Gloss April - May 2016

APRIL - MAY 2016

2 | GLOSS APRIL - MAY 2016

PUBLISHERS NOTE

Be Curious. Ask Why. Innovate with confidence and Convic tion

Welcome to the April/May

INNOVATION issue of GLOSS

packed full of articles, insight

and learnings to take in to our

own endeavors.

The phenomenal speed of

change that got us to the 21st

centurys technological frenzy

is not going to slow down

any time soon. In fact, it is creating an uncertain

future on a global business level that is naturally

demanding change. The world in which we are

operating is volatile and uncertain, our clients,

staff and suppliers are more demanding than ever

before, we are contactable 24/7 and we all have to

operate on fewer resources than ever. Yet, we are

being challenged every day to invent and create,

to develop and explore, and to be agile in our

thinking and innovative in our solutioning. We are

having to evolve how we operate so that what we

do aligns with, and leads, the new paradigm. The

ability to lead out with confidence and conviction,

to influence decisions, behaviour and strategy

and to develop new thinking and find new

opportunities is critical to driving change.

In this issue of GLOSS, Dr Jason Fox (who by

the way has just been awarded Speaker Of The

Year) shares the 3 hidden benefits of doubt

including how it makes us stronger! We hear

from LBDGroup members Fiona Craig and Tracey

Mathers about their success journeys; Dr Emily

Verstege and Kelly Slessor share their spin on

innovation and technology, as always Renata

Cooper challenges the mindset and skill set of

successful entrepreneurs and Patrick Hollingworth

shares an extract of his new book , The Light And

Fast Organisation.

As always a huge thank you to the team that

work tirelessly on pulling together these issues of

GLOSS and the incredible patience and talent of

Andrea Welsh, our Art Director. Huge shout out

of gratefulness and thanks to our sponsors who

continue to support this magazine and our ability

to bring thought leadership and thinking to you,

our readers.

Enjoy this issue of GLOSS and if you would like to

write for us please feel free to drop me a line.

Continue to

Connect ~ Inspire ~ Succeed

JANINE GARNERPUBLISHER / EDITOR

GLOSS APRIL - MAY 2016 | 3

From Janine Garner

HUFFINGTON POST COLUMNIST

AND FOUNDER OF LBDGroup

Published internationally by Wiley. Available online and at these online retailers

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GLOSS PUBLISHED BY LBDGROUP LBDG 2016All content in this newsletter is protected under

Australian and International copyright laws. Re-production in whole or in part without the written permission of LBDGroup is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this online magazine at time of going to press, and we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. All rights reserved.

GLOSS MAGAZINEIssue 29

PUBLISHER & EDITORJanine Garner

ART DIRECTORAndrea Welsh

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSMargot AndersenDr Jenny BrockisMelissa Browne

Nikki Fogden-MooreRenata Cooper

FEATURED THIS MONTH

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP & FEEDBACK [email protected]

Dr Jason FoxPhoebe Adams

Pollyanna LenkicKelly Slessor

Colin EllisPatrick Hollingworth

Louise AgnewFiona Tuck

Tracey MathersDr Emily Verstege


The 3 Hidden Benefits of Doubt ........................................................................................................... 8

A Me to We People Development in Retail ....................................................................................10

Adversity Breeds Innovations. .............................................................................................................14

Building An Innovation Mindset. ........................................................................................................18

Humans First ..............................................................................................................................................20

Our Little Foxes - An Interview ............................................................................................................24

Shiny Stuff or Problem Solving, next up in Tech. ..........................................................................26

Innovating a Reluctant Profession. ....................................................................................................30

Parallels Between Mountaineering and Business .........................................................................34

Innovation Starts with Safety First .....................................................................................................38

Innovate Your Finances ..........................................................................................................................44

Creating Ripples of Change for Everyone........................................................................................46

In her Words ...............................................................................................................................................52

Innovation Starts Within ........................................................................................................................60

Why You Need To Run Your Body Like Your Business ..................................................................64

Getting Innovative with Your Health .................................................................................................68

Top 10 Insights .........................................................................................................................................72

LBDs Out and About ..............................................................................................................................68

Exclusive Book Extract By Patrick Hollingworth ............................................................................74

CONTENTS

image source: Kim Lam


The 3 Hidden Benefits of Doubt why self-doubt makes you a better leader and innovator

One of my most favourite books of 2014 was Oliver Burkemans The

Antidote: happiness for people who cant stand positive thinking. In

this book Burkeman challenges many of the conventional positive

thinking approaches to happiness, instead advocating what he calls

the negative path to happiness. Instead of trying to actively pursue happiness (while trying to avoid or run away from negative emotions), Burkeman suggests we instead go the other way: looking to negative experiences and

embracing the learning inherent within them.

A similar approach can be applied to the concepts of confidence, certainty and clarity. If you want these things, you could set forth a crystal clear

FEATURE ARTICLEDR Jason Fox

image source: Kim Lam


Want more wonder in your life? Relinquish the need to be

right, and instead embrace doubt and the opportunity to

learn..

goal, make it rock solid, and temper it with unwavering persistence and conviction. But Im not sure how well that will work out for you. It might be fine if youre simply doing what has been done before. But if youre actually innovating, and pioneering new progress, we need an alternative approachwe need to turn toward the hidden benefits of doubt.

Lets look at a few of these.

Benefit #1 Doubt makes ideas stronger Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said that Doubt grows with knowledge. Likewise, Bertrand Russell once quipped thatThe fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

Its quite apparent that doubt is fundamental to discovery. Its an inherent element of the scientific method, and the precursor to all great questions and breakthroughs. Doubt births wisdom and is deeply linked to quality ideas. Its uncomfortable, surebut we know that all growth and development happens just outside our comfort zone.

The best business strategy sessions Ive experienced are the ones that are full of angst and doubt. Theyre not joyous or comfortabletheyre a hard and frustrating kind of fun. Quick fixes are resisted, and time is spent within the held tension of uncertainty. From this space, new ideas and pathways emerge that would not have been possible if we were simply ticking boxes and following a rushed agenda.

Doubt makes us ask more questionsbetter questionswhich makes us explore more pathways. This, in turn, can lead to more clarity, confidence and conviction. We see more, and through the pursuit of good questions; we know more.

Benefit #2 Doubt makes leaders better Have you ever felt that, sooner or later, your colleagues and everyone around you will realise that youre not as smart as people think you are. That you are not really that qualified for the position you hold. And that one day people will point at you and shout impostor!exposing you for the fraud that you are.

I get that feeling nearly all the time. Its called the impostor syndrome. Its the scenario whereby

we constantly compare ourselves to our talented peers. Or more specifically, we compare our own doubt-ridden internal perceptions with the confident facade that others project.

We feel that there is a big discrepancybut for all we know, they could be full of self-doubt too. In fact, if theyre any good, they probably are.

This sense of impostorism is as a natural symptom of gaining experience. The more you progress in your work or careerthe more likely youll encounter talented people to compare yourself negatively against. It actually gets worse

as you get better.

So, the good news: if youre full of self doubt, youre probably doing great!*

* Maybe!

Besides, its much better to feel like an impostor than to suffer from the Dunning-Kruger effecta scenario whereby people harbour inaccurate illusions of superiority. Unburdened by self doubt, they dont realise how inept they are. The fools.

Now, theres plenty of standard advice for managing the impostor syndrome (stop comparing yourself, accept that youre successful, focus on providing value, yawn). Most of it is about reassuring yourself.

But you could take a different tact, and embrace the doubt. Accept that the doubt is there, and use it to do more and be better. This is exactly the quality we want in leadersthe ability to question themselves, to think deeper and accept that no one and no thing is perfect, but we can learn.

Much better than a leader unburdened by doubt.

Benefit #3 Doubt makes life more wonderful So often we think in binary mode, in terms of whats right and whats wrong. This places us in a near-constant state of judgementof ourselves, and of others. To be right, someone must be wrong.

