The Three Year Mark

Sirius is what I use as a humility check. It is the brightest star in our sky and is a mere 8.6 light years away. It is twice as large as the sun, which in turn is 330 000 times the size of earth. Thinking of that ratio makes you feel small; a tiny speck living on a speck of dust in the universe. That sort of perspective can dwarf you a little bit and put you slightly in awe. This week I had a Sirius moment.

You see this marks the third anniversary of this column. Time truly does fly when you are having fun. I was getting all geared up to celebrate when I read another blog. In it the author, who I highly respect, listed 30 years of business success and experience. It made three years look trivial, not quite as small as Earth to Sirius but small none the less.

Now I am still going to celebrate three years in print. I firmly believe in celebrating achievements even if they are small steps to a greater goal. The last anniversaries I have celebrated by looking at the past articles from the previous twelve months, this year I am going to do it a little different. Read on faithful follower and rejoice with me.

When starting out I wanted an attention grabbing title, something that would stand out and require a bit of thought to get your head around. It also had to encompass what the article would be about. This would serve a dual purpose of priming the reader as well as keeping me focused as I wrote (I can write about a whole bunch more stuff that has little to do with business). The purpose of the article is to challenge people to do things different from the mundane, to inject a healthy dose of fun into the workplace, and to raise the bar in terms of how things get done. The picture of ordering a double-thick, strawberry, pink milkshake at a stoical boardroom meeting sums that up. It took some kicking around to come up with the idea (original ideas fermented around a coffee theme as that is a massive passion).

Over the last three years you will have seen a number of common threads start to form in the tapestry of the column. I never sat down before the first article and decided on a list of ideas that would form primary values, rather they appeared on their own as thought processes coalesced into written words week after week.

The power of relationships probably stands out as the most prevalent thread. Life truly depends on ‘who you know’. Relationships are not developed to be exploited but rather through seeing a common goal that you can work towards. A true relationship is not a score-keeping ‘what can I get out of it’ but a genuine concern for the other person’s wellbeing and the vision you are working towards.

This brings me to the second thread. The need to genuinely care for people. This has many expressions ranging from not ripping people off to stopping to hear how a member of staff is doing and finding out the score from their kids soccer match. It is a passion for people that will see your products translating into meeting real needs in the lives of the people who buy them. The universe is getting better at spotting a phoney so be genuine.

Going above and beyond the norm and doing things excellently go hand in hand. There is an unwritten set of rules that governs the status quo in your work environment. Often these produce mediocre results and a contentment with the second best. In order to stand out there is a need to go the extra mile with creativity, with service delivery, with shipping, with just about every aspect of what you do. The economy will not stay subdued forever. If you are not looking at what you are doing right now you will be left behind later.

Finally everyone has a story. I was reminded by this at another Sirius moment this week. I attended a farewell function for Marlene Brand, a physiotherapist who is moving to Bulawayo from Harare. She has spent over fifty years in the profession and has selflessly given to the promotion of the profession in the country. Person after person stood up and gave testimony of her care, compassion, and character. Hearing the words spoken made me truly wonder what will be said of me when I reach that milestone, and reminded me how far I still have to go. At the end of it she reminded attendees that ‘everyone has a story to tell’. While she said this in the context of health care provision and the healing process it applies in all aspects of life. In business it is how well that we tell our story that determines how well we perform. Being attentive to the stories of our staff and clients will improve how we can serve them. I have spent the last three years being a storyteller. I’ve loved every minute of it and look forward to many, many more. So join me in raising a glass in celebration. And as we look once more at Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, be reminded that, despite any present hardship, the future is indeed bright.