Growing up

I have been writing Wisely Shared for about 6 months now,  sharing some of the great insights gained.  I have recently moved this blog to:  wiselyshared.com

You can also find the most recent updates by following my facebook page:  facebook.com/wiselyshared.

Looking forward to seeing  you.

Would you like to join me to hear Arianna Huffington speak?

Hello!  I have one spare ticket to listen to Arianna Huffington speak.  Her presentations are warm and full of insight.

She is the chair, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of fourteen books.

She has been named to Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list.

For your chance to join me to this sold out event:
1. Like my Facebook page (WiselyShared)
2. Include a comment about what makes you thrive.

3 Rich Insights from Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki is best known as the author of The Art of the Start.  On his visit to Sydney, he pre-warned that he would not bore us by sticking to talking about 10 key points.  Luckily for you I have further condensed this to the juiciest three! The night’s topic was evangelism and Guy was evangelizing about Canva, a graphic design product I use, love and gladly tell friends about. In fact, the pictures which feature in my blog are made using Canva. Looks like after just one night he has turned me into an evangelist too... Clever Mr Kawasaki!

Below is what he has Wisely Shared.

Relate to your customer

An interesting gem applicable to the workplace or in a business.  Don’t try to bedazzle the customer with how smart you are, instead get to know what it’s like to be in their shoes, understand the problem you are solving for them, speak in their language.  Being a remuneration expert, I can sometimes explain things using technical jargon, so clear to me, but I get blank looks as I alienate my audience.  I always try to make things simple, clear and relevant, often by using stories or analogies that help people see the point. The more you personalize a story stronger the connection you will build.

Look beyond a person’s title or pedigree

You know the feeling you get when talking to someone who really understands you (your idea, your product).  The conversation grows naturally, the excitement increases.  Those people can be found in the strangest of places, don't overlook the spark and the possibility in someone by trying to find someone who seems to have the right title . In today’s workplace title and pedigree is being replaced with diverse networks, relate-ability and know how.

Be kind and reciprocate

Guy told us that his early days at Microsoft were fast and not always kind, which meant that he learnt the hard way the price of not being nice to people on the way up, because they became the same people he had to pass on the way down.  Humble pie had to be eaten.  I think being kind is always simpler to start with!

Kawasaki gave us his top tip that he learnt from Richard Branson: kindness is a two way street, when you do a favour for someone, give the person a chance to reciprocate, be specific how the person can give back. This keeps the giving relationship fluid. Richard Branson once polished Guy’s shoes to get him to fly Virgin, many years later Guy polished Richard’s shoes.. What the....?  Must be a man thing!

Do any of these resonate with you?

For more great stories, visit my new blog at wiselyshared.com or like it on Facebook.com/wiselyshared.

An evening with Cate Blanchett

There’s a distinct expectation that comes with going to see Cate Blanchett. Normally on the stage it’s about a performance that moves you.   Having seen Cate perform at the Sydney Theatre Company in the past, what she shared about herself in conversation with Anne Summers, made it clearer to me why it was so easy to relate and be absorbed by her characters on the stage and screen.

Cate said on the night that theater is a mix of practicality and fantasy, and I think that our own balance comes when we learn to combine both of those worlds.

Cate was delightful to listen to, the audience would ruffle into casual laughter as she spoke, paused to ponder her answers, then had us revelling in every word.

Highlight Notes

Choose your cast carefully

Whether on stage, in life or in your workplace, spend time with people you like being with.  Cate selected her plays not based on the character but because of the people she would work with, and was excited to spend time with, “it’s like having a great dinner party all the time”.  There is an amazing energy generated by being with people you enjoy being with.  Indeed being part of her audience that evening felt a little like being at a delightful dinner party.

Humble yourself to the work at hand

Cate shared a humility with which she approaches each of her roles, and takes a blank canvas approach to learn about each role.  She explores it like an anthropologist.  Cate said “the material reveals the way you should work” and I think that taking a beginner’s mind approach new endeavors gives us the same opportunity. This is poignant to each of us, when we meets a new person, client or start a new role. In the rush to prove that we know what we are talking about or introduce who we are, it is easy to forget to listen, to humble yourself to the person, the work, the team, allowing it to be something other than what you would originally have imagined.

Have a healthy lack of consequence

Sometimes, there are so many pressures to do the right thing that can leave us feeling afraid and ‘frozen’ not to do anything.  Cate’s approach has been to do many things (and not focus so much on the reasons ‘why not’ to do something).

Wisely Shared 
My question for the Wisely Shared audience was "Cate, how do you keep your poise and composure... is it something that comes naturally or can you share how you do it?" . She responded with "do I really seem that way, because I get quite nervous before coming out here. If anything, I focus on the one conversation at a time. It is less nerve wrecking that way". Just lovely. Thank you Cate I will be sure to remember that when I lose my cool.

