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I believe that people love strong leaders. They want someone who is willing to take the hard road and give reasons why we should join.
Here is a short video sharing further thoughts on Do You Have What It Takes to Be A Leader.
Gough Whitlam was a polarizing figure. People either loved him or hated him. His passing overnight will sadden many.
I was thrilled to portray him at the recent Melbourne Fringe Festival but I really knew very little about him.
For a man who was Australia’s leader for three short years, he had a significant impact on it. You need only look at the considerable list of achievements to see that we still enjoy some of his benefits today. The Guardian newspaper lists some of the following:
In his first year in office his government passed over 200 bills. Gough had created a vision for the future of Australia and it was referred to as his Program. Rightly or wrongly, he was steadfast in his commitment to achieving it.
My hope is that his passing with further stimulate open discussion about our current political state. While Gough was polarizing, he had character, vision and commitment to his cause. Our current political leaders pale in comparison. They appear to be self indulgent, self serving and, at best, “flexible” on their ideals. Our leaders have forgotten the notion that the are Servants of the PEOPLE and for the PEOPLE!
Gough was famous for his quote of “Maintain the Rage”. My tribute to him is his quote in a mash up with Dylan Thomas’ great work.
Rest well Gough, It’s Time!
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I had the great delight to host the Challenge to Lead Gala Dinner on Saturday. The guest speaker was Colonel Marcus Fielding, military strategist, author of Red Zone Baghdad and philanthropist.
It was interesting to hear his perspective on leadership. The difference in leadership style between nations, situations, genders and personalities. One of the comments that stuck with me is that Leaders are also the best Followers. They know that sometimes it is time to lead and other times you need to follow. While he mentioned many leadership theories, the underlying theme was that leadership is about trust. Trusting yourself, trusting those around you and trusting those that support you.
Trust takes courage – particularly in a time of war or a military presence. My experience is that Trust is built continuously. It is built in the social conversations, the pressure free interactions as well as when you and the team are operating under pressure.
Colonel Fielding said that one of reasons our Governor General Peter Cosgrove is seen to be a strong leader is that he is very skilled at small talk and will happily talk with anyone over a cup of coffee, glass of beer or drinking straight from the military canteen. To me, this is a natural trust building exercise and I suspect it is something that he does naturally.
Leadership (whether it is formal or informal) is a challenge. It is knowing what NOT to do as well as knowing what TO do. It is a blend of science and art. All the knowledge on leadership principles and the history of great leaders is a complete waste if you are not up to the challenge to act on that knowledge and act with an instinctive reflex.
So are you up for the Challenge?
Sometimes, you just have to do something. It may not be much, but it is something.
My friend Melina from M.A.D. Woman is having a crappy time at the moment – literally!
She runs the Making A Difference Foundation where they provide food and basic items to the needy all around Australia.
Recently they had to vacate their premises as it was to be demolished to build some new apartments. Melina spent some time trying to find a new place with enough storage for all of their donated items as well as office space for the team to work out of.
A week before they had to move, things got really crappy. The sewage pipes in the building burst over a weekend.
The raw sewage made a mess of the place. Tragically three large skips of items to be donated had to be thrown away as it was all contaminated with waste. Loads of their office supplies and materials had to be thrown.
I rang her to ask her what could I do to help and during this call Melina told me she was close to just shutting up shop, but that is not the kind of girl she is. To kick off the new phase of life for the foundation, she is running a trivia night to raise money to restart the foundation.
When asking “What can I do?” she replied that I could host and run the trivia night for them. So that is exactly what I am doing.
In asking what can YOU do, well you can buy a ticket to come along to the Collingwood town hall on Thursday 23rd October, you can make a donation of money or goods for those who need it or you can pass on the details of the trivia night to someone you know may be interested.
Much like when friends, colleagues or projects need some assistance you just need to do something. Often it is little things that we can do – but the little things can have a huge impact.
If you want to do something for Melina and M.A.D. check out their website here.
I received the news yesterday that I have been awarded the global certification of Certified Speaking Professional (CSP).
According to the National Speakers Association of Australia’s current records, there are less than 70 CSPs in Australia at this time.
This has taken years to achieve and there were many obstacles along the way. I could not have done this without your support and encouragement.
The feedback I get following one of my keynotes, events that I host, mentoring sessions or even just my newsletter, give me great joy knowing that I have contributed to people like you.
Naturally, I could not achieve this without the endless and unconditional support of my gorgeous wife, but I am very aware of the essential part YOU have played in this achievement.
