bossmentor® renaissance magazine - april issue

RENAISSANCE MAGAZINE

APRIL 2009

DREAM, BELIEVE, CREATE

StrategyHow Relevant Are You Really to Your Clients?

How ToRiding the Recession10-Step Plan

Favourite ThingsLifestyle, Design & Luxuryl

Success MindsetIgnite your Dreams

Corporate InsightsMarketing in a Professional Services Firm

SpotlightBe Seduced by Egypt

Mercedes Benz5 Brand Lessons from a Global Company

2 BossMentor Renaissance Magazine • www.bossgroup.com.au

Hello!

Welcome to our second issue of BOSS-

MENTOR® Renaissance Magazine™!

Thank you all for the incredibly posi-

tive feedback we received for the first

issue!

The photo on the front cover is one

from my recent holiday and is the door

to a tomb at Abu Simbel.

A recurring symbol on many hiero-

glyphics and cartouches (a cartouche

is like a personal brand for a king or

queen) is the symbol for life – the

‘Ankh’.

At Ramesses temple in Abu Simbel I

caught sight of a magnificent, beauti-

fully shiny gold key, in the shape of this

symbol. The key weighed a tonne and

I didn’t fancy my chances of bringing

it home… unfortunately… I think the

two images of the incredibly high, very

heavy wooden door opening up to lead

us into new sights and experiences,

and the symbol of life, are good images

to hold as we move forward on our

journeys.

In this issue, we have other journeys to

share with you: my journey into being

seduced by Egypt (page 22), the not al-

ways smooth journey that the Mercedes

Benz brand has taken over the last 150

years (page20), the journeys that our

dreams can take us on (Rebecca Ryan’s

article page 6), and the journey that

a relatively new professional services

firm has taken in its journey to become

global (page 16).

We have two book reviews for you, and

also a wonderful section on ‘Favourite

Things’ that will take you on a different

kind of journey (maybe shopping??)

The theme of this issue is journeys, and

we explore ways that your business and

your personal life can take you on dif-

ferent journeys to personal fulfillment.

Enjoy!

Jenny Stilwell

‘Character consists of what you do

on the third and fourth tries.’

James Michener,

American Writer.

Jenny Stilwell

http://www.bossgroup.com.au

BossMentor Renaissance Magazine • www.bossgroup.com.au 3

Table of contents Success Mindset 4 Meditation - The Competitive Advantage 6 Ignite Your Dreams 7 The List of 100 Dreams

How To 9 Riding the Recession Survive & Thrive With This 10-Step Plan

Strategy 15 How Relevant Are You Really To Your Clients?

Corporate Insights 17 Trish Finnemore - Marketing & NBD In A Global Firm

20 Best Info

Leadership & Legacy 21 Mercedes Benz: 5 Brand Lessons from a Global Company

Favourite Things 23 Snippets of info on Lifestyle, Design & Luxury Resorts

Spotlight 25 Be Seduced by Egypt...

Business Growth, Mentoring & Coaching 31 Programs Other Resources And Products

32 About BOSSMENTOR®


Stress is what galvanises the body to get

away from the ‘tiger’ (real or imag-

ined)... ensuring we get the food rather

than become the food! Adrenaline and

hormones speed the metabolism, the

heart beats faster and our breath rate

rapidly increases, the digestive and

immune systems stop functioning, and

our natural pain-killers (cortisone and

endorphins) flood our system – this is

the fight-flight response, the survival

mechanism inherited from our caveman

ancestors. In times long past, once the

danger had disappeared, our bodies

would naturally trigger the resetting of

our internal systems bringing us back

to balance and releasing the stress.

Today however our fight-flight mecha-

nism is continually being triggered, and

rarely reset back to balance. Most peo-

ple walk around with permanent low-

grade stress, wilfully ignoring symp-

toms and continuing to subconsciously

measure self-worth and success in speed

Sarah Fletcher teaches simple and practical meditation, and believes meditation is an important life skill. She also writes a meditation blog at www.quietmindmeditation.blogspot.com.

and productivity i.e. busyness. What

then happens is that the stress simply

goes to work inside the body... silently

causing ill health and imbalance.

Medical research estimates as much as

80-85% of illness and disease is stress

related.

Meditation is now being taken up in

growing numbers as people seek to

improve their health and maximise their

performance. Anyone serious about

achieving their career and life goals

needs to ensure that they continue to

remain competitive, and for many, medi-

tation is their ‘secret weapon’ because

meditation practice not only helps get

rid of the unwanted symptoms of stress;

it also deeply rests the mind, clears out

the clutter and provides the clarity to

discern what’s important and what’s

not.

Dr. Richard Davidson of the University

of Wisconsin at Madison found that ‘the

brain functioning of serious medita-

tors is “profoundly different” from

that of non-meditators – in ways that

suggest an elevated capacity to concen-

trate, sharpened focus and improved

memory”. He calls meditation a “kind of

mental training.”

MeditationThe Competitive Advantage

“Attention is the key to learning, and

meditation helps you voluntarily

regulate it” says Dr. Davidson.

Suddenly our thinking sharpens, our

concentration and focus improve, we

become more efficient and decisive,

priorities become clearer and plans

to achieve our life’s vision magically

appear!

Meditation gives us an immediately

accessible, constantly renewable and

amazingly powerful competitive

advantage!

Anyone experiencing ongoing and unre-

solved stress will find it increasingly

difficult to make good decisions; what

tends to happen is that we fall into a

pattern of tunnel vision and reliance on

habitual reactions (reactions that may

be dead wrong in our rapidly changing

world). Reduced flexibility, inability to

listen and retain pertinent information,

disengagement, uncertainty and short

term focus are hardly going to provide

us with robust and creative solutions.

Alternatively, staying cool under pres-

sure, diffusing tension and stress as

it accumulates through the day and

unfolding the mind regularly - enables

By Sarah Fletcher

Success Mindset

http://www.quietmeditation.blogspot.com


us to step back from the edge, see the

bigger picture, tap into intuitive abili-

ties and bring forth creative solution.

Learning to relax consciously, and do it

quickly in any situation, is the first step

in meditation.

In recent years technology and science

have been better able to measure and

observe the many benefits of medita-

tion. Studies using modern MRI tech-

nology researching the brains of long-

time meditators, showed that meditation

affects the structure and functioning of

the brain, and found a thickening of the

cortex in areas involved with attention

and sensory processing – areas that usu-

ally shrink as we get older.

Dr. Herbert Benson, President of the

Mind Body Medical Institute and As-

sociate Professor of Medicine at Harvard

Medical School, is the man behind 30+

years of ongoing research of what he

calls the ‘Relaxation Response’. Dr.

Benson has shown that practicing medi-

tators (eliciting the relaxation response)

have significant cumulative benefits

in managing stress. To quote Benson,

‘repeated activation of the relaxation

response can reverse sustained problems

in the body and mend the internal wear

and tear brought on by stress’.

Mental Pause

Holding on for that one big annual holi-

day is not the ideal way of dealing with

ongoing stress, and we can’t just store

it on another memory stick. The best

approach to managing stress is a proac-

tive and ongoing one. For those who

cry they ‘cant afford the time’ – a bonus

from recent studies has been the finding

that with relaxation and meditation

practices a little apparently goes a long

way. One recent study showed that

after just two weeks of daily 30-minute

sessions – individuals new to meditation

showed measurable brain and behaviour

differences.

As well as increasing productivity by

preventing stress related health issues;

meditation also seems to help regulate

emotions, which helps people communi-

cate and work together better. “One of

the most important domains meditation

acts upon is emotional intelligence – a

set of skills far more consequential for

life success than cognitive intelligence”

says Dr. Davidson.

One breath at a time

Incorporating multiple short ‘spot’

meditations throughout the day is the

ideal starting point for managing stress.

Spot meditations allow us to experience

some dramatic and immediate results,

as well as the ability to recognise our

individual hallmarks of stress, and how

to trigger the relaxation response when-

ever needed.

