Culture eats strategy for breakfast

I am sitting at the airport on my way home to Melbourne. I am exhausted, my body hurts, my brain is fogged, I have had only three hours sleep but all of this fades because my heart is full of joy, pride, love and connections that will last a lifetime. 

I have just spent a week on the Gold Coast at our national conference. We broke many records - highest attendance at conference, highest attendance at awards, most award wins ever for Victoria, first wins for many of our offices and agents but what stands out the most has been the leadership, the camaraderie, the celebrations, of a tribe that is connected through values we all aspire to live by and the culture we belong to.

Culture is how we do things here and at Harcourts we do things with our hearts and our heads. 

Now you may say I have been drinking the Harcourts cordial and maybe I have. However, having worked in many different brands I know that the culture of an organisation is what keeps people there. People are loyal to culture not to strategy

A strategy is what we put on a piece of paper and although important the reality is anyone can come up with a strategy. It is much harder to create a winning culture. Often if your strategy is poor yet your culture strong you will still gain success.

If your culture is a strong one and people are loyal to it, then you build resilience as a business and when you hit turbulent times, it is these loyal people who get you through.

A great culture creates a competitive advantage, it attracts people to your business, it attracts customers and it becomes part of your brand. Virgin is a great example of this where the culture that Branson has created has become part of the brand and client experience.

I recently attended a lunch where Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes was speaking. For every pair of Toms shoes that is sold, a pair is given to an improvised child. The concept is called one for one – imagine writing a strategy around this.

Toms inspired people to get behind the brand and concept and give back in a unique way, they were able to involve not just their own people but their clients as well.

Harcourts Walk a Mile has become part of our culture. We are able to involve not just our own people but the greater community to walk with us and make a stand against violence towards women.

One of things I have learnt in business is that strategy can be copied, however you cannot copy or duplicate culture. Every organisation has a culture, however for many the culture has just grown or happened, there has been no thought given to it, there is no plan in place, leaders have not asked the question what type of place do we need to create so people want to belong to it. In my team, we bleed blue, and we are proud of it. However, that in turn bleeds into our network, the culture we have created is viral.

Don’t you want to belong to a tribe that makes you feel the way I do, that challenges you to be the best version of yourself, that celebrates your success, that supports you in times of need, that knows the gaps in your business and plans with you to reduce them and leaders who fiercely protect you and have your back every step of the way. 

If your tribe isn’t making you feel the way I do after a week of conference and three hours sleep maybe it’s time you considered changing your tribe to one that will. 

There is one sure rule in business and that is that culture will always eat strategy for breakfast. If your environment and relationships are toxic it will impact the performance of your business. 

So as I boarded my flight homeward bound, looking forward to my head hitting the pillow I knew that I am privileged to lead a brand where the vibe is bold, visionary, exciting, inspiring and connected. We know who we are, what we stand for and where we are heading. The future is truly exciting

Telstra's ethical outage

Telstra has removed support from same sex marriage!

As an award winner of the prestigious Telstra Business Womens Awards this decision disappoints me. The awards has always been about diversity, excellence and community regardless of ethnicity and sexual orientation. More importantly the awards is about celebrating a group that faces  discrimination in the work place. Yet here they are bowing to the Catholic Church and removing their support of a minority group - LGBTI. 

It seems religious organizations are influencing corporations, the church supposedly threatening to withdraw contracts from Telstra if they do not back away from their public support of same sex marriage. 

Given Telstra's competitors are strong supporters og LGBTI rights where would they go?

Have we gone backwards in time and someone forgot to tell me.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/telstra-has-removed-its-support-for-same-sex-marriage-allegedly-due-to-pressure-from-the-catholic-church-2016-4

How will you pledge for parity?

March 8^th 2016 see’s us celebrate International Women’s day with the theme – Pledge for parity.This day has been celebrated since the early 1900s and is a day where we recognise the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.Last year’s theme was “#make it happen” and the question I always ask myself at this time of year, like I have every other year, is what did we change and how much closer are we to parity?