From the depths of my being, THANK YOU.
I look forward to continuing to be of service to you and all of my clients.
Warm regards
Warwick Merry CSP
I have been preparing for weeks.
I have tried to get my butterflies to fly in formation.
The excitement is building to a climax.
This week I perform in my one man Melbourne Fringe show, Gough. It’s on!
Firstly a huge thanks to everyone who bought tickets. The opening night is a sell out and over 85% of tickets to the six shows have been sold. (If you want to go, check ticket availability here)
I have some big shoes to fill. Gough is an icon of Australian politics so I want to represent him well. While I regularly speak for hours on stage, to perform a one man show and bring a script to life for 40 minutes is something completely different.
How do you feel when a project you have been working on is about to go live? Whether it is an IT system, a new product launch, redecorating the house or simply getting some landscaping done, the culmination of a lot of hard work is incredibly rewarding.
It’s time to play the music; it’s time to light the lights; it’s showtime. It’s on!
Accountants the world over are dealing with this question from their clients on a regular basis.
Some of us ask this question every time we look in our purse/wallet or visit the ATM.
Businesses with huge revenues regularly go into liquidation. Businesses earning good money have low bank accounts, so where is the money?
Tanya Lacy from Intercept taught me years ago that Revenue is Vanity and Profit is Sanity.
Danielle Storey from Million Dollar Relationships continues to insist that people Know Your Numbers.
Jerry Maguire insists that you Show Me The Money.
Cash flow is king, so stay on top of it. I regularly (every couple of days) look at my bank accounts – personal and private. I don’t spend money if I can’t afford it. I pay off unsecured debt (credit cards) in full when it is due. I am on top of what money is coming in and going out.
Most importantly, I think long term and short term on my finance. Wifey and I have long term investments we can service now. My Bromance keeps telling me to spend money on landscaping, a deck, air-conditioning, a new Jag – all things I talk about wanting but I don’t need.
While I want them, they are really not essential and I can see that putting that money in my investments will give me a better lifestyle not that far down the track.
Oooo….. Delayed Gratification!!
What about you? Do you know your numbers? Do you measure Profit or only Revenue? How is your long term AND your short term financial health?
It’s Monday … AGAIN!
This seems to keep happening on a regular basis. So why are people surprised when it comes around?
“Can you believe it’s Monday already!”
It’s a bit like Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, remembrance days …. you name it, they come around quick.
Can I highly recommend to you that you take advantage of this? [You KNOW that time will go quick, so you have to do more, experience more, be more in the limited time you have left.
Don’t wait to do the thing you have always dreamed of, start it today.
If you don’t start your desire (say piano lessons), in two years time, all you will be is two years down the track and still unable to play the piano. But if you start, you will be able to do way more than you do on a piano today. Even if it is merely to master the art of chopsticks!!
Don’t be the person sitting around waiting for things to happen wondering, “Where Does The Time Go?”
Danielle Storey is one of the founders of The Cartridge Family. (To be completely open, she is also my business partner in the Exhibiting and Sponsorship Institute).
The Cartridge Family is a multimillion dollar business selling low margin, high turnover products in a highly competitive market. So what is their secret?
Listen as Danielle shares the secrets of their success that has then led to her now speaking on Customer Delight.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes at www.EntrepreneursInAction.com.au
In another deviation from the normal format of the Entrepreneurs In Action series, I wanted to share with you an interview that I did with Jacki Mitchell on RPPFM’s Taking Care of Business show last week. I was also fortunate to share the microphone with my good friend, and fabulous speaker, the delightful Danielle Storey.
In research that is repeated time and time again, 30% of people have a greater fear of public speaking than they do of death. Yet t is such an important skill set for all people, particularly business owners. During the show we cover a range of topics from tips on the best use of visual aids to how to create a presentation to what it means for your branding.
[wpdm_file id=2] Size 36 MB and Duration 39 minutes
To give you a summary of the keypoints on this show, here is the “track listing”
02:30 Why would you need to Speak in Public?
04:00 Learn how to Get Things Wrong
07:12 Do you have to be Born a Good Speaker?
08:25 What Formal Training as a Speaker?
13:40 What about Speaking for Introverts?
16:00 What do I speak about when Networking?
17:10 Tips for new/shy speakers
20:25 Tips for PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi
22.35 Business Times Magazine
24:30 An opportunity to speak
27:22 What is Slam Poetry?