This is meditation in the heat of the

moment!

And you can start now.

Simple 4-7-8 breath technique

This exercise is extremely simple, takes

almost no time, no change of lifestyle or

equipment needed... this exercise can be

done in a queue, on the bus or even in

a meeting. Practice the technique a few

times a day whenever you need to wash

off some stress.

Place the tip of your tongue against •

the ridge of tissue just behind your

upper front teeth (and keep it there

throughout the exercise)

Exhale completely through your •

mouth – making an audible whoosh

sound

Close your mouth and inhale quietly •

through the nose to a mental count of

FOUR

Gently hold your breath for a count •

of SEVEN

Exhale completely through your •

mouth to a count of EIGHT

This is one breath. Now inhale again •

and repeat the cycle for three more

times – to a total of four breathes.

Go ahead and try this exercise – it’s

a guaranteed positive return on your

investment!

Success Mindset


I’m standing, staring into the trol-

ley ahead of me, there are at least ten

thousand items, and here I am, with my

basket of frozen foods heating up...

The kid’s magazine in the rack oppo-

site me catches my eye. There are three

beautiful girls, all smiles and energy and

freedom, they look like they’ve never

queued for anything in their fantastic

little lives. I heard somewhere that we

build our images of what we want when

we’re kids. It looks like these three are

on a winner. I guess they dream of nice

houses and Prince Charmings and hors-

es. I remember wanting good friends

and pretty kids and horses. It sounds so

mundane now, luckily, I also dreamed of

growing up and being a mermaid...

I’m looking at the white teeth and

perfect hair of one particularly enviable

girl. You can’t see anything of who she

actually is under all the cool clothes and

makeup. She could be hand drawn for

all I can tell. I peer at her a bit, no, shes

real. Was I trying to be her, breath-

taking and lifeless, when I dreamed a

mainstream future for myself?

The trolley in front of me jostles a bit

and I’m back to loafing, watching the

checkout boy scanning one item at a

time (we’re down to just five thousand).

Suddenly my toes are very cold, I step

back, out of the icy water pooling at my

feet. Its cold but not unbearable. I slide

my basket a few inches forward and

step into the circle, maybe, as a grown

up mermaid, I’ll stand here and dream

dreams for me.

Tips for dreaming

1. Dream the impossible, who cares if it

comes off, if it makes you smile its a suc-

cessful dream.

2. Imagination is more important than

knowledge - and free and constantly

available

NB The mainstream and your inner

critic probably aren’t good places to

dream from, their dreams might not take

into account what YOU want.

Rebecca is the Director of Living

Dreams, a specialist coaching & training

company with a vision to think differ-

ently. She can be contacted via mobile

URL betterfuturenow.mobi or email

[email protected].

Ignite Your Dreams By Rebecca Ryan

Success Mindset

Can I dream other dreams now, at this late stage – especially as I’ve lived beyond my origi-nal ones? If I could get past the weight of my expectations and my disappointment and my fear, I wonder what I would dream. From here, where would I go? What would I do?

http://[email protected]


The List of 100 Dreams... By Jenny Stilwell

I realized some time ago that I had somehow, somewhere along

the way, let go of my dreams. I hadn’t abandoned them, but I

had definitely neglected them. It happens… and it’s not good.

As I walked through the park opposite my house the other

day, I was drawn in to a group of children playing underneath

a tree. The branches stretched way out, sort of like a Christ-

mas tree shape, and in the space between the ground and

where the lowest branches started, they were huddled around

the trunk of the tree playing a game. I couldn’t hear what they

were doing but they were totally absorbed in their game...

I have found a great replacement for hiding under tree

branches, that adults can engage in quite easily! (If you really

do prefer the tree thing, that’s OK too!) I acquired this idea

from Jack Canfield, in the book profiled in this issue. It’s hard

to get going, but once you start to limber up your imagination,

it becomes really fun.

Use a spreadsheet or a piece of paper. Draw up these headings:

Your aim is to reach a list with 100 dreams on it.

Things that make your heart sing when you think of

how you’ll feel when you achieve/do them.

Do it on your own. 9

Get your partner to do one too and see how well matched 9

your lists are.

Get the whole family to do it. 9

Have your business partner do it with you. 9

Just do it! 9

By the time the next issue of Renaissance is in your hands,

you could have done this exercise, and have started moving

toward your List of 100 Dreams…

Success Mindset

Places to go People to meet Things to achieve / do Things to have Things to be


Photographer: Chris Aschenbrener

http://www.flickr.com/photos/casch/


Riding The Recession

By Jenny Stilwell

As everyone is aware,

sales and marketing

become even more criti-

cal functions in a market

downturn. Divesting your business of

marketing resources is the worst thing

to do.

If ‘Sales’ is the pointy end that goes out

and meets with prospective clients and

secures business for your firm, ‘Market-

ing’ is the driving force that attracts

people to your company/products/

services and positions you in the right

market to attract the right potential

buyers, for products or services that

deliver outcomes and value.

Right now, these functions are critical,

as are efficient and effective operational

procedures, cost management, and

measurement of return on any funds

invested (for marketing or selling activi-

ties, people, and resources of any kind

that are consumed by the business).

Here’s a summary of my 10-Step Plan to

help you focus your activities on how

to survive and thrive in the recession.

Some of this content has been published

in past issues from the BOSSMEN-

TOR® Business e-news over the last few

months.

Step 1 Reframe Your Thinking

We all have days where we can’t get our

mindset away from the negatives and

the negative ‘what-ifs’. These days put

us in hell, and keep us in hell!

I know what it’s like, you read the

newspaper or the business pages, you

have a conversation with a friend, you

meet with a client, you attend a func-

tion, and depending on the informa-

tion you take in, you could be positive,

negative, hopeful or despairing all

within about 60 seconds flat!

These are my tips to help you reframe

your thinking to get into the right

headspace to do what needs to be done

in your business:

Talk to calm, positive, resourceful •

people who have been there and sur-

vived. These people are real evidence

of what happens if you take the right

steps. They also know how to be

resourceful and will make you feel the

same way.

Stay away from the newspapers and •

the news while you do this step (and

longer if you can!).

Perspective - know what you are •

grateful for and put these things

into perspective; focus on all you are

grateful for in your life.

Focus on the process for now, not •

the outcome. Don’t worry about an

outcome; just know that when you

do the right things, the right things

happen. One step at a time and keep

moving forward; don’t stop.

Expand your thinking - Richard Bran-•

son’s philosophy is to expand when

your back is up against the wall. He

means to adopt expansionary think-

ing. Ask yourself questions like: who/

what market segments haven’t we sold

to and could we do it now, how; how

do we make our service/product com-

pelling and must-have; what are the

Survive and Thrive with This 10 Step Plan

How To


new needs emerging for our clients

and target market.

Use whatever it takes to shift your •

mindset into a calmer and more re-

sourceful state: music, physical activ-

ity, quiet time, driving with the wind

in your hair! Do it.

When you’ve reframed your thinking •

to be more resourceful, you can get

stuck into Step 2 - keeping the sales

momentum going!

Step 2 Lead Generation & Sales - Building a Pipeline

Your best source of sales is from exist-

ing clients. However, you also need to

implement lead generation activities to

attract new prospective clients so you

have a pipeline of leads for the future,

not just for now.

When creating leads, your goal is to

start with the warmest way of generat-

ing new contacts, as warm leads will en-

able you to build your relationship with

these contacts faster than cold leads.

Remember, the goal is for your contacts

to know you, like you and trust you. All

your lead generation marketing activity

needs to be around ways to make this

happen in the soonest possible time.

Ask yourself: ‘what is the most effective

way for me to not only get in touch with

new leads, but to give them a taste of

the value I could give them?

