, etc… How should a Leader be?

There’s lots of traits a leader should have… Let’s take Mr Steve Jobs. One of the most well known leaders of recent times… what were the components of his leadership?

That last one… Effective Communication! – That’s the key one in my opinion. One of the most important ones.

I appreciate leaders have a lot going on. Emails, calls, meetings, presentations, etc… then there’s the day job! But what is important is having the ability to communicate.

But it’s not just communicate, but effectively communicate.

For example, I’ve heard one of our leaders previously say….  “that people are important in an organisation“. Yes – agreed, they’re important. He then went on to say, “how we have to value them and treat them fairly. ” Agree. We should. goes without saying, right?… he then shared, “sometimes, you have to make decisions which impact people” – that is true, maybe moving people around the organisation, changing roles, reduced hours, etc… change can happen. “and it’s when looking and making these decisions, we have to ensure, people are treated fairly“.

It’s not always about telling a story, but being clear and concise on the message. Allowing the audience to take away the key take away’s without you having to say, here’s the key take away’s!

And a good leader does this by example.

If he’s treating people fairly, the people below him will treat their people fairly, and so on… If the leaders are doing what they are saying, then the element of trust can build.

You probably know how I like to link sports to business.

In sports, and i’ll focus on football… you have some great leaders. Either on or off the pitch.

On the pitch, they can be visible. With their behaviours. Their attitude. Their style. But most importantly, with their communication.

Don’t forget, communication can be both, verbal and non-verbal.

Actions speak louder than words.

So if you are a leader, or aspiring to be a leader… firstly, take note of the above components – embed them into your day to day activities and long term goals… (you might be wondering, Bal… how do I learn how to communicate… well… there’s courses… and these days, you could probably do what I do, and jump onto YouTube and watch some of Steve Jobs presentations… or watch a video of people sharing top tips on how to communicate) – but remember, it’s also about non-verbal as well. Secondly… watch the video below of Carlos Puyol. His leadership behaviours are a great example to follow…

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Why everyone needs a Mentor…

If you’ve read a little about me, you’ll know, I started my career at Kodak.

That’s right, Eastman Kodak, the giants of Photography…

Well, when I joined Kodak, I joined on the graduate scheme. I had a mentor, and at the time, she was ok. She gave me advice but I was fairly strong minded back then, that I listened but was insistent on doing what I had in my mind and wanted to do.

It was only when I joined a small team on the Harrow, UK site.. who were doing some lean activities. And it was within this team, I met my ‘real’ mentor.

Mark Chamberlain. He’d come from Toyota. Knew vast amounts about Lean. But the key thing was, he never taught me. He always took me with him to Gemba and various site walks. Showed me, asked me questions, but never told me the answers. I had to figure them out myself.

Yes he guided me, and taught me some of the lean principles… but it was the simple things that I learnt from him.

For example… we had a cupboard for our overalls. All the overalls were white. But they had our names on the inside. So… when you’d open the cupboard, you’d spend a minute or so, looking for your overall amongst all the others.

One day, I opened the cupboard, and there was a bright red sticker on one of the hangers. It was Mark’s. I thought, why’s he done that. Didn’t ask… just spent some time looking for my coat, found it and left.

Later that day, I was sat at my desk, and saw Mark go to the cupboard. he opened it, and immediately, got his coat and walked away.

It was at that moment, the penny dropped.

Visual controls. He opened the cupboard. Saw a red sticker. Immediately knew where his coat was, got it and went. No time wasted.

Genius.

I want to learn from this guy.

And so I did. During my time at Kodak, I kept on learning.

There were various instances, where we’d walk into a room which had boxes and some scales, and he’d ask me what I saw… and i’d tell him. He wouldn’t say anything. Which at times frustrated me. Then a few weeks later, we’d walk into that same room, and this time… I said, I see inventory… I see… and he paused me. Smiled. And we both walked away.

I’ve kept in touch with Mark. Often reach out for advice, not as often as i’d like… but I know he’s there.

And that’s my story about my mentor.

So, why do you need one?

Well… someone to guide you. Someone to show you. Someone to not give you the answers… but someone to ensure you will achieve the best you can.

Where do you find a mentor? Well… start by looking within your company, your organisation or network.