Marshall Rosenberg, a pioneer in non-violent communication, argues that this type of thinking is the very thing that brings us closer to violence. Binary right/wrong thinking certainly doesnt enable self-compassion, nor compassion or empathy for others.

Instead of playing the game Making Life


Wonderful, we often play the game called Whos Right, Marshall Rosenberg says. Do you know that game? Its a game where everybody loses.

We can play a different gamea game in which there is no clear right and wrong. Nothing is conclusive. A game in which theres always room for wonder, and win-win scenarios that are wonderful.

We see this in science: theories that were thought to be right and true, are dismantled in light of new evidence. Everything is always open to further questioning.

Want more wonder in your life? Relinquish the need to be right, and instead embrace doubt and the opportunity to learn.

Of course, its not always wonderful Its uncomfortable, remember? The thing we need to be careful of, is when we make conclusions.

I cant do this is an unhelpful conclusion. Im not sure I can do this is a bit better. Because theres only one way to find outdo it. And then if that doesnt work, you could fall back to the conclusion that you, in fact, cant do said thing. Or maybe you can keep the doubt alive! Maybe it was an issue with your methodology, or some other factor.

Avoid conclusions. The best kind of doubt ends in a question mark.

How can I do this? Lets find out.

Theres a time and a place for doubt You choose the time, and you choose the place.

What does this look like at work?

It looks like leaders being comfortable enough to share their doubts and insecurities with each other during meetings and retreats, but to rally with conviction when it counts.

It looks like time scheduled for deep, slow thinkingtime spent in angst over the relevance of current business models in a changing world.

It looks like time dedicated to real strategic development that searches for the best path (the hidden, clever pathnot just the quick fix or the convenient default).

And it looks like time spent on the frontier, playing in the intersection of trends and researching what may be.

Then, of course, theres the rest of our work

The business as usual stuff, where the thinking needs to be fast. Where we default to systems and

processes, reducing cognitive burden and enabling us to get work done.

Good businesses dance between these two types of thinking.

They carve out time for slow thinkingbe it as part of their ongoing leadership development, research or learning (or deliberate work culture rituals)they ensure theres always time for good thinking and questioning.

And then, when it counts, they can make decisions with more confidence, clarity and convictionbecause of the doubt. Such companies are less likely to be blindsided by disruption, and are more equipped to embrace emerging opportunities and change.

So, ask more questions.

Give yourself the benefit of the doubt.

Dr Jason FoxDr Jason Fox is modern day wizard-rogue, speaker, advisor, bestselling author of The Game Changer, and the author of the newly released book: How to Lead a Quest a handbook for pioneering executives. With deep expertise in motivation design, Jasons work unlocks pioneering leadership amongst high performing teams. His clients include the adventurous senior executives of Fortune 500 and ASX 200 companies

drjasonfox.com

GLOSS FEB - MARCH 2016 | 9

COLLABORATIONis sharing the gift of yourself

to inspire and lift others to be a

BETTER PLACE

Kit and Ace: A Me to We of People Development and Retail.An exclusive interview By Blythe Chidgey

Vivienne Westwood is well known for having said Buy less, choose well. I found this quote none the truer than when I decided to be one of those weird people who wore active wear to be well active.

It didnt take long before I was telling the difference between my budget gym gear and the good stuff. Multiple trips in and out of the washing machine left their tell tale signs on my cheap throw outs, while the gear I invested in continued to look good, workout after workout. It would be this discovery that would lead me to a love affair with the Lululemon Atheletica brand.

So, with Lululemon love in my heart, Kit and Ace appeared on my radar and my first thought was Holy Fashionista, my friends might get to see me wearing non-active wear!

Shannon Wilson, the ex-Lululemon Athletica designer has taken what we love so much about active wear and applied it to luxury, machine washable garments that are seamless, luxurious and save you time under the Kit and Ace name.

Australian Dreamed

Recently named one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company for 2016, the Kit and Ace concept was born in Bondi, Sydney during the time Shannon Wilson and her family spent living there. The Wilsons were inspired by the easy yet active Australian lifestyle and decided to put their industry experience and institutional knowledge into a new venture that reflected this effortless way of living. An entirely new category of clothing was created technical street wear that functions for everyday wear for both men and women.

Preparation makes its own luck

Kit and Ace solves the preparation quandary perfectly with their range of clothing, which caters to the fast-paced world we live in. Designed so you can wear the same great outfit from early morning meetings to the office to dinner with friends without going home to change. Add to that, the next day you can skip the trip to the dry cleaner because all their fabrics are machine-washable so that they save you time.

The designers have incorporated technical and functional details into each of their pieces so that they are easy to wear, easy to care for and retain their shape throughout the day. Every piece of Kit and Ace clothing offers the same performance youd expect from technical athletic apparel, but is created

using luxurious proprietary fabrics. Theyve taken the elements they love about luxury fibres the softness of cashmere and the cool-hand feel of silk and added in technical materials like elastane and viscose. The result is fabrications that can stand up to all-day wear and your washing machine. The Kit and Ace technical design extends to even the smallest details, like the seams of their machine washable Technical Cashmere t-shirts that are flat-locked for comfort and enhanced with stretch to move with you.

Beauty and style is now comfort like never before, and busy business people rejoice as a result of not having to pack five outfits to get through one day!

The Integral In store experience

Kit and Ace address the bricks and mortar versus online question perfectly by treating the in store experience as not just as a place to build the brand and test marketing as well as create a customer and community focused experience too.

It is clear they are proud of their shop design and the way in which they incorporate hyper-local elements from in-market designers into each of their shops. Moving forward collaborating with local designers will continue to be part of their strategy. Soon they will be introducing their first Technical Atelier an in-shop tailor shop, offering complimentary tailoring to save people time.

The Technical Atelier is also a local design lab for up-and-coming designers. Designers-in-residence are handpicked locally and work in the Technical Atelier for a 10-month period. The designers work with already existing Kit and Ace styles to conceptualize new designs and create regionally inspired styles using the companys proprietary fabrics.

Shannon Wilson says, Our technical fabrications and designs set us apart. We plan to lead by creating a new category of apparel, rather than compete.

The key is making sure that they work together. Were working hard behind the scenes to build platforms that integrate the shopping experience on and offline so that the consumer has a consistent experience with the brand.

From Me to We inside and outside

Kit and Ace incorporates hyper-local elements custom quality pieces created by local artists and contractors into its shops to reflect the community it operates in. Each shop has a Supper Club table and Feature Lights that are created by local designers, and an Iconic Photograph taken by a local photographer. Kit and Ace also has an in-shop gallery space The Wall at select locations where up-and-coming artists are featured quarterly. Artwork on The Wall is available for


FEATURE ARTICLEBy Blythe Chidgey

Kit and Ace: A Me to We of People Development and Retail.An exclusive interview By Blythe Chidgey

using luxurious proprietary fabrics. Theyve taken the elements they love about luxury fibres the softness of cashmere and the cool-hand feel of silk and added in technical materials like elastane and viscose. The result is fabrications that can stand up to all-day wear and your washing machine. The Kit and Ace technical design extends to even the smallest details, like the seams of their machine washable Technical Cashmere t-shirts that are flat-locked for comfort and enhanced with stretch to move with you.

Beauty and style is now comfort like never before, and busy business people rejoice as a result of not having to pack five outfits to get through one day!

The Integral In store experience

Kit and Ace address the bricks and mortar versus online question perfectly by treating the in store experience as not just as a place to build the brand and test marketing as well as create a customer and community focused experience too.

It is clear they are proud of their shop design and the way in which they incorporate hyper-local elements from in-market designers into each of their shops. Moving forward collaborating with local designers will continue to be part of their strategy. Soon they will be introducing their first Technical Atelier an in-shop tailor shop, offering complimentary tailoring to save people time.