Let• other people tell them how good

you are! (referrals and testimonials)

Get in front of them and • give them

value first hand (speaking, being

interviewed, radio)

Give them • content of value and of

interest (research data relating to

their niche, webinars, teleseminars,

magazines (like this one), books, etc

– but it has to be of interest and of

value to generate new leads’

The most effective source of low cost

lead generation is typically referrals &

testimonials. Speaking engagements are

also very effective as long as you are in

front of your target audience and your

message has content they want to hear.

With referrals, you need to ask clients

who best reflect the sort of new clients

you’d like to attract. Knowing how

you’ve been able to help them, they

will more easily translate that to other

companies of similar size or type. If

relevant, don’t just ask your contact for

a referral, but any other people in the

client’s organisation that you’ve been

dealing with and have a good relation-

ship with. They can also be an excellent

source of referrals.

You can ask for referrals and do several

things with them:

call those people directly with the aim •

of setting up a meeting

have lunch or a meeting with your cli-•

ent and the person they are referring

you to – best where you have a very

good relationship with your client

and the process will flow very easily

invite your clients and their contacts •

to a function or event you are hold-

ing, where the referred contact will

have a chance to meet you, and see

you in action, so to speak

send something to the referred con-•

tacts directly so they have some back-

ground information on you and your

company, then contact them with a

view to having a meeting

For those clients who aren’t comfortable

referring, or don’t have any contacts

they think would be appropriate to

refer, ask them for a testimonial.

Use testimonials:

on your website•

in your marketing collateral•

as part of your message on hold•

framed and hung on your meeting •

room walls

Another important aspect of lead gen-

eration amongst warmer contacts is to

use affiliation. By definition, if someone

approaches you and also belongs to

the same club as you, or is part of the

same association or industry group, or

even has children at the same school

or a partner that works for the same

company as your partner, etc, you will

be more inclined toward that person

because affiliation to the same thing cre-

ates a warm contact.

So, explore your own memberships and

associations and groups to develop new

leads.

Step 3 Identifying New Growth Opportunuties

This applies to new opportunities

within your niche market, as well as op-

portunities in new niches.

Ask yourself: ‘what new things do busi-

nesses/people in my target market need

now?’

Look at the niches or companies that are

addressing those new needs and doing

well, and consider what you could do

for them right now. Are they spending

money on more people, more marketing,

more training, more financial planning

advice, more HR advice?

This step was covered off in more detail

in the November 18th, 2008 issue of

BOSSMENTOR® Business.

How To


How To

Step 4 Products & Services Marketing - Reinvent to Remain Relevant

Staying relevant and reinventing your

offer is something that should happen

on an ongoing basis in any market, as

being complacent is a cardinal sin in

business! So, it’s time to get out your

wand and weave some magic!

I established a marketing consultancy

during the last recession, against every-

one’s advice, and initially I won clients

on the basis of a very broad service

offering.

Back then, a lot of people still thought

marketing was about advertising,

or producing brochures (I know, I

know…!) so at times, the sales process

was an uphill battle. It wasn’t really

about the recession, it was about the

relevance of my offer.

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself

about your products/services, in order

to keep them relevant:

1. Is your offering easy to sell?

If not, you need to chunk it down to

more manageable offers. For example,

when I was offering a broad marketing

service, it was difficult to sell because

I was trying to be all things to all po-

tential clients! By doing that, I wasn’t

focused on any one thing and so it was

hard to sell. If you have trouble articu-

lating your offer, it won’t be relevant to

your prospects!

2. Is your offer easy to buy?

Same as the above but from the pros-

pect’s perspective. If they can’t get their

head around what your offer is it will

have zero relevance to their business.

Also, if there are too many hurdles or

steps in what they need to do to buy

your product/service, an alternative

offer is likely to have more interest and

relevance to them.

3. What is the sales trend for your

products/services?

That is, what sells well, what is it that

your clients don’t buy much of, and

what’s the trend? If there’s a product

or service that you offer but no-one is

particularly interested in it, you need to

replace it with something more relevant,

and focus on those products/services

that sell well.

4. Is there a pattern in the purchas-

ing sequence?

Which products/services do your

clients usually buy first? For example,

will they ask you to design a brochure

before they ask you to redesign their

website? Do they have you develop a

strategy first, then do what’s needed

to implement it or project manage it?

The point of this is that if you know

what the sequence is, you can lead your

clients into it, rather than focus on just

selling one service on an ad hoc basis.

Focus on the sequence.

5. Does your offer reflect market

trends?

For example, if your marketing firm

only focused on printed media and ig-

nored digital, it would have decreasing


relevance in the broad market, as clients

want a mix of media.

6. Can you quantify the outcomes

and value you can deliver to your

clients?

This is essential in any business, but in

more buoyant markets a ‘nice to have’

offer is more likely to get through. In

tougher markets, your offer needs to be

a ‘must have’ with tangible ROI for your

prospects.

7.Have you converted services to

products?

For example, a broad marketing service

becomes far more relevant when it is

packaged into products, such as Focus

Group Product Testing, Lead Generation

Campaign Development, Email Mar-

keting Campaign Packages, etc. Your

prospects understand what the service

is by the name you give it, and a prod-

uct description can highlight the value

it delivers and the outcomes it achieves.

You can charge a higher fee for a pack-

aged product and outcome, versus an

hourly fee for a general service.

8. Have you had conversations with

your clients and other business

people to determine what their chal-

lenges are?

For example, if you are a Sales Consul-

tant you could potentially be having a

field day offering lead generation and

client growth services to many busi-

nesses. If you provide services to your

clients and want to secure the busi-

ness you have, you may consider more

favourable terms for your clients.

9. What’s to be scared about the

positive aspects of reinvention?

Just because you’ve had your business

for many years, doesn’t mean it needs to

remain the same as it always has. Consider

it time for a spring clean and ‘relevance

overhaul’. Leap now, rewards later!

10. Finally, have you looked beyond

your own market?

It’s always important to continually

look at what other businesses are doing,

both in your industry and beyond, and

watch what the leading companies are

doing. Constantly scan for ideas and

fresh perspectives and approaches.

That’s for starters. Get onto it and see

what you can do to shift your relevance

rating up the scale by the next issue!

Step 5 Identify & Address Risks

Without having to do an entire analy-

sis of your business operations, here

are 3 quick strategies to minimize risk

and ensure you will ride through the

recession with a healthy and profitable

business:

Strategy 1 Analyse your sales

Know what you sell and to whom•

Know which products and services •

are more in demand

Know what each product or service •

contributes to your business)

Ideally, sell more of the ‘in demand’

products, sell more of the high value

products, focus on the products that

contribute a large proportion of your

company’s revenue or profit.

Be mindful of the sales cycle too. If you

have a very high value product that has

a long sales cycle, factor that into your

forecasting. Balance the long sales cycle

products with those that are easier to

sell, and are in effect your company’s

‘bread and butter’.

Strategy 2 Analyse your marketing returns

Marketing options are many, but •

not all marketing produces the same

results

Make a point of knowing which •

marketing activities produce the best

results. If you’ve never tracked it then

start doing so, otherwise you will

potentially waste not only money but

energy and time

Also, make sure that the marketing •

activities which produce the most

results also produce the best results

– that is, they attract the sort of po-

tential clients that match your target

profile

Strategy 3 Analyse & track your cash flow and sales forecast

I can’t tell you how many clients I have

worked with who don’t have sales fore-

casts and don’t do budgets. If you don’t

forecast and track, you can’t effectively

manage your cash flow and/or adjust

your sales and marketing activities.

Develop a P&L budget for your com-•

pany and/or your product

Over estimate your expected expenses •

and underestimate your expected

sales

Track on a regular basis (frequency •

will be determined by the length of

your sales cycle: if you own a retail

shop you can track this daily; if you

sell high-end software systems you

may track monthly)

These 3 strategies alone are very quick

and effective ways to minimize risk in

your business and stay ahead in a tight

market.

