The e-newsletter from Forrest WorkshopsFrom the pine...Why don't we grab more opportunities? They're right there, right? In quantum. Problems to solve. Arms outstretched to clasp. Early signals to read. Stuff that can be done, relatively quickly, affordably, that'll be valuable, done by us. Why not? Maybe it's that we don't see them for what they are. Because, to paraphrase Edison, they're dressed like hard work. Because we carry a metaphorical version of Retinosa Pigmentosa, progressively blinkered to anything in the periphery, just not seeing so sharply in the dark. Maybe it's to do with our decision making sequences. First through the brain - "what's the investment?" And when that sounds unappetising, we don't quite make it to "what's the payoff?" Maybe it's the opportunity cost. "To do A, I have to give up B." And we don't want to give up B, because B's nice, warm, comfy. Known. Maybe it's because we're just limited creatures. When our dance cards feel full, we feel "that'll do". Because there are only so many hours, only so much we want to give, only a certain rate of growth we're willing to push to achieve. We all have a line beyond which we're "lazy". Maybe opportunity appetites are curatable, nurturable, grow-able. Maybe its a function of what we expose ourselves to. How hard we work to look at the farthest horizon and imagine what could be on it. Think about the absolute in-the-scheme-of-the-universe unimportance of everything we're fretting over today (and so a dice-roll towards pursuing an exciting or interesting opportunity suddenly feels smarter). On the dawn of '17-'18, with the abundance of opportunity you are being and will be exposed to, will yours be a year of more opportunity grabbed? (Thanks heaps for reading this first 1/2 of '18! Really appreciate it!) Troy Forrest, Forrest Workshops & Strategy Road. Strategic play – HybridsAny strategy is a combination of ambition, analysis, imagining and self-reflection.
So strategy then is a hybrid melange of wants, knowns, dreams and truths. A "wants" heavy strategy isn't sufficiently grounded in reality. When you're framing your paths and gait plan for the years ahead, overlay those 4 elements and ask yourself if what you've put together is an appropriately balanced hybrid of ambition, analysis, imagining and self-reflection. From HBR April 2016 The Green RoomGood wood from smart guest contributors. This edition…. Tim Standing from Daylight Breaks, showing you how it's done when telling a story with video in agriculture... Getting on AgribusinessAgribusiness wasn't my early imagined or deliberately selected consulting arena. 13 years ago, setting up a professional services business after a career in pharmaceuticals and surgical technology, the obvious sandpits were health-related, and those orgs dominated my dance card. As the years rolled on, other industries made their way in by chance & design, and health-related orgs started to diminish. Agri came in via a chance opportunity and an old mate, a legacy of growing up country, and organically expanded to the point where today, we're looking around 50+% of my time. When I set the consultancy up, my key criteria - pick your clients wisely. Having worked in an interesting industry I was well trained in, with life-saving solutions and nice job perks, my biggest frustration was serving a subset of folk I just didn't love serving. In hindsight, that was a function of different core values. So when you run your own show (assuming you're paying the bills), you've got the opportunity to be a bit selective. Agribusiness, while organically making its way into my life, has continued to fit, primarily because I like the people in it, and our values are pretty well aligned. Other than "good people, aligned values", agribusiness is exciting for so many reasons;
So with some chums, we've built an event (below). One that we (the Strategy Road Swarm of businesses) think will add a truly unique, diverse, interesting and valuable set of insights & ideas to this opportunity rich sector. Backed by some legendary partners. With beer. If you're in agribusiness, or serve it, and you want to get involved, jump on. Love to have you part of the conversation. #SwarmingForAg. Workshop observation...Laptops... yes, or no?a. Ask why & what they bring - unnecessary distraction, or efficient & effective reference source and action step capture device?b. Give folk the option - if that's the best way for them to work, no worries. If however they want the full benefit of being fully present in the room, in the moment, old school is powerful.b. Set the boundaries - so easy to employ for distractions... ask for discipline. Seeds3 calls to make to end the fin year…
You have time and places you can work. Anywhere. Kinda no excuses left. The Swarm GuideMeet Strategy Road Associate Deb Black, Principal of Blackforrest & Associates, a specialist advisory & support firm on matters of workplace conflict, industrial relations, restorative justice, change management and leadership development. Deb focuses on ensuring productive team dynamics, effective communication, and constructive, sustainable working relationships. Check out the services Deb helps clients with here, Black Forrest Consulting. BloomingPicking your responses...Whether you're running the show, or working to put bread on the organisation's table, or just giving your all for a collective upside from any corner of the enterprise, one of the biggest handbrakes to you powering forward is a sense that others are letting you down. Back of house bureaucracy hamstringing front of house initiative. Others not following protocols you're so diligently applying. Folk not sharing your passion or getting behind your lead. You can gnash and sulk and stew in disappointment and adopt a stuff-em mindset. But it doesn't do much good. The other way (high atop the moral ground as it sits, trite and unappetising as it feels when you're stinging) is to pick alternative responses.
Leadership from a position of feeling pissy and peeved has an odour about it, and it's unattractive. Leadership from a place of "I get it, I know it's hard, I want you part of this, and I accept it's not a smooth run"? Maybe there's more long-term-valuable followers there.
Worth a Bo Peep...A client asked the other day about training course providers. The old faithfuls came to mind with multi-thousand-dollar options. Then this. The world has changed. Suss it out here. Luft balloons* (imagine...)The multitude of ways you make an impression on impressionable someones...
We say so much via so many expressions in so many formats across every moment. It's not all engineerable, but maybe worth reflecting and calibrating against how you want to be considered and remembered. Slide deck specials No matter the topic, no matter the group, no matter the outcome (with the possible exception of "here's how we're going to lay off the entire workforce", this is a pretty important reinforcer to whomever you're talking to. If you're going to do it, do it with a bit of upbeat grunt! When winter motivation flails... ... call them in. ... put on the coffee and lamos. ... reflect. learn. congratulate. imagine. challenge. laugh. plan. consider. inspire. ... when you look out at the rain, remember it's what fuels growth. ... back into it. The trees for the woods…Consider fruit for morning tea at the next strategy session. Please. For my sake. Wanna sign up?If a mate has forwarded this free e-share to you and you’d like it once or twice a month, click here and type "sign me up, Scotty!" – thanks! Thank you for reading! Forrest Workshops custom-builds and facilitates team workshops on topics ranging from strategic planning, leadership and sales practice development, to innovation, customer experience creation and collaborating with your supply chain in an evolving market. Based in Adelaide, serving clients nationally and internationally, from SMEs to Fortune 500s. Forrest Workshops For One are tailored Coaching & mentoring programs for leaders, business owners, sales and service professionals. High-touch, deep- and long-term impact support. Contact Troy Forrest from Forrest Workshops on 0430 308963 or troy@forrestworkshops.com.au for a discussion. |