The Technical Atelier is also a local design lab for up-and-coming designers. Designers-in-residence are handpicked locally and work in the Technical Atelier for a 10-month period. The designers work with already existing Kit and Ace styles to conceptualize new designs and create regionally inspired styles using the companys proprietary fabrics.

Shannon Wilson says, Our technical fabrications and designs set us apart. We plan to lead by creating a new category of apparel, rather than compete.

The key is making sure that they work together. Were working hard behind the scenes to build platforms that integrate the shopping experience on and offline so that the consumer has a consistent experience with the brand.

From Me to We inside and outside

Kit and Ace incorporates hyper-local elements custom quality pieces created by local artists and contractors into its shops to reflect the community it operates in. Each shop has a Supper Club table and Feature Lights that are created by local designers, and an Iconic Photograph taken by a local photographer. Kit and Ace also has an in-shop gallery space The Wall at select locations where up-and-coming artists are featured quarterly. Artwork on The Wall is available for

sale, with proceeds going directly to the artist.

The owners have worked hard to focus on the people aspect of the brand both externally and internally. They have hired some of the most talented people around the world to work at Kit and Ace, and Shannon is known to often say, Kit and Ace is as much a people development company as it is about retail. Each of our team members is entrepreneurial in their own way, creating a community around our brand. We believe in our people, as well as the quality of our products. Weve seen a positive reaction to what were doing and will continue to grow to meet demands.

Mindfulness is the new black

Kit and Ace is committed to mindfulness as a crucial component of a full-contact life. The Wilsons came up with a concept for 60-second meditation and invested in Whil a digital platform for training in mindfulness meditation, yoga and leadership to bring that idea to life. At Kit and Ace, they use Whil to aid in their pursuit of audacious goals. It is their belief that in a fast-paced world, meditation and mindfulness are key to maintaining focus and balance. As Shannon says, some of the most successful business people in the world practice meditation. It allows practitioners to remain efficient and keep the mind clutter-free by focusing on the moment and living with intention.

Kit and Ace extends its commitment to mindfulness beyond the workplace to engage with customers in shop locations across North America, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company offers complimentary 60-day Whil trial codes to customers on every payment receipt and plans to host experiential events throughout 2016 to increase awareness of mindfulness meditation.

A comfortable but stylish future

Kit and Ace provide us a fashionable gift where we no longer put on comfortable clothing after a long day but instead wear comfortable clothing for that long day, while looking good, too.

Shannon Wilson says it best, gym clothes should be left at the gym and I am now completely okay with that because my Kit and Ace apparel is even more comfy than my active wear, and ten times more appropriate!

Prepare to see Kit and Ace spreading their wings into a full lifestyle brand to include childrens wear and homewares with the same function meets innovation and style approach.

Kit and Ace currently have six Australian stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

.


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a persons regular occupation, profession, or trade.

2.

commercial activity.

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The theme for a US TEDx event last year was resilience and its many faces. From natures fortitude to the human spirits triumph over trauma, adversity breeds innovation. It is human nature to overcome challenges.

Walt Disney became bankrupt at the age of 22 after a failed cartoon series and headed to Los Angeles with $40 in cash to build one of the most recognised brands in the world. Do Wang Chang moved to the US and worked three jobs as a janitor, a gas station attendant and in a coffee shop, before he opened his first clothing store. That store grew into the global empire Forever 21. Oprah Winfrey overcame personal adversity to triumph.

From my own personal experience, I can talk about women such as Lauren Hall who came to Australia with almost no money or connections. She built events software company iVvy that launched many Australian-firsts and was recently picked as one of the 16 women in Asia Pacific for EYs Entrepreneurial Winning Women program.

By its very nature, starting a business is a challenging endeavor, and achieving entrepreneurial success under any circumstances is a great accomplishment. But some startup founders have more obstacles to overcome than sourcing funding or learning how to market a product. Many overcome this adversity and go on to succeed.

Constraints leading to innovation In a Forbes article, an OmnicomMediaGroup executive notes that adding constraints increases innovation. The more limited you are, the more creative you have to be. Time constraints eliminate second guesses. Constraint is a unifier. This may explain why larger resource-rich organisations often struggle with revolutionary innovation.

The article uses the example of how NASA team members came together during space shuttle Apollo 13s crisis from the moment of Houston we have a problem to going beyond standard operating procedures and what its equipment was designed to do to exploring what it could do. How the team innovated was critical to getting the crew home safely.

Entrepreneurs are constantly under extreme time constraints not just to deliver, but stay ahead of

AdversityBreeds innovation.

by Renata Cooper

BUSINESS


the game. The successful ones are those who can take a step back from routine tasks to evaluate innovation strategically and think creatively.

With the average lifespan of companies having fallen from over 60 years in 1958 to 18 years in 2011 and decreasing rapidly, the ability to respond to market forces with disruptive innovation is critical not just to the bottom line, but mere survival.

Entrepreneur mindset wired to innovate Entrepreneurs constantly encounter new challenges. The most successful founders are equipped with mental agility that allows them to conquer constant adversity with ease. They do it by building teams who can support them, gaining knowledge and insights from networks and seeking out advice from mentors.

Steve Jobs was fired from his own company but came back to build Apple and author J.K Rowling battled depression, suicidal tendencies and poverty to writing the Harry Potter series and becoming one of the most powerful women in the UK. This agility is what enables entrepreneurs to think creatively in the midst of what seems like chaos to others.

When I came to Australia as a 19-year-old migrant with $20 and knowing no English, I had to tell myself that I control my fate and need to take responsibility for the life I wanted to create. Self-belief and determination steered me through many different paths an artist, equities trader and working in an office. As I set out to do something that was never done by a woman entrepreneur in Australia, the greatest adversity I faced was people who did not see the future as I did.

Steve Jobs once said during a famous commencement speech, You have to trust in something. Your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path.

Most entrepreneurs will hit a hard wall at some stage. Real innovation happens when you find new ways of doing things at the most challenging of times. Stand tall when faced with adversity and draw inspiration from those around you. Continue to dream big, think big and take action.

RENATA COOPERRenata Cooper is the founder of Forming Circles Global, a unique angel investment and mentoring organisation that predominantly invests in female-led technology startups. Committed to empowering women entrepreneurs, Renata has invested in over 100 national and global businesses, individuals and organisations since 2011. She is a member of Scale Investors and a muru-D mentor.

[email protected]

formingcircles.com.au


BUSINESS


Whilst most business leaders openly acknowledge that innovation is a critical driver of growth and the demand for it has never been so high, so constant and so now, many are still challenged by how to best lead and manage it. Coupled with the fact that many people dont actually believe they are capable of it, leaders can face a big challenge in building innovation mindsets in their people and businesses. As a result all too often the innovation process has been relegated to business units such as marketing and research development where all those creative types hang out!

With studies suggesting that over 65% of todays business leaders still lack the confidence and know how to stimulate innovative thinking in their teams and organisations we are limiting both our immediate results and our future potential. It is clear that a failure to deliver on innovation has the potential to not only hurt our business success but also our own individual career success and that of the people we lead. So how do we approach the building of innovation mindsets?

Innovation so very rarely happens as a result of one or two geniuss that work away on a spark of an idea and reappear with a roadmap for a new direction, approach or way forward. In the Wall Street Journal article, titled Together We Innovate,

by Margot Anderson

Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. Its about the people you have, how youre led and how much you get it Steve Jobs

Building An innovation Mindset

BUSINESS


the authors emphasise the importance of employee collaboration in an effort to generate new ideas and ways of operating. As they state, most innovations are created through networks groups of people working in concert.

There is no doubt that workplace culture is the linchpin. Whilst structures and processes are important they are not the key. People and culture are by far the most important drivers of innovation and therefore need to be our focus. By creating the right conditions we not only make better use of our often-untapped talent, we can also allow for dynamic innovation networks to emerge and flourish.