If there’s someone you look up to… ask them. You could be in the music industry, and look up to some musicians… ask them. What’s the worse that could happen? – they say no… then you either keep asking… or find someone else you look up to. Either way, if you can find someone to show you…. you’ll learn so much… and that’s only a good thing in your journey.

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Is this the Start of the End of the High Street?

We’ve seen Toys’R’Us announce they’re closing stores.

We’ve seen it with Maplins… they’re also closing shop.

I’ll be honest – I’m surprised Maplins kept on going so long with their physical stores. Most of the ‘tech’ items you can buy in there… you can probably buy at a lower cost, online.

I remember, a few months ago – I went in there. Can’t remember what it was that I wanted, but the staff were really helpful, and they said – we’ve not got it in store, but it’s available online.

I left, went to my computer – had a look – and he was right, there it was online. But then, I thought, how much is it with Amazon (other online retailers are available). And you probably guessed it – yes, it was a little cheaper with Amazon, and being a Prime customer, I also had the option of free next day delivery.

Yesterday, in the news – it was announced that shares in Carpet Right and Mothercare fell – concerns that they’ll follow the same path as those mentioned above.

Mothercare is in the midst of a store closure programme. Their shares fell 12%. 140 down to 80 stores they have proposed… now that’s a lot of store closures.

Then there’s Carpet Right. They have 409 stores across the UK – and have been struggling and under-performing.

So the question is… Is this the Start to the End of the High Street?

Well… it’s all about change. As Darwin said, it’s not the strongest that survive.. but those who are most adaptable to change. Now admittedly, he was talking about species… but you can apply the same thinking to businesses.

Have any of the above evolved over time? Have they introduced or used, new technology to help their customers?

I feel, there’ll always be a need for a physical presence of a store – depending on what they’re selling – and a great example of this is Amazon and their new physical store they are trialing out.

It’s a shame to see these great big stores close. But if you can buy it easier, cheaper and with less hassle… elsewhere (be it online or in other stores) then why not?

All businesses should be thinking – what do I need to do, to ‘future-proof’ myself?

What technology can we use to make the life of our customers easier? – Look at Ikea and how they’ve evolved… now using Augmented Reality… or should I say, are offering within an app, Augmented Reality, so you can see what furniture looks like, in your home…

What is the overall process our customers have to go through – that we can understand better, and help them to make their decisions quicker and ensure we offer everything to them…. because it’s all about the customer.

High street shops & companies must adapt.

Otherwise – this is the start, of the end… of the High Street.

 

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Bal’s Friday Thought…

Emotions and Intelligence

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From Bedroom to £2m turnover…

You’ll see quotes and hear about how people made a simple yoghurt into a million dollar business… or how someone made a fortune from selling nuts in a box. Sounds easy, right?

Well, it’s not.

You need a) passion and b) some serious commitment to make it work.

My good friend, Gurdeep…. decided one day, he’d had enough working for someone else, so him and his brother… set up shop from their bedroom!

That’s right – they wanted to have their own business.

Now, the great bit is, several years later… they’re on course to turnover £2m. Fantastic news. Indeed… but it hasn’t been plain sailing.

There’s been some up’s and downs on their journey, more downs than up’s at times… coming to a point of quitting and ‘getting a normal day job’.

But this is where my second point, about having some serious commitment – comes into play. You will have all sorts thrown at you, but you need to keep going.

Now, as 2 Red – the name of his company – continues to grow, he’s branching out, looking at other opportunities and most importantly… meets up with me, for a Nando’s to discuss, what else he could do. And you know what, i’m happy to share thoughts, ideas and what I think could help his business grow over some peri peri chicken.

What advice would he give to people thinking of setting their own business?

Here’s his top 3 tips…

1. Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve

2. Thoroughly research and understand the market you are going into

3. Stay focussed on your goals and don’t worry about competitors.

Some good tips there. And I totally agree with them. Now to see the main man in action – well, not in action literally, but to watch a little video of them (it was filmed by someone else – so it centres on staffing and skills, but the key messages are there… how they started, how well they’re doing now… and most importantly, if you need a boiler, who you can contact).

Link is below to the 2 Red Linkedin Page, where the video is shared…

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6365300208737222656

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Why should I read your blog, Bal?

Just before Christmas, I shared a blog post, within which there were a few items/suggestions, that you could buy as Christmas presents for loved ones.

These were centred around technology items, gadgets… for the home.