How To


How To

Step 6: Client Growth – 5 Steps to New Revenue

Focus on your existing clients and make

sure you are providing them with ev-

erything you possibly can to make their

life easier, wealthier, healthier, more

pleasant, exciting etc.

Don’t neglect these clients, just because

they are already your clients.

Remember that old saying, ‘a bird in the

hand is worth two in the bush’, which

always makes me laugh because how

often does anyone want a bird or two in

their hand?

Never mind about the birds, remember

to stay on top of your client base:

Analyse your existing clients so you •

know where the opportunities and

growth are

Set clear goals for how you want to •

grow your clients and what you are

trying to achieve

Focus on your relationships (refer to •

this issue’s article on ‘How Relevant

Are You Really To Your Clients?’)

Develop one page account plans to •

provide a clear summary of what you

need to focus on and how

Implement the actions needed to grow •

your client base, and keep this loop

going

Step 7 Manage Cashflow

This is essential but many business

owners don’t do cashflow forecasting.

Even owners of multi-million dollar

businesses don’t do it.

You must do cashflow forecasts so you

can be on top of money flowing in and

out of your business. Invoiced revenue

does not equal cash.

Draw up a cashflow forecast spread-•

sheet (if you don’t know how to do

it or have never done one before, get

your accountant to set it up for you

and take you through it)

Do your invoicing promptly•

Ensure your receivables don’t blow •

out - keep on top of collecting your

revenue (collected revenue = cash!)

Make sure all your expenses are •

itemized (again, get your accountant

to check this for you)

Make sure your terms are in your •

favour (for example, don’t invoice

projects 100% at the end but aim for

progress payments with short terms)

Manage your creditors – if you need •

to shuffle around your payments to

coincide with payments, let your

creditors know. Communicate with

them at all times. Running away

and not communicating is the worst

strategy!

Keep updating your cashflow forecast

on a regular basis – it is an ongoing

process.

Step 8 People & Getting Things Done

Make sure every person in your busi-

ness, and those resources that are

outsourced, are aware of exactly what

they need to do and how they will be

assessed.

In order to keep things moving along in

your business, you and your team will

need to be focused on high yield activi-

ties (priorities) and do them efficiently.

Efficiency applied to the right things =

effective.

Now is a good time to review everyone’s

Position Description (they all have one,

don’t they…) and the goals and KPIs

attached. You want to make sure that

you and your team are all focused on


How To

the outcomes that will produce the best

results for your business.

Key activities are likely to be sales/

business development, marketing and

promotion, new product/service rein-

vention/development, effective product/

service delivery and client growth (as

well as cashflow management!).

Make sure your processes work. A

phrase I heard from Bill Glazer (GKIC)

is ‘inspect what you expect’. In other

words, if you expect a certain process to

have a certain outcomes or to flow in a

particular way, check it and make sure

it works.

I recently did that as a matter of course

with our website, and discovered that

there was no way anyone could buy a

product from us online! That’s why the

‘Product’ section has been taken down

and when it goes back up, it will work

the way it should.

You can check these processes in any

area of your business: what happens

when you get a new client on board;

what happens if someone returns prod-

ucts; what happens when someone calls

your company; what happens when you

sign people up via your website; what

happens when your newsletter goes out;

what happens when you

Step 9 Pursue & Assess New Opportunities

These could be in the form of:

New product/services (develop your •

own; licence or distribute others)

Joint ventures (for new projects/un-•

dertakings with new partners)

Affiliates (to market/sell your prod-•

ucts)

or a daily action list that’s been accumu-

lated over a month.

They are the top two, five, ten things

that you need to do to actually move the

business forward. Your team will each

have their own list of Big Rocks.

Big Rocks define your top priorities and

keep them clear for the month ahead.

Whenever you feel a bit overwhelmed

or off-track, refer to your Big Rocks list

and you’ll be focused again.

The name and concept came from Ste-

phen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Suc-

cessful People” whereby an exercise in

fitting big rocks, stones, pebbles, sand

and water into a large jar will only work

if you put the big rocks in first and the

other items will fit in around them. If

you focus on the small items first and

give them your attention (fit them into

the jar) you won’t have any room for the

big rocks. They just won’t fit if you try

to put them in last!

Big Rocks always go first, and I sug-

gest you draw up a list for each month

to keep you on track, and have your

team do the same. Make sure you’re all

in alignment and watch as you progress

towards your big objectives.

Merging with another business•

Acquisition of another business or its •

products

New markets•

New channels (online, affiliates)•

When you assess your new opportuni-

ties, always consider:

What is the cost to do this?•

What is the estimated return? Will it •

be worth doing?

Will this take my business closer to •

our overall goal?

What is the lead time on this opportu-•

nity (i.e. is it short term or long term)

Does it capitalize on our strengths?•

Does it strengthen our weaknesses?•

Is there another alternative that could •

produce better results?

Step 10 Be Clear On Your Priorities Big Rocks

I have a system that I use for my busi-

ness, and I encourage all my clients to

use it as well.

It’s called ‘Big Rocks’ and they repre-

sent the activities in any given month

that will move your business closer to

its goals.

They aren’t a checklist or a ‘to-do’ list


Would any of your clients betray you?

Would you have any warning? Any why

would they betray you? They would

if you were no longer relevant to their

business

I want to take this opportunity to out-

line a way to help optimize your core

business in a difficult market.

A global tier one consulting firm de-

veloped a score called the NPS – Net

Promoter Score. They use it with their

multi-national clients to determine how

close they are to their clients and there-

fore how secure that relationship is. The

essence of it is, how well would your

clients really speak of you to others and

how important are you really to their

business.

A high rating with customers is es-

sential if your business is to success-

fully ride the recession. It is now more

important than ever to have a strategic

focus to protect your greatest asset –

your customers.

We have done several surveys on behalf

of our clients to determine their ‘Cus-

tomer Relevance Score’. We use six

questions and their associated feedback

to deliver results that will enable you

to constantly stay ahead of the pack

in servicing your customers. The end

result is a score you can track that ef-

fectively ‘protects’ your position with

your key customers and continues to

make you relevant to their business.

It is also a great customer service tool

from the client’s perspective, just

because you have taken the time to ask

what they think, want and need. And,

some of the results that are uncovered

include feedback on how to strengthen

your relevance to your client’s business,

and what you need to do to build or

maintain secure relationships.

For companies that deal with retailers,

there are many competitors jockeying

for shelf space and working to replace

you. For those who deal with corporate

clients, the competition is just as intense

to secure as much as possible of corpo-

rate spending budgets.

Clients don’t always complain if

your service is no longer relevant

to them. They just ‘go’.

How Relevant Are You Really To Your clients?

By Jenny Stilwell

Strategy


Strategy

If you don’t ask, you may be exposing

your business to a potential risk. Isn’t it

worth asking the question?

There are many benefits in identifying

your Customer Relevance Score now:

If you don’t take the time to do it, •

your competitors will – it will be

good for your customers to see you

take the lead

In a difficult market• , you want in-

sightful information on what really

strengthens your business position

with your customers – this is the best

way to get it

You can get feedback from more than •

one contact in the organisation, pro-

viding a more holistic perspective of

your company

It’s the best way to discover if you •

could be lifting your game, and in

what way

It can be done • quickly, in a way that

is convenient for your customers, and

at minimal cost to you

Once you have this information – your

score – you can use it in your business

as a KPI that is measured each year.

One of my clients, always mindful of

minimising risk in their business, and

adopting innovation in everything they

do, now uses this score and what it tells

them is to stay as close to their clients

as possible. There is limited room for a

competitor to take their place and they

want to keep it that way!

If your business targets high net worth

individuals, for example, this is espe-

cially important, as the level of service

these clients receive must be of a very

high level in line with their fees! Would

you like more free time and if so, how

would you spend it?