The advantage of building innovation networks is in the shift in emphasis from individual creativity or intelligence to the leveraging of connections and collected experience and knowledge. Networked employees typically innovate at a different level and have an ability to make their ideas catch on more quickly. Given that new ideas spur more new ideas, networks then have the capacity to generate a cycle of innovation. They key is to ensure that there is enough diversity of thinking, knowledge and experience to ensure the cross fertilisation of ideas. When they do, leaders are then able to capture more value from their existing resources without embarking on major change initiatives.

As leaders I would encourage you to consider the following five tips that you can do to foster an environment of innovation:

1. Create a culture of trust: Innovation requires us to step outside of the everyday way, to break down the old rules of thought and adopt new ones. It requires new levels of transparency and vulnerability and our people will only engage when they feel safe to do so.

2. Create opportunities for everyone to contribute: Innovation requires diversity of thought. Successful leaders know that in order to obtain that diversity we need input from a variety of sources internally and externally. It is in this diversity of contribution that new ideas and pathways are explored and at a level that could not have been found if we were to attempt it alone.

3. Create belief in our abilities to innovate: Innovation requires curiosity of thought. It is through this exploration and the sharing of our thoughts in a safe environment that allows us to recognise how our contribution is valued.

4. Make innovation easy to do: Consider your physical environment, how you interact, what tools you need, what supporting frameworks you need and the space that brings people together.

Innovation is also a discipline so it requires us to invest in prioritising time for it.

5. Link the process with the outcome: Innovation is not a popularity contest. It is not just a matter of the winning idea getting up. To arrive at the winning ideas invariably we have had to iterate many times and revisit, review, throw out or tweak and evolve many different thoughts. Individual contributions are all part of the road to the final outcome.

As leaders, how we foster innovation matters. Moving it out of the domains of the one or two creative types and into the domain of the broader business is critical. In doing so we not only unlock new opportunities for the organisation but also ourselves and the people we lead.

Margot AndersonMargot Andersen is the owner of talentinsight a management consultancy specialising in the optimisation of careers, performance and business workforce planning solutions.

Working with individuals and businesses alike she is passionate about seeing the right people, in the right place at the right time. Working to align careers with talents; and ambitions with opportunities she and her team provide coaching, training and talent advisory services.

[email protected]

talentinsight.com.au


by Dr Emily Verstege

HUMANS FIRST: - Putting the I in innovation.

20 | GLOSSAPRIL - MAY 2016

BUSINESS

In his first address to the National Press Club, Australias Chief Scientist recounted the now (much studied) story of the building of the Vasa: a case study of innovation gone wrong.

To begin with, the King of Sweden commissioned a modest, single-deck war ship, built from old growth oak. As the build progressed (and the monarchs kingdom came under greater threat), the King decided that it would be better to build a much larger warship with two decks, each bearing 36 cannons. Being a pragmatic Scandinavian, the King decided it would be simplest to build the larger ship using the keel and emerging skeleton of the smaller ship. To the Kings very great surprise (and embarrassment) the ship sank within 20 minutes of its launch in the middle of the Port of Stockholm, with a sizeable crowd of the Kings subjects looking on.

Some 400 years later, the Vasas sinking is still analysed by business students the world over. Weve concluded that the Vasa is a case study for how not to do innovation. Everything about the approach screamed looming failure. Notably,

* a client (the King, no less) with grand dreams of building something new to inspire his countrymen and impress his neighbours, but no clear idea of what he was procuring

* inappropriate emphasis on impressive bells and whistles (the additional decks) with little to no relevant function

* no clearly defined overall strategy or design architecture.

Its easy enough to poke fun at a long-dead Swedish king for failing to innovate. But there are an abundance of modern day examples in the both public sector (anyone for a broadband network that by 2025 will be 75% slower than the rest of

the world?) and the private sector (for example, Coca Colas new Coke) indicating that as a modern society, weve learnt nothing about innovation practice since the late 1620s.

Recently, I was asked during an interview to name the biggest frustration I currently face in my work supporting organisations to become digital leaders. It was an easy question to answer: its the widespread imperative to be disruptive and innovative and the absolute tunnel vision that those (noble) pursuits create. In the last few months alone, Ive encountered several organisations taking on innovation in the manner of the Swedish monarch.

For the record, I am an advocate for innovation. I am particularly concerned by the slow bleed of innovation and creativity from small to medium-sized Australian enterprises, as measured by our declining rank on the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Index. I passionately believe that, as our world speeds up, we need innovation even more. But, as Alan Finkel put forward in his address, innovation can be done with much more sensitivity, pragmatism and nuance. It doesnt have to be all (ideas) boom or bust.

To overcome the all or nothing thinking, I believe we need to build a shared understanding of what innovation actually is. Innovation is a type of renewal, which changes or creates more effective processes, products or ways of doing things. Disruption (oops, I said it) is a type of innovation, where an entirely new product or service creates a new market and value network that fundamentally changes the way things were previously done. So, Uber is an example of an innovative company. But its a particular class of innovator, which is incredibly rare. I find that this simple definitional shift actually releases the burden we feel to change everything about work, and fast, which frees up creative thinking.

Another really great point Alan Finkel made, is that innovation is more than science. Its the idea that the humanities sociology and psychology are the

GLOSS APRIL - MAY 2016| 21

perfect complement to technology and innovation. Finkel says: In all of the complex challenges that technology will bring, the humanities, arts and social sciences are critical to our research endeavour and we neglect them at our cost. Combine these research elements and we will reap the benefits.

In practice, achieving this balance comes down to remembering the i in innovation (Actually there are two!) People are at the heart of the changes we make. Just remembering that we are not adapting or changing for innovations sake: we are innovating to make someones life better. It could be for ourselves, as business owners. But its more likely to be for our employees or for our customers: the people who help us create products or services, and the people who buy them.

Thinking about innovation from a human perspective also challenges us to develop our own soft skills: how we communicate, the questions we ask, how we make decisions and the creative processes we use. Industry-leading technology organisations now realise this connection. Riley Newman, head data scientist at AirBnBs strategically hired social scientists instead of data scientists for his number-crunching team because he views AirBnB as a social business, with people at its heart.

I firmly believe that without committed focus to people, innovation will flounder, just like an under-engineered Swedish warship.

People are

at the heart of the

changes we make..

Emily VerstegeDr Emily Verstege is a digital expert, and author of the upcoming book Digital Leadership: How to Build a Digital Evolution. She works at the intersection of business and technology to help forward-thinking businesses fast track their journey to digital leadership. Her clients benefit from Emilys diverse expertise - first as an internationally published public health researcher, then as public policy analyst and tech entrepreneur - and her ability to simplify complexity.

[email protected]

multiplicite.com.au

BUSINESS


If youcan survive

disappointmentnothing can beat

youGLOSS APRIL - MAY 2016 | 23

What kickstarted your idea for your business? Whats your WHY? When my daughter started school I was working full time in a corporate environment, and I felt a huge pressure to be available and present in both capacities. The pressure of being a mum took over though so I wanted to find a role where I could be flexible and be there when she needed me.

Meanwhile, I had always been interested in the subscription commerce space and subscribed to beauty subscriptions to see what they was all about. Every time my box would arrive, my daughter would be so excited and shed immediately pilfer the eye shadows and lip glosses. Shes seven, by the way. It made me really think about a business opportunity that she would love and I came up with the Our Little Foxes idea!

Tell us about where you have got to / what the business looks like now? Our Little Foxes is a creative activity subscription for kids aged 3-10. Every month we explore a different theme where children create creative projects that help them become a character, such as little magicians, little scientists and little travellers!

My business has been operating for almost a year now and we have delivered over 5,000 boxes across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. We have a really vibrant community of parents who love the creative moments that we enable for them and their kids.

We started in a Telstra backed accelerator called muru-D in February and are loving the exposure to mentors and investors. Our business has dramatically shifted forward as a result of this program!

We have also announced a seed round of funding with Sydney Seed Fund. This investment will help us to really scale quickly!

And whats next? Where to from here? Whats the big vision? We are aiming to create a global community of creatively-intelligent children.