For more great stories, visit the new blog location at wiselyshared.com and like it on Facebook.com/wiselyshared.

Location: Sydney Theater Company
#ascblanchett

Wisdom Unpeeled: Chief of SurveyMonkey shares in Sydney

Wisely Shared: Dave Goldberg CEO SurveyMonkey

With SurveyMonkey looking to set up base in Australia,  there is a trend whereby American tech companies are taking a fresh look at the Australian market.

Dave Goldberg (husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg) talked about SurveyMonkey's expansion plans, entrepreneurialism and his 'why'.  This gave me a clear re-frame of my own 'why' for which I am grateful to have attended this talk.

Highlight Notes:

Have a great team
Choose who you work with carefully.   An average product with a great team will have a chance to turnaround. The best product,  with an average team will struggle to get off the ground.  This reminds me of quote by Jim Rohn which says that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.

Challenge people to think about things differently 

Don't waste time telling people what they already know. Think beyond common ways of thinking.

Know why you do what you do

Dave shared with us some of his 'why'

1. Work with people you like (I am hearing this a lot lately where people are making the choice not to work with 'jerks'  and also seeing the converse; the emotional damage of working with people they don't like / respect)
2. Learn something new each day
3. Be part of something that makes a big impact

This made me think about my own 'why' and it was a similar three (why re-invent something which resonates)

1. Work with people I like (it makes work more fun)
2. Learn (avoid my chronic fear of being bored)
3. Maximise possibility

 Wisely Shared: "To be a good leader, you need to have conviction in your mission, then people will follow you".

Location:  Hub Sydney

Be willing to start over

Danielle LaPorte shares her laughter and wisdom

On a Wednesday morning,  the clues to go see Danielle LaPorte were everywhere on social media.  There were whispers of excitement about her visit,  gatherings being moved to accommodate, messages of shock from those who did not know she was coming and had not managed to get a ticket.  I had no idea who Danielle was, but I knew by the ripples that this was going to be good.

The auditorium of the Art Gallery of NSW was buzzing, mostly with women, as the evening started with music which resonating through us.  Then we were taken on a guided meditation, which had me tingling on the inside like a bottle of the finest French champagne.  Finally Danielle was introduced and spoke.  She wasn’t preaching,  she was sharing her soulful experience of the world wrapped in a warm hearted laugh.  Her words were easy to listen to and absorb.

Highlight Notes

• Think of big personal change as what a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.  In the process, whilst in the cocoon,  the caterpillar completely loses itself and becomes soup,  it can’t even define its spine. Slowly it starts to re-form to become a butterfly.  Are you willing not to recognise who you are when you get through the change?  (ie: it is ok to feel lost along the way if you are going through a big change)

• In starting again, there is the terror of joy,  you can’t go back to the original you.

• Focus on how you want to feel,  and then align what you do with that. Ask yourself:  What will I do to feel this way?

• Spend time in your personal and business life with people you like and resonate with, people you would want to have at a dinner party.

Wisely Shared:  “Follow your intuition.... although know that it doesn’t always work [lets out big laugh].”

@daniellelaporte

Location: Art Gallery of NSW

Dipping into the global experience pool

Panel Event with ANZ Innovyz START International Mentors 

Innovyz START is an incubator based in Sydney and Adelaide.  

Panels like this make me thirsty to work on an international stage again.  In an intimate setting four business leaders shared their stories and experiences.  

The audacious Chris Gabriel (Chairman, Director, Advisor, Mentor and Angel Investor) talked about his experience building businesses in the Middle East and Africa and challenged us to always consider ‘what’s possible?’.

The gracious Jana Matthews (Director Innovyz START) kept the panel in check and shared insight on both the Innovyz and other experiences with start-ups both in Australia and the US.

The clever Jock Gordon designed MenuPad, which allows restaurant customers to order and pay for their food on an iPad.  Originally, no one in the Australian market wanted a bar of it.  So he looked out a little further and restaurants in US and the Middle East loved the idea.  He shared that people were somehow more comfortable ordering 5 slices of cheese with their burger if they can guiltlessly put the instruction directly into MenuPad.  For me it would be extra extra extra parmesan on my pasta,  I always seem to ask them to stop grating before I am ready for them to stop.

And the talented Chris Bernard works with entrepreneurs in the US, leveraging Microsoft’s network, hardware and services.  Chris candidly shared his views of the good, the bad and the ugly of start ups.

Highlight Notes

Know your customer 
Ask what your customer really wants and understand the problem they need solved actually is.  Don’t assume what they want or that you know better.  There is no better research than directly asking your customers what they want. They called this the ‘throw on your jeans and t-shirt’ and ask people what they think of a new product or service.  I think this is something we must always remember,  whether it is internal to a company or external.