I undertook this exercise on behalf of a

business advisor and a financial advisor,

and both received very low scores. The

potential risk of their clients moving to

another firm was high. For both firms,

the level of service they received was

not of high perceived value and for

both again, their service offerings were

confusing and as such, seen as not par-

ticularly relevant. Needless to say, they

weren’t happy with their respective

results, but at least we could then put a

plan of action in place to address these

risk exposures.

If you are in a highly competitive

market where competitors are always

pitching to win your clients over, for

If your business targets high

net worth individuals, for

example, this is especially

important, as the level of

service these clients receive

must be of a very high level in

line with their fees!

If you are in a highly

competitive market where

competitors are always

pitching to win your clients

over, for example in PR,

recruitment, design and

branding firms, this is an

essential tool.

example in PR, recruitment, design and

branding firms, this is an essential tool.

You can do this exercise yourself or

you could approach us to do it for you.

Either way, if you have high value

clients in particular, just make sure you

do something to assess and protect your

relationship with them!

Set your business goals because they are

in alignment with what you really want

to do, and enable you to live a great life.

Don’t set goals simply because you can,

and be tethered by them as a result.

Think of the lines in the INXS song:

‘we all have wings, but some of us don’t

know why’. Make sure your business

enables you to use your wings and fly!

Clients don’t always complain

if your service is no longer

relevant to them. They just ‘go’.


JS: Hi Trish, thanks again for agreeing

to be interviewed for Renaissance

Magazine. I thought it would be

interesting for our readers to have

some insights into how you approach

marketing for a growing global

consulting firm.

Before we start talking about you and

your role, could you tell us a little bit

about Protiviti?

Trish: Protiviti is a global business

consulting and internal audit firm with

experts who focus on risk, advisory

and transaction services. We help firms

solve problems in finance, operations,

technology, governance, risk and com-

pliance. Protiviti has over sixty offices

in fifteen countries in Asia-Pacific, the

Americas, Europe and the Middle East

and employs over 3,000 professionals.

JS: How big is the firm in Australia and

how long have you been in operation?

Trish: In Australia, we have five offices

in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth

and Sydney. Protiviti started in the US

almost seven years ago and in Australia

we are celebrating our fifth anniversary

this month.

JS: So what’s been the driver behind

the firm’s rapid global growth?

Trish: In the first few years, our growth

came out of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

2002. SOX (that’s what it’s generally

known as) was a response to a number

of large corporate scandals including

Enron, Tyco and Worldcom which cost

investors billions of dollars. The Act

covers issues such as auditor indepen-

dence, corporate governance, internal

control assessment, and enhanced finan-

cial disclosure.

Protiviti helps companies with the SOX

compliance. This flowed on to countries

including Australia - there are many

companies here that are head-quartered

in the US that required SOX compliance.

JS: So the initial growth driver was

regulatory compliance?

Trish: Initially, but since then we’ve

built a significant Internal Audit and

Risk Consulting business in Australia

including technology risk. We have

a global alliance with SAP and work

with them on governance, risk and

compliance implementations.

JS: And what was the rollout model for

the next offices outside the US?

Trish: Each office was started by profes-

sionals, originally from other firms, who

were able to develop a client base and

build the firm up in that country

JS: And what role do you see marketing

TrishFinnemore‘Get the Marketing Mix Right’NameTrish FinnemorePositionBusiness Development & Marketing ManagerLocationMelbourne, AustraliaCompanyProtiviti, a global audit & consulting firmWebsitewww.protiviti.com Size3,000 employees

Corporate Insights

http://www.protiviti.com


having in the growth of the company,

particularly here in Australia?

Trish: My role is much broader than

marketing. I work with Protiviti’s

executive team in Australia imple-

menting business development strate-

gies. We have an excellent CRM system,

Salesforce, that helps us to capture

leads, contacts and opportunities. In a

service firm like Protiviti, establishing

a strong business development culture

and processes is vital to its success, par-

ticularly during challenging economic

times such as these.

The business development strategies

drive the marketing plan in terms of the

target audience, key initiatives and bud-

get. Whatever marketing strategy we

implement, it has to be in synergy with

the business development plan.

I’m not sure I could do my job effec-

tively without being across both roles in

the business.

JS: So you focus on top level business

growth down to the level of account

planning?

Trish: In a service firm you need to

have your head around both areas.

Client growth – who your clients are,

how you will grow them, what their

needs are and how you can deliver that

– needs a plan. It’s about real targets

and how you’re going to achieve them.

We need to stay on top of things – for

example, we need to know about up-

coming tenders before they even go out.

We have a national approach to our key

clients. Business development - what

we do at an account level - and what

we do to market the firm overall are

crucially interwoven.

JS: So, you’ve been a brand marketer in

FMCG, and a marketer of professional

services. Broadly speaking, how does

the marketing differ?

Trish: This is a good question. I see

a lot of marketing short-sightedness

when it comes to viewing the difference

between consumer and services market-

ing. For the most part, the theory

of marketing applies in all areas of

marketing irrespective of the indus-

try and whether you are marketing a

service or a product.

I won’t deny that consumer market-

ing has been doing that successfully

for well over 50 years and the most

proficient companies at marketing are

in the FMCG industries. In my view

that’s because the whole business is

marketing centric rather than driven by

sales or accounting or other parts of the

business. They have to be because they

operate in a highly competitive market

and the only thing that sets them apart

is differentiation through the applica-

tion of marketing strategies whether

that’s in the product, pricing, advertis-

ing or whatever.

In the services industry, marketing was

much slower to take off. Banks were

focusing their attention toward market-

ing in the 1980’s and we have only seen

it in professional services firms since the

1990’s. We still have a way to go.

I have been able to use my marketing

skills obtained from a number of indus-

tries to think more broadly and strategi-

cally about the issues facing Protiviti

and how it applies to this industry. I’m

not afraid to challenge norms and try

new things. I would like to see the pro-

fession broaden its thinking about the

synergies rather than thinking about

the differences.

JS: How would you look at the syner-

gies?

Trish: Well, first of all marketers need

We all need to look outside our own industries to other strategies being used by marketers in other businesses.

Corporate Insights


Corporate Insights

to be broader in their thinking and

open their mind to employing people

from other industries. Tunnel vision

is too rampant – it stifles creativity.

You can move around and be better

marketers because of it.

JS: We all need to look outside our

own industries to other strategies

being used by marketers in other

businesses. All we have to do is look

at the airlines and how they’ve always

catered to different categories of flyer,

with First, Business, Premium Business

and Economy. That same principle has

been carried into many industries and

businesses where different levels of

experience are offered for a premium –

both product and service businesses.

Trish: That’s right. You see people not

getting marketing roles because they

don’t have the exact experience in that

industry, but they could bring a lot of

fresh ideas and creativity to it.

JS: How important is the marketing mix

in what you do?

Trish: It’s crucial to the success of the

plan and achievement of objectives.

You can only really start to determine

the most effective mix when you have

set up measurable objectives and be

in a position to calculate ROI. When

I came into this role, there was a skew

towards conferences and events. We

have adjusted our mix and now have a

more balanced approach. It enables me

to focus on other areas such as publicity

that has delivered greater returns for us

as a business.

JS: How do you go about measuring

the results of your marketing, as this is

something that many businesses, of all

sizes, struggle with?

Trish: There’s no one measure overall,

but these are some of the measures you

can use for different types of activity:

For PR you can measure number of

releases produced and the number

of those that get into the media. For

advertising, you can ask new people

approaching the firm where they hear

about Protiviti, and do informal research

that way. Formal research is costly so we

try to capture this information informal-

ly. For conferences, collecting business

cards is a measure relative to the total

number of attendees. We also try to col-

lect names and titles of people who may

be interested in our services, at a very

minimum.

You can measure on fairly simple things,

for example with electronic mail-outs

you can measure open rates and click-

throughs to downloads and links.

You have to be able to capture and

record this sort of information, and then

you can build up trend information and

analyse performance from one year, or

activity, to the next. It involves work

and follow up, but that’s what you have

to do.