Our mission is to create a platform and environment where we can encourage children to teach and inspire each other through creativity. Its a really exciting space as currently technology isnt really used in this way.

We are however a business based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and keen to foster a community of like minded parents locally who we can engage with; so it will be a dual focus!

How have you funded the business? We had early investors but were largely self-funded until recently.

I sold my house prior to launching Our Little Foxes and while I miss owning property, Im also happier with the legacy Im building through the business.

by Phoebe Adams

INTERVIEW

THE QUEST FOR IMPACT

BUSINESS

24 | GLOSS APRIL MAY 2016

What 3 key gems of advice would you share?

1. Dont think too much about it, just say yes ... and then work out how.

2. Its tough, so you need to love what youre doing. If its not in your heart space, then its probably not the right business for you.

3. Your co-founders, investors and advisors will become like family so make sure they are all aligned with your values and work ethic.

What are some of the mistakes you made and learnings from them? Initially I lacked confidence in my own entrepreneurial ability because I hadnt had real exposure to the entrepreneurial universe. Quickly however I learned that Im every bit as competent as someone who has had experience with their own business, so Ive turned my mindset around and its really helped me grow personally and professionally.

What are the biggest challenges you are facing right now? We are trying to really understand how to create the most magical customer experience for our subscribers. We want the experience to be so amazing that they will share it with their friends and our business will grow organically. Weve come a long way but there is still a long way to go, so the entire business is focused on making this a reality.

Any advice for people wanting to set off on their own entrepreneurial venture? Just do it! Be prepared for not making money for a while if youre really focussed on growth, but the money will come if you can build something incredible.

What keeps you going? My family, my team and my customers.

Hearing customers tell me how happy they are and how happy their children are as a result of my business brings tears (happy tears!) to my eyes ... every time.

Do you have a critical group of people that support you / your circle of excellence? And if so - what type of support do they give you? Definitely. My advisors and investors support me but also challenge me.

I have to answer tough questions regularly, which helps me and the business grow.

My friends are also incredibly supportive of my business and are constantly telling me how proud they are of my achievements - this makes me incredibly happy! I really love what I do.

Phoebe AdamsPhoebe Adams is the CEO and co-founder of Our Little Foxes, a market-leading creative kit subscription for children. Phoebe is an accomplished brand and digital marketer who has held senior strategic positions with major international corporations. Phoebe is passionate about helping parents enrich the quality time they spend with their children through fun, engaging and educational creative activities.

[email protected]

ourlittlefoxes.com

GLOSS APRIL - MAY 2016| 25

by Kelly Slessorby Kelly Slessor

Shiny stuff or problem solving, next up in tech

BUSINESS


Technology is evolving at an alarming rate and many of us are struggling to keep up with new and emerging platforms.

The introduction of drones, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and 3D printing, are beginning to shape how customers behave and interact with brands.

We are in one of the most innovative periods of all time, in fact Ray Kurzweil said We wont experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at todays rate).

The difficulty is not only in our ability to keep up with innovation but also to ensure we are investing in the right technology and not just the shiny stuff. I often question clients on whether they are developing technology to solve problems or creating problems for technology to solve.

Its important for us to understand the value of technology and how to harness that value for customers and/or employees. To step off autopilot, and to interact, learn, test and trial. So here are some of the technologies that are currently being trialled and developed and a look at their potential value:

Drones A drone is an unmanned device that can fly autonomously, otherwise referred to as a UAV or flying robot.

This flying robot can fly unaided with software-controlled flight plans and works in conjunction with a GPS.

Currently, consumer drones are most commonly used for video shooting, measurement, navigation, aerial photography and entertainment purposes.

Recently, drones have also been used for humanitarian tasks such as rescue and food delivery to remote places. The response to this has been divided, between those who are concerned that these flying robots will interfere with air traffic around airports, and invade our privacy contrasted with an excitement about the possibility of receiving parcels quickly and being able to send and receive physical goods without the need for human intervention.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Its been around since the 1930s, but AI is becoming as mainstream as Netflix. Use Siri on your iPhone? Well, thats fundamentally Artificial Intelligence (AI) in action. The growth in computing processing power, and hyper-connectivity, has spawned a revival in a technology that was traditionally restricted to research labs with scientists surrounded by many, many, large, powerful computers.

The global technology analyst firm Gartner describes AI as:

technology that appears to emulate human performance typically by learning, appearing to understand complex content and engaging in natural dialogs with people


There are some that believe that Artificial Intelligence will replace human beings in the future, but my personal belief is that if used in the right way it will aid us from vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, lawn mowers, security to education and learning, the possibilities are endless.

AI is promising some significant benefits to retailers, Companies such as shoes.com and stitchfix.com are using intelligent virtual shoppers, they get to know you and make recommendations based on real data. Although I believe there are huge opportunities and applications for AI, computers cannot read or convey emotion and this is the reason we will always need the human factor.

3D Printing The days of limb replacement using donated spare parts from the deceased may soon be no more. We are definitely the closest we have ever been to the bio printing of human parts.

3D printing has come a long way in the past few years. There has been much hype around 3D printing, questionably too much. But its not without reason, as it is certainly a fast growing market that is extending to a number of applications.

3D printing is basically a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The current usages range from practical objects for daily use, to commercial products and parts used in manufacturing.

Even the most skeptical can acknowledge that 3D printing is capable of significant changes, globally. Not just on a manufacturing level, but more critically on the medical front.

Earlier this year Mattel revealed a 3D printer that allows children to print their own toys (The Thing Maker), the next obvious development is a shoe

making machine.

iBeacons In a nutshell, the true value of iBeacons lies in its ability to transmit personalised prompts or messages to the individual customer. They are a low-cost piece of hardware ($5 - $60) small enough to attach to a wall or countertop, and use battery-friendly, low-energy Bluetooth connections to transmit messages or prompts directly to a smartphone or tablet.

For retailers therefore their potential should be huge and its for this reason that iBeacons are being touted as the next big innovation in retailing technology. But it is also here where the problem lies. iBeacons, like NFC, Bluetooth and in general

proximity marketing are essentially only dumb platforms. What is important in these instances is not what the technology can do but where it can offer real value to consumers and that is where the retailers generally fall over.

The temptation for any sort of location marketing has been simply to push out offers and discounts rather than to have an intelligent, thought through, appropriate content strategy that drives sales rather than

undermines them.

This is lazy marketing that will devalue the brand and makes investment in technology such as iBeacons a waste of resources. The real value will be in providing engaging content and enabling the consumer to make informed decisions in the purchasing process.

Wearables Wearables are the latest up and coming trend in the wonderful world of technology. Wearable tech shipments are expected to jump from 85 million last year to 560 million by 2021.

There are many applications on the market, from devices and applications that track your heart rate

All of this

technology and

the possibilities

are endless but

unless it truly

solves a problem

then it becomes

shiny stuff.

BUSINESS


and food intake to self-healing gadgets that will even monitor your mood the quantified self era is a living and breathing reality.

Some have not only held their ground with confidence, but will continue to expand their footprint well into the next generation. The two key players in this market are the Fitbit and the Apple Watch.

The latest wearable innovations for 2016 are anchored in the healthcare and education markets. Additional metrics that will be integrated into Fitbit technology include monitoring blood pressure and stress relating to athletic performance. Later this year, Fitbit will also be forging relationships with fashion brands, showcasing a new direction yet to be seen in retail.

Virtual Reality A technology thats quickly being extended beyond gaming, to visualise information as living, immersive experiences. Why confine your experiences to a confined area (say, a screen or projector) when you can view information in rich new ways, in true 3D?

Marketing leaders are using Virtual Reality to drive new types of experiences that encourage customers to engage with their brand in exciting and immersive ways. Perhaps you want to simulate what a customers new kitchen will look like in their environment? In the VR world, you can quickly determine if an alternate paint shade or tabletop material is better suited to match with all other components of the design brief.

