Archive for the ‘einstein’ Category

The definition of insanity…

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Einstein said it best !

Einstein said it best !

I believe it was Einstein who came up with this oft repeated quote although i’ve seen it attributed to others too. Basically, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result !

How often in life do we do this ? I don’t have enough fingers and toes to even begin to count the number of times i’ve fallen foul of this truism.

If you find yourself negotiating with your staff, bemoaning your sales figures, despairing at the market, or putting the same advert in the same magazine month upon month(without testing it) then you’ve surely strayed down this route.

The clever thing to do (apparently) is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and have a look at what you could do differently?

Implement a personal development meeting with each of your staff ?

Try a new sales avenue - take the product to the customer rather than waiting for them to come to you ?

Look at all the businesses that are surviving and thriving in our current economy?

Teach yourself the basic rules for PR so you can be the story instead of the advertising supporting the story ?

If any of these would be doing something differently to how you normally do it, then they’re worth a try.

What else could you come up with thats totally different to how you normally do things ?

Heck, if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it, but if you find yourself going home to your spouse or long suffering partner and complaining about the same things more than once a week, then its probably time for a change, before you drive yourself, or maybe them, quietly insane.

It might even be fun to do something differently. What five things in your store or the running of your store drive you crazy ?

Have a quick brainstorm with anyone who’ll listen about what you could do about them, don’t rely on partners and staff, involve the milkman, people down the pub, your hairdresser, anyone who might have a different view point to you -after all your way hasn’t been working so well, so maybe its time for a new approach ?

What have you got to lose ?

Are your team all headed in the same direction ?

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Are your team all headed in the same direction ?

Are your team all headed in the same direction ?

For many of us creating, maintaining and developing our teams is one of the most challenging parts of running a business. Oftentimes it can feel like herding cats !

We all know what we’re supposed to do, be inspiring, provide a vision and gee everyone along, praising them and keeping them on track ! Simple huh? Not in the experience of anyone that i know that runs a business !

So how can you make it easier on yourself? Well, while it doesn’t solve all the problems (and lets be honest here, what would? ) a short - 10-15minute personal development meeting each week can work wonders….!

We use the personal development form in the downloadable documents to keep us all on track (RR Doc 09) The beauty of this system is that it works according to Einstein’s theory of compound interest…. bet you weren’t expecting that from a single form?

What i mean by this is that, we all evolve slowly, some slower than others - granted, and sometimes we make a leap or a bound, but generally its more a process of evolution than revolution. Our PDF meetings and forms, focus on making small changes each week, rather than a gigantic step at any point. Even a 1% improvement in someone’s performance each week magnified by a whole 52 weeks in a year will ensure that you finish the year in a very different place to where you started it…!

By focusing on how your staff can develop themselves you can see real contributions to the business evolve and keep a track of everyone’s goals..!

But what if there’s only you in your business? Well, then its even more important to take the time to keep yourself on track. When you can see improvements each week you’re more likely to have a realistic view of your business and what you can achieve. Looking back over a year will give you a realistic view of what you’re capable of and a way to record it.

the greek philosopher Socrates said that “a life unexamined is not worth living” which may be a little harsh, but he had a point !

Einstein’s favourite theory

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Einstein's favourite theory

Einstein's favourite theory


Albert Einstein the brilliant scientist, Nobel prize winner, humanitarian and Philosopher called this the most amazing phenomenon of the universe !

The law of compound interest !

What is the law of compound interest i hear those of you who hate numbers ask.

It’s the law that states that if you have for example £1 today and you have it in a magical bank with 10% interest – next time you check you’ll have £1.10 which is nice, but not lifechanging, but the real mystery of this law is that any interest that now comes to you, doesn’t come on the original £1 but on the £1.10 – it keeps on growing! It ‘s the gift that keeps on giving !

Most of us know that compound interest applies to money. But you can apply it to any area of your life or your business. Because you can be sure that if compound interest is not working for you, it’s working against you.

If you invest in something and accumulate interest, that interest compounded makes you money. But if you borrow money, you pay interest and that interest compounded costs you more money. In both situations, a day of interest is not going to rock anyone’s boat, but taken over time and compounded the effect can become huge !

Just like the rule of 80/20 the phenomenon of compound interest relates to whatever situation you apply it to, so this is not just about building societies, but about business, health and relationships, nothing is immune.

If you eat a fatty meal today it won’t kill you, but if you eat one every day never allowing your body to recover, eventually you will be really unhealthy. Likewise eating an apple today doesn’t make you a healthy person, but eating an apple a day every day, will help you to be a healthy person.

In business, being rude to one customer today probably won’t ruin your business (unless they’re extraordinarily well connected) but do that every day and you won’t have much of a business for very long. Conversely go out of your way for one customer each day and you’ll increase the goodwill in your business. This is the law of compound interest.

Everyday we make hundreds of choices – what to wear, what to eat, who to employ, how to market ourselves, where to advertise. Each choice in itself is a small thing, and either positive or negative, but taken together over a period of time they propel you to either where you want to be, either in a positive or a negative direction. While we often don’t see the bigger picture, being too bound up in our own little dramas, making as many positive decisions a day as you can is only going to help you and your business move forward.

The more positive associations you have, the more leverage and momentum you create, remember the law of compound interest and aim for some positive decisions each day to get the law working for you….