JS: A lot of people don’t really under-

stand what marketing is, but a lot of

business owners in particular are now

very focused on marketing as a way to

survive and thrive in a tough market.

What’s your view of marketing as a

business function?

Trish: I’m fortunate to work for a

strategically-minded leader who looks

at these economic conditions as an op-

portunity for Protiviti. Being a young

organisation, we still have a way to go

with brand awareness so we will con-

tinue with our existing marketing plans

to improve our position in the market

while our competitors are slowing down

their efforts.

Just last week in the paper I read about

a marketing head at a high-profile law

firm being “shown the door” along with

members of her team.

It’s tough for marketers right now but

businesses equally need to ensure that

their marketing function is deliver-

ing to the bottom line. That’s why

having measurable objectives is so

important to demonstrate the value

of marketing to the business. And it

helps to have bosses who are strategic

in their approach.

The reality is for most marketers that

budgets will be cut. This is where we

need to employ all our skills to be

better communicators with the busi-

ness to make sure they are seeing the

value in what is being delivered.

JS: Finally, what do you do when you’re

not focused on marketing strategy for

Protiviti?

Trish: I’m an active person and enjoy

spending time at the gym. I workout

mainly for my brain but I also get the

benefits of keeping in shape. I love

skiing and I’m hoping for a cold winter

with lots of snow on the mountains. I

grew up in Queensland and didn’t start

to ski until I was in my thirties. And

now I’m totally addicted to the sport

and can’t get enough of it!

JS: I’ll keep my fingers crossed for

buckets of snow! Thanks Trish – it’s

been great having a chat about the

importance of marketing – one of my

favourite subjects!


Content Rating

Easy-Read Score

Promotional BlurbThe three-pointed star. Magic. Mys-

tique. Mercedes-Benz.

With its legendary performance and

quality, Mercedes-Benz is one of the

most recognizable brands in existence.

The first book to examine Mercedes-

Benz as a brand phenomenon, Enduring

Passion provides a fascinating look at

how the brand developed and the myths

and realities surrounding it as it faced

the global convulsions of war, mergers,

and economic uncertainty. Handsomely

produced in a large format and richly

illustrated with previously unpublished

photographs, Enduring Passion is the

life story of the Mercedes-Benz brand

and how its iconic symbol became a

synonym for power and elegance.

SummaryFrom a marketing perspective this is

a fabulous reference book that can

provide some interesting and useful

frameworks for assessing and managing

a brand. The history of both Mercedes

and Benz and how these two companies

were brought together, with quite dif-

ferent cultures, also makes for a fascinat-

ing acquisitions and mergers case study.

Beyond that, the history of the highs

and lows of a global brand and the

strategies to keep its fortunes and value

intact, is definitely worth reading.

This is a beautiful hard cover book with

fabulous images that could also be a

coffee table book once you’ve finished

reading it.!

Success PrincipalsJack Canfield

Content Rating

Easy-Read Score

Promotional BlurbTo be human is to aspire to success: in

life, home, relationships, work, educa-

tion, creative expression, and indeed in

every aspect of daily living. Not since

the seminal works of Dale Carnegie and

Napoleon Hill has a writer produced

a work that can inspire, instruct, and

practically nurture the impulse for

success in all its manifold expressions.

While many authors are serving seg-

ments around this need--mentoring,

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Best info

ships--only Jack Canfield is addressing

this greater void in the marketplace of

ideas.

The Success Principles(tm) is a water-

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oriented culture, touching on every

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Think and Grow Rich was a touchstone

for readers last century, so this book

will become the new self improvement

standard for our own.

SummaryJack Canfield’s style is very engaging,

based as it is on telling the stories of

people whose experiences are relevant

to the lessons in each chapter.

Although he himself uses these same

principles and has a track record as

testament to their effectiveness, they are

not all Jack’s principles. What he has

done is collect and collate proven strate-

gies, many around mindset, from the

masters of personal development – Tony

Robbins, Bob Proctor et al.

It’s a good read, it has very practical ad-

vice that’s easy to follow, and it’s worth

picking up a copy if ‘success’ is a topic

of interest.

Enduring Passion: The Story of the Mercedes-Benz BrandLeslie Butterfield

BOOKS


People create legacies. People create

brands that become their legacy.

So is the case of the Mercedes Benz

brand, a brand that has been appreci-

ated by several generations over the last

120 years, and a brand that is known in

most countries of the world. The brand

extends from luxury limousines to road

sweepers (yes!).

In 1995, the International

Olympic Committee conducted a

worldwide survey that revealed

that the Mercedes-Benz logo of

the three-pointed star was better

known around the world than the

Christian cross. 1

That’s a legacy. The history is colourful

and has plenty of bumps in the road,

but what are some of the lessons we can

deduce from a brand that has grown

from the alliance of two quite different

and potentially competing car compa-

nies? (The company founders were Karl

Benz, and Gottlieb Daimler.)

There are many lessons to be learned

from this amazing story of brand legacy,

but here are just a few to provide some

food for thought:

Strong brands help us to make

choices, because we know what

they stand for and what their

promise to us is.

Does your brand help your potential

clients make choices? Is it clear what

you stand for?

Think about some of the brands you

have around you – your car, your

perfume, your handbag, your makeup,

your watch.

What images come to mind when we

talk about ‘Chanel’?

What sort of lifestyle does reference to

Ralph Lauren evoke?

What sort of person wears the Nike

brand?

5 Lessons from a Global Brand Mercedes-Benz: 150 Years of Passion

Some brands have the power to satisfy a

range of human needs from belonging,

status, recognition and self esteem. Very

powerful stuff.

If someone mentioned your brand to

me, and I’d heard of you before, what

sort of images would you want me to

think of?

Not all brands are the result of

great strategy. Some evolve.

A representative from Mercedes-Benz

said the company had its first strategic

discussions only in the 1980s. That same

person said the brand was a result of

working in little steps and was up until

that point, a ‘happy accident’.

My personal view on that is that such

evolution comes from being authen-

tic in how the brand was continuously

improved and the pursuit of excellence

behind it. Being authentic in anything

can create its own level of leadership to

others.

Leadership & Legacy


Leadership & Legacy

Are you and your brand really coming

from a place of authenticity?

For brands that have the power to

evoke feelings in consumers who

want to belong to the brand and

be part of its story, the companies

behind them can charge a

premium.

The figures below are a couple of years

old now, but it shows the relative values

of global brands and how they have

shifted between 2004 and 2007 (they are

taken from Interbrand’s annual analysis

of leading brands):

Leading brands create powerful messages

Back in Henry Ford’s day, the choice of

your car in any colour, as long as it was

black, was not such a big deal because

how many cars were on the road any-

way? Choice of colour was less impor-

tant than the accessibility of actually

being able to own a car. Just having the

car was a sign of wealth.

Now, the car is often less about wealth

per se, and more about lifestyle (think

message of the brand to today’s global

consumers).

The photo on the cover of the story of

the Mercedes-Benz brand – Enduring

Passion, featured in this issue’s ‘Books’

section – is taken from inside the car,

looking over the three-pointed emblem

on the hood of the car. It is accompa-

nied by words that speak to a lifestyle

requirement of a certain type of con-

sumer. They are:

“The door shut with all the reassurance

of a vacuum sealed vault. Then I sat

back in my seat and watched the world

outside unfold upon the screen, as if it

were a silent movie.”

Great brands have an essence

This representation of the brand’s as-

sociations (both positive and negative),

outstanding features of the product, and

the values of the brand are summed up

here. The flip side represents the unin-

tended perceptions of what the brand

stands for, which if you’re going to take

care with your brand you need to be

mindful of.

The essence of the Mercedes-Benz brand

today is one of enduring passion (which

is why the book is titled thus, and not

the other way round!).

I’ve used this brand template in devel-

oping brand strategies with my clients,

and if it’s good enough for the Mercedes

Benz brand, it’s good enough for me!

