A Decision to "Change the World"

2 weeks ago I made a decision to change the world.  Actually it’s more of an obligation.

I’ve always had a passion for the environment, not the activist hemp wearing type of passion, but the gardening at home, repurposing everything I can, and recycling all that’s possible kind of passion.  I was raised in Northern Canada after spending a few years huddled out on Vancouver Island where I watched the pulp mill and overfishing destroy the environment and create it’s own environmental and economic collapse, taking our family with it.

Some years later, I arrived in Australia surprised to note that there wasn’t a public recycling system and that you only got paid for recycling bottles in Adelaide – it wasn’t worth throwing the parties anymore!

I now reside in North Curl Curl on the Northern Beaches in Sydney, with my husband, my dog, my cat and my very hardy goldfish.  We purchased our house with the sole intention of tearing it down within 2 years and rebuilding an environmental palace and we’re still on track.   In the meantime, I’ve repurposed every pallet, every timber, every pot and well, anything else I can find to create an eclectic beach house that in the future will be completely self sufficient.

Most recently, I attended a conference in Amsterdam – hosted by EO – the Entrepreneurs Organisation.  The theme – Change the World. 

Day 1 arrived with the outset of the bells ,whistles and egos of A type personalities from all over the world hoping for a laugh, letting off a bit of steam and hopefully as a bonus walk away with something a little substantial.

After kicking off with dancers, music, an incredible stage and a story, the conference began.  At the end of day 1, I felt a small twinge between Tony Robbins and Hillsong…and I wasn’t too fussed about the situation. I was there to learn, I wanted takeaways, I wanted structure on HOW to change the world and this wasn’t being delivered.

Day 2, brought curiosity and confusion…Big picture thinking, big problems, world poverty, hunger, homelessness, ..how on earth am I going to have influence?  I’m not a scientist, I’m not a chemist, I’m not a biotechnology expert, I may even struggle spelling biodiversity!  But the theme continued. I knew these were problems, I knew they were issues, but how was I going to have any influence on this turning into a positive result?

By day 4…I started thinking.  I mean really thinking.  The kind of thinking that doesn’t let you sleep, breathe or see anything else.  That entrepreneurial fire that creates movements, energy, contagious enthusiasm; it was building and building fast.

I started to figure it out.  I realized that we as a company have HUGE opportunities for influence. We are no longer 1 man, we are a company with a passion for change, empowerment, and responsibility and we are dead set excited.

We’ve broken it out into 3 categories and are implementing the actions as we go.

1)    How do WE operate as people and as a company and how will we measure this? 

Energy consumption, paper types, water usage, modes of transport, recycling, composting, repurposing etc

2)    How do we expect our SUPPLIERS to operate?

We will only work with suppliers that operate sustainably

3)    How do we help our clients achieve their goals whilst also creating a positive result for the environment, the community and the overall objective of changing the world?

We will endeavor to work with our clients to ensure their campaigns, and their results are focused on the future and sustainability is at the forefront of each business objective – using either environmentally friendly products and campaigns, or delivering results to a community as the end goal or providing an engaging platform between all 3.

What we realized as a business is that Step 1 and 2 are actually REALLY easy to implement and we personally now ask ourselves the following questions to assist:

How do you buy your clothes?

How do you purchase your food?

How do you use your energy?

How do you operate on a day to day?

And why don’t you tell others to do the same...

The key to all of this though is to share it.  Spread the word.

 Some simple objectives in past 3 days that our team implemented were:

o   Purchased from local grocers

o   Changed their containers to recyclable

o   Gave away instead of throwing out old furniture

o   Created a website for their art and giving their proceeds to charity

I encourage you to think about how you can change your world and what does that mean to you…it’s so simple, it’s so easy..

Some key takeaways from the conference that fuelled this passion on are:

Even when all others disagree if you believe it is important and true to your values - stick to it

Anything is possible

The environmental movement is NOT something to be fearful of, but something to be EMBRACED

We all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves

Set clear vision, be transparent and stick to your values

Tell MORE stories

Share the excitement with ANYONE who will LISTEN

It’s not about the money - it’s about the legacy - what are you leaving behind?

HAVE FUN

You can have a perfectly good dance party SOBER

Review all of the processes of our business, to understand the value or impact on our community and how we can change/enhance or develop

We as a business, have an obligation to change the world through the power of how we operate and what we do

If there is a hole in the boat, no matter the luxury..you are still not safe...so, you are no longer one man, you are an opportunity to effect change.  Get out there..see what you can do to change your world.

When it’s big – someONE has to give

90 hour work week so far and it’s only Thursday....

It’s one of those weeks where the entrepreneurial roller coaster canes you with highs and lows.  Being in a medium size business I get caught up in the day to day and find sometimes, my business is running me not the other way around.  These weeks are hard, emotional and highly stressful.  I push everything aside in my life to focus on these times just to get the job done.  

I don’t mind these times though, truly, I don’t.  I find them cathartic at the end as they always push me to a new level of awareness of my strengths, weaknesses and new skills.  They challenge me and I embrace it. 

However, they don't come without sacrifices, and without a solid support system there is no chance  I would be able to achieve what I do day to day.  

  

Over the past 6 months I’ve spent a lot of time asking my friends the gender related questions as the quota for women on boards heats up and women equality in the workplace is the key topic…I ask the question..

“Is it women in the workplace we should be talking about – or is it really about the bigger picture of – When it’s big …someONE has to give”

I started with my business in 1999 which feels like a hundred years ago now and after winning a few awards and having a successful run at it recently, I reviewed where it all started to go really well.  That’s when it hit…it truly wouldn’t have happened without the other half - my support system.  