Taryn Williams, co-founder and CEO of THERIGHTFIT, said Innovation means not accepting the status quo. But always looking to find better, more effective and more efficient ways.

All of this technology and the possibilities are endless but unless it truly solves a problem, fulfills a customer need or provides a better, more effective way of doing things then it becomes shiny stuff that is effectively redundant.

Kelly SiessorKelly Slessor is a Digital Strategist specialising in mobile. With 17 years experience, Kelly began her career with British Telecom, the UKs largest telecommunications provider, and is now the founder and managing director of BanterMob.Kelly has spent her career understanding consumer behaviour, simplifying technology and designing the future based on insights and research.Working with major clients including Westfield, Gluestore, Woolworths, Big W, Suncorp and LendLease right through to SMEs;

[email protected]

bantermob.com.au


by Colin Ellis

Innovating a reluctant profession

BUSINESS


Innovation is something that great organisations strive for. It demonstrates their commitment not to make the same mistakes twice. It demonstrates their desire to embrace new thinking. It demonstrates their commitment to creativity and to ensure that they dont get left behind in our ever changing world.

So imagine working in a profession that has been reluctant to innovate itself for 20 years.

Welcome to my world. Welcome to project management.

Some quick statistics. In 2004, the Standish Group, a collection of experts based in the US who undertake reviews on the success of IT projects estimated that only 29% of the projects it reviewed were considered successful against time, cost and customer expectation measures.

In 2015, that figure was exactly the same. To be clear, in 11 years, there has been no improvement.

Imagine if only 29% of surgeries were successful. Imagine if 29% of buildings collapsed. Imagine if 29% of new cars didnt start when they left the showroom? Youd be annoyed, right? Youd want public accountability and youd want things to change. Youd want new thinking, new blood and a commitment to embracing the new. However, in the world of project management, we continue to accept mediocrity as the norm.

Think of five projects that you know of that have failed. Now think of five projects that you know of that were successful. Unfortunately, its a fact the former will easily outweigh the latter.

The only new idea that weve added in the last 11 years is that of the Agile approach. A different method for delivering software that project managers can embrace and now utilise across all

kinds of projects. However, its already being used by some organisations as a shortcut, rather than a mindset.

At a conference in 2014, Alistair Cockburn (a signatory of the Agile Manifesto in 2001), said that the notion that Agile doesnt need good project

management is a stinking myth. If you take away the project manager, a project becomes invisible.

This article, however, is not a negative poke at the profession I love; its an honest observation about the lack of innovation in our thinking and a call to arms. If were to fix our project problem (the biggest elephant in the room right now), then we have, to be honest about where we are, so we can be committed to fixing it.

Every year over $1bn is spent on development of project managers and yet we dont develop the very things that will make a difference. Leadership and culture. The best projects your organisation will ever run are down to the person that leads it or the environment they create.

However, we throw much of the $1bn at methods and processes and not soft skill development. Almost every business book you need will tell you of the importance of great leadership for success. Not so in the project management books.

Noted project management researcher Dr Lyn Crawford said in a paper that once a project manager had achieved an entry level of project

We need more people to get angry about the lack of

new thinking in project

management..


management knowledge, then more knowledge doesnt make them more competent. Its their personality and leadership style that does.

We need to give our people the skills, feedback and inspiration to innovate themselves and their workplaces so that they can deliver the transformation initiatives our organisations need to continue to flourish.

Im currently running three year-long project leadership development programs committed to providing project managers and sponsors with the knowledge and techniques to transform the way they deliver. So there are signs that our attitude towards continued poor project performance is changing.

We need more people to get angry about the lack of new thinking in project management. We need more heart; we need more courage and we need to evolve our delivery cultures into something we can be proud of. Conscious project leaders give you this.

They invest in people, relationships and in fixing - through their projects the things that are holding your organisation back. They run meetings well. They collaborate effectively. They take accountability. They make work fun. They create something unique that employees across the business want to be part of.

Youve seen these vibrant project cultures. Youve worked in them. You can hear them and feel them. This doesnt happen by chance. Remember, the best projects are down to the person that leads it or the environment they create.

For project management to be successful, we need to innovate the people. We need to remind them that projects are about different kinds of people and give them the knowledge to find better and smarter ways to motivate those people to do great things.

Innovating a profession is not my sole responsibility, however, Im not going to stop until organisations get the results from their projects that they expect.

.CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO

Colin EllisColin Ellis talks, writes and works with organisations to put conscious leaders and great cultures back at the heart of getting things done. He applies the same principles at home, which makes him really popular with his wife and two children. You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or by following him on Twitter (@colindellis).

[email protected]

colindellis.com

BUSINESS


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Parallels between Mountaineering and Business?

by Patrick HollingworthBUSINESS



Youve no doubt seen it before, at a business conference or perhaps a leadership offsite retreat. The motivational speaker who has conquered their fears and climbed a mountain and thinks that their success is relevant to yours. They are rolled out and tell you inspirational stories about the difficulties they overcame to reach their summit.

They exhort superficial colloquialisms about setting goals, never giving up and overcoming all odds. Inspirational? Perhaps. But relevant to your own workplace? Not so much.

Despite the worlds of business and mountaineering sharing a number of parallels (managing resources, decision making, managing risk and collaboration, to name but a few), they have never before been meaningfully explored in the business. The problem with this is that such simple messages and lessons are no longer relevant in todays increasingly uncertain and complex business landscape.

So what is relevant then?

A remarkable parallel It just so happens that there is a remarkable parallel between the way that most mountaineers climb mountains and the way that most business leaders run their businesses today, and it has a nameits called expedition style.

Expedition style has its roots in the Himalayas, the highest mountain range on earth. The inherent difficulties associated with incredibly low levels of oxygen and the extreme cold make it nearly impossible for climbers to stay alive up there.

To mitigate these difficulties, expedition style is an approach which uses considerable equipment and manpower.

A reliance upon fixed infrastucture and massive manpower Much of the equipment used is fixed infrastructurethings like fixed ropes and stocked camps which are left in-situ on the mountain for the duration of the climb, which is sometimes up to two months. Expedition style also relies significantly upon people powerand lots of

it. Typical Everest expeditions these days are comprised of an expedition leader, three or four western guides, up to 40 Sherpas (an indigenous ethnic group, widely regarded for the climbing skills, who do most of the hard work by carrying all of the equipment up the mountain), and at least that number again of climbers.

Climbing expedition style can be quite a powerful way to climb a mountain, but its also very expensive, very inefficient and not particularly good at adapting to changing circumstances (such as the weather). Nor is it very aesthetic (think of long queues of climbers waiting to reach the summit).

Furthermore, whilst expedition style is quite robust, it tends to break apart when unexpected events happen. For example, in 2014 an avalanche which killed 16 Sherpas resulted in the Mount Everest being closed to climbers, and it was closed again the following year when an earthquake struck Nepal and triggered a massive avalanche at base camp, killing 20 people.

Many organisations are expedition style Its the same way in which most organisations operate. Reliance upon (and preferably ownership of) fixed infrastructure is seen as advantageous (it enables the organisation to dominate their market), and a linear, hierarchical structure which features centralised and top-down leadership. Just like on the mountain, organisations which operate in this manner can be quite robust, but tend to suffer from chronic inefficiencies, over-bureaucratisation, slow response times to change, and a tendency to fail when significant unexpected events occur (think of any number of organisations which failed during the GFC, or which are starting to fail now through disruption and disintermediation).

So, whats the alternative?The solution: its called alpine style Its called alpine style (colloquially its known as light and fast). Practiced by a relatively small subset of highly-skilled mountaineers, the solution is to move quickly through the mountain environment, carrying as little equipment as possibleonly the bare essentials needed for the climb.