28:58 Highlight the Elephant in the Room
34:30 Branding on the Platform
36:00 Having a Plant in the Audience
36:50 Pearls of Wisdom
Melbourne Impro – Watch and learn from some of the best improvisers in the country
Humourversity – Learn to be funny or add that funny edge to your presentations
Toastmasters – A structured approach to learning how to speak to an audience
EASI – The Exhibiting and Sponsorship Institute for all of your Exhibiting and Event Sponsorship needs
Business Times – BusinessTimes is a website and a monthly colour magazine giving a voice to business
Bloom Networking – Jo Schutt runs different networking events and the Peninsula Health and Wellbeing Expo
Some people have the Luck of the Irish, others seem to have none at all.
In this episode of Entrepreneurs In Action, Fran Gleeson will share 5 Ways to Avoid Bad Luck and what you can to to attract more luck into your life.
Don’t forget to subscribe to Entrepreneurs In Action in iTunes. Visit www.EntrepreneursInAction.com.au
I had an interesting discussion with an National Speakers Association member recently regarding music in presentations and recordings.
As someone who uses a lot of music in hosting conferences, during presentations and on recorded product I have delved into this situation. It is important to realise that there is a significant distinction between music in presentations and music on your recordings.
They are 2 completely different areas so let me address them separately.
*** PLEASE NOTE: I am not a lawyer, this is not advice, this is just me recounting my experiences in this matter as it relates to Australia ***
(Phew, my backside is now covered!!)
This is the easy one!
The simple message is Get A License! They are about $130 a year. You get it through the Australia Peforming Rights Association (APRA)
You can contact them here licence@apra.com.au or 1300 852 388.
Basically, this enables you to play any music you want at your presentations without breaching copyright. I also use this as a selling point to my clients. I let them know that I have an APRA license that will cover the copyright for their conference when I am hosting it.
Now most venues will have the licensing as well but it is another selling point for me.
The license DOES NOT cover you for any music you may have on a recording. For example, if you have a music intro as you come on stage and you are recording this program for future sale, you are not able to use this music with out paying further rights.
Let’s chat about that now
You can easily license music for any recording that you do. Again, contact APRA and AMCOS. The fee you will pay will depend on the music you have, how many units you are producing and how much you are charging for the product
NOTE Even if your product is a give away there MAY still be a fee so don’t think just because there is no money changing hands that you don’t need to pay a royalty.
The easiest thing to do is use Royalty Free music on any of your products. Your sound technician or video editor will most likely have a library of it. There are some public domain pieces out there but then you may run into issues of other people using the same music as you.
If you are super funky, and this is by far my most favoured solution, get your muso friends to write you a piece of music that us uniquely yours!! Make sure you pay them for it though!
I was fortunate enough to be hosting an association conference last week. It was held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre.
This image was the view out of the back of the convention centre at 7am. To me, it is simply stunning. It was an awe inspiring location.
During my conversation with other attendees, I realised that not everyone shared that perspective.
I am sure you have your own opinions as well.
That is the point. All too often we see something and think that everyone else will see what we see. That is NOT true. Everyone has different filters, different histories, different ideals, different values and this all impacts how they will see things.
So what do YOU see?
Have you seen the news lately?
Death, destruction, mayhem, questionable politicians, self-obsessed business people, profit driven leaders, war, environmental tragedies… the list goes on and on.
Why is this in the news?
Yes it is happening, but all the tragedy is in the news because tragedy is what rates and what makes money. Your life goes in the direction of what you pay attention to.
Can I humbly suggest [First Name] that you stop watching the news and stop reading the paper? Choose to focus on some of the fabulous goodness that is going on in the world.
I have had the fortune of hosting some great events of late. One of them as Elvis (in the post Burger stages!)
The focus of these events was to celebrate the Good and generate money for charity.
The people at these events are just normal people like you and me. Not super wealthy mega rich people, just people who work hard, love what they do and like to contribute.
At one event almost $15,000 was raised for Camp Quality and at another a cheque of $63,000 was presented to further research in to Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
It’s good. Life is good.
People, by their very nature are inherently good. Focus on the good, be part of the good and your life can’t help but be good.
A good friend and business collaborator Jacki Mitchell has been running the Taking Care of Business show on RPPFM.com.au every Friday.
She recently celebrated 50 shows.
To celebrate, she had multiple guests giving their Top 5 Tips on better business success.
She has kindly offered me the recording of that show to pass on to you as there is soooo much great value on it.
I hope you enjoy it and you can hear her show every Friday at 11am on www.RPPFM.com.au
Don’t forget you can get Entrepreneurs In Action on iTunes. Simply click here.