Here’s what I do know:·        The pay gap here in Australia is at its widest sitting at just under 19%
·        This disparity in the pay gap impacts a woman’s ability to obtain a home loan or save a deposit for a home/investment
·        1 woman a week is killed by her partner or someone known to her
·        Domestic violence is the main cause of homelessness for women and children in Australia (White Ribbon)
·        Diversity of women in the workplace is not currently representative of our communities
·        Women retire on 1/3 less superannuation than their male counterparts (Human Rights Commission)
·        40% of women who retire claim their main source of income as the government pension and they make up 55.7% of the age pension recipients (ABS)
·        Women are still sexualised in advertising, by men the men she works with and business leaders
The issue of gender equality is not unique to Australia, it is a global issue which, according to The World Economic Forum, will take until 2133 to entirely close the economic gender gap and gain gender parity in areas such as economics, politics, education and health.

March 8^th, International Women's Day, provides a global opportunity for everyone (men and women) to pledge support to help accelerate gender parity.

For those of us who are business leaders and managers across the globe, it is our responsibility to ensure that we have balanced leadership structures and boards, not just in regards to gender but ethnic diversity as well. We must be focused on creating environments where women will thrive, be ambitious, gain success and not have the concerns of being labelled, bullied or have workplace bias, colour, cultural background and pregnancy impact their career progression.If we were able to achieve this imagine the limitless potential our businesses would have, not to mention the impact on the bottom line of not just the business but the economies we operate in. We have a large pool of female talent available to us that many are simply not tapping into.

This form of leadership, however, needs to be thought out, focused and produce decisions that are deliberate. We need leaders who will be brave, who will take the lead, who will speak up and speak out and who will commit to taking actions.
Leaders like the former army Chief David Morrison, AO, named the Australian of the Year 2016, his commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion is a beacon for other leaders.

Australia is a melting pot of people from all ethnic backgrounds, they in turn have cultural influences in our communities and businesses. Yet in many of our business we are often surrounded by white male baby boomers.  Taking into account past migration trends and the current global climate of influences out of China, the next wave perhaps being India and then Indonesia we need to ensure that our businesses are a reflection of the communities we live in.  

A lack of diversity in gender and/or race means that we are stifling our innovation, creativity and thinking as well as the important cultural nuances of doing business offshore. Consider what impact will this have on business long term?If you are a male reading this article, understand that you have a role to play in how the issue of gender balance is resolved. It’s simple really, there are more men in leadership roles than women and you have the power to make decisions that will drive change in your business. We need you to become our champions, our ambassadors.

We need to tackle this issue together, side-by-side as partners working together to create better businesses, workplaces, products, cultures and future leaders. However, most importantly, we need to leave behind a legacy we can be proud of for our sons and daughters.

How many men reading this today will take on the role of changing perceptions and behaviours of other men they work with? How many leaders will make a conscious decision to change how their business recruits and supports women through various stages of their careers creating a ripple effect that will eventually become a tsunami of change?

I believe the future is one where we do have gender balance, where our businesses are as diverse as the communities we work in and that businesses leaders who don’t embrace this will run the risk of their business becoming obsolete. 

However I do not want to wait until 2133 to achieve this. The world is getting smaller, we are more connected than ever before, individual influence and reach is greater, all of this enables rapid change. If we don’t pledge for parity now and make deliberate necessary changes, when will we? If we don’t take responsibility for equality why will future generations?

Let’s not wait until governments start to legislate for quotas and targets, deep down we all know this is not the right option. We don’t want to operate in a world where equality and diversity is forced upon us, where we will have to tick boxes on who we hire and therefore possibly allowing merit to become secondary as gender becomes the priority to meet a required number.

How will you pledge for parity in 2016? What conversations will you start, who you will influence, what changes will you make in your organisations, who will you mentor and elevate? How will you consciously make decisions this year that will be great for business, remarkable for humanity, memorable for future generations and simply good for your soul?  

Your tribe is a reflection of your leadership - are they following or leaving you?

Your workplace is your tribe, people who you spend significant time with on a regular basis, you may even socialise with them after hours. If you google the meaning of the word Tribe, the most common informal meaning is - a group that people belong to. 

According to the Oxford dictionary a tribe is - a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.

So what are some of the elements of a tribe in the work place we need to consider or connect with that will make us stay?

Belonging - Is the place you work create a sense of belonging? Is it where you really want to be?