In my generation of women – 30-40 yrs old, I am finding it’s common practice for men to take a more significant domestic role due to their partner being the major bread winner or unable to participate day to day in the domestic duties.  They aren’t complaining, they aren’t thought of any less in their peer group and in fact – discussing detergent smells and engine noises at the same time is common ground for these guys. 

Our expectations have shifted and so have our perceptions – at least in my world.

Our guys these days are strong, emotionally secure, fully functioning men, with proper views in the world.  They’re happy to partner and believe in being part of the process – whether that means sometimes they are the bread winner or the domestic caretaker.   

Most senior roles of any kind take time, pressure, effort and significant stress. The roles and needs don’t’ change - we need to recognise it’s about whos’ going to save the day when it’s needed.  The old adage of behind every great man there is a woman, the true future statement is behind every man or woman there is someone there to support them in whatever capacity that may be.

I'd love to hear what you think!

T: acculligan

Apparently, I should be pregnant

In the ripe old age of my..ahem mid 30's, I got married.  It was wonderful to finally commit to someone after years of investigating the market as I call it.  


However, shortly after tying the knot and getting back to the grindstone, the most common question amongst friends, family and well, everyone else I know was "so, when are you going to start having children?"  


Now first things first, I'm not against having children in the slightest and I admire, respect and adore my gorgeous friends with their gorgeous little and big ones.  But when did we crawl back to the 1950's where we had to get married to have children AND we had to have children once we got married?  How far we have come, and yet how far away we truly are.  


I could go on and on in the blog about that subject, but that's not what I wanted to talk about so I digress.


I started thinking about why I haven't got the bug, the maternal drive, the want to procreate, have beautiful children and watch them grow (right now anyways).  And it hit me. I have a child.  It's 11yrs old. It screams, keeps me up at night, takes the money from my wallet, smiles at me when it wants something and makes me compromise my livelihood on a daily basis.  It's called "My Business".  


Now in business years, it's kind of like dog years, so in reality I have a teenager who's about ready to leave home, and create their own path in this world, a phase of which I'm rather excited to witness.  And, just like coming home on Sundays, we too will also sit down once a week to discuss the woes and wonders of the world where we'll both learn and educate each other - kind of like Sunday Roast dinner.  


I don't pretend to know the pains and the joys of having children, and I dont make light of the pros and cons of either side, but I love MY child, I feed it, shower it with love, spend my life making sure it's happy and in turn, it provides me a wealth of emotion, success and happiness (generally speaking), however at the end of the day, my child is my business.  


So, to all of those fabulous young and older women who are creating their own family in whichever way that means to you - I applaud you.

Andrea
Twitter: @acculligan

What really makes the difference?

What really makes the difference?

It's been an intense week here in Canada with our team. We've had the pleasure of meeting with some of the most amazing companies in the world, with some of the most innovative recruiters I've met.

To be able to discuss your business on a global level, is so invigorating and at times it's like starting all over again, like when we were a start up with everything to lose. The difference now is that we know what we're doing, how we want to do it and what our business represents.

It brought out my passion and my energy tenfold.

However, these meetings all really lead me to really truly think about what makes a business successful and what can also be the greatest weakness.

For me, it's all about client relationships. Having the relationship and knowledge of a client's business so well, you act like a married couple with finished sentences and matching jackets.

It's about asking the right questions at the right time and leaving room for movement in all of your conversations to ensure that we're providing the right stuff at the right time. It's about thinking about the end game for each client, before you even step up to the plate, it's about thinking outside the box every time so your clients can focus on what they're good and you can do the same.

It's also really hit home that we will never sell what people don't need.

For us, it's just so against the moral backbone of how we roll that it just wouldn't be in line with our ethos. One of our values is an absolute of "Don't sell 'em what they don't need". Trust, respect and honour are never built out of false presentations, and we're here for the long haul, not the one night stand.

And 3rd..which probably brings out too much of my altruistic side is although we are a business, I am not here to make a fast empty buck. There are so many things that we can help with and so many things that are better left for our clients to achieve. We make it our job to help clients help themselves. We want to set them up so that they don't have to call us for every job, so they too feel empowered in the process and learn from us as we do from them.

I realised this week more than ever, that if we stick to 3 above ..no matter what we will succeed and better yet, we will always be proud of who we are, who we work with and why we're doing it.

Andrea

The power of thank you

I've been in Canada for the past 9 days now and I've written about some interesting clients, some great companies and a few other tidbits, but one thing that I truly love about doing business here is the etiquette.

Canada is known all over the world for their polite characters and positive attitudes. So much so, you'd think it was fake. But it's not.

I've been in a business centre for the past 30 minutes struggling to convert a file into a printable format for a presentation I'm doing in 30 minutes - I know a little late on the dial..

I've been huffing, puffing and in general highly frustrated. After all this time one of the hotel staff comes over and does everything in her power to help me out and says please, thank you and your welcome about 40 times in the space of 5 minutes.

She then calls the IT guy who comes downstairs, spends 10 minutes helping me here, then goes upstairs to his laptop, tries it there, comes back down and again, between the 3 of us, we've said thank you a hundred times.

It may seem a little comedic at the outset, but what I noticed is no one minds going out of their way to help anyone out as they are always recognised for it.

This makes customer service easy when people appreciate what you do.

I like this way of conversing and feel we forget how often we should just say...thank you. no matter how insignificant or large, it's so valuable to hear it.
go on...spread the word!

Thanks for reading ;)