By restricting their reliance upon equipment, two things happen for alpine-style mountaineers: firstly, they are much lighter, and therefore faster and more able to respond to sudden change; and secondly, they become self-reliant. Rather than depending upon infrastructure to assist them in reaching their goals, they only have themselves and their immediate climbing partners to rely on. And so the more an alpine-style climber climbs, the better they become.

Light and fast is the future When climbing alpine style in a small team (usually only two or three climbers on one rope, or perhaps four climbers climbing in roped pairs), there is no structural hierarchy and no central leader; rather there is shared decision making responsibility as the team members collaborate across a network-like structure. Each climber brings a skill set which compliments their fellow team members, ensuring that as a whole, the team is able to respond to the vagaries of the terrain. The high levels of skills then mean that each alpine-style team can operate autonomously, and does not require guidance from a central leader and decision maker. It is this ability for autonomy which enables the network structure (as opposed to the traditional linear, hierarchical structure of expedition style).

If youre a leader of an organisation and youre looking to thrive in this current period of market disruption, youre no doubt finding it to be both an exciting and frightening time to be doing your work.

We all know that business competition and instability has increased, whilst barriers to entry have fallen, chronic employee disengagement is on the rise, and the global economic recovery is incredibly fragile. All of this makes doing business in todays world incredibly challenging.

We are often being told that the solution to this seemingly chaotic landscape is to be agile and innovative. But few can actually articulate what that looks like in an organisational context.

Thats what alpine style, or light and fast, provides. Its both an ethos, and a methodology. Its a new way for business to deal with this increasingly uncertain and complex business landscape.

Patrick HollingworthPatrick Hollingworth works with people, teams and organisations to help them deal with a world, which is becoming more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous by the day. Hes summited multiple 8000 metre peaks, including Mount Everest. He is based in Australia and travels internationally to deliver keynote presentations, workshops, mentoring and consulting to a range of organisations. Find out more at

patrickhollingworth.com

BUSINESS


WORK HARD

STAY HUMBLE

DREAM BIG


BUSINESSby Jenny Brockis

Innovation starts with safety first!


The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind the faithful servant

Albert Einstein.

The problem according to Ian McGilchrist author of The Master and his Emissary is that we have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift. Business has long worshipped at the altar of logic, analysis and reasoning, overlooking the need for curiosity, intuition and insight for greater problem solving and better decision-making.

The quest for innovation has taken a new and urgent turn as businesses and companies jostle for position to stay one step ahead of the pack. Its also a quest for survival because staying with the status quo is now tantamount to running backwards as the volume and velocity of change and new technologies forge ahead unabated.

The challenge lies in creating the right environment to promote innovation. We have to feel safe to speak up to share our great new idea. But with continuing cutbacks, job losses and heavier workloads we start to feel less safe, choosing instead to stay quiet, lie low and hope no one comes looking for your head in the next round of job cuts.

Leading innovation starts with creating a brain safe work environment. Being highly social and hardwired to connect with others, stimulating creativity begins by recognising what threatens our sense of safety so we can learn how to mitigate that threat in others and ourselves.

Start by identifying what motivates you to feel inspired and creative at work. While having a nice outlook, comfy desk and access to good coffee helps, what also counts is feeling valued, respected and included. Just as living in a big city can be associated with intense loneliness, working in an environment where your boss or manager doesnt know who you are, never takes any interest in you

as a person and has no idea of your name leads to a lack of relatedness. Why bother making a suggestion if no one is listening anyway?

There are six TRAICE elements that contribute to our sense of safety. Some overlap and complement each other. Some will be more relevant to your circumstances than others, but all of them contribute in some shape or form to every interpersonal relationship we have.

Our brains primary function is to keep us safe. It is continually scanning our environment on the look out of anything new or different and because its safety first, the default setting is to assume this is always potential danger. This means we have to work hard to double check the information because our first assumptions and judgments are heavily influenced by our belief systems and bias and can often be completely wrong!

Leading ourselves to greater insight means choosing to uncouple from our heavy overlay of focus to give the brain the room it needs to tap into our mighty subconscious and look for those hitherto unseen or unrecognised associated thoughts. It requires the freedom of thought a little mind wandering helps, which is why scheduling 15 minutes of time out every day is so important to promote deeper thought and reflection.

Your Brilliant Idea depends on your social intelligence.

Social intelligence is what builds connection, relatedness and collaboration. Until developed, tested and formulated with the help of others, your brilliant idea is unlikely to become realised. Avoiding social pain keeps the brain in a more relaxed state and open to new idea and ways of thinking. Problem solving needs the best of both worlds: conscious awareness of the problem being worked on and unfettered imagination and insight.

The Six TRAICE elements for workplace safety.

It all starts (and ends) with trust. Trusting others not to break a confidence and share what we hold dear begins with trusting ourselves. If we dont trust ourselves to stay true to our values and beliefs, why should anyone else? Demonstrating our trustworthiness comes from consistency, transparency and authenticity. We build trust slowly in tiny increments. It is


BUSINESSnormal for trust to wax and wane because we are imperfect and fallible. It takes continual work to maintain because it can be lost in moment through a careless throwaway comment or omission of support.

Office gossip is a form of bullying that breaks trust and shuts down innovation and creativity.

Respect yourself and others. Where we sit in the pecking order of life at any given time is linked to our sense of identity. Thats why feeling disrespected matters because it is linked to humiliation, shame and loss of self-esteem. Our brain perceives a threat to our status like the sound of unfamiliar footsteps behind us as we walk down a dark alley.

Acknowledging others with a smile and hello goes a long way to maintaining mutual respect.

Autonomy prevails. One of the top reasons given for why people choose to leave their job is lack of opportunity or challenge. Micromanagement is rife in many workplaces. It may reflect insecurity on the part of the manager rather than the capability of an employee. Having someone constantly look over your shoulder, correcting your work is highly demotivating. What is far more rewarding is having the support of a manager or boss who not only recognises your capabilities but openly encourages you to step up to new and untested challenges.

Even the perception of self-direction such as being included in conversations around proposed organisational change can help to diminish the threat of loss of autonomy.

Impartiality. Theres nothing that gets up our nose more than feeling as if we have been treated unfairly. Favouritism, others being given credit for your hard work and inequality makes us feel disgusted. It lights up an area of the brain called the insula and the feeling is often intense. Playing fair is more than looking for legal loopholes; it is about consistency and looking out for the welfare and wellbeing of everyone at work.

Clarity. If were not entirely sure of someones expectations of us, its hard to know we are on the right track. Communicating clearly, unambiguously and fully goes a long way to reduce uncertainty, which is often associated with fear and anxiety. Worry stops innovation in its tracks. We seek clarity to stay feeling safe.

Empathy. Its sad when empathy packs its bags and leaves the building, because it leaves a void of human connection and understanding. Empathy draws us together. It enables us to recognise what someone else is going feeling and our own experience of that. Fear, stress and exhaustion all contribute to a lack of empathy and contribute to the formation of a silo mentality.

The joy of innovation and creativity is piqued by our sense of curiosity and comes from a place of safety. Building your brain safe environment starts with the TRAICE elements and connecting at the human level.

Jenny BrockisDr Jenny Brockis is the Brain Fitness Doctor and author of Future Brain: The 12 Keys To Create Your High Performance Brain (Wiley).

[email protected]

drjennybrockis.com

Createyour own financial fairytale


MONEY

Connectionsare important

Relationshipsare important

Sharing all you knowmakes the difference


moneymoney:

noun

a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes;

coins and banknotes collectively.


MONEY

Every year I decide (on at least three different occasions, including New Years) to work on my fitness. Many years ago I used to play state league netball so my fitness was kind of taken care of with an activity I really enjoyed. Unfortunately age, my general klutziness and an ankle reconstruction wiped out any further netballing and Ive been struggling with my fitness ever since.

Over the years Ive tried many different methods when it comes to exercising regularly. Ive tried rewards based outcomes, DVDs and classes, gym memberships, hashtags, buying outfits I want to wear to make it more fun, trying to con other people to work out with me and so much more. Ive also tried working out for a short time every day, working out three times a week, four times a week and so many more varieties on the same theme. The problem for me is I simply dont enjoy exercising and I will find any and every excuse known to get out of it.