Think back to the time when you went for the job interview for your current role. When you walked into the office you would have surveyed the building, taken note of the reception area, how people behaved and engaged with the person conducting the interview. When you walked out you would have made a decision as to whether you wanted to work there or not. 

Now that you have been there for a while - long or short term, has the reason why you selected your tribe still exist? Have they met all the promises made? Is there a future there for you that will provide you with long term financial security that you will not find anywhere else?

Leader of the pack

The leader of an organisation is often the one who sets the standards of accepted behaviour and performance that becomes part of your culture. They will create drive and change culture; how they behave and manage their people and business affects everyone.

Change needs to be lead from the top. If, for example, our leaders are not interested in training or learning, then neither will the employees. People look to their leaders not so much for what they say but more for what they do.

If you are in a senior position or have been with the business for a significant period of time people will look at you as a leader. Are you behaving like one?

How are the leaders in your tribe behaving, is there mutual respect, do they drive change, is culture important, is your success important to them, have they put in place a plan that will help you achieve your goals?

Creating the right culture

When you open your doors for business on the first day you will have a vision and goals that you wish to achieve. Making a profit is probably at the top of the list and there is a link between creating the right culture and your bottom line.

As your business grows and you employ people you will set in place systems and processes that work and you value. Examples of these are Monday morning sales meetings, Tuesday morning training sessions, caravans, monthly group meetings, professional development days, customer service standards, performance driven teams who celebrate success, where opinions are valued which then become part of your business and culture.

However poor performance, back stabbing, bitchiness, poor decision making can also become part of a culture.

Remember culture is very much about the way we chose to do things and what we value and the messages we send out and receive. Leaders and managers in an organisation impact directly upon this.

Eviction

Recruiting the right people to fit into your culture is important. Induction programs, buddy systems, training programs are various ways to do this. It is human nature to want to belong to a tribe and when we are invited in we make changes to our behaviour to fit in otherwise we get ejected or we choose to leave.

When recruiting from other organisations be aware that what you have created can be changed or diluted and it is imperative that new members of your tribe understand why you do things the way you do.

If an employee does not fit into your culture they will often choose to leave and move elsewhere. Be aware of those that don’t and manage them out before they have a negative impact on the group.

Values

Each one of us has value sets that we take through life and these can have an impact on what we chose to do on a daily basis. We spend our life making choices on what is important, vital, and necessary or a luxury.

As managers and leaders we need to recognise that everyone in the work place has different values and sometimes it may lead to issues or influence decisions that we are making.

There will be lines that people are simply not prepared to step over, recognise this and work with them to find a middle ground.

In a large organisation there are many leaders, they impact and create their own culture within their business units. There is no such thing as one culture in these businesses but as many as the number of managers, directors and leaders you have. How do you build a culture that is strong and evolving – you hold people accountable for the culture that they build in their businesses.

In smaller organisations that manager or director has a direct and immediate impact on the culture of the business. How they behave, the decisions that are made, systems and processes, all play a part.

Cultural change

Culture is taught, learned and shared, it is what we do, think and feel. It rules almost every aspect of our lives and more often then not we are completely unaware of it. Culture within an organisation is important as it sets boundaries on accepted behaviour and allows teams to work with each other.

When trying to change a culture in an organisation you will have people who will resist and form mini armies to fight the enemy, others will simply sit on the fence and may or may not chose to influence parties and those who will embrace changes with enthusiasm with the attitude of ‘bring it on’.

Those who are against change will choose to move on or may need to be encouraged to leave and your fence sitters must make a choice either way.

Leaders and managers play an influential role dependant on their ability, rapport, communication and motivational skills.

Cultural change can be as simple as changing the format of a conference and as complicated as going from a single office to a franchise organisation.

Getting it right

The culture of your organisation can be a competitive advantage as are your people. Many businesses today don’t fully understand the impact of culture and often will simply let it evolve. The issue with this is get it wrong and your business will suffer, get it right however and it will create an environment for your people to thrive in.

Stop and think about what messages you are sending out to your people, what is your culture, has it evolved, are you driving it?