Mercedes-Brand Today Essence Endur-

ing Passion Product Safe Durable Ad-

vanced Luxurious Performance Associa-

tions Positive: Trusted Special Dynamic

Negative: Ostentatious Serious Tradi-

The Top 10 most valuable global brands

2004 2004 Rank 2007 2007 Rank

Coca Cola 67.4B 1 65.2B 1

Microsoft 65B 2 58.7 2

IBM 53.8B 3 57.0 3

GE 44.1B 4 51.5 4

Intel 33.5B 5 30.9 7

Disney 27.1B 6 29.2 9

McDonalds 25B 7 29.3 8

Nokia 24B 8 33.6 5

Toyota 22.7B 9 32.0 6

Marlboro 22.1B 10 21.2 14

Mercedes ? 25.5 10

tional Values Authenticity Innovation

Leadership Quality Flip Side Complex

Inconsistent Complacent

If you’re interested in brands and

marketing I urge you to read the book

detailing the history of the brand, how

it survived through difficult times, and

the future of the brand is it looks from

today. The history of a great legacy in

automation, and marketing a brand!

1 The International Olympic Committee

survey into symbol recognition. Sample of

7,000 questioned in the UK, US, Ger-

many, Australia, India, Japan. Details

published in Today, 20 July 1995.

AssociationsPositive:TrustedSpecialDynamicNegative: OstentatiousSerious Traditional

ProductSafe Durable

Advanced Luxurious

Performance

Flip SideComplexInconsistentComplacent

ValuesAuthenticity Innovation

Leadership Quality

EssenceEnduring Passion


Amalfi CoastThe Amalfi Coast has long been on my

list of destination locations for some

time, & is more so after reading Amanda

Tabberer’s “My Amalfi Coast” (released

last year), her ‘up close & personal’

account of her life there for 18 years, &

her stories & experiences of one of the

world’s most spectacular coastal land-

scapes, its people & the culture.

Gelati colour palettes adorn the cliff

faces, & the views of the Mediterranean

are simply majestic. Cultural pride is

Amalfi Coast Image Courtesy CN Traveller

Amalfi Coast Image Courtesy CN Traveller

The Amalfi Coast Image courtesy CN Traveller

Restaurant – Amalfi Coast Casa Augerlera

everywhere, & whether you live, work

or are travelling to this exotic piece of

paradise, food, wine & happiness are

an integral way of life for all to enjoy

all day long. These photos give new

meaning to “a room with a view”...

again, white works so beautifully & ef-

fortlessly.

For another dose if Amalfi inspiration,

latest Vogue Entertaining & Travel issue

(Feb/March 2009) includes a feature

article “Stroke Of Genius”...pg 126...I’d

call it ‘heaven on earth’.

Haven Home

Favourite Things


Favourite Things

Heaven ScentFor a special dose of personal pamper-

ing, step into a touch of ‘heaven scent’

at the stunning boutique perfumery,

Peony Melbourne, in Hawthorn.

Jill Timms’ passion is dedicated to the

world of boutique fragrances, many of

which she stocks exclusively. The first

time I walked into her beautiful store,

my day had been somewhat challeng-

ing. The moment I walked in, my mood

immediately lifted, & I was totally

absorbed by all that was around me.

The magnificent array of collections,

merchandising, amimage bience, gift

wrapping & service made the half hour

experience thoroughly enjoyable &

memorable. Upon leaving, I rang a dear

friend of mine who had experienced a

similar day to mine, with the express

purpose of telling her that I had found

the perfect antidote to her tension...&

no, it didn’t involve wine!

Next time you’re in need of being

pampered, I recommend a visit to

Peony Melbourne, it’s perfect. And of

course, for those of you who celebrate

Valentine’s Day, I suggest a visit to

Peony, with or without your partner.

Claire Jackson, Interiors Consultant, authors Haven Home:www.havenhome.blogspot.com

Contact Claire:[email protected]

This is an excerpt from a blog that features the latest, and most divine, interiors, lifestyle profiles, design, and luxury resorts.

http://www.havenhome.blogspot.com


EgyptHome of the PharaohsThe Chaos of Cairo

I thought Rome’s traffic was chaotic. Cairo makes Rome look

orderly! No traffic lights anywhere (and I was looking!), no

lanes, every car has dents and scrapes, they often touch each

other and it never stops. As we travelled the one hour drive

from the airport to the hotel, which in parts was virtually a

crawl through the traffic, peddlers and beggars knocked at the

windows, drawing us in with pleading faces and sick chil-

dren, wanting money passed through the window. Confront-

ing, horrifying and tragic…

The equivalent of Australia’s entire population lives in Cairo;

personal space is an unknown concept. The comfort and rela-

tive luxury that my dog lives in would be a stretch of a dream

for so many of Cairo’s children. The poverty is heart-breaking.

Population estimates vary between 500,000 and five million

people living in the City of the Dead, a number of cemeteries

in an area of Cairo. The urban housing crisis has created a sub-

culture living in tombs amongst the dead. They make ‘houses’

from the structures built to house the dead. Some have man-

aged to hook up electricity, others haven’t…

In spite of the poverty and the overcrowding, Cairo is obvi-

ously a very religious city, and also one which is highly

dependent on tourism. This may be the reason for the contrast

between manicured gardens and beautifully maintained build-

ings of tourist hotels and places of religion, and the chaotic,

dirty streets outside.

Spotlight


By contrast, the hotels we stayed in were 5-star luxury, and in

some cases, beautifully restored old palaces.

The driving force that led me to Egypt was a lifelong fascina-

tion with Ancient Egypt’s pharaohs and their history, and a

desire to see one of the Ancient Wonders of the World, the

Pyramids of Giza.

The Pyramids of Giza

During the early hours of my first night, with a body clock

out of synch, I got out of bed and drew the curtains back.

I can’t explain how I felt at that moment. Rising up in the

darkness and reaching toward the sky I could only just see the

outline of the largest of the pyramids. The vast hotel grounds

were sheltered from the noise of the traffic out in the streets,

and in the silence I stood there in awe of a structure that had

been standing in that spot for 4,000 years.

The picture was different, but still amazing, by day. The

pyramids are surrounded by tourists from all over the world

and those tourists, in turn, are surrounded (circled more like

it) by the equally ubiquitous Bedouins on camels. A perfect

photo opportunity taken at just the right angle, is offered in

exchange for a pound (about 25 cents).

One of my friends was given a ‘leash’ at the end of which was

a camel. The owner walked away and as my friend then had to

chase after him, dragging a huge camel behind him, the photo

opportunity was captured and my friend charged five pounds.

It’s fun, but you need to be on guard!

In the early morning light, before all the tourists arrived,

we had a chance to sit in awe and take in what lay in front

of us. The three largest pyramids, and two smaller ones that

still remained – there were originally nine at Giza. It’s quite a

profound experience.

Each day was about 24-26 degrees – we went in the middle

of winter. The sky was a bright cloudless blue, sometimes

so bright that taking photos was almost impossible as we

couldn’t ‘see’ what we were trying to take.

From the madness of Cairo we flew south, to Upper Egypt

(yes, south is Upper and north is Lower). Arriving in Luxor

we were instantly transported from the dirt and dust of Cairo

to a landscape of tropical lush greenery. The Nile truly creates

abundance. Palm trees everywhere, vibrant green fields, rows

and rows of sugar cane, and a pace of life that has probably

changed little in thousands of years.

Egypt’s Original Vision Boards

The temples in Karnak and Luxor are incredible! Luxor’s

temple can be seen from the roadside, and is a monument to

Amenhotep III and later Ramesses II who added to it. There is

Spotlight


Spotlight

a huge statue of Ramesses at the entrance. Although thou-

sands of tourists were roaming the area when we were there,

it is so vast that it is quite possible to take photos without any

people in them.