I also work really hard and dont have many weekends when Im not working at least some of the time. So I act like my very own best friend by giving myself heaps of time off when it comes to working out. Because Im worth it.

Now Im sure many of you are nodding along because you do exactly the same thing. Im also sure there are others who are super organised that

are thinking I should just suck it up and do it. Its OK, I think that too.

The thing is, this year I have finally stumbled upon something that seems to have worked. Im hesitant to write that but its a month in and Ive been consistent for the entire month without feeling like its hard. Now its a revolutionary idea and Im tempted to create a seven step system and sell it online but Im going to let you in on my secret here.

I work out every second day for 30 minutes or more.

Again, Im sure many of you are shaking your head believing Im ridiculous (its OK, I am). But the point Im making is after probably a good five years or starts, false starts and many, many months of doing nothing Ive finally stumbled upon something that really works for me. Maybe its because I can stop after thirty minutes or maybe its because every second day I can choose not to work out and feel absolutely no guilt about it whatsoever. Or maybe its because its not a system I can cheat because of its simplicity. Regardless of the reason, Ive finally found a method that works for me.

The reason Im writing about this is because this has taken me at least five years and many failures and restarts during that half a decade to stumble

by Melissa Browne

INNOVATE YOUR FINANCES


upon something that works. It would have been really easy at any point during those five years to give up. To work out, that fitness and I are not a natural fit and to put my energy into reality TV or something equally enjoyable instead. However I knew that ultimately, in order to really enjoy life in the terms I wanted to, I needed to sort myself out, get off the couch and move intentionally and frequently.

I know its the same for many of you when it comes to money. Youve tried many different types of budgets over the years and they all gradually fizzled out, along with your enthusiasm, after a brief period of time. Youve also tried different investment plans, different advisors, dabbled in the stock market, property and tried to understand your superannuation. You also may have consolidated credit cards, cut up cards and vowed to have a zero balance every month. But when you look at your finances today, nothings improved. In fact, if its anything like my fitness, youre probably in a worse position than when you started.

The problem is, as I realised with my fitness, if you do nothing and choose failure then the only one that will really suffer is you.

Instead, why not take a deep breath and decide to try again. Maybe speak to a different advisor, read another book, sign up to a different course, try a different budgeting app or take your credit cards out of your wallet (again). At least make the decision that money may not be something which comes naturally to you or youll ever really enjoy dealing with (kind of like fitness with me) but its simply a tool you need to figure out how to use in a way that will give you financial options.

I think in life, too often were hunting for the silver bullet. For the incredibly innovative thing that will pull us out of our financial pit. I dont think this mindset is limited to money, finances and the numbers but its something I see a lot in this space. I think sometimes innovation is trying, failing, trying something new, failing, improving it, failing, tweaking it again, failing and randomly, by chance stumbling upon the thing that works for you (or your customers). Rather than discovering the silver bullet.

Some things simply dont come naturally or easily to us and for some of you thats money and

finances. Thats OK and perhaps its time for you to admit that. Instead of trying to find the silver bullet, try focussing on finding the solution that will create great habits for you and give you the freedom and options to choose what you want to do with your life.

As we head into the second quarter of this year, or if youre in Australia towards the end of the financial year, its yet another opportunity to have a new beginning. Maybe it will only be your fourth

go at finally sorting your money out or maybe like my battle with fitness, maybe its been half a decade of trying and this will be the habit that sticks. The thing is, you wont

know until you start. Heres to trying again and again and again and creating amazing gradual improvements and habits that stick.

This has taken me at least five years and many failures and restarts during that half a decade to stumble upon

something that works.

Melissa BrowneMelissa Browne is CEO of A+TA (Accounting & Taxation Advantage), Director of Business at Thinkers.inq and author of More Money for Shoes and Fabulous but Broke.

[email protected]

byata.com.au


MONEY Louise Agnew is a Director of LYFE Group, speaker, financial strategist and author of Worthy Women stories to inspire financial confidence and success in your life. LYFE Group is also our newest supporting partner, here at GLOSS.

Janine Garner, our managing editor, met up with Louise to discuss all things finance, business growth plans and Louises vision for her business.

JG: Where did your passion for starting your own business come from? LA: As an adviser coming from many different environments -banking, boutique and corporate - I saw there was a real need for more financial education in our system, in particular for those working women who had access to more money but less understanding on how to optimize it. I believe growing wealth is within all of our reach if we have the skills and strategies to allow us to achieve this correctly.

JG: What is the big WHY for LyfeGroup? LA: What we should have been taught at school was very clearly left out the financial and life skills. Our why? Coming from an underprivileged country where there is so much need, it seemed ludicrous to find financial literacy rates in Australia as poor as developing countries and to witness the big financial institutions exploiting this illiteracy so freely. We are passionate about ensuring clients are in a position to make better financial choices and become accountable for their own money. Equally this means we too will have the freedom of choice to make social enterprise decisions like supporting a grant program for orphaned girls in South Africa to acquire life skills once they leave school.

JG: LyfeGroup consists of 4 key pillars of focus can you explain how this fit together? LA: LyfeAcademy is the starting point for many of our clients. This is a learning space where we raise awareness of the many different options available to invest. Essentially the key here is for our clients to learn about the options available in terms of where to place their money and which vehicle will best suit their needs.

LyfePlanning is there to assist with financial advice on where best to place clients money and how best to structure their investments, while still continuing to ensure clients need to maintain the right levels of asset protection.

Creating Ripples Of Change For Everyone


Louise Agnew is a Director of LYFE Group, speaker, financial strategist and author of Worthy Women stories to inspire financial confidence and success in your life. LYFE Group is also our newest supporting partner, here at GLOSS.

Janine Garner, our managing editor, met up with Louise to discuss all things finance, business growth plans and Louises vision for her business.

JG: Where did your passion for starting your own business come from? LA: As an adviser coming from many different environments -banking, boutique and corporate - I saw there was a real need for more financial education in our system, in particular for those working women who had access to more money but less understanding on how to optimize it. I believe growing wealth is within all of our reach if we have the skills and strategies to allow us to achieve this correctly.

JG: What is the big WHY for LyfeGroup? LA: What we should have been taught at school was very clearly left out the financial and life skills. Our why? Coming from an underprivileged country where there is so much need, it seemed ludicrous to find financial literacy rates in Australia as poor as developing countries and to witness the big financial institutions exploiting this illiteracy so freely. We are passionate about ensuring clients are in a position to make better financial choices and become accountable for their own money. Equally this means we too will have the freedom of choice to make social enterprise decisions like supporting a grant program for orphaned girls in South Africa to acquire life skills once they leave school.

JG: LyfeGroup consists of 4 key pillars of focus can you explain how this fit together? LA: LyfeAcademy is the starting point for many of our clients. This is a learning space where we raise awareness of the many different options available to invest. Essentially the key here is for our clients to learn about the options available in terms of where to place their money and which vehicle will best suit their needs.

LyfePlanning is there to assist with financial advice on where best to place clients money and how best to structure their investments, while still continuing to ensure clients need to maintain the right levels of asset protection.

Growing wealth requires access to positive debt through leverage, so having a protection strategy in place is essential.

LyfeProperty - As most Australians understand and love property, LyfeProperty offer property investment strategies to our clients. Property is only recommended if required as an investment vehicle and if its right for the client, as a means to diversify, leverage and grow over time. This is not the ONLY strategy we use for our clients.

As most advisers only offer information or guidance on property investment very few actually recommend this as an investment vehicle this baffles us as an organisation but the truth is that there is little remuneration for advisers to promote this vehicle as another option for clients.

Many property groups sell a property first and then tack on financial planning to protect the property. We flip that around and create a plan from day one that incorporates a

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Gloss April - May 2016