Remember culture is a powerful tool that you can use to drive performance and productivity however if you choose to ignore it and hope for the best the chances are that the tribe will be voting to opt out and join up with your competitors

The Lunch Club

Last week, on my facebook feed, a post from nearly 4 years ago popped up that had me reflecting on what I call the "lunch club". It was a few weeks before my birthday, nearly 4 years ago,  and I took the opportunity to catch up with my girlfriends and yes I know what some of you are thinking right now – a great excuse for a bunch of girls to get together and have a few bubbles. Well that may be partly right I guess but here are some of the other reasons.

The Lunch Club is simply a bunch of business women, majority of whom own their own businesses, getting together for lunch and networking.

However here is the key difference.

We come together as mothers, business women, friends, and sisters; there is no pretence; no judgement; just honesty, trust and the ability to simply be ourselves. We give each other permission to be who we are, to share, and to ask for help, to provide the kick in the butt when needed, to cry to laugh and support each other. We all know that no matter what if one of us was in dire need the rest would be there to help or support.

 It is the group that have the permission to pull you aside and dong you on the head with an empty drink bottle (plastic one) because you needed it. (and yes it did happen to me!)

It's almost the same as when we were a lot younger, in fact as young teenage girls, talking, sharing, laughing, crying over a drink or a coffee or an ice cream. Why is it as we get older, we seem to stop doing the very thing that makes women different?

Do you have a lunch club? Why not create one for yourself? How often do you get together with likeminded people, peers from other industries? Are you a member of your institute or  chapter. And it doesn't have to be lunch, it can be a coffee, or a drink or an ice cream!

Networking is not about meeting at the local pub it is also about seeking new opportunities, promoting what you do, learning and sharing.

Too often I see businesses and teams who only really mix amongst themselves with no encouragement from management to expand their horizons.

If you only network within your own businesses how are you benchmarking yourself, learning, understanding, how is your industry is changing, recruiting or marketing your businesses.

Remember if the same bunch of people, from the same organisation meet with each other on a regular basis and tell each other how wonderful they are and how fantastic everything is or in fact the opposite you will not be aware of what changes are occurring in your marketplace, potentially become complacent, believe in your own babble and be unaware of your competitors until they bite you on the proverbial.

So start up your own lunch club, have a mix of business and pleasure, attend industry events, be involved – it’s the only way you create change and most of all share and learn

Sexualising women has gone too far

Imagine flicking through a magazine and your eye focuses on an ad that at first visually looks like most ads- the male model checking out the woman in the sultry sexy way that men in ads often do.

However this time the ad copy is suggesting you spike your best friend’s eggnog while they are not looking! 

It’s at this point you hear that screeching sound brakes make when you hit them and the car skids to a halt. What were the marketing, PR team at Bloomingdale's thinking when they created and approved this ad? 

This ad ran just before Christmas last year and caused a furor on social media sites across the world.

•  Firstly if you look at your best friend in that way - you are not best friends. The guy in the ad is looking at her in a very creepy way, not the way my best friend would look at me.
• Secondly - eggnog already has alcohol so why would you spike it?
• Thirdly - the fact it does have alcohol and they are suggesting the best friend spike her drink indicates something more sinister such as date rape.
• And lastly spiking drinks is illegal. 

For a store with such high brand equity to place an ad such as this in the public domain in print is flabbergasting stupid. 

 But they have not been the only ones with such stupidity.  

Bud Light earlier last year had to issue an apology after introducing their slogan - "The perfect beer for removing "No" from your vocabulary for the night." Did the marketing team not think about the issues surrounding a slogan such as this and what this was promoting?

Dolce and Gabbana put out an ad which showed a female model being held down by a shirtless man while other men looked on. For many this depicted gang rape and eventuated in the ad being banned in several countries. When you look at this ad, there is nothing about it that entices me to buy their brand and I cannot understand how any marketing team, leave alone a management team thought that this imagery was ok.  

As a CEO I support placing advertising in the market place that can be risky or controversial however I would never approve anything that would be offensive to the consumers we are marketing to.  You don't want to issue apologies or have marketing that will have a negative impact on your brand equity.  

I believe that your marketing has to be relevant to the market place and your demographics. Why put marketing in the market place that 50% of the population will disconnect from.

At a time when violence against women is at an all-time high, there is discussion globally on gender equality and diversity surely it should be the role of iconic brands such as these to ensure their marketing campaigns are respectful and generate positive discussion and debate. 

It seems that many marketing teams have perhaps not connected with what discussions are being had globally. 