Now, whilst I don’t often do this (saying that, I did it again for Valentines!) – I will only share the best, and what I’ve actually experienced and/or tested with you. I wouldn’t be sharing any old thing, or something I feel does not hold value.

That is one reason why you should read my blog. For what I share, will have some value. And if you can read in-between the lines, there’s more value for you, than what you may realise.

Let’s take one of the items that I mentioned, it was Ring.

What is Ring? – well, to remind you… it’s a door bell, with a camera… which can communicate to your phone or tablet device, and you can see who’s outside. Great in so many ways…. for the older folk, the lazy folk, for those who are not at home, etc…

I also mentioned, how a number of these devices are all connectable making your home, a smart home. They can connect with the Amazon Echo, for example.

And this morning… what did I hear…

That’s right. Amazon… paid $1billion for Ring.

Now, 2 things here…1) Imagine you’d never heard of Ring, read my blog and thought – this looks good, might buy some shares in it…. 2) All these connected devices, surely they’ll come under one company one day… I should look into investing in them.

Either way, you’d be very happy this morning.

Now, I want to make it very clear – i’m not in a position to advice you.. in what to invest and what will provide you with great returns.

The position I am in, is for you to read my blog, have conversations with me… and then assess for yourself, what may work and what may not.

I too, have invested my money into various companies, businesses and start-ups. Moreso, to help them grow… and for them to help my pension pot to grow. Let’s be honest… who wants to be working when they’re well into their 50’s and 60’s… mind you, there’s even possibilities for many folk to be clever with their money and retire earlier! (On which point, I know some folk who have just done that).

So, you’re probably wondering… when will I be sharing my next ‘top things to buy for a particular occasion….’ well, I’ve nothing scheduled right now. But what I might do, is share individuals whom I’ve met, working with, listened to… who’ll be successful. Becuase at the end of the day, it’s the people that make the businesses work.

Oh… on the conversation of investment – there’s various places you can look and research, where you can invest your money… anything from Kickstarter (the potato salad was my favourite) to various websites & organisations. I would however, encourage you… to do your research. And continue to read my blog.

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Stack ‘em high… sell ‘em low…

Mass manufacturing. Build, build, build…. sell, sell, sell… introduced by Henry Ford. The move was from Craft Manufacturing… where cars, were individually built for the customer.

Highly unlikely would it be that there were two cars that were the same.

Henry, saw this, thought… damn! – this is expensive, what if we made 100 doors, the cost would drastically reduce… combine that with the production line and hey presto, you had mass manufacturing.

Today, we’ve moved a little back into craft – were many folk, do like individualisation and are willing to pay for it.

Manufacturers are also using techniques to manufacture low batches and more variety.

But then, there’s industries, whom are looking at stacking them high… and selling them low. Take the airline industry. Norwegian Air are squeezing folks onto their plane…. and offering them a no-frills, low-costs ticket, to a number of destinations.

Now, why is this working?

1. You want to get from A to B… without paying too much. There’s many folks who’d happy, go backpacking, a holiday with their friends, and when cost comes into the equation – having the option to spend more on beers and sightseeing, and minimum amount on getting there – well, the maths is quite easy.

2. No frills is fine – It’s like having the basics and then you bolt on top, what you want. Like a car, you get the basic, and pay for extras. Maybe a friend wants that reversing camera but you want a heads-up display.

3. Close by…. the airports that Norwegian are less expensice then well known and the ones used by major airlines – hence they can keep the price down, but the good thing is, they’re close by. In this example, Gatwick. Not a million miles from Heathrow. Once again, depends on the final destination – there’s plenty of trains and shuttles from Gatwick to London. Central.

So it looks like there’s a mix between mass and craft…. in the sense, there’ll be lots and lots of people on the plane… but then you’re all individually adding on the extra’s you want. Which works. That’s why many of the low cost airlines are seeing it work. Now… for long haul… would it work?

Why not?… new technology, new planes… allows more options.

Just like the introduction of the production line by Henry, which had the cars going down one line faster than ever before… means, airlines can use aircraft that holds more people… travel longer distances… use less fuel… be more efficient… Yes – there’s a big outlay for a new aircraft, but then… just like Henry, you can stack ‘em (the people) high… sell ‘em (the seats) low.

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Bal’s Friday Thought…

Don’t Complain. Train.