In Karnak, a temple complex the size of a small suburb was

built for the Gods Mut, Amun and Montu. Huge columns

of stone in rows, decorated at the very top in the shape of a

papyrus or lotus plant, are representative of a garden of trees

for the Gods to enjoy in their after life. (On their death, the

pharaohs become Gods.)

The temples and tombs are covered in images on the walls and

pillars, depicting stories of the life and riches of the pharaoh.

After a while it’s possible to start understanding the vision

that the stories have for their pharaohs, including plentiful

amounts of food, wine, servants, and positions of great power

from defeating their enemies. I think these walls of Egyptian

hieroglyphs were the original Vision Boards!

It is still possible to see the remains of the colours used to

paint the hieroglyphs that adorn all the walls and columns

of all the temples. It is incredible that these colours have sur-

vived for so many thousands of years.

It was amongst the columns at Karnak that the soon-to-be vic-

tims and fellow travellers explored in Agatha Christie’s ‘Death

on the Nile’. Fortunately there was no such mischief as we

travelled along the Nile, our departure from the beautiful Old


Spotlight


Spotlight

Winter Palace on the banks of the river in Luxor. The pool

area, sheltered in the tropical hotel gardens, was pure luxury

for an afternoon at rest after exploring the mysteries held

within the ancient ruins…

Abundance Along the Nile

In the very early hours of the morning, before we boarded our

cruise ship, I experienced a hot air balloon ride over the Valley

of the Kings, at sunrise. If you go to Egypt, and if you have

the opportunity, you must do this. All thirty two of us in the

basket (I had no idea they held so many people) had a bird’s

eye view of Hatshepsut’s 3,000 year old temple, the tombs of

the nobles and the ruins of ancient temples. For the most part

we absorbed this experience in awed silence (apart from the

occasional blasts of hot air to take us higher into the sky) as

the balloon gently floated over an ancient landscape.

As we travelled further south, we saw many temples by the

Nile, and the contrast of the sparkling blue water, the bright

blue sky, and the dust surrounding the temples made for

beautiful scenes and interesting photos. Life along the Nile is

slow.

The Egyptians are such friendly people who truly want the

tourists to enjoy their amazing country. Tourism is one of the

highest contributors to Egypt’s foreign currency earnings, and

after tourist terrorist attacks in the nineties and earlier this


Spotlight

decade, they had to wait for tourists to start returning to their

country. In February this year, there was a bomb explosion at

the Citadel in Cairo, where we had been a few weeks earlier.

Tourism will no doubt take a slump as a result.

Everywhere you go in Egypt there is an appearance of secu-

rity. We had to place our bags into security X-ray machines

like the ones at airports, every time we re-entered the hotels.

We experienced this at the entrances to the airports. At all the

sites we visited there were security guards wandering around

with machine guns by their side, and others in sentry boxes

high up on lookout points. Many were actually asleep while

on guard – maybe the sun was too hot in those heavy woollen

military uniforms, maybe the guns didn’t fire too well anyway,

maybe they had no hope of preventing a real terrorist attack.

It is easy to absorb all of this as part of the landscape, because

the people you encounter all along the way are friendly and

helpful, whether in a uniform or on the back of a camel, or by

the river, waving as you sail past on the ship.

From the Pyramids of Giza to Ramesses II massive temple

down at Abu Simbel, and back along the Nile, Egypt offers a

feast of scenery, history and mystery (how did they build ev-

erything?). The landscape offers contrasts from dry and dusty

ruins of thousand year old stone, to azure skies and tropical

bougainvillea providing the backdrop as white-sailed feluccas

glide through the glistening water of the Nile.

A recurring symbol on many hieroglyphs and cartouches

(a cartouche is like a personal brand for a king or queen) is

the symbol for life – the ‘Ankh’. At Ramesses temple in Abu

Simbel I caught sight of a magnificent, beautifully shiny gold

key, in the shape of this symbol. The key weighed a tonne

and I didn’t fancy my chances of bringing it home….unfortu-

nately…

I will return to Egypt and look forward to spending a week in

Luxor – the ‘Nice’ of Egypt. Archaeological ruins, the myster-

ies of dynasties of Pharaohs, 5-star luxury in the old Winter

Palace Hotel, and felucca rides down the river on balmy, slow-

moving sunny days. Drinks on the terrace at sunset as you

watch the sun go down on a surreal land of contrasts.

What more could you ask for in a holiday?


BOSSMENTOR® provides three

fundamental levels of support for our

clients:

We help you develop the right •

strategy and structure for growth

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direction on a group or individual

basis

Free Resources• to use in your

business – via our programs,

workshops, & website

To enquire how you can enroll in one

of our programs to get the support

you need to take your business to the

next level, e-mail our Business Devel-

opment Manager, Claire Jackson, at

[email protected].

Alternatively, visit

www.bossgroup.com.au/bossmentor-programs

for more detail on how we could help

you with your business growth strategy.

We listened to what you told usRecently we undertook a survey of our

readers and clients, and asked you what

your challenges were, what you wanted

more help and support with, and in

what format you would most like to

receive that support.

We listened to what you told us and

have been developing a brand new

range of resources, information, prod-

ucts and programs to offer the most

Business Growth, Mentoring & Coaching Programs

benefits and value to you in growing

and managing your businesses.

Your answers came from many different

perspectives: from recent startups, to es-

tablished businesses, from solopreneurs

to companies with twenty to thirty

people and more. However, there were

many common threads that ran right

through all the responses, and that’s

what I’ll be sharing with you very soon,

as well as our response to that.

This will all be announced in detail in

the next issue of Renaissance. Of course,

if you already subscribe to BOSSMEN-

TOR® Business fortnightly e-news,

you’ll be hearing all about these new

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weeks! If you would like to subscribe

go to this link.

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ProfessionalJenny Stilwell is the Managing Direc-

tor of BOSS Management Group. She

has helped many clients to significantly

grow their businesses, and build more

successful companies.

Prior to establishing BMG, Jenny was

Chief Executive of a publicly listed com-

pany (one of only a handful of women

heading up listed companies in Aus-

tralia at the time). Previous positions

included general management within

both large and medium sized organisa-

tions, as well as establishing a marketing

practice in the mid 1990s with a diverse

client base of small and mid-sized and

corporate clients.

Very early in her career Jenny advanced

to a senior management position at

Nortel Networks, being one of only

three women at the time in senior man-

agement roles within the Asia Pacific

region.

Jenny Chaired the Marketing Women

network for two years, and has also

mentored several women in careers and

in business as a way of ‘giving back’ to

the business community and to career

women in particular. She has also been a

Finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of

the Year Awards.

Jenny has a Bachelor of Commerce with

a Commercial Law major, and a Bach-

elor of Arts with majors in French and

German, both from the University of

Melbourne. She is also a Certified NLP

Practitioner.

PersonalSome of the things I love

The beach, peaceful islands, big cities,

London, New York, Paris, Golden Re-

trievers, Hudson (my Golden Retriever),

Vegemite (my American friends know

that a taste test is coming – you know

who you are… ), good red wine, travel,

writing, listening to my fave music on

high volume, the Northern Hemisphere

in Winter, luxury resorts, the colour

of Autumn, laughing until I cry, and

of course, my family and my fabulous

friends.

That’s just a start… there’s so many

things

About Jenny Stilwell

PUBLISHER

BOSSMENTOR® Magazine is published by Hanby Park

Publishing, a Division of BOSS Management Group Pty Ltd

ACN 062 571 171

Disclaimer

The publisher takes due care in the preparation of this publication and takes all

reasonable precautions and makes all reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of the

material contained in this publication, but is not liable for any mistake, misprint or

omission. The publisher does not assume any responsibility or liability for any loss

or damage which may result from any inaccuracy or omission in this publication,

or from the use of information contained herein. The publisher makes no warranty,

express or implied with respect to any of the material contained herein.

The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in any form in whole or in

part without written permission from the publisher.

© 2009 BOSS Management Group Pty Ltd

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