Don’t compete on price
Offer an awesome product, with awesome service and amazing user experience  - people will pay for what they value.

Be true to your values, ethics and morals   
If you lose a deal because it is against your moral values, there will be other deals,  but it you compromise your values, ethics or morals, you will always be subject to compromise and people won’t trust you.

Wisely Shared:  “Continue to raise the bar,  and re-invent yourself”

@innovyzstart

Location:  ANZ Offices, Pitt Street

Action heroines get ready… a wave of change is ahead

How to help women succeed | Cassandra Kelly (CEO, Pottinger)

All about women is a festival held at the Opera House, and contrary to the title it is not all about women, but all about humanity (with a gender lens on). One of my favourite quotes explaining this was by an Egyptian father who said “when you make it better for women, you make it better for all of us”.

This talk by Cassandra Kelly made me feel connected with the other women in the room by an invisible thread of purpose and a precious joint quest to build a wave of change. I left feeling like I was in that critical part of an action film when all the good characters get tired of fighting what seems to be losing battle and decide to work together to make something great happen.

Highlight Notes:

1. Behind every successful woman, is another successful woman. We have to help each other. This is the wave we need to build.

2. Look out for opportunities to support women. It can be as easy as “I’ve noticed the good work you are doing…”, “I’ve got your back…”, “I believe you can do that…”

3. Women are untapped resources. You don't need to spend billions to get us out of the ground, we are here and we are good.

4. Build resilience: seek out, give and receive fair and honest feedback.


Wisely Shared: “Ask yourself, how much time am I giving to other women, if the answer is little or none, quite frankly, that is not good enough - who can you support?”. Thank you Cassandra Kelly for starting this wave.


You can find more juicy bits from Cassandra's talk in another piece I wrote here.
For more great stories, visit my new blog at wiselyshared.com or like it on Facebook.com/wiselyshared. 

@Ideasatthehouse#allaboutwomen 
Watch the video: Here
Location: Sydney Opera House on an inspiring sunny day

Alain de Botton and the Philosopher’s News

The News:  A user's manual | Alain De Botton

I feel that news is hitting relevant notes less and less,  and yet there is more of it.  In his talk at the Sydney Opera House, Alain de Botton takes a philosopher’s view of the news.  

The historical purpose of news was to provide information;  people could read it, use it and the world would improve.  To me this is the fundamental lens by which to explore this topic as I consider ‘does the world improve by the news I read and watch?’.

Highlight Notes:

• The news is not new. De Botton has classified news stories into 43 archetypes (although the book reviews claim there to be 25). Examples include:

Celebrities doing normal things: This helps us feel closer to celebrity status, and for that instant helps our lives seem less mundane.
Improvement in health: This helps us feel hope that we will live forever.

Understanding the archetypes helps us be better consumers of news since there is an abundance.

• News gives us a disproportionate view of the world. It simplifies and magnifies success. It amplifies certain disasters and hides others.

• Can news be reinvented to celebrate the virtuous instead of the sensational? De Botton shared his thoughts on the current debate relating to introducing Knights and Dames. He thought well of as it brought to light more of the better virtues of our society.

Wisely shared: Don’t spend too much time reading online comments, it might lead you to think that the world is mean and angry.



Location: Sydney Opera House

Book: The News: A User’s manual

#alaindebotton

Brite founders share their story

Inside the Mind of the Entrepreneur | Kevin & Julia Hartz (Eventbrite) 

Eventbrite's mission is to bring people together through live experiences.  They have become a household name for me as I have used it over the last year to buy tickets to events.

This event, held at the sexy Sydney Hub in William Street, focussed on Kevin and Julia's experience in founding the company.  Eventbrite started with 3 employees in 2006 and has grown to 300 (and still growing fast,  now with a strategic international expansion).

Highlight Notes

• From the start people and company culture is important.  However it is not all fun and games.  They use a high velocity feedback loop:  people know where the results are at,  and what is expected of them.

• It is important to always seek feedback and listen to it.  When it comes to feedback,  more is more.  This should be sought from customers, mentors and anyone who will provide unfiltered feedback.

• Having a founding team is important,  as it is too hard to do it alone.  In hard times,  this team also keeps you sane.

• Their start up shared their space with other now stars  like Tripit (bought by concur), flixter, Zynga.  During the start up phase, they shared ideas and resources and looked after each other.

Wisely said:  When disrupting an industry,  don't take the Goliaths head on!

Location:  Hub Sydney
#eventbriteau

The best from events around town

The purpose is to share the best of the business and speaker evens around Sydney (and maybe elsewhere).

I always leave events inspired in some way, so wanted to share the top highlights.