The he for she campaign, Malala recently being named as the Nobel peace prize recipient, the new PM in Canada making a deliberate decision to have 50% of his cabinet as women - why - because it was 2015!  

Global change on the issue of violence against women, gender equality and diversity in the workplace that represents our communities are issues that requires leaders in government and private corporate sector to take the lead on.  

It also takes CEOs of iconic brands to ensure their marketing is relevant to what is occurring in their markets globally.  For far too many years we have seen ads where women are the sexual center piece, play things . Surely we are now mature enough and bold enough to move away from this.  

However this recent piece suggests we still have a way to go. 

The ditch list

So, we start another year and I would guess, another set of resolutions that we are determined to stick to.

It seems that New Year resolutions have become something of a “tradition” that we know we won’t really stick to but we all feel the need to make them. It’s about as exciting as eating a bucket of kale really and they seem to have regular themes – lose weight, get fit, give up smoking, healthy eating, reduce debt, make more money…..

In fact research tells us that over 60% of us will discard these resolutions within the next three months – so all those people who lined up to join the gym with me in the first week of Jan we have three months to get fit!

So this year I started thinking a little differently about my resolutions. What did I want to ditch this year? What did I want to do less of? Because the ditch list just may be an easier list to stick to.

So here are some of the items that could be on your ditch list:

Your inner nag

We all have that voice in our heads that creates doubts and excuses like I don’t have time, the market is impacting my performance, I will make the changes next month….. Remember your mind only knows what you tell it, so tell your inner nag to sod off, 2016 can be your best year in real estate, you simply have to put a plan in place that you can follow and be disciplined on the actions you take.

Stop looking for the quick fix

Real estate, like any other job, requires you to have a plan, key success indicators, someone to hold you accountable, updating your skills and an unrelenting focus on the actions that will lead to your success. Every conference or training session I have been to over the last 20 years have all had the same message. Manage your database, make the calls, build the relationships, provide exceptional service, be relevant in all your communications and keep up to date with technology.

Remember no market ever stays the same, consumers have choices, they are knowledgeable, if you don’t have in place any of the above understand simply turning up to work and expecting the listings to walk in the door isn’t going to work long term.

Don’t ignore your personal health and wealth

If you have a business plan, ensure that you have a focus on your personal health and wealth. We all work to create a lifestyle for ourselves, to have financial security so don’t lose focus on this. How many of us stop going to the gym because we get busy at work, we don’t take holidays, we don’t spend enough time with our family and friends. Ditch this in 2016, take control of your diary, plan ahead, remember to be successful at work you need to be fit in mind, body and spirit and have your friends and family around you to support you and celebrate with you.

Staying in your comfort zone

We all love our comfort zone, the problem with this is that often it means we don’t stretch ourselves, we become complacent, maybe even lazy. So ditch the comfort zone, maybe now is the time to put on that PA, to become a commission only agent, to start your own business, to 2x, 3x your income. I believe you almost need to fall in love with the outcome you are looking for as this will drive you to not just get out of your comfort zone but create a plan with actions you will stick to that will provide you with the results.

Ditch Inconsistency

There is a great book that anyone in business should read – Great by Choice by Jim Collins. In this book he writes about the 20 mile march, a concept we use in our business today.

The 20 mile march is about two teams crossing the South Pole, both have the same journey, one however makes it and the other doesn’t.

The team that survived marched 20 miles day in and day out regardless of the weather. They were consistent, that is what made them successful, not the equipment or skill - consistency.

Great sports teams, or individuals have consistency, they practise every day, they have a game plan, and they consider every situation they may get into prior to game day and have a plan for it.

So have a plan and ensure that you march towards your goal consistently every single day.

Don’t be impatient

Creating good habits that lead to success takes time, this is what you are doing when you set in motion your 2016 success plan. Give yourself 3 months to make these changes new habits, stay on track, remain consistent, be held accountable, review the results and be agile in making tweaks along the way. Remember how long it took you to walk or read – years, important things take time. You will have setbacks, however if you plan your 20 mile march then these setbacks will not impact your goals. And learn to chunk, break your goals down into achievable chunks, and don’t forget to celebrate.

So all the best with your 2016 resolutions and in the words of Han Solo to Luke – May the force be with you.